At times, she felt like she would pass out because of the pain, but felt society had “normalised” what she was going through.
“Throughout my teenage years I was told, ‘you’re just experiencing a painful period. You’re fine. Just have some ibuprofen and suck it up’,” she said.
“The mental toll is also awful, you feel like people won’t believe you and worry about being well enough for school or work.”
Emily works as a sales manager and said her company had been very supportive and accommodating when she struggled.
“I’m really lucky that I can work from home to help accommodate the pain, to make sure I’m as comfortable as I can be,” she said.
However, the impact of needing time off work has been a concern.
“I have savings, it’s something I’ve always done in the knowledge this could financially impact me by taking time off, I think that’s a real worry for lots of people who suffer that they may run out of sick days.”
NHS Confederation research, external reported that the economic cost of taking time off due to issues such as severe period pain or ovarian cysts is estimated to be nearly £11bn a year in England alone.
