A woman was told she would never eat or drink again after decades of endometriosis treatment which resulted in major complications following a hysterectomy. Lauraine Clarke was 29-years-old when she had her first procedure to treat endometriosis in 1991.
She said she had experienced crippling period pains for years, but it wasn't a condition which was known about then. Lauraine, now 62, said what followed was a yearly procedure where "chocolate" cysts caused by the endometriosis that built up in her abdomen were drained, a problem that only went away as she reached menopause.
However, in 2015, she underwent a hysterectomy as her doctor was concerned about masses that could be seen on a scan. Years of being "poked and prodded" in the same area had caused masses of scar tissue in Lauraine's abdomen, and due to the nature of endometriosis, where endometrium tissue grows outside the womb and attaches to other surrounding organs, Lauraine said it was as if her bowel just completed dissolved during the procedure. It left her with three fistula bags, and she was told by doctors she may never eat or drink ever again.
