Glasgow nurse secures Master's degree while battling searing endometriosis pain

Nickie Broadbent felt like ‘throwing in the towel’ but refused to let her agonising cramps stop her fulfilling her dreams.

Now her hard work has paid off as the 33-year-old, who lives in the West End of Glasgow, has become a Master of neonatal medicine.

It comes as the paediatric specialist nurse has been suffering from endometriosis for more than 15 years which has left her exhausted and debilitated.

Nickie secured her Master's degree

The condition is long-term and means tissue similar to the lining of the womb starts to grow in other places, such as the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and other parts of the body.

Now Nickie wants to raise awareness of the condition and inspire others to not let it get in the way of their goals.

Nickie's journey hasn't been easy

She told the Glasgow Times: “It is relentless and not easy. Endometriosis is so unpredictable.

“Some days you can be okay and other times you are bedridden and need hospital assistance.

“It's very searing, debilitating and exhausting. I got diagnosed my second year into my degree.

“At points I really wanted to throw the towel in, but seeing that email come in this week saying I passed was amazing.

“It just shows what you can achieve while suffering from endometriosis. I am very happy to have secured my Master’s in neonatal medicine at Cardiff University.

“My uni was very understanding of the condition and gave me extensions for my hospital admissions.

“I had to write a lot of my assignments from my bed during painful flare ups.”

Nickie wants to help others

Nickie, from London but moved to Glasgow a year ago, began suffering from symptoms when she was 15 but wasn’t diagnosed until she was 24.

She believes more awareness is key in helping more people recognise the condition.

It currently takes on average seven and a half years to get a diagnosis, according to Endometriosis UK.

The charity claims the condition costs the UK economy £8.2bn annually and is the second most common gynaecological condition in Britain and affecting one in ten women.

The main symptoms of endometriosis are pain in your lower tummy or back (pelvic pain) - usually worse during your period, period pain that stops you doing your normal activities, pain during or after sex, pain when peeing or pooing during your period, feeling sick, constipation, diarrhoea, or blood in your pee during your period, and difficulty getting pregnant.

There is no cure for the condition, but treatment can be offered to help symptom management including surgery.

Nickie has undergone surgery twice before and is waiting to have a laparoscopy keyhole surgery so the endometriosis tissue can be destroyed or cut out.

This helps reduce the intensity of symptoms, but the tissue will eventually grow back over time meaning more surgery is needed in the future.

Now Nickie is a volunteer for Endometriosis UK in a bid to raise awareness and help women with similar experiences to herself.

She said: “The condition is painful, debilitating, and invisible which makes people find it difficult to understand.

“I had to wait around eight years to be diagnosed. I think it takes so long because symptoms can look like other things, such as a bad period.

“It’s a myth it’s a bad period but you don't have to be on your period to [have] pain.

“I've had to have various operations. I am currently waiting for an operation at the [Queen Elizabeth University Hospital].

“When I first found out I had the condition I hadn't really heard of it. Social media wasn’t really around so the information wasn’t shared the same.

“Now it feels great to have a network of people who understand what you are going through.

“I feel I can now give back because I have 15 years of dealing with it on a daily basis.”

Treatment may not be necessary if your symptoms are mild, you have no fertility problems, or you're nearing the menopause, when symptoms may get better without treatment.

Endometriosis sometimes gets better by itself, but it can get worse if it's not treated.

One option is to keep an eye on symptoms and decide to have treatment if they get worse.

Support from self-help groups, such as Endometriosis UK, can be very useful if you're learning how to manage the condition.

Whether you’ve just been diagnosed, have questions about treatment options or would just like someone to talk to, you call Endometriosis UK's free confidential helpline on 0808 808 2227.