‘I suffered a lifetime of ache however medical doctors informed me it was only a ‘punishment from God’

The excruciating pain went on for decades. It was so extreme that Carla Lewis questioned if she actually wanted to carry on living.

But rather than helping her, doctors dismissed her symptoms and even told her the condition was a “a punishment from God.” Carla, 44, from Liverpool, has dealt with incredibly painful stage four endometriosis since she was a teenager – but was repeatedly brushed off by medical professionals.

The pain was so extreme that it left Carla questioning if she wanted to carry on living – and not being taken seriously by doctors made it even worse.

READ MORE: Woman, 95, thought she’d die on freezing pavement in shocking 5-hour ambulance wait

READ MORE: New UK monkeypox Clade Ib variant case detected in England, UKHSA confirm

Click for more of the latest news from across the world from the Daily Star.

“I started my periods at the age of 12, and right from the word go it was painful,” Carla remembers.

“I would get so bad that I couldn’t do P.E, I was constantly being sent home from school and my teachers believed I was lying, or exaggerating how bad the pain was and I spent a lot of time in isolation if I couldn’t go home.

“I remember my doctor, who was female, saying ‘this is normal; women have pain at that time of the month. Just think happy thoughts’.

“I remember thinking ‘Are you serious?’

“But the longer it went on, the pains started coming at all different times of the month, not just when my period was starting.

“That’s when I started to realise it could be serious.

“When I turned 18 I was gigging in pubs and clubs, running karaoke nights and enjoying life.

“But when I turned 20, the pain became unbearable and I was hospitalised on more than one occasion.

“The doctors were convinced it was my stomach, something like IBS, or ulcerative colitis, but I knew it wasn’t and they refused to listen.

“I was a musician and singer, I loved gigging and performing but endometriosis ruined that for me. It is a long-term condition where tissue similar to the lining of the woman grows in other places, such as the ovaries and fallopian tubes.

“You would have months where the pain was bearable, but the months were it was unbearable were some of the worst times in my life and it left me questioning if I wanted to carry on, because my quality of life was starting to be affected by it.”

Carla was put on a variety of medications, but rather than helping, they made her feel even worse.

“Taking medication that messes with your hormones is a minefield of side effects and I truly believe it made my symptoms so much worse, with anxiety, depression and awful mood swings,” Carla explains.

“You end up hating yourself and your life in general.

“When I turned 30, I was in so much pain, I couldn’t cope and I was sick of doctors not listening to me.

“I was being treated for IBS, and ulcerative colitis, as endometriosis has similar symptoms so it often gets confused.

“I was on a ton of medication that seemed to make my symptoms worse, and then my doctor asked the golden question: ‘Are you sure it’s that bad? Or do you think you may be exaggerating a bit, because we can’t really find a cause to your pain’.

“I was stunned and I asked him, ‘If you think the pain is in my head, why have you been prescribing medication for it? Surely if it’s in my head like you said you wouldn’t be throwing addictive painkillers at me like they were sweets!’

“He then suggested I see a gynaecologist at a local hospital in Liverpool that specialises in women’s health, and I thought, ‘finally, he’s actually listened to me; it only took three years of begging him to send me to one’.

“Once I saw my first specialist he was convinced straight away it was endometriosis and said I was probably in stage two.

“Once I had my first surgery he changed that to stage four endometriosis and my life changed forever.

“It’s been unbelievably awful ever since, it’s totally changed my life and who I am or was as a person.

“At one stage I didn’t even recognise myself anymore.

“I wanted out and I meant it. The pain was too much to bear and the medication was making it so much worse.”

Carla was constantly questioning herself due to the inappropriate comments made by doctors, and she asserts that the medical industry can be misogynistic in the way it deals with women’s pain.

“I experienced a lot of gaslighting by various doctors,” Carla recalls.

“My very first specialist told me that ‘endometriosis is a punishment from God, because women are put on this earth to have children, and when we don’t he gets angry and punishes us’.

“My jaw was on the floor: I couldn’t believe a doctor was saying that to me.

“What planet do you live on where you think it’s okay to treat your patients that way? To gaslight them and make them feel like somehow it’s their fault?

“It was so disgusting I actually felt like giving up – what’s the point going to these appointments if you’re just going to blame me for something that is out of my control?

“The misogyny in women’s healthcare is a very real thing.”

Carla finally found help through the UK’s largest private medical cannabis dispensary, Releaf, which led to significant reductions in both her pain and anxiety – but years of being dismissed had taken their toll.

“I’ve spent my life perfecting what I call my ‘gig face’ where even if I feel like dying, I push through and carry on best I can.

“I don’t want to be a burden to anybody and I want to live my life with a smile on my face, but it’s so hard to do that when you have a demonic hell demon living in your lower abdomen.

“And that is hard for people to understand, leaving you feeling forgotten or dismissed.”

She added: “I was so happy when Releaf helped me and took me on as a patient.

“I was on lots of opioid medication and I never thought I’d be able to reduce it, but thanks to medical cannabis I have a little bit of my life back.

“It’s really helped relax me and I haven’t had an endometriosis flare up in months.

“My anxiety is greatly reduced but my pain has really levelled out.”