Fed up :(

[Ceeves96]

Good morning ladies,

Long story short - laps last week, found nothing, went private, supposedly an endo specialist but I am questioning that now.

She suggested contacting my GP for pain management. The idea of taking painkillers with an unknown diagnosis upsets me but I’m coming round to the idea.

However, when I go to the GP (I usually see a different one each time if it’s an emergency appointment). They won’t give me anything stronger than co-codomol and I’ve told them several times it doesn’t help the pain and also makes me constipated so in fact makes the pain worse. And the strength is only 8/500 which I could buy in a chemist myself with no prescription.

If they’re so insistent on pain management, can they at least give me something capable of managing the pain??

Anyone else had trouble with this and could share their experience of trying to get stronger meds?

They continually say I’m quite Light and small and so they would be reluctant to give me anything stronger but my size really should not matter when I’m in pain most of the time.

Thanks for reading my rant xx

[IFB2019]

Sorry to hear about this frustrating situation. Before getting to see a consultant I was on the 'pain management' wagon for several years. (My lap found mild endo and the specialist suspects there may be adeno involved too, which I now have a Mirena to treat.) When otc painkillers became ineffective, mefenamic acid was what worked, taken preventatively before periods or at the first twinge of pain and then every few hours. It has a similar structure to ibuprofen and isn't addictive or anything so my GP was okay to prescribe it. It doesn't affect digestion like cocodamol either. Tranexamic acid is another prescription one which a couple of friends have relied on pre diagnosis and surgery. I really hope you find a solution that works for you.

[Ceeves96 in reply to IFB2019]

These are great suggestions, thanks so much for taking the time to reply!

I hope your pain level is low xx

[hm89]

I don’t find that opiate painkillers like codine or tramadol actually help chronic pain at all, they just dope you up and make you feel crappy. Ibuprofen or other anti inflammatories need time to build up in your system so taking them 4x a day for a few days before you’re due on or just before your cramps start will have a much better effect than starting to take them when you get the pain. I also LOVE voltarol, I rub it over my lower abdomen when I have awful cramps and find it really soothing.

[Ceeves96 in reply to hm89]

Thanks so much for your reply I’ll definitely keep this in Mind in future! Voltarol is a very different suggestion I’ll be buying some of that, it’s a great idea