NEED TO KNOW
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Grace, 14, says doctors dismissed her severe pain, claiming she was too young to have endometriosis
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The teenager described feeling a “stabbing” pain, telling PEOPLE she first thought her appendix had ruptured
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She was diagnosed after her family sought a second opinion despite a family history of the condition
A teenage girl has opened up about her experience with endometriosis, after spending months being told she was too young to have the condition.
Grace, from Yorkshire, England, began experiencing severe pain when she was 13, and first realized her pain wasn’t typical when she was at a show in October 2024.
“I just remember feeling this really bad pain, like stabbing, and thinking, ‘My appendix has ruptured, I need to go to the hospital,’ ” the 14-year-old tells PEOPLE.
The pain returned each month, repeatedly sending Grace to the emergency room, where she even questioned if she was imagining her symptoms.
Grace from Yorkshire
Credit: Courtesy of Grace
Grace’s mom, Samantha, says the family was left without an explanation after doctors ruled out potentially life-threatening conditions.
“They do their job very well in checking it wasn’t anything life-threatening, such as appendicitis,” Samantha tells PEOPLE. “And then it would result in her being given morphine because she couldn’t cope with the pain.”
Grace during a hospital visit
Credit: Courtesy of Grace
Per the Mayo Clinic, endometriosis is a condition in which tissue similar to the inner lining of the uterus grows elsewhere in the body, often affecting the ovaries, fallopian tubes and the tissue lining the pelvis.
Unlike the inner lining of the uterus, endometriosis tissue doesn’t leave the body during menstruation, and cysts and adhesions can sometimes develop. It can be painful, particularly during periods, and it can cause fertility problems.
However, Grace says doctors considered other causes, including cysts, after an ultrasound scan showed fluid in her abdomen. She was put on the contraceptive pill, too, but her symptoms persisted.
A request to be referred to a gynecologist was rejected because the family was told Grace was too young to be seen.
Grace from Yorkshire
Credit: Courtesy of Grace
“I was dismissed by so many doctors because of my age,” she tells PEOPLE. “I guess adults see it as just girls trying to get out of school.”
The family explored private healthcare for another opinion, but the first consultation didn’t go to plan.
“I was told that it couldn’t be endometriosis. I’m way too young,” Grace explains, adding that the doctor attributed her symptoms to her mental health and ADHD and said she needed to “get back into the real world” and socialize at school.
“[I was] devastated after that,” Grace tells PEOPLE. “I was literally sobbing on the way home.”
Grace later spoke to another private consultant, who she describes as “amazing,” and underwent a laparoscopy to remove her endometriosis in June.
Nearly nine weeks after the operation, she says doctors found it on the back of her uterus and uterosacral ligaments, while her bowel was adhered to her pelvis.
Grace says there’s a “high chance” the endometriosis could come back, but she’s taking hormonal treatment in an effort to prevent it or at least slow tissue growth.
Grace gives two thumbs up in the hospital
Credit: Courtesy of Grace
For Samantha, her daughter’s experience has been difficult to watch. “It was devastating seeing her curled up on the floor in agony,” she tells PEOPLE. “The fact that no one could tell us what it was, and it was happening every month.”
Grace, meanwhile, says she decided to speak publicly about her experience and raise awareness on TikTok after encouragement from the doctor who took her symptoms seriously. She hopes other young people going through the same thing will be able to advocate for themselves.
“It’s such an isolating feeling when a doctor so high up is telling you that it can’t be endometriosis, and it’s in your head,” she tells PEOPLE. “It makes you feel crazy.”
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She adds that the condition and her surgery scars have affected her confidence, and that she has to remind herself what she’s been through.
“My body is fighting a silent battle 24/7 and not everyone has to do that,” she tells PEOPLE. “I want to encourage girls to be proud of themselves and their bodies.”
Read the original article on People