An Arbroath woman who will never have children due to a debilitating health condition has told how her life has been shattered by the illness.
Around seven years ago, Gillian Ross was diagnosed with endometriosis, a gynaecological medical defect that causes the lining of her womb to bleed heavily. The former carer is particularly badly affected, with the agonising condition spreading to her bowel, bladder, fallopian tubes and ovaries.
Despite being initially devastated by the news, Gillian continued to work and tried to lead a normal life but soon found the constant threat of a potentially embarrassing bleeding incident too much to bear. In addition to the pain she is living with, she has lost nearly all of her self-confidence and has slowly drifted away from close friends and begun living an insular life.
“I was diagnosed in 2004 but I had been having problems since I was 21,” said Gillian. “It makes me very emotional and I feel like I can’t go out anywhere and can’t do anything because there is always the fear that something will happen.
“When I bleed it can be like turning on a tap. It has happened when I was at the hairdressers and she was really good about it but it has just shattered my confidence.
“I have given up going into town and I never go shopping in Dundee. I can get quite depressed and quite down about it.
“A lot of my friends have stopped calling me to ask if I want to go out because they feel there is no point in asking me any more.”
At the age of 42, Gillian has now come to terms with the fact she will never have children but she still finds it upsetting to see pregnant mothers in the street, knowing she will never have that chance.
“My family and friends try to hide it from me when somebody we know gets pregnant but to be honest that is probably the worst thing they could do. I am always around children and it cracks me up sometimes to see mums-to-be standing with their big pregnant stomachs.
“It is like something is following me around to taunt me. But I just have to accept it.”
After years of unsuccessful treatments to slow down or reverse Gillian’s endometriosis, her consultant has now informed her she will have to undergo an ablation process to remove the lining of her womb. If that doesn’t work then the final step would be to have a complete hysterectomy.
Even with the spectre of such invasive surgery hanging over her, she is determined that her experiences can help other women whose lives may be set to go through similar trauma.
As part of a drive from charity Endometriosis UK, Gillian has pledged to help raise awareness of the condition and is urging young women to be checked by their GP.
She said, “The charity contacted all of the women who live in different areas around the UK asking them to put forward their own stories as part of their awareness month. It is a condition that a lot of people don’t know about and I think it is important that people realise just how hard it can be to live with and what we have to go through.”
Endometriosis is the second most common gynaecological condition in the UK, affecting one in 10 women, yet 80% of the population have never heard of it. Due to a lack of awareness, many women put up with their symptoms for years, believing them to be normal, unaware the condition can lead to infertility in some cases.
Symptoms include painful, heavy or irregular periods, bowel problems and painful sex.For more information visit www.endometriosis-uk.org or call the helpline on 0808 808 2227.