Endo

I've just had the biggest flare up of endo in 15 years & feek desperate. I've had no gp imput for 12 years. I've managed alone with some homeopathy. I now need support.

[Impatient]

12 years in an excellent innings, some ladies only manage a few months after surgery.

But as it has flared it is time to see your GP firstly to ask for a referral to one of the recently formed accredited endo centres in the UK if you are in the UK.

bsge.org.uk/ec-BSGE-accredi...

lists them all, find your most convenient one, and print off or write down the details and take it with you to the GP and ask to be referred there.

Demand is high, waiting lists are longer than they would be to see a general gynaecologist, but as you already have a diagnosis for endo, skip the general gynaes and go to the expert endo surgeons directly.

In the mean time speak to your GP to get suitable pain relief. Naproxen is the latest onebeing dished out for endo -non addictive and can make you drowsy but is a help too.

You could probably also benefit from stopping your periods while you await seeing the endo specialist. So have a word with GP about your options for stopping periods.

Norethisterone, Depo-Provera injections, back to back birthcontrol pills, Mirena coil, Nexplanon arm implants are all methods which can be used to stop periods.

Use google to look up the patient advice leaflets for each of them and have a read through so you can decide which of the options want to try first.

Ultimately surgery is still the only way to get rid of existing endo, and the other methods are used to reduce the likelyhood of new endo occuring. No guarantees of how long they will last - but you may want to return to whatever methods you were using before, if you managed 12 years on that as it is a good result. Best of Luck in getting a speedy referral.

[Hidden in reply to Impatient]

Thank you. I have just re-read your full reply. I realised I'd not scrolled down to the whole reply. Thank you for taking time to reply so fully. I'm just so scared at the moment & desperate not to get knocked back or fobbed off by a gp. I'm in a group practice & don't. know any of them. I only go to my surgury for routine screening.