Fife's first support group for women with endometriosis marks its 10th anniversary

Members of EndoFife celebrated the group’s 10th anniversary with a get-together in Pittencrieff Park in Dunfermline.

EndoFife was launched by Fife woman Claire Watson in July 2011 on behalf of the national charity, Endo UK.

Initially it was just a Facebook page where she shared information about the painful condition and tried to raise as much awareness of it as possible.

But as time went on, Claire discovered there were a lot of women across the Kingdom who were looking for support and advice on endometriosis, and it soon evolved.

The mum-of-two began organising meetings which were held every two months at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, arranged meets for members to have a coffee and a chat on a one-to-one basis, and she has also held local events to raise awareness.

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She has continued to hold sessions online throughout the pandemic for women in the Kingdom.

Endometriosis is caused by tissue, which normally grows inside the womb, growing in the pelvic area, leading to inflammation, scarring and adhesions.

It can cause women a great deal of pain. Symptoms include painful and irregular periods, pain during and after intercourse, bowel problems and fatigue.

Claire, who was diagnosed with the condition in May 2011 after 16 years of mis-diagnosis, said: “The page has grown very fast over the past 10 years.

"It has been a lot of hard work but it has been worth it all. Just knowing my pain has a purpose by helping someone else makes all the difference.

“We have nearly 5000 members including women from across Scotland, England and abroad.

"We also have a new EndoFife page for people who just life in Fife which is mainly run by my amazing admin team who are all volunteers like myself and woman living with endometriosis themselves. "

To mark the milestone, around 10 members, their families and friends came together with their own picnics in Pittencrieff Park and they were joined by support group leaders from all over Scotland.

Claire said: “We called it a ‘bring your own picnic to the picnic’ as we felt that would be the best way to do it given covid restrictions. #

"It went really well and was really nice to be able to meet up, have a chat and just see people in real life rather than on a screen! We played games, talked and just enjoyed the sunshine.”

She added: “Our goal as a team is to get more understanding of endometriosis and better treatment within Fife. Also over the past 10 years the diagnosis time has went back up to eight years and we aim to help change that.

"I would love to see endometriosis being something that is talked about and known about a lot more. As a team, our goals are to support and raise awareness so that not one feels alone in this battle.”

Anyone wanting to find out more about EndoFife can either email: [email protected] or find the group on Facebook by looking up EndoFife.

It is also on Instagram and Twitter with the same name.

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