Concerned,anxious and very sore

[PurpleRose95]

I'm brand new here, this is a brand new concept to me but after yet another day spent crouched over on the floor in agony vomiting due to my period I have decided I can't just deal with this anymore. I'm training to be a Primary teacher and cannot afford to take days off whenever I'm in this much pain. I can only describe the pain as a contraction type feeling, I'm having to use Lamaze type breathing to power through the day and if I'm lucky a hot bath can ease the pain for five minutes. I want to sleep all day and this is even when I'm not on my period, I have very little zest for life and spend my month dreading my periods. I've been reading about endo and have an appointment with my gp tomorrow to discuss why I'm feeling this way. I'm aware that it could be many other things but I'm thankful for all these web resources that have made this a whole lot less alien to me!

[cmr68]

Being a primary school teacher does not fit with chronic illness. There are other less mentally and physically stressful jobs out there. I am trying to find a way out after twenty years but only three as an endo sufferer. Look after yourself first. X

[cmr68]

Being a primary school teacher does not fit with chronic illness. There are other less mentally and physically stressful jobs out there. I am trying to find a way out after twenty years but only three as an endo sufferer. Look after yourself first. X

[Reen_Bean]

Hi PurpleRose95, sorry to hear you're feeling so unwell at the moment.

Firstly don't be dishearted by cmr68's response, endo or any chronic illness can present in different ways in each person. Endometriosis in particular affects women in different ways and some women have found relief in hormonal treatments or excision surgery, to such an extent that they live a life of minimal pain. I currently attend an endometriosis support group with a vet, a midwife and a teacher, among other professions. Now there are some women with endo so severe that they had to give up physically demanding jobs, but you probably won't be one of these women.

Secondly, what you are experiencing to me sounds like endo from my experience, on top of your symptoms I had back pain, pain in my thighs, pain during intercourse and severe cramping around the time of ovulation. Whatever it is you are suffering from, it is a gynae issue so you do need to be referred. Getting an endo diagnosis can be hard as it can only be diagnosed 100% by doing laparoscopic surgery which consultants like to avoid doing (probably due to time and expense I assume). Push for a gynae referral, don't allow doctors to fob you off with different versions of the pill to try for a few months. You don't deserve to stuff or live in fear of your impending period. You deserve an answer as to why your having these symptoms.

Good luck with your gp, let me know how you get on.

Reen xx

[PurpleRose95 in reply to Reen_Bean]

Thanks for such a lovely reply! Had my appointment today and as expected the gp only seemed to hear "stomach cramps" and prescribed buscopan... I mentioned several times my concerns and he didn't seem to understand. Guess we'll be back there next month hopefully with a female doctor who maybe understands the extent of my pain haha! Thanks again x

[Reen_Bean in reply to PurpleRose95]

You're very welcome, I'm sorry to hear your gp has fobbed you off. Such treatment is not uncommon to women with endo.I agree fully with CharlieSays, keeping a diary is a brilliant way of being taken seriously. Take it in with you to the appointment too and read directly from it. This way you and the Dr can see trends in your symptoms, symptoms that buscopan cannot cure. Don't be disheartened. It takes 7.5 years for a woman with endo to get diagnosed, which is a horrifying statistic. So fight for yourself, hassles your gp and see as many other gps as it takes to get referred. if you can afford (I personally couldn't) look online to see who the recommended gynae in your area is for endometriosis (across England there are lots of endometriosis centres of excellence, one may be near you) and see if you can get a private consult with them. If they think it's endo they can move you on to their nhs list. Do whatever it takes to get seen and get a proper diagnosis, it took me far to long to realise this.

good luck with everything.xx

[CharlieSays]

You'll get used to being fobbed off by your GP! Best thing to do is start keeping a symptoms diary - what sort of pain you have (aching, stabbing etc) How severe (GPs like a scale of 1-10), when your cycle you have pains (before, during, after your period, when ovulating etc) and where in your body it is (specific bits of your pelvis, back, thighs, bottom etc), plus any other seamingly unrelated symptoms such as bowel problems, tiredness, nausea. This will help to build a picture of recurring symptoms and make it harder to dismiss your pains as 'bad period pains'. Having a female GP doesnt always help, I'm afraid, you just have to make a nuisance of yourself until you get referred to a gynaecologist!