\u00a0<\/p>\n
The teenager, who lived in Shetland for five years before moving to Edinburgh for university, said she had \u201calways had painful periods\u201d but had been told that it would calm down.<\/p>\n
She began to realise that her friends were not having the same experience she was, but repeated trips to the GP from the age of 14 onwards failed to help.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just wasn\u2019t believed, even when it wasn\u2019t getting any better,\u201d she told Shetland News.<\/p>\n
\u201cI kept feeling they were just brushing it off, that it would resolve itself, even when it was getting worse.\u201d<\/p>\n
Esm\u00e9 moved to Edinburgh in 2024 and was given the birth control implant to try to regulate her periods.<\/p>\n
While that stopped her periods entirely for six months, when they returned they were worse than ever \u2013 lasting for weeks at a time.<\/p>\n
In August 2025 Esm\u00e9 experienced a period that lasted the entire month, and left her feeling dizzy and nauseous due to the amount of blood she was losing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went to the doctor and asked for a gynaecologist appointment, but I was told that was \u2018completely inappropriate and unnecessary\u2019,\u201d Esm\u00e9 said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t able to eat, I couldn\u2019t sleep because the pain was unbearable.\u201d<\/p>\n
She phoned NHS 24 and was told to go to A&E immediately, where she was given morphine to stop the incessant pain.<\/p>\n
But despite getting medication to stop the bleeding, Esm\u00e9 was \u201cleft without any answers\u201d about the cause and just sent home.<\/p>\n
A month later she found herself ill again during her period, but was told by a GP to \u201cstop wasting my life\u201d in doctor\u2019s offices.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat destroyed me. That was really hurtful,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was told I might never find answers.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously I didn\u2019t enjoy going to the doctor every other week, but I had no other option. They seemed to be saying that this was something I enjoyed doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Private treatment and diagnosis<\/p>\n
Unsurprisingly Esm\u00e9 moved to a different GP, who conducted an ultrasound on her \u2013 which came back negative.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s quite common for endometriosis not to show up on those,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously it was a relief for it to come back clear, but it was also a punch in the stomach. I was right back to square one.\u201d<\/p>\n
Running out of options, her mother found her an endometriosis specialist in Edinburgh who told Esm\u00e9 it was very likely she had the condition.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was the first time in five years I felt like anyone actually believed me,\u201d Esm\u00e9 said.<\/p>\n
Running out of options, her parents paid for her to get an endosure test \u2013 effectively a non-invasive check, like an ECG for the pelvis \u2013 through private care in Glasgow.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was told I might never find answers\u201d \u2013 Esm\u00e9 Capp<\/p>\n
It cost \u00a3350, and Esm\u00e9 said that she was lucky her family were able to pay privately for her to get the test.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we shouldn\u2019t have had to,\u201d she added. \u201cIt seems like a lot of money, but I genuinely had no other options.\u201d<\/p>\n
The test only shows endometriosis at more advanced rates, and Esm\u00e9 says she was fully expecting to be told it was negative.<\/p>\n
But to her shock the test confirmed that she had either stage three or four endometriosis, with \u201cquite a bit of evidence\u201d that it was in various places.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey told me that my ovaries were being pulled towards each other,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Esm\u00e9 says she \u201cwent through all the emotions at once\u201d after her diagnosis was confirmed to her following an MRI scan last month.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was happy that it wasn\u2019t all in my head, because when you hear something often enough you start to internalise it and believe it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was relieving, but also really, really sad and really disappointing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Advice for fellow sufferers<\/p>\n
The average time for a person to be diagnosed for endometriosis is incredibly 10 years, with some people only finding out they have the condition much later in life.<\/p>\n
Esm\u00e9\u2019s persistence meant she got the diagnosis just a few months shy of her 20th birthday, but she is frustrated at the fight she had to put up just to get there.<\/p>\n
Esm\u00e9 Capp. Photo: Louisa Mayman<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel neglected by the NHS and just the whole system,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere isn\u2019t enough education for doctors about endometriosis \u2013 it needs to be improved. It isn\u2019t some rare thing, it\u2019s very common.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though it\u2019s too late for me, if I can help someone realise they have it then hopefully they can get treatment before it\u2019s too late.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her advice for anyone who feels that something is not right with their periods is clear: \u201cDon\u2019t give up and trust your own body\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t let people or doctors try and tell you any different,\u201d Esm\u00e9 added.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you genuinely think there\u2019s a problem, don\u2019t stop until you get answers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI could have easily given up, and I did want to give up, but I couldn\u2019t take no for an answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
She is now on a medication which aims to slow the progression of her endometriosis, and also to ease her pain.<\/p>\n
Esm\u00e9 will undergo surgery to remove her endometriosis later this year, after her exams are finished.<\/p>\n
However there is a reoccurrence rate of around 50 per cent, meaning it could still return in the months and years after surgery.<\/p>\n
Having waited years for her diagnosis, Esm\u00e9 is wasting no time in raising awareness of the condition \u2013 with a month-long fundraiser for Endometriosis UK throughout March.<\/p>\n
She will attempt to scale all seven hills throughout Scotland\u2019s capital with the aid of a friend, and will add three more summits to take her up to 10.<\/p>\n
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