Cara Browne Told Crippling Period Pain Was Normal for Years
Cara Browne said doctors reassured her that severe period pain was normal before she was diagnosed with endometriosis in June 2026. The York woman said she faced an NHS specialist wait of 52 to 54 weeks and used health insurance through her employer to access surgery.
Cara Browne, 24, said she was diagnosed with endometriosis in June 2026 after years of severe period pain that she had been told was normal. Her account highlights the lengthy wait she faced for specialist care through the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).
Browne, from York, said her periods became extremely painful when she was between 14 and 15. She went to a general practitioner about two years later and was prescribed a contraceptive pill, but said it did not resolve the problem.
She described repeatedly seeking help and being reassured the pain was normal for someone young. “I was in a lot of pain, in the first few years I was told religiously it was normal to be in that amount of pain, you know 'it's a woman thing, it is normal for periods to be painful',” she said.
The pain affected her schoolwork and exams. “I really struggled because I was in so much pain that I couldn't focus on actually doing work and exams and things like that, I really struggled with them,” Browne said.
She said she later stopped seeking medical advice for years. Fertility problems, several miscarriages and urinary tract infections eventually led her to consult another doctor earlier this year.
Browne also described painful periods, changes in her mood at certain points in the month, and pain in her back and legs. She said a doctor referred her to a gynecologist after hearing about those symptoms.
The NHS wait was expected to be between 52 and 54 weeks. Browne said she used health insurance available through her employer, Benenden Health, and had surgery in June, the same month she met a gynecologist.
Doctors diagnosed endometriosis during a laparoscopy, a procedure in which a camera is inserted through a small incision in the abdomen. The procedure can also be used to treat the condition by removing affected tissue.
Endometriosis is a chronic condition in which cells similar to those lining the uterus grow elsewhere in the body. Its cause is not known, and there is no cure.
“After this, it felt like a weight had lifted and I wasn't in the dark anymore,” Browne said.
