Natalie Gore said she was left crying in her GP’s office after a doctor swore on her ’40 year NHS pension’ that nothing was wrong with her – before a massive cyst burst
A woman claims a doctor ‘swore on her NHS pension’ her painful periods were ‘anxiety’ and said just do yoga – until a huge ovarian cyst burst.
Natalie Gore has suffered from excruciating periods since she was 11, leaving her unable to walk and constantly going back and forth to doctors. The 23-year-old was left sobbing in her GP’s office when she claims a doctor blamed her issues on anxiety and “promised on her 40-year NHS pension” there was nothing wrong with her.
Feeling like no-one was listening to her after multiple appointments, Natalie demanded a referral to a gynaecologist. But when she began bleeding through sanitary pads every 30 minutes, she paid to see a private consultant instead.
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While waiting for a diagnostic laparoscopy she suddenly began experiencing ‘excruciating’ stomach pains on September 18th so was rushed to hospital. There, doctors performed emergency surgery after discovering a ‘really big’ ruptured cyst on her ovary. She believes her years of ‘horrible’ pain could have been prevented if she was taken more seriously by doctors.
Now Natalie is sharing her story to encourage others to ‘keep pushing’ for answers if they feel fobbed off. Natalie, from the West Sussex coast near Brighton, said: “I had multiple different doctors dismiss me over the years but the lady who told me those things I’d seen multiple times for the issue.
“I can’t count how many doctors I spoke to in the end. It’s disgusting how it’s all ended up the way it is. I genuinely feel like this rupture could’ve been prevented if I was taken a bit more seriously.”
“Even when I was younger, I was getting pain down my legs and back and I couldn’t walk. As the years have gone by it’s just got worse. I’ve pretty much been on every pill you can think of but it didn’t do anything. I have anxiety and have done for years but it’s very well-managed and [when I went to the GP in March] she said ‘it’s your anxiety making you feel this way’.
“I started crying because she was just going off at me, it made me feel like I wasn’t being listened to. She said ‘I promise you on my 40 years of NHS pension there’s nothing wrong with you’ and I cried more.
“As I opened the door to leave the room she said ‘try to do some yoga and deep breathing, I’m sure that’ll help you. It’s really normal for women to have to go through these things’. I felt so upset for so long afterwards. I was so low and I felt like no one was listening to me. They would not take me seriously.”
In September Natalie experienced ‘excruciating’ stomach pains and was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery. Doctors removed the cyst as well as her appendix, which was inflamed, and discovered she had endometriosis in her pelvis.
Natalie said: “I always knew something was wrong but the fact it took me having emergency surgery for a cyst I didn’t even know I had to finally get some answers. [In hospital] I went up to use the loo and as I came out of the bathroom the pain was crazy. I passed out and when I woke up, I couldn’t hear anything and my sight had gone.
“Turns out that was the moment my cyst ruptured, which is why the pain got so bad. Something was obviously wrong with it and was causing it to leak beforehand. I remember waking up [after surgery] and thinking ‘what the hell is going on?’.
“I lost a litre of blood and it was a really, really big cyst. I’ve had a million scans and it’s never shown up, they didn’t understand how it hadn’t shown up. They didn’t give me a time frame but considering how big it was it must’ve been there for a really long time. When all the pain happened, I was contemplating sleeping it off. They said if I left it and it had ruptured at home it could’ve been fatal.
“I just want to go back there and shove it in [my GP’s] face and be like ‘here is a list of everything that is wrong with me. Where’s the pension?’.”
Now recovering at home after a five-day hospital stay, Natalie is encouraging people to ‘advocate for themselves’ and ensure they’re seen and heard by doctors. Natalie said: “You really need to advocate for yourself. I only got listened to when I went in there and demanded and was crying and standing there and saying ‘I need to be seen’. It is sad that it takes that.
“When it comes to women’s health it’s so hard to be listened to even by female doctors. You have to be consistent and keep going. It’s horrible but the waiting list is so long so the sooner the better.
“Keep pushing as much as you can and do whatever you have to do to be taken seriously. Even if it makes you look like you’re crazy, if you know there’s something wrong you know your own body.”