Naomi Isted says 'NHS said she needed an unnecessary hysterectomy'

Naomi Isted said she was left devastated when 'the NHS said she needed an unnecessary hysterectomy' for her debilitating health woes, which she ultimately treated with a simple change in diet.

The British TV presenter, 45, who is currently supporting Jay Patel's Patients Lives Matter campaign, exclusively told MailOnline she was diagnosed with a gruelling 10cm fibroid which left her housebound.

She said the non-cancerous growth caused her to suffer from extremely heavy periods, which would leak through her clothes if she was not excessively vigilant.

As a self-employed interior designer, TV personality, and businesswoman, the diagnosis left her self-conscious about having an accident on live TV - this ultimately put her at least £20,000 out of pocket.

She told MailOnline: 'It was so bad. I was bleeding so heavily I couldn't leave the house. I couldn't even leave my bedroom. I couldn't go out, couldn't see friends.

'I couldn't go to red carpets. I couldn't go out to work events. So I couldn't work with any brands at the time because, you know, it's totally impacted my work and my social life.'

In 2019, Naomi started heavily bleeding every month and when she visited her NHS doctor, she was diagnosed with a 10cm fibroid.

Fibroids are non-cancerous growths that develop in or around the womb (uterus). The growths are made up of muscle and fibrous tissue, and vary in size, according to the NHS.

But after having the coil fitted the bleeding became more manageable.

After three years, her heavy bleeding returned, which prompted the star to revisit her NHS doctor.

The visit left her 'devastated' and in tears after she said they told her she would need a hysterectomy.

Instead, she opted for an embolisation (a procedure to stop blood flow to a specific vessel) but after waiting three months, nothing had changed.

This is when Naomi decided it was time to go private for a second opinion.

Naomi visited a private doctor, where she said they told her a hysterectomy was not necessary and there was a range of other treatments available.

As they decided on Naomi's most appropriate treatment, her new consultant told her to cut down on sugar and carbohydrates.

Within a month of changing her diet, her fibroid shrank from 10cm to 2.5cm.

Naomi's bleeding started to ease dramatically and said the change in diet had transformed her life.

The media personality confessed she has never felt so healthy as she now has a positive relationship with food and her body.

Reflecting on her traumatic experience, she added: 'I was in tears because I'm 45, but to have the thought that you could never have kids again, that they're taking that option away from you without anything else.

'They mentioned embolisation but they just really dissed it. Some doctors would just say the only option is a hysterectomy for this.

'I've been seen by so many different doctors that they didn't even know I had seen another doctor. It was just so messy.'

WHAT ARE FIBROIDS?

Fibroids are non-cancerous growths that develop in or around the womb (uterus).

The growths are made up of muscle and fibrous tissue, and vary in size. They're sometimes known as uterine myomas or leiomyomas.

Many women are unaware they have fibroids because they do not have any symptoms.

Women who do have symptoms (around 1 in 3) may experience: 

• heavy periods or painful periods 
• tummy (abdominal) pain 
• lower back
• pain a frequent need to urinate
• constipation pain
• or discomfort during sex 

In rare cases, further complications caused by fibroids can affect pregnancy or cause infertility.

Source: NHS website

She continued: 'I was literally just a digit on a file. No one would know my case.

'So I'd go in for appointments to a different consultant, and they wouldn't know of the other consultant I've spoken to.

'And they wouldn't know of my case. They wouldn't know that I've got this history of bleeding for so long.

'Then I'd have to school them on the whole situation. So it was like I was starting from scratch every time I saw a new consultant.

'So just pure devastation. Because also, who wants to maybe be forced into the menopause.

'It panicked me, really, really panicked me. It devastated me to be honest. I actually left crying a few times.'

Naomi shared this story as part of her current support for Jay Patel's Patient's Lives Matter campaign.

This is a foundation that is trying to campaign for a change in the law to allow an independent body to investigate complaints.

Jay formed the cause on September, 5, 2023 after the death of his son Balram - who died on August, 9, at St Thomas' hospital from pulmonary oedema, which is a build up of fluid on the lungs. 

Their website states: 'Balram died in a huge amount of pain, and discomfort, and before his time, due to a cascade of errors and failures in treatment and care from the hospital consultant and a number of staff.

'We feel very strongly that the Government is taking steps "after the event" so as to speak to see what went wrong with patient care and / or patient treatment. However totally inadequate steps are available at the time of the incident to rectify the failure and ensure little or no harm comes to the patient.'

You can share your support through their GoFundMe page. For more information on the campaign visit https://patientslivesmatter.co.uk