First Drs Visit

[Fallenleaves]

Today was my first visit to my GP to discuss if I may have endometriosis. After years of pain that has got worse.

I was so worried they'd fob me off that I'm afraid i told a small lie. My Aunty has endo but I told the GP that my mother also has It, thats not been confirmed but it's long been suspected. just to make them take me seriously as I'm in so much pain now.

Anyway despite that at least it made them take me seriously. Dr is sending me for an ultrasound scan at the gynaecologists.

I asked about an MRI but she said they're very rarely done these days as it's straight to laparoscopy. Is this usual practice ?

At least it gets the ball rolling now.

Is there any info anyone can give on what I should do or ask for?

Thank you

[Lulububs]

Yeh a lap is really the only true way to find endo as it can b anywhere in ur abdomen so they may need to hunt for it whereas if they do a mri it will only show front of ur insides not all around ur tubes and organs.

Dont worry though it not a bad thing to have done, at least ur know one way or another if u have it or not...

A scan or internal scan will show fibroids or ovary problems though so that a bonus to

[Fallenleaves in reply to Lulububs]

Thanks very much for your reply. I understand it a bit better now.

[emmaquinny]

If they get you straight to a lap you are lucky, best part of a year down the line they are still trying different contraceptives to treat me and won’t do anything else until I’ve given them a chance. Hang on in there though!

[Fallenleaves]

Well, Ive not had the scan yet. Maybe if they dont find anything after the scan maybe I may have to wait a year. Ive no idea at all. The GP said i should try the pill but only after the scan has been performed. Also I can only have the mini pill due to migraines.

I've no idea how long they'll make me wait. That must be very frustrating.

[princessk09 in reply to Fallenleaves]

From the first doctors visit to my first gynae appointment tomorrow, I’ve waited 3months (had the ultrasound scan last month) and still haven’t got a diagnosis yet

[emmaquinny in reply to Fallenleaves]

Yeah it is frustrating, the mini pill did ease the amount of pain, but it made me bleed constantly and very depressed so I’m not taking it anymore. Hopefully this mirena coil I’m going to have fitted will work. I too had an ultrasound which came back fine. I really feel for you, I can’t believe how many women are in our situation and having to suffer whilst others procrastinate over what should happen-it’s very hard but the support on this forum and amazing ladies have helped get me this far! Good luck x

[Fallenleaves]

That's a worry. Hope it's not too long a wait. Do they do corrective surgery whilst you're under if they find it ?

I'd hate to have to have more than one operation.

Also, does the vaginal scan hurt ?

[princessk09 in reply to Fallenleaves]

I’m not sure about the surgery and I’m not a fan of operations either as I’ve never had one. And the vaginal scan was a little uncomfortable for me

I told my doctor that the pain is really affect my profession in sport so they put me as urgent for a scan and gynae etc

[beanybops]

Hi there. My first post on here and I have a lot of personal experience with endo (unfortunately!), so think I can help answer. Laparoscopy is the only true way of diagnosing endo as it rarely shows on scans. If you have any cysts (called chocolate cysts) as a result of the endo they will show on a scan, if big enough.

When you have the laparoscopy they will treat any patches of endo there and then.

Finally, internal scans can be a little uncomfortable, but don’t really hurt. I always take nurofen before I go which helps.

Hope I managed to help in some way! X

[Fallenleaves]

Thank you for that.

I am a bit nervous as I can't have sex or anything there as it hurts me so much inside. So my thoughts are that it's probably going to be painful.

[beanybops in reply to Fallenleaves]

If you tell the radiographer you’re concerned about pain they will be as gentle as possible. Honestly take painkillers half hour before, it does help.

Hope you get a diagnosis soon so you can start some treatment. X

[Fallenleaves]

Thank you

[Popetta]

Dear Fallenleaves,

Yes, this is standard practice, laparoscopy is the only way to diagnose and find endometriosis.

Please bear in mind that the ultrasound scan would not show/detect endometriosis, however it's a good way of checking for anything else (cysts, fibroids, fluid, etc), so still really good idea to have one done.

For example, in my case they were able to confirm PCOS (which was totally missed on a scan I had done a year ago) and what seemed to be evidence of a ruptured cyst - which could be the culprit of all the severe abdominal pain I was suffering (my GP would just not take in the severity so I too had to persist until I finally obtained a referral to a gynae!!). I have been fobbed off with the "ibs" category for too long (even if many symptoms mirror this condition) and so my journey to date is coming to 2 years.

The option of MRI has never been offered to me, so I get the impression that they are not commonly done for this purpose here in UK. However, in US I think they do carry them out.

I have now been given the option of having a lap done, however I am considering going private (through medical insurance) to get a second opinion before going ahead with a lap. I just want to be 100% sure before having any surgical procedure done. This will also give me more time to monitor for any more pain. It tends to appear around the cycle, the worst is 2 weeks before I get my period.

I recently found out that my mother also had endo before she had a hysterectomy years ago.

So all in all I would agree that it is frustrating, requires a lot of persistence and patience to see this through.

Wishing you all the best, specially if you go ahead with the lap. Keep us posted on your progress!