![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEC_272035145-251c.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe 39-year-old assumed her shoulder pain was because of a routine gym injury (Picture: Jen Pickering)<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tThe 39-year-old assumed her shoulder pain was because of a routine gym injury (Picture: Jen Pickering)<\/p>\n
\u2018Every time I think I\u2019ve got it under control, it throws me another challenge,\u2019 says Jen Pickering, 39, of her unusual health diagnosis.<\/p>\n
In late 2023, Jen, from Liverpool<\/a>, felt a sudden pain near her shoulder blade, and assumed she\u2019d pulled a muscle while stretching in the gym.<\/p>\n But countless tests revealed a shocking diagnosis: her right lung had collapsed. <\/p>\n It marked the beginning of a long and painful journey, until Jen was finally diagnosed with thoracic endometriosis<\/a>.<\/p>\n While endometriosis is more well known as a reproductive condition, thoracic endometriosis<\/a> is a complex form of the disease, when tissue, similar to that found in the lining of the uterus, grows in and around the chest cavity, most commonly on the diaphragm, and also in the lung.<\/p>\n A spokesperson from the Endometriosis Trust told Metro: \u2018Thoracic endometriosis is a stark reminder that endometriosis is a whole-body disease that can affect multiple organs. For too long, many have suffered because their symptoms didn\u2019t fit the textbook version of the illness.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t After experiencing the severe chest pain in 2023, Jess went straight to her GP. \u2018I had such a disturbing \u201cbarking\u201d type cough that they said an X-ray may be useful,\u2019 she Jen.<\/p>\n \u2018I had the X-ray that same week, and they could see pretty quickly that I had a collapsed lung.\u2019<\/p>\n At the time, medics thought this had happened \u2018spontaneously.\u2019 But after surgery, Jen\u2019s lung kept collapsing. <\/p>\n \u2018By lung collapse five, I knew it was more than just \u201cspontaneous\u201d.<\/p>\n \u2018So, I did my own research, as did my consultant, and together we decided that a specialist at a hospital in Oxford<\/a> would be useful in providing insight into my case. <\/p>\n \u2018Within five minutes of talking with this specialist, he advised that I almost definitely had thoracic endometriosis.\u2019<\/p>\n Jen said she\u2019d never heard of the disease, but adds: \u2018When I was diagnosed, I wasn\u2019t surprised.\u2019<\/p>\n She continues: \u2018It was bittersweet; a relief having an explanation yet being stuck with a disease I desperately didn\u2019t want.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tSymptoms of thoracic endometriosis\t\t\t<\/p>\n Shoulder tip pain Jen has since had multiple surgeries, and says her health journey has been \u2018brutal\u2019. <\/p>\n She\u2019s also developed harlequin syndrome, a rare nerve condition that causes one side of the face to flush and sweat while the other remains pale and cold.<\/p>\n \u2018When I exercise, my right arm, the side I had surgery on, goes icy cold and covered in goosebumps, even when I\u2019m sweating everywhere else. Sometimes it tingles so badly I can\u2019t use it for hours. It\u2019s so strange, but it\u2019s just another side effect of what endometriosis and surgery have done to my body.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t Jen\u2019s diagnosis means her lung collapses almost perfectly in sync with her menstrual cycle, a condition known as catamenial pneumothorax<\/a>. In total, this happened a staggering 16 times.<\/p>\n She says: \u2018After five or so lung collapses, my doctors and I were pretty sure it was going to continue monthly.\u2019<\/p>\n \u2018It\u2019s often within a few days of my period starting. My doctors told me the endometriosis on my diaphragm and lungs reacts to hormonal changes, which causes the collapses,\u2019 she explains.<\/p>\n However, a recent operation has \u2018put an end to the lung collapses, for now,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n \u2018The most recent thoracic surgery included taking down the lung from scratch, reinflating it, and sticking it in place with medical talc to hold it upright.\u2019<\/p>\n \t\t Despite her ongoing health<\/a> struggles, Jen has become an advocate for endometriosis awareness. Recently, she was invited to present to a global medical company about thoracic endometriosis, a rare opportunity for a patient.<\/p>\n \u2018They don\u2019t normally have patients speak on their education days, so it was such an honour,\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n \u2018I wanted to make sure they understood that thoracic endometriosis doesn\u2019t look the same for everyone. Not every patient needs lung surgery or has collapses, the symptoms can vary massively.<\/p>\n \u2018It\u2019s often described as rare, but really, it\u2019s just rarely recognised. It\u2019s not that it doesn\u2019t happen, it\u2019s that doctors aren\u2019t trained to look for it.\u2019<\/p>\n Jen also posts on her TikTok<\/a> page, @\u200cmycollapsedlung<\/a> in the hopes of sharing her story and connecting with other people who have experienced her condition.<\/p>\n In particular, she\u2019s encourage women to track their symptoms, especially pain that starts within 72 hours before menstruation and continues through it, or pain that radiates from the chest to the neck or down the arm. <\/p>\n \u2018Endometriosis is relentless,\u2019 she says. \u2018But I\u2019m not giving up. My lung might collapse every month, but my spirit hasn\u2019t.\u2019<\/p>\n Do you have a story to share?<\/p>\n Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"WORDS](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI_272015022-2093-e1761568506667.jpg\")
\n\t\tJen says recovering has been \u2018brutal\u2019 (Picture: Jen Pickering)<\/p>\n
\nPain in the chest and upper abdomen
\nBreathing difficulties
\nBenign growths
\nCoughing up blood
\nLung collapse<\/p>\n![\"WORDS](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI_272014899-1d67-e1761569736859.jpg\")
\n\t\tJen\u2019s lung has collapsed 16 times over the course of two years (Picture: Jen Pickering)<\/p>\n![\"WORDS](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI_272015034-3f42-e1761571585604.jpg\")
\n\t\tJen says that her scars are a physical reminder of what she\u2019s been through (Picture: Jen Pickering)<\/p>\n
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