"I say I ate my twin in the womb": Doctors found something strange on Natashjja's left ovary.

From the age of 13, Natashjja Heming knew something wasn’t quite right.

She had always felt what she describes as a “pulling” on the left side of her pelvis, and when she turned quickly she was overcome by a sharp pain. As time went on, the pain became increasingly severe.

At first she thought that the chronic discomfort was a feature of being female.

Perhaps ovaries were just “meant to feel like huge, heavy stones”. When she described the pain to her mother, they thought it might be endometriosis, which runs in their family. At 14, she went to the doctor, but they were unable to identify the source of the pain.

The physician explained that because Natashjja was so young, they were hesitant to do anything too invasive. He advised that she not “try to be a hero” and take Nurofen and Ponstan as required.

Women reveal the most painful thing they’ve experienced. Post continues below.

During high school, the pain worsened significantly. But Natashjja felt self conscious about experiencing what she describes as “lady pain”, so she clenched her teeth and kept it to herself.

Natashjja wondered at the time if her “left ovary was too big” and that’s why she was always so aware of it. At times the aches seemed to coincide with her period, but she says it was a “pretty consistent feeling”.

By 22, she had had enough. The pain was unbearable. She was plagued by crippling cramps, that had become so bad she would black out. It had reached the point where she could not ignore it any longer.

Convinced she had endometriosis, she saw a new doctor recommended to her by a friend. Immediately, they took her seriously, and assured her they would run as many tests as they could to get to the source of the problem. The process began with an ultrasound.

It took the ultrasound technician a matter of moments to determine that something was wrong. Natashjja sensed that something was abnormal, as she watched the technician circle repeatedly on one point. Two other technicians were called in to examine what was on the screen. They had discovered a cyst the size of a peach, and requested that she visit her doctor that afternoon to examine the results.

What they had discovered was a dermoid, a sac-like growth that had been inside her since birth. It was made up of human structures including hair, three teeth, brain matter, spinal fluid and skin tissue. They are caused from trapped skin during fetal development, and contain the same cells which produce human eggs.

Natashjja said "I joke that I ate my twin in the womb, which is not a scientifically proven thing, but it has been mentioned."

Some theorise that dermoid cysts are the result of one twin absorbing the other while in utero. Twins run in Natashjja's family, so she is particularly interested in that possibility.

After receiving the diagnosis, she felt relieved and validated. She thought "Yay, I'm not crazy!" But that comfort soon turned to fear when she was faced with surgery.

The doctor explained that if they did not act, the dermoid would grow to the size of a mango. Natashjja was also warned that it could be quite difficult to remove, given that it was relatively large and wrapped around her Fallopian tubes.

She says that in the lead up to surgery, she used the novel, light-hearted story of having a "weird and creepy" cyst with three teeth as a device to mask her fear. Deep down, she was really scared.

During the removal, the dermoid burst, meaning that Natashjja would never get to see it. The ensuing recovery was "super painful" and absolutely not what she expected.

Today, Natashjja is fully recovered. She is extremely thankful that she found a doctor who was willing to listen, rather than just suggest she change her pill, or try a new kind of pain killer.

She jokes that she's "constantly on a soap box of 'go to a good doctor and don't stop until someone listens'".

Too often we hesitate to talk about women's health out of embarrassment, shame or fear. But in telling our stories, we can normalise a discussion around our bodies, and what sometimes goes wrong with them.

Hopefully, we can even help another woman out in the process.