- Margaret Mcmahon, 48, visited her GP in 2013 with a bloated stomach
- They said her abdominal pains were down to irritable bowel syndrome
- But unsatisfied, she paid for a CAT scan after experiencing stabbing pains
- The scan revealed an 18cm tumour which experts later said was a fibroid
Stephen Matthews For Mailonline
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A mother has described her ‘never-ending pregnancy’ horror after doctors discovered a melon-sized tumour in her womb.
Margaret Mcmahon, 48, from Belfast, first went to the doctors after realising something was wrong in 2013 after her stomach ballooned in size.
Her symptoms, which included a bloated stomach and abdominal pains, were put down to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Unsatisfied with the diagnosis, the teaching assistant eventually paid for her own CAT scan where her 18cm tumour was discovered.
Following an MRI, experts reassured her that it was a non-cancerous fibroid and scheduled a hysterectomy.
But she had to put her life on hold while she waited for surgery as it had grown so large it was putting pressure on her bladder and causing her to urinate all the time.
Margaret Mcmahon, 48, from Belfast, was initially told her stomach pains were due to irritable bowel syndrome. But after paying for a CAT scan, doctors discovered she had an 18cm tumour
The mother-of-two said: ‘The last year was awful.
‘It was like having a never-ending pregnancy except when you’re pregnant you’re going to get have a baby at the end.
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‘Towards the end I was also getting awful stabbing pains.
‘It’s awful when you need to urinate all the time – it completely put my life on hold.’
Following an MRI, experts reassured her that it was a non-cancerous fibroid. However, the intense pain from the size of the fibroid made her life a misery, as she couldn’t sleep at night
Although she had voiced her concerns to her doctors, she believes a lack of understanding about fibroids meant it went undetected for nearly three years.
Ms Mcmahon was initially told three years ago that it was her IBS that was making her stomach blotted, and she was advised to lose weight.
Doctors eventually discovered a fibroid – but told her not to worry.
Earlier this year she went back to her doctors after complaining of pain in her hip and lower back – but they told her it hadn’t grown.
After experiencing excruciating discomfort, Ms Mcmahon’s daughter Emma, 24, took her to emergency care.
In AE, nurses told her there was a mass – but she was left confused.
Ms Mcmahon added: ‘I remember coming home and not knowing what to think – I didn’t know what they meant by a mass and no one really explained.’
In the end, she paid to have a CAT scan done privately, where they told her she had an 18cm tumour on the side of her womb.
Miss Mcmahon, who believed she was ‘going to die’ when she was told she had a tumour, eventually had a hysterectomy in March this year
She believed she was ‘going to die’ when she was told the news and was physically sick with nerves when she left the clinic.
WHAT ARE FIBROIDS?
Around one in three women develop fibroids — benign growths in or around the womb – most often between the ages of 30 and 50.
The exact cause is unknown, but they are linked to the female hormones oestrogen and progesterone, which are at their highest levels during a woman’s reproductive years.
But in 50 per cent of women who have them, fibroids do not cause symptoms: they may shrink and disappear without treatment.
However, the other half experience pelvic pain (from the pressure caused by the fibroids) and heavy and/or extended periods.
It’s also thought they occur more often in overweight or obese women because being overweight increases the level of oestrogen in the body.
They can be treated with medication or surgery.
Source: NHS Choices
Ms Mcmahon went back to AE where she had an MRI scan and was thankful to find out it was a non-cancerous fibroid tumour.
However the intense pain from the size of the fibroid made her life a misery.
She said: ‘I couldn’t sleep at night. My life was on hold.
‘I had to stop work and my social life because there was so much pressure on my bladder. I would feel sick after eating too.
‘I couldn’t drive even five minutes down the road without needing the bathroom. It was just miserable and I couldn’t wait to get my life back.’
Thankfully, after having a hysterectomy to remove it in March, she recovered quickly and was able to enjoy her first family holiday in Spain for two years.
She added: ‘You still get the odd day of pain but that’s normal and on the whole I feel like a new person, especially this last six months.
‘We were able to go on holiday in June for the first time in two years.
‘Just being able to get a plane, or a car and not needing to go to the bathroom was wonderful.’
Ms Mcmahon is hoping her story will fight the lack of education and information surrounding fibroids which are estimated to affect one in three women.
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