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A London woman has recounted the harrowing reality of her decade-long battle with endometriosis, describing how she passed blood clots "the size of a golf ball" and developed a phobia of blood due to the severity of her symptoms.
Sana Kardar, 33, a research fellow specialising in cervical and breast cancer screening, received her official diagnosis in 2015.
Despite her professional background, the relentless nature of her condition has left her deeply affected.
"After my official diagnosis of endometriosis, I was on all kinds of hormonal tablets and injections, whatever they could give me, but nothing helped stop the bleeding," Ms Kardar told PA Real Life.
She continued: "I kept on bleeding to a point where I was passing out clots the size of a golf ball and sometimes my toilet would look like a murder scene."
The constant exposure to blood has had a profound psychological impact.
"I have worked with live cells, human blood and other bodily fluids, but the amount of blood I see on a regular basis has now made me phobic. Even if I have a little cut on my finger and there is blood, I feel dizzy," she explained.
Endometriosis occurs when cells akin to those lining the womb are found elsewhere in the body, according to Endometriosis UK.
These cells react to hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle, leading to inflammation, pain, and scar tissue. Ms Kardar also revealed that, growing up, she felt an unspoken pressure to endure her heavy periods without complaint.
open image in gallerySana Kardar, who works as a research fellow focusing on cervical and breast cancer screening, was first diagnosed with the condition in 2015 and said that the severity of her symptoms has left her with a phobia of blood (Collect/PA Real Life)“I first started having my period in year 8 and would have periods for eight days – and it would be heavy from day one to day eight,” shared Ms Kardar.
“It was really painful when I had to travel, but everyone just shuts women and girls down and says ‘oh it’s just a bad period, take paracetamol or ibuprofen’.
“At school it was hard when I was going through PMS and had to concentrate. Bleeding so much really affected my energy levels, but I still had to put on a brave face and continue.”
Recent research by Bodyform and Perspectus shows that while many women experience these challenges, they often don’t feel confident enough to talk about them.
A survey of 1,008 UK women aged 18–50 found that 87 per cent have a heavy period every month, and nearly half (48 per cent) said it leaves them feeling mentally drained or stressed.
Despite millions being affected, the stigma persists. Only 16 per cent of women reported that they felt able to discuss their symptoms openly with their manager, and a quarter (25 per cent) said they didn’t feel comfortable talking about them with family.
Ms Kardar said that in her culture, periods and women’s health are still widely considered taboo.
“Coming from a South Asian background, periods and women’s health are still a massive taboo. You can’t discuss it openly,” said Ms Kardar.
“I’m glad that I come from a family where it wasn’t considered a taboo, but I couldn’t tell somebody else outside of my immediate family.
“I feel like we have to put on this facade where we can’t tell anyone that we are menstruating or in pain, which took a massive toll on my physical and mental health.”
A scary experience during her second year of university prompted her to push for answers.
“In 2014 after my father passed away, I suddenly had a pain in my right ovary area,” said Ms Kardar. “I went to see the GP and they said that it could be a cyst. They also said my other symptoms made it look like I may have endometriosis and I had never heard that word before.
“A couple of months later, I was walking from my university back home, and my leg kind of locked.
“I was in the middle of the road and I couldn’t move my leg and had to call somebody to come and help move me to the side of the road. It’s scary because I had been very athletic. I used to play squash professionally and had never felt this kind of pain and locking before.”
open image in galleryEndometriosis occurs when cells similar to the ones in the lining of the womb (uterus) are found elsewhere in the body, according to Endometriosis UK (Collect/PA Real Life)Over the years, Ms Kardar has consulted numerous specialists and has undergone four surgeries for her endometriosis so far with a fifth planned for December. However, she said she has received conflicting guidance about the cause of her pain and the treatments that might offer relief.
One difficult conversation with a female health professional, which made her lose all hope, particularly sticks in her mind.
“At 21 I saw this doctor and the first thing she tells me is that there are some pains you have to learn to live with,” said Ms Kardar.
“That’s one quotation that I can’t get out of my head. I was in my final year of college and I had dreams to do things, and I was told that you have to learn to live with it.
“That’s when I had to take a break from college because I was already dealing with mental health issues because of my father’s death and this happened, so I had to take time off. I went into this really, really terrible depression where I was self-harming. I just wanted to end my life and felt like there was no future.”
The condition has affected every facet of her life.
“I think living with a chronic condition is hard because you don’t know where your life’s heading,” said Ms Kardar.
“You can’t predict your next movement, like I will be fine for one moment, and then suddenly I’ll be in the foetal position on the floor crying in pain.
“It does impact you badly, because your mental health and your hormones are so intertwined.”
open image in gallerySana said hiding the pain took a massive tool on her mental health (Collect/PA Real Life)Amidst all the dark moments, sharing her story on Facebook and Instagram, under the handle The EndoMentalist, and helping other women going through similar issues has helped give Ms Kardar a sense of purpose.
What started off as a rant on social media when her second surgery got delayed because of the pandemic has developed into a large online community.
“A lot of women from around the world got in touch with me and said my posts summed up the pain and everything that they felt,” said Ms Kardar. “It started off as an endometriosis group, but now we talk about everything women health related.
“For me, it was very important to share my journey and to debunk any myths around the condition and to create awareness and to educate not just the people who have endometriosis, but the people around them as well.”
Her message to other women going through a similar journey is to keep fighting and to not give up.
“Keep advocating for yourself and remember that you know your body way better than anyone else,” said Ms Kardar.
“When you go to your GP, you only have 10 minutes and you can only talk about one condition, so I would recommend listing your top three symptoms that you really want them to hear about.
“I think that it’s very important that I am advocating for myself, as I hope I am making it easier for the next generation.”
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