{"id":2051290,"date":"2026-07-19T02:12:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T23:12:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2051290"},"modified":"2026-07-19T02:12:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T23:12:23","slug":"endometriosis-i-had-to-stop-modelling-because-i-kept-passing-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2051290","title":{"rendered":"Endometriosis: I had to stop modelling because I kept passing out"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/9b2f\/live\/c665d050-7928-11f1-bb09-19b977572e60.png”]<\/p>\n

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\"CarlaCarla Cressy<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Doctors removed Carla Cressy’s appendix, but it was endometriosis that was causing the excruciating pain<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Carla Cressy worked as a model from the age of five until she was 17, but kept collapsing on shoots. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“It was really embarrassing and I couldn’t do it anymore,” she says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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From the age of 13, when she started her periods, she was plagued by excruciating pain but she was only finally diagnosed with endometriosis when she was 25.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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By then, doctors had removed her appendix, mistakenly thinking she had acute appendicitis. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“I was hospitalised for chronic constipation several times. I wasn’t able to eat, I was vomiting and in such severe pain but I kept being told it was a stomach bug.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Carla ended up retraining as a beauty therapist because she felt shewas “unemployable and unreliable” due to her health.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“I would have a client, then sit in a boiling hot bath to ease my stomach pain. It was horrible, but it was the only way I could earn a living,” the 35-year-old from Essex says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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One in six women with endometriosis are estimated to leave the workplace due to the condition, which causes tissue similar to the lining of the womb to grow outside it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Carla recently gave evidence to an ongoing inquiry into how the condition affects women in the workplace.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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There is currently no legislation in the UK to ensure workers with menstrual health conditions are treated fairly if they need time off work.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"CarlaCarla Cressy<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Carla was made an OBE earlier this year for helping ensure endometriosis is becoming a more visible and better-understood condition<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Because her endometriosis had been left untreated for so long, it had formed into frozen pelvis disease where “everything was stuck together”. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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It destroyed Carla’s reproductive organs and was so extensive she was left needing bladder reconstruction surgery and a total hysterectomy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Thankfully, I managed to freeze my eggs but I can’t now carry a baby, so if I do decide to have children I will have to go down the surrogacy route,” she says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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While bedridden after surgery Carla connected with other women with endometriosis and started online support groups which evolved into her forming a charity, The Endometriosis Foundation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“It still shocks me that this condition is so common,” she says. “When I was diagnosed 10 years ago, I was told I was too young and that it was rare. We now know that it is absolutely not rare.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“A lot of people still believe endometriosis is just a period condition. It’s so much more than that. We’re talking about lung collapse, kidney loss, extensive surgeries, infertility and careers being cut short.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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‘I threw up in a bin at work’<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"AbiAbi Smith<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Abi Smith said her endometriosis had made her mental health suffer over the years<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Abi Smith, 27, who is originally from Braintree but now lives in Lowestoft, was prescribed a gut health yoghurt by doctors when she was 10 and struggling with pelvic pain.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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When she started her periods soon after, she said the pain was so bad “I felt like I was dying”. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“I worked in the post office,” she said. “I would have periods where I was at work hunched over trying to serve customers, throwing up in the bin, running off to the toilet every three minutes.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"AbiAbi Smith<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Abi said it was “disgusting” how long some women have to wait before they are diagnosed with endometriosis<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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There was a long delay before Abi, like Carla, was eventually diagnosed. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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For her it was not until she was 21 and she feels doctors failed to take her seriously. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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She is currently going through her third medically induced menopause, which “shuts down” her ovaries and helps manage her pain.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“I’m just completely infuriated by everything I’ve had to go through. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“I’ve become a very bitter person because of all of this,” she says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Abi has applied for disability benefits and been rejected three times. She now works as a sales administrator and despite her pain she must carry on working.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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She feels hopeful the inquiry is looking into how the condition affects women in the workplace, but would like to see it widened out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“It’s encouraging because it’s a real struggle to be productive and show up every day.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“I’ve always worked, I’ve always tried my best to stay in work even though I feel like absolute crap,” she says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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‘It’s medical misogyny’<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"VickiVicki Knights<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Dr Windgassen says the combination of severe pain and not being believed is one of the most damaging experiences people can face<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Psychotherapist Dr Sula Windgassen says women with endometriosis are often told their symptoms are “all in their head”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Many have had to quit their jobs, leaving them isolated and more anxious, she says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Therapy often becomes a space for exploring alternative careers, hybrid working arrangements, or other ways of maintaining employment. None of those decisions are simple.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Some individuals spend two or three hours every morning recovering from the pain caused simply by going to the toilet. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“I’ve spoken with women who describe their pain as being beyond 10 out of 10, where all they can do is lie down and endure it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“That isn’t something a person can simply recover from and then continue with a normal work day. It’s incredibly sad that more support isn’t available.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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She is currently researching medical gaslighting and gathering evidence via a questionnaire. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“There is a serious problem within healthcare around medical misogyny and unconscious bias.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“The more people are dismissed medically, the worse their health outcomes are likely to be. We see changes in inflammation, alterations in cortisol patterns, and a range of other biological effects that interact directly with health outcomes.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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‘Endometriosis has spread to my lungs’<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\"MonicaMonica Thomas<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Monica said she spent years questioning herself when doctors failed to take her pain seriously<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Monica Thomas, 34, from Ipswich had to wait years before she was diagnosed with endometriosis.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The condition has now spread to her lungs and she is due to have lung surgery, while she is also waiting for operations on her bowels and pelvis.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Monica also lives with adenomyosis, where the womb lining grows into the muscle in the womb’s wall, pelvic congestion syndrome which causes chronic pelvic pain, and Lichen Sclerosus, which is a chronic inflammatory skin condition that most commonly affects the genitals. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Throughout that journey, I felt incredibly isolated, lonely, confused,” she says. “I didn’t have anywhere to turn.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"MonicaMonica Thomas<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Monica Thomas has campaigned for better support for women and their health<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Monica wonders if her health issues could have been prevented if she had been believed by doctors in the first place. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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While researching the condition, she came across many other women in similar situations who felt “unheard and unsupported”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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She now works to empower other women after setting up the charity Women’s Health Hope.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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It is due to open a women’s health hub in the Unity Centre in Ipswich next month. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“For me, it’s been incredibly important to actually give women somewhere they can go so that they can let their emotions out, talk to people, feel supported.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Because we don’t have it, we don’t have that support.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“In a recent study 84% of women feel unheard by the healthcare professionals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“It’s a really large amount of women and to be able to give them a place to go where they can feel heard and supported, I think for me it was a no-brainer.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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An NHS spokesperson said: “Medical professionals, including GPs, should follow National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines to diagnose endometriosis. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Struggling patients can also receive specialist care for menstrual problems and endometriosis through women’s health hubs, which are available in most areas.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Follow Suffolk news on <\/i>BBC Sounds<\/i>, <\/i>Facebook<\/i>, <\/i>Instagram<\/i> and <\/i>X<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c79yyzw9v8xo”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/1024\/branded_news\/9b2f\/live\/c665d050-7928-11f1-bb09-19b977572e60.png”] Carla Cressy Doctors removed Carla Cressy’s appendix, but it was endometriosis that was causing the excruciating pain Carla Cressy worked as a model from the age of five until she was 17, but kept collapsing on shoots. “It was really embarrassing and I couldn’t do it anymore,” she says. From the age […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[35,226],"class_list":["post-2051290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-bbc-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2051290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2051290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2051290\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2051290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2051290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2051290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}