Eight months after receiving a diagnosis of adenomyosis, Naga Munchetty has opened up about the reality of living in “constant pain”.

The condition, which causes the lining of the womb (the endometrium) to bury into the muscular wall of the womb, affects around one in 10 women and can cause severe period pain, painful cramps, bloating and fatigue.

Speaking to Radio 5 Live listeners, Munchetty described having a painful flare-up at the weekend that was so bad her husband called an ambulance. “The pain was so terrible I couldn’t move, turn over, sit up. I screamed non-stop for 45 minutes,” she explained. “Right now, as I sit here talking to you, I am in pain. Constant, nagging pain. In my uterus. Around my pelvis. Sometimes it runs down my thighs.”

Adenomyosis is commonly diagnosed in women over 40, though it also affects younger women. Often it is only discovered at routine screenings, meaning many women have it without knowing. 

The BBC broadcaster admitted that she’ll “have some level of pain for the entire show and for the rest of the day until I go to sleep”, adding: “I’m living in pain. I live in pain at this moment. I would say I’m in level three or four.”

Last year, NHS England data revealed that thousands of women are living in extreme pain as gynaecology waiting times have trebled in the past decade. 

Medical misogyny is also worryingly present in healthcare, according to the Gender Pain Gap Index report, which found that women are having their pain ignored or explained away in a stark difference to that of their male counterparts. Separate research also revealed that Black women’s pain is frequently being “dismissed” or not taken seriously – and that racialised stereotypes continue to surface in patient-doctor interactions.

Indeed, Munchetty said she had been told by doctors that she was “just unlucky”, and had to adapt her life to accommodate the pain and heavy bleeding, including setting alarms throughout the night to replace her tampon. She added that there is still no dedicated NHS page for adenomyosis.

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