Woman's periods more painful than childbirth but docs named her attention seeker

02 December 2023 , 15:43

1033     0

Chloe Elliott has suffered agonising pain since she was just eight

A mum who has suffered from agonising periods since the age of eight claims medical staff told her she was "attention-seeking".

Chloe Elliott was still in primary school when her period started, and unbeknownst to her at the time she was also tackling endometriosis - a condition affecting 1.5million Brits. The pain left her missing weeks of lessons as she laid on the floor in agony. As a teen, she sought help from doctors and consultants who simply put her pain down to stress about her GCSEs.

"I was in agony and taking a week off school every month," Chloe, a content creator from Pontefract, West Yorkshire, told The Mirror. "I can remember lying on the bathroom floor in agony as my mum tried to help. I was so young and that's what we put the pain down to."

Chloe's pain became a daily battle and she has revealed that at one point she made 30 trips to A&E in the space of just two months. "The consultants we spoke to at the hospital said, 'what are you gaining out of all this attention?' It was rancid," she said.

Hospital staff suggested Chloe's pain was just a form of attention seeking

At one point, she was going to A&E every couple of days because of the pain

Two weeks after her 16th birthday, while still in hospital, Chloe demanded to see an endometriosis specialist who eventually said the words she had been longing to hear from a medical professional - "I believe you". "It was the first time I think a doctor had believed how much pain I was in," she said.

Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him

Now aged 20, she has since been formally diagnosed with endometriosis, which causes tissue growth on the outside of the womb causing unimaginable pain, particularly around menstrual cycles. She has also been diagnosed with polycystic ovaries and fibromyalgia which cause further agony.

Mum to two-year-old Elizabeth-Hope, Chloe described childbirth as a doddle in comparison. "I couldn't even believe I was in labour," she added. "I just sat on the sofa eating a Greggs. It was nothing in comparison."

Chloe spoke out as a report released this month revealed the gender gap in diagnoses of painful conditions has actually grown in the past year. The survey, carried out by Nurofen, found that fewer than half (47%) of women surveyed received a diagnosis within 11 months of painful symptoms, compared to two thirds (66%) of men.

Chloe has spoken out as a report reveals a gender gap in pain diagnoses

Chloe lying in bed during a bout of endometriosis pain

Nearly a third of women surveyed (30%) felt the reason it took so long to receive a diagnosis for their pain was because their doctor did not take their pain seriously, compared to less than one in five (18%) men.

Despite NICE guidelines around endometriosis meaning doctors have to consider referring women and girls over consistent period pain. Sadly, the condition can only be diagnosed through invasive surgery.

Chloe is currently on a waiting list for surgery to remove parts of the tissue which cause her pain, although has been told it will grow back. "Anyone going through this should keep fighting to be looked at," she added. "Don't let medical professionals get in your head. There is nothing normal about pain which stops you living your life."

Susie Beever