‘Doctors dismissed dangerous symptoms saying I was just getting fat’

A mum nearly died after claiming doctors repeatedly dismissed her abdominal pain, saying it was because she was just “getting fat”.

A mum nearly died after claiming doctors repeatedly dismissed her symptoms, saying she was just “getting fat”.

Sarah McInnes, 38, complained to her GP of ballooning two dress sizes (from a 12 to a 16) in just four weeks, during January this year.

Initially, doctors had told her the unusual weight gain was because she was eating too much food, even though her diet hadn’t changed, The Sun reports.

But she had in fact been living with an undiagnosed condition for 20 years that was fast becoming life-threatening.

Sarah had suffered pain for years and said it felt like she was “carrying a rucksack full of rocks”.

In January, she was sent for a pelvic scan after one doctor spoke up – telling other medics he disagreed with their theories.

It was then that a 12.7kg, 116cm cyst was discovered taking up almost the entirety of Sarah’s abdomen, crushing her other organs.

Her belly was larger than those of many women at full term with a single baby, and bigger than she was at nine-months pregnant with her twin sons.

Sarah McInnes, 38, ballooned by two dress sizes in just four weeks, but says doctors told her she was obese and that she needed to eat less. Picture: Triangle News

Her stomach became swollen and bigger than it had been when she was pregnant with her twin sons. Picture: Triangle News

“I’d heard their excuses so much that I started to believe them,” the mum-of-three said.

“It was always just, ‘You’re fat, you’re obese, you need to eat less.’

“It was driving me mad, I wasn’t eating very much and I’d been on so many diets trying to lose the extra weight, but it never shifted.”

Sarah underwent a gruelling four-and-a-half hour surgery in March, in which she had to have a hysterectomy and part of her stomach removed.

Before the operation, her husband Allan had to sign a waiver agreeing that he understood there was a 50 per cent chance that Sarah might not make it through the surgery.

During the operation, doctors also discovered she had been suffering with endometriosis – a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb can grow on other organs like the fallopian tubes, ovaries, and bowels.

It can be extremely painful, particularly during a period, make sex and going to the toilet excruciating, and cause fertility issues.

The condition typically gets worse, especially if left untreated.

“The doctor told me that in the 25 years he’s been doing that specific operation for endometriosis, he’s never seen it that bad,” Sarah said.

“I’m just so glad to be here.”

Ignored ‘hundreds of times’

Sarah first started noticing endometriosis symptoms back in 2000, at the age of 16.

She would pass out from excruciating period cramps, vomit and have to take days off school due to the pain.

The mum described the pain from the condition as “the worst I've ever felt” – worse than labour pain.

But despite going to her GP to complain over two decades, all the signs of Sarah’s agonising condition weren’t linked.

One in ten women of reproductive age in the UK suffer from endometriosis, but it takes an average of eight years to get a diagnosis.

“I’d imagine it took at least a couple of hundred visits to my GP, and at least six or seven months to A & E to get diagnosed,” she said.

“They just said ‘sometimes girls have to deal with bad period pains’, or that it’s ‘women’s troubles’.”

A scan showing the 12.7kg, 116cm cyst that took up almost the entirety of Sarah’s abdomen. Picture: Triangle News

One female doctor even asked Sarah if she believed she was the only woman in the world who experienced period pains.

But Sarah’s pain got so bad she couldn’t bear to leave her bed, eventually having to give up work in retail six years ago.

She also stopped spending time and bonding with her three sons, resulting in bouts of depression.

It is believed Sarah’s cyst had been growing for five years, since 2017.

That year, Sarah broke out in a bright pink rash with painful, sore patches all over her legs, chest and face – a symptom of endometriosis.

She now faces the torturous wait to determine whether the ginormous ovarian cyst is cancerous.

Cysts are common in women with endometriosis, and most of the time they are not deadly.

But because Sarah’s was left undiagnosed for so long, and was allowed to grow so large, doctors fear it could have dire consequences.

“Doctors told me that because it had been left for years and years, and because it had become stuck to all my organs, there’s a really high chance that it could be cancerous,” she said.

“All this time dealing with my illness and the pain has put a massive strain on us – especially my husband, Allan, who has been amazing.”

Sarah’s operation has not reduced her pain, because she’s been living with her condition undiagnosed for 20 years. Picture: Triangle News

Sadly, removing the cyst and parts of the endometriosis has only mildly reduced Sarah’s symptoms.

Due to growths on her bowels not being able to be removed without risking serious issues, going to the toilet is hell and Sarah is still in lots of pain.

“I was hoping once this was all over it would be done and dusted, but my pain level has only just gone down to about a five or six and I still struggle every day,” she said.

“The pain is constant and the back pain too. I wish I was normal, with a normal life where I can go to work, go on holiday and enjoy time with my children and friends but I can’t.

“And I won’t ever be able to do that, because all my symptoms were ignored for so long.”

Sarah’s husband had to take on the brunt of the childcare, as well as quitting his job as a warehouse assistant to take on the role of Sarah’s full-time carer.

“Shockingly, it takes on average eight years to get a diagnosis of endometriosis in the UK,” Emma Tegala from Endometriosis UK said.

“Sadly, we regularly hear stories from those with the condition who are initially told that severe pelvic pain and painful periods are normal.”

Emma said a lack of awareness about endometriosis, its symptoms crossing over with other conditions, and taboo around discussing periods play into the condition being diagnosed so late.

“NHS Ayrshire & Arran has a duty to protect patient confidentiality, therefore, we are unable to provide further comment,” Craig McArthur, Director of East Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership and Primary Care Lead for Ayrshire said.

“We take all patients’ feedback, comments, concerns, or complaints very seriously and we would encourage anyone who is unhappy with our services to contact us directly with any concerns they have.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission