Hi guys, I'm 18 and new to this website. I'm here because I need advice. I have a gynecologist appointment coming up, as I've been having progressively worse periods. They've always been painful and long, but the past year or so has been unbearable. Terrible cramps days before my period, 11 day long periods and nothing helps. The pain is so bad I throw up every month. I will sometimes bleed between periods and even sex has become a little painful. I just don't know what to do. I'm currently on day 4 of unrelenting pelvic, hip and lower back pain and I don't want to walk in to my appointment seeming uneducated or like I'm overexaggerating, but it's so hard to function like this. If anyone could give any insight or have had similar symptoms I would love to know. Thank you!
Could it be endometriosis?: Hi guys, I'm 1... - Endometriosis UK
Could it be endometriosis?
Hey, welcome 
It's good that you're seeing a gynaecologist.
Sounds like you may have endo, but as you're doing best to see a specialist.
Write all your symptoms down; the long term ones. have a diary of the ones you know are cyclical; I use a month a page one. On that note your periods, pain, other symtomps, location, your scale of 1 to 10 and what medication you've taken even if it's paracetamol, plus anything else you use like a hot water bottle. Include sex in there and associated symptoms. The notes will help you and the doctor to see what you're talking about and it means you don't forget anything.
Have a look at the Consultation Questionnaire, under information - publications on the Endomtriosis UK website. This is a good list to guide you through what you could be asked.
endometriosis-uk.org/public...
Have a list of questions you'd like to ask, things like:
What do they suspect it could be?
What are the next steps? Think about whether you'd like surgery (diagnostic and removal of endo treatment) or the pill (treatment to reduce symptoms); there's pros and cons for each but ultimately it's your decision and also can depend on where you are with your life and your plans for the immediate future.
I had suffered with stuff similar to yours since I was 15, then went to uni and found that if I went on the pill it could help. I didn't know what I had, so I thought it was normal. about 10 years later the pill seemed to stop working, all my symptoms came back, I pushed at docs for diagnosis, they just said keep taking the pill as that's all they can do. Anyway at about 5 years after that and having stopped the pill I couldn't bear all the symptoms anymore and really pushed for someone to pay attention. They did, I had the best GP that listened and told me about endo and that it needs a diagnosis and what I was going through wasn't normal. I've had my diagnostic laparoscopy with hysteroscopy and removal of endo by excision in November 2017 - it was all over my bladder, uterus and had stuck them together. Then I had a second op July 2018 to remove the last bit of endo on my bowel - which needed a bowel surgeon understandably. Now it's gone for the moment and I'm recovering, I don't have the sex pain anymore and my endo symptoms now just feel like bad period pains and mood swings around my period; no where near as bad or as heavy as previously - pretty much all of my cycle.
Hope that helps.
We'll be able to help you with our experience xx
