A woman has spoken out after she claims a doctor 'swore on her NHS pension' that her agonising periods were caused by anxiety, only for her to later require emergency surgery for a ruptured ovarian cyst. Natalie Gore, 23, from West Sussex, said she endured years of excruciating pain and was repeatedly dismissed by GPs before the crisis.
Ms Gore said she had suffered from debilitating periods since the age of 11, leaving her unable to walk. In March, she says a GP told her the pain was due to her anxiety, promising 'on my 40 years of NHS pension' that there was nothing wrong, and suggested she try yoga. 'I started crying because she was just going off at me, it made me feel like I wasn't being listened to,' she said.
After bleeding heavily through sanitary pads every 30 minutes, Ms Gore paid to see a private consultant. While waiting for a diagnostic laparoscopy, she experienced sudden severe abdominal pain on September 18 and was rushed to hospital. Doctors performed emergency surgery, discovering a 'really big' ruptured ovarian cyst and endometriosis in her pelvis. They also removed her appendix, which had become inflamed.
Ms Gore lost a litre of blood and spent five days in hospital. She said the cyst had likely been present for a long time but had not shown up on scans. '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?"' she said.
Now recovering, Ms Gore urged others to advocate for themselves if they feel dismissed. 'You really need to advocate for yourself,' she said. '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".'
