Young women from West Yorkshire have criticised a “lack of support” available for a painful and debilitating medical condition.
The three patients, all in their 20s, said they either struggled to get a diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) confirmed despite numerous GP appointments, or were not given effective treatment.
PCOS causes painful and irregular periods, and affects up to one in 10 women in the UK.
The NHS said it “strongly advised” any woman concerned about their health to contact their GP.
Alex Offer, 24, from Leeds, said it took nine years before she was told she had PCOS after doctors “ignored” her concerns from the age of 15.
One GP dismissed her symptoms as being caused by stress and anxiety, she said.
She told the BBC: “I was 14 when I got my first period and then I didn’t get another for about a year and a half.
“From the ages of 15, 16, 17 I still wasn’t getting regular and I was having only three periods a year.”
‘I had to do all the research myself’
At the age of 18, Ms Offer was given a pelvic ultrasound scan, but was told that nothing was wrong with her body.
She then developed cystic acne, a common symptom of PCOS that affected her self-confidence.
It was only at the beginning of 2024 that she requested a second ultrasound, which resulted in her diagnosis.
Ms Offer was then told that seven cysts were present on her ovaries, but was given little information and no treatment options.
She said: “I’ve had to do all the research by myself. I was being told what was wrong with me by someone else, when I know my body and I’m saying ‘there is something wrong, I know it’s not me being silly, I know that there is something going on’.”
PCOS can also cause rapid weight gain, excess facial and body hair and insulin resistance.
Research by the charity Verity PCOS UK found that 60% of women with the disorder have struggled to get a diagnosis, while 95% said they had encountered problems trying to access NHS support.