{"id":6916,"date":"2026-03-25T07:03:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T07:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/?p=6916"},"modified":"2026-03-25T16:03:56","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T16:03:56","slug":"for-ten-years-doctors-said-my-stomach-pain-was-just-ibs-it-was-so-bad-i-would-vomit-pass-out-lose-control-of-my-bowels-in-public-and-ended-up-with-a-stoma-bag-in-fact-i-was-suffering-from-a-con","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/?p=6916","title":{"rendered":"For ten years doctors said my stomach pain was ‘just IBS’. It was so bad I would vomit, pass out, lose control of my bowels in public and ended up with a stoma bag. In fact, I was suffering from a condition that affects MILLIONS"},"content":{"rendered":"

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As a young professional in her 20s, Sapphia Cousins\u2019 life should have been filled with work drinks, brunches with friends and fun-filled weekends.<\/p>\n

Instead, by 29, the recruitment consultant spent most days holed up at home \u2013 anxious, depressed and in agonising pain.<\/p>\n

For more than a decade, she endured excruciating stomach pain and bowel problems that often left her \u2013 sometimes more than once a fortnight \u2013 begging for help at A&E.<\/p>\n

\u2018I would be suddenly racked with pain so agonising it felt like waves of contractions,\u2019 the now 32-year-old said. \u2018It was like a shooting pain in my side \u2013 so intense I would often vomit and pass out.\u2019<\/p>\n

Yet despite frequently being carried into hospital \u2013 unable to stand without fainting \u2013 Sapphia was repeatedly turned away.<\/p>\n

Often, she says, she didn\u2019t even make it past triage. \u2018They would give me painkillers and send me home,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

As her condition worsened, she also began to lose control of her bowels.<\/p>\n

\u2018The bowel issues began when I was 26 and progressively got worse,\u2019 she said. \u2018At first, I would have an accident maybe once a month. But by 30, it was weekly.<\/p>\n

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\"Sapphia<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Sapphia Cousins says she was repeatedly turned away from hospital despite the severity of her symptoms<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Endometriosis\u00a0affects<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Endometriosis\u00a0affects one in ten women of reproductive age, with numbers rising<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u2018I was terrified to leave the house \u2013 when I did, I had to map out toilets.\u2019<\/p>\n

Despite these symptoms, Sapphia says she was continually dismissed by GPs and A&E doctors.<\/p>\n

\u2018For years I was told it was anything from a stomach bug to irritable bowel syndrome,\u2019 she said. \u2018No one ever investigated. Meanwhile, my life was falling apart.\u2019<\/p>\n

Today, however, she says she feels like a different person. Two years ago, she was finally diagnosed with a debilitating gynaecological condition affecting around 1.5 million women in the UK \u2013 and received proper treatment.<\/p>\n

\u2018Life is totally different now. I leave the house whenever I want \u2013 the pain is gone, I\u2019m no longer rushing to the loo,\u2019 she said. \u2018I\u2019m so thankful that someone finally listened.\u2019 Sapphia has endometriosis \u2013 a disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows elsewhere in the body, causing chronic pain, heavy bleeding and, in many cases, infertility.<\/p>\n

It affects one in ten women of reproductive age, with numbers rising. Symptoms vary but include pelvic pain, heavy periods, pain during sex and painful bowel movements. Yet the average time to diagnosis in Britain is a record nine years and four months \u2013 up from eight years in 2020.<\/p>\n

Experts say one reason is the difficulty of diagnosis. Confirmation usually requires a laparoscopy \u2013 keyhole surgery in which a camera is inserted into the abdomen.<\/p>\n

Waiting lists can stretch for years. And even then, the condition can be missed, particularly if lesions are small or hard to detect.<\/p>\n

Campaigners also say women\u2019s symptoms are too often dismissed \u2013 with painful periods and heavy bleeding still seen as \u2018normal\u2019.<\/p>\n

A survey by Endometriosis UK found 39 per cent of patients had to see their GP ten times or more before the condition was even suspected. More than half \u2013 55 per cent \u2013 had attended A&E, while 46 per cent were sent home without treatment. \u2018For a long time, menstrual pain has been culturally normalised,\u2019 says GP Dr Nikki Ramskill, who specialises in women\u2019s health. \u2018There\u2019s been an unspoken narrative that it\u2019s simply part of being a woman.\u2019<\/p>\n

Charities also warn endometriosis is not always covered in depth during medical training. To boost awareness, the Endometriosis Foundation has partnered with Holland & Barrett to expand access to its free Menstrual Health Helpline, doubling appointments and introducing in-person consultations with a specialist nurse. For Sapphia, the diagnosis came as a shock \u2013 she had never even heard of the condition.<\/p>\n

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\"A<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A survey by Endometriosis UK found 39 per cent of patients had to see their GP ten times or more before the condition was even suspected. Pictured, Sapphia as part of the Endometriosis Foundation and Holland & Barrett’s campaign<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"To<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

To mark National Endometriosis Awareness Month, the very first Endo Pants’ have been created – a pair of knickers that visualise painful symptoms of endometriosis. Featured on the inner care label of the pants is a QR code to direct women to Holland & Barrett’s free Menstrual Health Helpline<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"\u2018For<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u2018For years I was told it was anything from a stomach bug to irritable bowel syndrome,\u2019 Sapphia says. \u2018No one ever investigated. Meanwhile, my life was falling apart’<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Although she had suffered severe period pain since her early teens, she assumed it was normal.<\/p>\n

When she raised concerns with her GP at 18, she says she was asked whether she had considered having a baby \u2013 which can ease symptoms.<\/p>\n

\u2018I was always just told to take paracetamol and grin and bear it,\u2019 she said. \u2018Eventually, I thought it was all in my head.\u2019<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until she began trying to get pregnant more than a decade later that doctors finally investigated further. After months without success, she was referred to a fertility clinic, which quickly sent her to a gynaecologist.<\/p>\n

It was this specialist who first suggested endometriosis \u2013 and arranged an NHS laparoscopy in December 2024. \u2018When they finally operated, it was much worse than they had thought,\u2019 she said. \u2018The tissue was all over my bowel and bladder, fusing the organs.\u2019<\/p>\n

This explained years of bowel accidents and severe pain.<\/p>\n

But the disease was so advanced she needed complex surgery \u2013 with an NHS wait of more than a year. \u2018I had had enough,\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

\u2018I saw a private doctor who was horrified by my notes. She booked me in for surgery immediately \u2013 and I\u2019m so thankful, because I was days away from my bowel rupturing from the pressure. I could have died.\u2019 The damage was so severe Sapphia required a temporary stoma bag to allow her colon to heal. It has since been reversed.<\/p>\n

Today, she takes a daily tablet to suppress her periods and slow the return of the disease. \u2018I\u2019ve had a few flare-ups, but nothing like before,\u2019 she said. \u2018Life is different.\u2019<\/p>\n

She hopes other women will not have to endure the same ordeal. \u2018I\u2019ve been told that if it had been treated earlier, I wouldn\u2019t be facing fertility issues now,\u2019 she said. \u2018The damage wouldn\u2019t have been so bad. I don\u2019t want other young people to go through what I did.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  As a young professional in her 20s, Sapphia Cousins\u2019 life should have been filled with work drinks, brunches with friends and fun-filled weekends. Instead, by 29, the recruitment consultant spent most days holed up at home \u2013 anxious, depressed and in agonising pain. For more than a decade, she endured excruciating stomach pain and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6917,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6916","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-disease"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6916"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6916\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6942,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6916\/revisions\/6942"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.healthoptibody.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}