For nine years I was told my endometriosis was IBS - woman describes pain of misdiagnosis (The Independent, 10 October 2024)

Summary

Chloe Bremner describes the pain she experiences from endometriosis as akin to having someone stuck inside you desperately trying to claw their way out.

The 24-year-old has contended with pain from the chronic inflammatory condition since she was 14 but it was minimised, downplayed and misdiagnosed for nine years - with doctors mistaking her endometriosis for irritable bowel system and a tummy bug.

Ms Bremner, who lives in Scotland, says she would routinely wake up in the middle of the night in excruciating pain.

“There were countless nights and days spent in this state,” she tells The Independent. “And then throughout the years, that progressively got worse, and then it started to impact my nerves - down my legs and my hips.”

“It's excruciating, and to the point where I was on morphine every day, and it didn't do anything,” Ms Bremner says. “I was still in absolute agony.”

She explains that for years, nobody ever explained to her what endometriosis was, not even when she was diagnosed. “Endometriosis is a constant battle for validation and relief in a healthcare system that often fails its patients,” she says.