I need 120 pills a week to deal with the agony caused by vaginal mesh
A mum-of-three left in "constant, disabling pain" after an operation says women like her should not suffer in silence.
Kerry Watson, 40, uses a walking stick and takes more than 100 tablets a week to deal with the agony caused by having a vaginal mesh implant to treat a prolapsed bladder in 2014.
She is 1 of 25 women who have received compensation following operations carried out by a single surgeon in north Wales.
The Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has apologised, admitting Kerry was not fully informed of the risks and side effects or of the alternatives to the mesh surgery.
Kerry, from Kinmel Bay in Conwy county, said she woke up from the operation in pain which never went away, and got gradually worse.
"It felt like I had a needle through my back, and it was coming out my front, and I couldn't twist past it," she said.
"Your mental health is affected. You get brain fog, you're tired, you're fatigued. You can't function as a woman – and that's every day for 10 years," she said.
"I'm a mum to three boys, but I felt like I was failing. As they were getting older, I couldn't even stand to watch them play football.
The NHS announced it would pause using vaginal mesh in 2018 following patient safety concerns.
Source: BBC News, 27 February 2026