Doctors said I was too young to have endometriosis at 13 - I had to take morphine to cope
A 14-year-old girl from Yorkshire shares her struggle with endometriosis, describing years of dismissive medical treatment and reliance on strong painkillers. She highlights the lack of awareness among medical professionals regarding the condition in adolescents.
Why it matters
The story underscores systemic issues in diagnosing chronic conditions in young women and the potential dangers of opioid dependency.
Image caption, Grace struggled with severe period pain before she was diagnosed with endometriosis
Every month, at about the time of her period, Grace has to be taken to hospital.
She is often in so much pain her parents have to carry her to the car. She can wait hours to be seen in A&E, only to be sent home in tears with more strong painkillers.
For a long time, Grace - who's now 14 and is from Yorkshire - felt doctors were dismissive of her pain. "I feel like I was seen as a girl who didn't want to go to school and was being dramatic," she says.
She was given multiple possible reasons for her symptoms: irritable bowel syndrome, a cyst, anxiety and "just a bad period". But, she says, "I knew it was more than that."
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