{"id":556887,"date":"2026-07-19T03:12:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T03:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/556887\/"},"modified":"2026-07-19T03:12:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T03:12:14","slug":"why-some-women-are-being-driven-out-of-the-workplace-by-an-illness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/556887\/","title":{"rendered":"Why some women are being driven out of the workplace by an illness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Carla Cressy worked as a model from the age of five until she was 17, but kept collapsing on shoots.<\/p>\n

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

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

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

“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

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

“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

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

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

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

Because her endometriosis had been left untreated for so long, it had formed into frozen pelvis disease where “everything was stuck together”.<\/p>\n

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

“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

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

“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

“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

‘I threw up in a bin at work’\"A<\/p>\n

Abi Smith said her endometriosis had made her mental health suffer over the years [Abi Smith]<\/p>\n

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

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

“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

\"A<\/p>\n

Abi said it was “disgusting” how long some women have to wait before they are diagnosed with endometriosis [Abi Smith]<\/p>\n

There was a long delay before Abi, like Carla, was eventually diagnosed.<\/p>\n

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“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

‘It’s medical misogyny’\"Sula<\/p>\n

Dr Windgassen says the combination of severe pain and not being believed is one of the most damaging experiences people can face [Vicki Knights]<\/p>\n

Psychotherapist Dr Sula Windgassen says women with endometriosis are often told their symptoms are “all in their head”.<\/p>\n

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

“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

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

“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

“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

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

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

“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

‘Endometriosis has spread to my lungs’\"A<\/p>\n

Monica said she spent years questioning herself when doctors failed to take her pain seriously [Monica Thomas]<\/p>\n

Monica Thomas, 34, from Ipswich had to wait years before she was diagnosed with endometriosis.<\/p>\n

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

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

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

\"A<\/p>\n

Monica Thomas has campaigned for better support for women and their health [Monica Thomas]<\/p>\n

Monica wonders if her health issues could have been prevented if she had been believed by doctors in the first place.<\/p>\n

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

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

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

“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

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

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

“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

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

“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

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

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