Doctor ignoring my endometriosis symptoms.

[Abby18]

Hi i'm new here, so basically I'm 18 and for the past 4 or 5 years I've been having excruciating pain during my period to the point where I literally have my head on the sink almost vomiting while sitting on the toilet with severe diarrhea (sorry for TMI). The blood flow is also extremely heavy and I get freezing cold with the shakes even though it could be scorching hot outside. I told my doctor all of this recently and she told me it probably is endometriosis but she won't get me properly diagnosed because i would have to get a laparoscopy, she said there was no point in getting the surgery when she could just prescribe me medication or birth control... so anyways she prescribed me mefamenic acid and it has done nothing for me. I'm actually sick of being in so much pain and doctors not recognising endometriosis as a serious illness and instead just brush it under the carpet like it doesn't matter that thousands of women are having to live their lives in excruciating pain!!!

[Starstellar7]

Sorry to hear this. You need strong painkillers in the short term and some kind of hormonal treatment, Yasmin tricycling worked for me as it reduced the worst week to once every sixty days or so.

You must push for a lap. You need a diagnosis and the op can help by removing endometriosis. Have you had an ultrasound or anything to check for cysts?

Not to alarm you but one of the other things that can happen is things like your ovaries can get stuck down causing pain. If this is the case it can be freed up.

The downside of surgery is that it can cause adhesions and scar tissue to form, so you need to balance the options.

You aren't alone. Lots of us having to deal with this horrible situation. Drs don't know, this condition is a rather strange one and you need a specialist not a GP. Although I have to say currently my GP is more understanding than my gynae.

Good luck and don't give up xx

[givemeananswer]

Hi Abby18,

It sounds like you've been reading the complaints of endo sufferers, and have your reasons for believing your one of us now. I hope for your sake it's not though. Just reading your post and remembering my life at your age like it was just yesterday. It wasn't but I recall all too clearly being in the exact same place as you now. It terrified me when they talked about drilling holes in my belly to dtermine if was endometriosis. I didn't go through with it. Instead I became very dedicated to physical fitness and took the birth control pills(mistake) and for that time of the month I took naproxen(mistake). I don't tolerate medication or hormones well and had absolutely no support whatsoever. The pill I believe made things worse, of course at that time the dosage of estrogen in them was much greater than nowadays.And the naproxen although after the initial kick in stage, which wiped me right out it did stop the cramps. Unfortunately I depended on it for so many years and as my endo got worse it became more frequent than just the beggining of menstruation, so I began taking it more often. This led to what I believe caused my IBS symptoms.But endo and IBS go hand in hand to a lot of us. I'm telling you all of this so you don't make the same mistakes I made. I learned eventuallythat one of the reasons I used to black out on the toilet when my period started had a lot to do with what I ate. Stay away from MSG.Really bad for the colon. I don't want you to get too caught up in all the doom and gloom though. I had two healthy pregnancies prior to my first lap despite having the symptoms early like you. There are other birth control pills now better suited to prevent excess estrogen dominance which is believed to make things worse. And some you can take to prevent bleeds which could help also. Be kind to yourself and become a health advocate, choosing only clean foods, lowering the choices that can increase estrogen production. Read the endo resolved websites diet. It's true surgery may help but there's a lot you have to do as well to prevent reoccurrance too. And it's nice to have people who can give advice if you are questioning anything whatsoever.

[mel123]

I was just like you when I was in my teens and 20s and the only way I got my doctor to send me for a laparoscopy was to ask him about going on disability benefits, I had to lay it on very thick. I really hate to say something like this, but I had to drop out of a degree and ended up being unemployable, due to how bad it got by my late teens/early 20s and bitterly regret not being more pushy and getting treated earlier as it had a major impact on my life that I am feeling to this day, I wish I had sued my doctors practice. I don't like writing things like that as I don't like depressing anyone, but please be pushy and get a laparoscopy and get the endo treated. After my surgeries and going on the pill I got my life back and I had no more pain.

I also found the pill was a life saver and was on that until August this year, so it would be worth doing that in the meantime. But please go back to your Dr, tell him it's affecting your ability to study or get a job, I think the NHS don't really like referring until it gets serious.

[city]

My symptoms were exactly like yours so I really sympathise. I got a lap after a scan showed a cyst on my ovary that was growing so it was removed as a precautionary measure. Thank goodness I did - I had the cyst and stage 4 endo from my bowel and bladder removed along with a lot of adhesions that were sticking my ovaries down. My diarrhea and nausea stopped immediately and I felt so great after the surgery that I put off going onto Yasmin (as recommended by the gynae) for year - something I regret now as I probably gave the endo a chance to grow back. I started taking it after getting some period pains and after 2 years I am getting on really well with it - no period pain at all and the odd diarrhea incidents. I still take the monthly break although tricycling works really well for a lot of people that still have bad periods.

Don't be afraid of a lap, it's just 3 small incisions that heal really quickly (no "drilling"!!). I had one night in hospital and went back to work after a week. It was the best thing I could have done. Keep pushing the GP and change if you need to - maybe push for a scan as it might show up a cyst or fibroids which could be causing the severe bleeding. Once they see anything on the scan they need to act as a precaution so it may be a way to get the lap done. Good luck xx

[Abby18]

Thanks everyone, I'm definitely going to push for a lap with my doctor and if not I'm going to switch doctors surgeries x