GPs laughed off Traitors star's endometriosis fears

Elen, from Anglesey, said she suffered with pain that felt like "barbed wire around her stomach" before her diagnosis, which she was told was "just period pains".

She added GPs needed to treat women's health with greater sensitivity and called for better funding from the Welsh government.

The Welsh government said it was spending £3m on a women's health hub in each health board by March 2026.

The Traitors star, originally from Llanfair-yng-Nghornwy in Anglesey - who was eliminated on episode two - said she was diagnosed just before appearing on the reality show in 2024 - 10 years after her symptoms started.

Elen, now 24, said when her periods began at 14, she frequently missed school and sat out of sport, but a GP insisted she just had a low pain tolerance.

She said she was offered a contraceptive pill if she was really struggling, but she did not feel comfortable with this option while not sexually active.

She said she continued to suffer so badly she was unable to walk or leave the house.

"Sometimes it's like you're being repeatedly stabbed," she said.

"I knew it wasn't normal regardless of what I was told."

She began to piece together that her symptoms closely aligned with endometriosis after seeing other sufferers on TikTok and, while studying in Cardiff when she was about 21, tried again to push for answers from medical professionals.

"I saw another GP but he said the same, that my pain tolerance was too low.

"I remember him laughing at me, it was awful," she said.

Elen then requested to see a female GP, who she said "completely validated" her and agreed she could have endometriosis.

But when both an ultrasound and an MRI scan came back clear of the condition, Elen pushed for a laparoscopy, and it was only then that her stage four endometriosis was detected.

The disease had spread across Elen's bowel, bladder, fallopian tubes and kidney and, while she is currently on a four-year waiting list for surgery, she has been using her TikTok account to raise awareness about the condition.

What is endometriosis?

Endometriosis is a gynaecological condition associated with menstruation where tissue similar to the lining of the womb is found in other areas of the body, including the fallopian tubes, pelvis, bowel, vagina and intestines.

In rare cases it has even been found in the lungs, eyes, spine and brain. It was once thought that the only place in the body where endometriosis did not occur was the spleen, but in 2020 it was found there also.

Symptoms include severe to debilitating pain often in the pelvic area, fatigue, and heavy periods, and the condition is also associated with infertility.

Research by charity Endometriosis UK found the average diagnosis time for endometriosis in Wales was nine years and 11 months in 2024.

This was the longest diagnosis time across the UK and had increased from nine years in 2020.

Elen said she was given no support from her GP while she awaited her diagnosis, adding: "I have been offered the coil or the pill, [but] other than that I was given nothing which is so frustrating."

She said through her own research she had made changes to her lifestyle to manage her condition, including cutting down her alcohol and caffeine intake as well as engaging in low-impact exercise and prioritising sleep.

"I don't suffer nearly as much as I used to... [but] I have done that all on my own," she said.

She added: "I think a narrative needs to be erased here. Because it's a condition associated with female hormones, people tend to link the symptoms with being dramatic and it's really frustrating to me.

"There is so much stigma around it and I think that stigma needs to be deleted."

Elen has called on the Welsh government to offer more funding, better information and greater sensitivity to women's health.

"I think GPs need to spend more time exploring symptoms and offering other solutions rather than just the pill or the coil, it's ridiculous," she said.

The Welsh government said endometriosis was one of the eight priorities outlined in its Women's Health Plan for Wales.

"We have already funded endometriosis nurses in every health board, developed the Endometriosis Cymru website and provided £50 million of additional funding to help cut the longest waiting times, which includes gynaecological conditions," it said.

It added £3m would be used to establish a Women's Health Hub in every health board by March 2026, "to support timely diagnosis and management of menstrual conditions including endometriosis".

-BBC