Donna promotes NAPS on the national stage and appeals for funding
NAPS is grateful to Donna for all her work to create awareness both PMS and the work of the Association and is delighted that she intends to continue campaigning vigorously on behalf of PMS sufferers. Her appeal to the readers of the bulletin for financial support of NAPS is her iniative alone and not in any way organised by us. We hope of course that you will feel encouraged to respond to her appeal positively.
"Well, those of you who have met me on the NAPS Forum will know that after a long (10 year) personal battle with PMDD, I took the route of having a complete hysterectomy on 10th Aug this year. No easy decision but for me the only option left. I am glad to say that I am now PMDD free, and it will never return to haunt me. I have had a fantastic recovery, and in the 10 weeks since my operation I have been a very busy bee!! First stop was an interview published in The Daily Mail,
Secondly, and more exciting I was invited to appear on This Morning with Dr Chris Steele*. It was my little boys fourth birthday on the same day as the show, so ITV flew us down, put us up in a very plush hotel, and basically spoiled us rotten!! The interview went really well, view it here
http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=10067167339his
We were lucky enough not only to meet the silver fox himself Mr Schofield, and the lovely Holly, but we actually met David Hasselhoff aka THE HOFF!!!! Jamie was of course completely unfazed by this - all he was concerned about was when he was getting his birthday cake and his trip to the aquarium!! All in all it was a wonderful trip, and what made it even more wonderful was that it was a huge step in my recovery process. There was a time not so long ago that I would not have spoken about my condition to anyone - not even my family.
On my trip, I had the pleasure of meeting up with a young woman I met through the NAPS forum who is still being passed from pillar to post in the NHS system. This young lady has most recently been labelled as having borderline personality disorder. The doctors dealing with her are not willing to recognise that her symptoms are related to her cycle. This fills me with anger, but also determination too.
These days I am all about shouting as loudly as I can to raise awareness of how badly women can be affected by their hormones. At the moment I am working on literature to be distributed to the main Mental Health organisations in Scotland. Awareness is the key to better recognition and therefore better understanding and treatment of hormonal problems. Time and time again I hear stories of women who are made to feel embarrassed, ashamed and hopeless by health professionals. This cannot go on. We have a right to treatment for our hormonal imbalances, just as people with conditions such as diabetes do.
So, I ask everyone reading this to help me help NAPS. Are you aware that NAPS is run solely by volunteers, there are no paid members of staff. People give up their own time, and often money to ensure that we have a place to come when we need support. And sadly - we often forget to return when we are feeling good - and recognise what a valuable resource this website is to us. It is in fact a lifeline to many. So please click here http://www.justgiving.com/Donna-Barrowman/ and donate just £1 (or more if you can) on my behalf to say thank you to NAPS for all the wonderful work they do for us. Every single penny that goes into NAPS is used directly to benefit women like us.
Take care, be strong and hold on to hope
Donna x
(Tazzywoof)"
* The first media doctor to promote NAPS back in the late 80s, when Jackie Howe (Acting CEO) appeared on the This Morning in Liverpool with Richard and Judy
