Emma Thomas was repeatedly sent home from the emergency department feeling like no one believed she was in chronic pain.
Emma Thomas was repeatedly sent home from the emergency department feeling like no one believed she was in chronic pain.
In Her Head is a Herald campaign for better women's health services. Health reporter Emma Russell investigates what's wrong with our current system and talks to wāhine who have been made to feel their serious illness is a figment of their imagination or "just part of being a woman".
Fornearly a decade Emma Thomas was repeatedly sent home from the emergency department feeling like no one believed she was in chronic pain.
"I was treated like a drug-seeker and made to feel like I was crazy," the 31-year-old mum from Hokitika told the Herald.
Yet medical records seen by the Herald show she had a rare post gallbladder complication called sphincter of Oddi dysfunction.
It's a condition affecting the digestive system which can cause significant discomfort in the abdomen - and is more prominent in women.
Thomas wanted to share her story as part of the Herald's In Her Head campaign to help prevent others from experiencing her feeling of being dismissed by the health system.
In her early 20s, Thomas started experiencing serious abdominal pain and opted to get her gallbladder removed with the hope her pain would be cured.
However, six months after the operation her condition worsened significantly and she started turning up to ED every two months. Each time, she said, she was given pain relief and sent home.
She soon realised alcohol was a trigger so stopped drinking. Though her episodes became less frequent, she was still turning up to hospital at least every six months.
"I'd still be told to stop drinking, even though I hadn't been drinking," she said.
Thomas said she'd be in hospital asking for pain relief and nurses would delay giving it to her. If she asked for something stronger, they would refuse.
Her surgeon told her it was "just post-gallbladder syndrome" which would fade in time and, she said, he laughed at her when she suggested it could be more than that.
Fed up with feeling like she wasn't being listened to, Thomas sought out a gastroenterologist specialist privately, which meant she had to pay for it out of her own pocket.
She found a specialist 250km from where she lived who diagnosed her with sphincter of Oddi dysfunction.
"I was just so relieved to be believed that something was wrong," Thomas said.
"He treated me with respect and believed that I did have something wrong. He tested and diagnosed me."
She was given two medications: GTN (glyceryl trinitrate) to treat angina (chest pain) and lower her blood pressure, and an antispasmodic to relieve spasms of involuntary muscle.
Thomas said she was offered surgery but decided to see if the medication would work first.
It did for five years but then the pain returned so she went ahead with the surgery in August.
The procedure, called a sphincterotomy, is performed to remove a muscular valve in the digestive tract.
"I haven't been crippled over in pain or had to go to ED since, it's been great [...] I just wish I was taken seriously to begin with."
West Coast DHB chief medical officer Dr Graham Roper said the DHB undertook a review of the care provided to Thomas but could not comment further, citing patient privacy.
"We do encourage anyone who has concerns about their care or the care of a whānau/family member to contact our Quality and Patient Safety team.
"As well as ensuring that our patients get the required level of care for their presenting condition, this valuable process helps us identify areas for improvement inclusive of systems processes like when and how our staff seek input from specialists."
Follow women's personal stories of poor healthcare in our interactive grid below. Click on a face to go to the full story.
