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Three years ago, 48-year-old Margaret Mcmahon’s stomach began swelling – and never reduced in size.
When she went to her doctors, however, they simply diagnosed her with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), a chronic medical condition that isn’t generally too severe and can be managed with proper treatment and medication.
Mcmahon didn’t think her diagnosis was correct. Her symptoms felt far more serious than that which her doctors were describing, but they wouldn’t listen to her complaints.
According to Mcmahon, her bloated stomach felt “like having a never ending pregnancy except when you’re pregnant, you’re going to have a baby at the end.”
She reported having pregnancy-like symptoms, like having the urge to urinate frequently. At its worst, she always had concerns about going out or driving somewhere; there was now the fear that she would need a bathroom within the next five minutes, but would be unable to access one.
After three years of suffering, Mcmahon recalled that she was “also getting awful stabbing pains.” Her condition ultimately took a huge toll on her personal and social life, “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.
“It was just miserable and I couldn’t wait to get my life back.”
At that point, Mcmahon decided to ignore her doctors and return to the hospital to be re-diagnosed. She paid for a CT scan – out of pocket – which was when doctors finally discovered a huge tumor growing on her uterus.
A large uterine fibroid – 18 centimeters in length – had grown on the side of her uterus. Her doctors immediately scheduled Mcmahon for surgery to remove the growth.
Although Mcmahon had to recover after the procedure, she called the entire recovery process “brilliant.”
Her “whole mood was changed,” and she felt “like a new person.” She celebrated her new health with her family by going on vacation 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,” she laughed.
