Help please anxiety and Sleep issues and male gynaecologists are idiots

[Honorac]

Hey !

Just wondering if anyone else has developed anxiety due to endo and pcos? I now find sitting in a doctors waiting room hard and it gets so bad I have to have someone accompany me to all my appointments. I cry the whole way through them and i can’t help it ! I have to have another lap this will be the second within a year and safe to say I’m terrified but this leads me to think about it at night and then when the pain hits which is always at night I end up awake until stupid o’clock until the painkillers work.

I get anxious more so now because of last time l was admitted to hospital (October) after being in a lot of pain and was put on surgery assessment then moved because it was late , shouted at by a gyne for being in pain because i was just having a period, another gyne told me it was ibs and then another gyne told me I needed to go to the toilet! They then wanted to send me home even though I was in a lot of pain could barely walk. They hadn’t done any scans until I kicked of and asked for one when they found I had another cyst burst ! No one apologised the head gyne told me I had a chronic illness and I had to get on with it and not let it get on top of me ! Ps all of the gynaecologists were male and all of them are noobs!!!!!

Advice please about how to cope with the crippling anxiety and the crappy sleep? Sorry for rambling but I needed to get it if my chest and none of the family can give advice xx

Thanks

Honora

[helen87]

I’m so sorry you’re going through this.

I also suffer from anxiety and panic attacks. I’m now on Sertraline for it and have found that it really helps. Have you been to your GP to chat about how you feel? You can take someone with you who is supportive and who you feel comfortable with. They could also refer you for CBT (I haven’t done this myself so can’t comment). I also tried Zopiclone for a short period to help with sleeping.

I know how hard it can be. I couldn’t see a way out of it all, but a few months down the line am feeling much more like myself, even with all the crap that endo brings.x

[Abi_97]

I suffer from anxiety mainly because I have a phobia of being ill its a daily battle in my head 🤦🏼‍♀️ I do get nervous as well when I go to doctors because I was diagnosed with anxiety that actually caused more anxiety 😂 With my main anxiety of being ill I take lots of herbal remedies to ease my stomach 😮 And travel sickness bands because all revolves round my nausea 😮 For sleep you could try and get a salt lamp and tire yourself out before hand 😮

[Starry in reply to Abi_97]

Hey. Big hugs. Sorry you are having such a traumatic time.

I've always been a worrier but have developed fullow blown anxiety and had panic attacks since my excision surgery and post op menigitis. I wonder if it may be partly post traumatic and partly hormonal.

I've developed acid reflux which can be trigger by stress ( but also by viruses and by surgery and NSAIDs)

I tried sertraline but had an adverse reaction unfortunately. I use chamomile tea, Kalms, which also help with sleep, a sad lamp to try to set my clock right and am trying a breathing based mindfulness type meditation class. I'm also having counseling.

Take care of you x

[JessieP]

Hi,

Bless you, yes I can relate indeed! Following a ruptured ovary from Endo and emergency surgery I developed a real anxiety around all Drs and metal instruments. I was even made to wear a blood pressure monitor 24hrs and it revealed my blood pressure only rose around Drs/hospital!

I have to be drugged with Diazepam to even get me through the door to have a smear or routine removal of Mirena.

My distrust of Drs has grown with 2 challenging pregnancies and horrific birth experiences both resulting in emergency c sections and near death experiences for us.

I have found sleep elusive so have tried Herbal sleep aids, lavender things, Kalms, Resue Remedy - all with minimal effects. A sleep specialist once told me to not lie there worrying about how much time is shrinking away and not to focus of 'I will only have 3hrs sleep, 2hrs sleep before I have to get up for work or kids' but said that even 'rest' when awake can restore/heal the body so now I listen to dramas/stories on Radio 4 or 4Extra iplayer until I drift off, I no longer focus on the few hours or minutes I have managed to get of sleep as that made me more anxious.

All the best

Jx