A woman who thought she had appendicitis has spoken out about the chronic pain she experiences as a result of a little known condition, which causes organs to “stick together like cement”.
Danielle Kettlewell, 32, suffers from endometriosis and adhesion related disorder, which causes the aggressive growth of scar tissue inside the body.
The scar tissue, known as adhesions, causes her organs to "stick together like cement", leaving her with acute pain.
As a result, Ms Kettlewell has already endured 15 operations, including a hysterectomy, since February 2013.
When she was first taken to hospital with severe stomach pain more than four years ago, doctors believed she had appendicitis.
Ms Kettlewell was found to be suffering from pelvic inflammatory disease and treated, but she was later taken back to hospital with chronic pain.
She underwent another eight operations at the Harrogate District Hospital in North Yorkshire, as doctors tried to find out the source of her pain.
After being told by the hospital’s surgeon general gynaecologist that the pain was “in her head”, Ms Kettlewell sought help from a private specialist in Birmingham in November 2015.
She was diagnosed with endometriosis and adhesion related disorder.
“The pain is horrendous. It's taken over my whole life,” said Ms Kettlewell. “It has left me so isolated. I had to stop work two years ago and now I'm housebound. My mother and my sister help when they can but they have their own lives to live.
“I don't have any friends anymore because I can't leave the house for more than half an hour. I suffer from depression because of the constant pain.
Ms Kettlewell underwent a hysterectomy in May 2016 that left her with one ovary and fallopian tube.
“I've got another operation scheduled for January 2018 where he wants to remove my remaining ovary and Fallopian tube,” she said. “If that doesn't work then it will be my last. I'm just not willing to put my body through this anymore.
“I will just have to live with the pain and wait until it gets so serious that I need open surgery to possibly remove organs.”
