Laparoscopy help

[Ellie088]

i need help and advice! For the last year I’ve been suffering with really bad stomach pelvis pain and back pain, irregular periods and pain when having sex. In the last few months is going into my legs and upper back. I’ve been backwards and forwards to hospital appointments and gynaecology appointment and they’re finally saying I have endometriosis and have started me on the monthly injections. But they have also said I need a laparoscopy to actually determine is I do have endometriosis and the waiting list can be over a year. This scares me as I’m only 23 years old and feel so stuck in life as I’m always in constant pain and can’t live my life I use too. Is there anyway of getting a laparoscopy any soon to find out if it’s endometriosis or if god forbid it’s something much worse??

[luthien]

Hey, sorry to hear it's going to take ages to sort out a Laparoscopy, unfortunately at the moment with everything that's going on the waiting list is long; it's long for endo anyway which really frustrates and upset all of us

The things I can suggest based on how long it took me to get a lap and diagnosed is:

1. Consider whether hormones would help in your situation. It doesn't work for everyone and it's not something everyone wants to take, which is fine as it's a personal decision, and there are side effects. For some women this gives them the time to have a normal-ish life while waiting, or can just help them be okay for now. It won't give you the answer of course as to whether you have endo or not.

2. Look into BSGE centers near you. bsge.org.uk/centre/ These are centers which have all the specialists available in one place, it's still NHS but rather than being in the general surgery waiting list for the NHS you'll be in their waiting list which can be speedier, plus being an endo center means they know what to do / look for and how best to treat it.

3. You could go privately. Not everyone wants this as it can cost but there are ways to reduce the cost. You could be referred privately (this means you choose a private specialist, just look up clinics near you), it'll cost about £200 for an initial appointment but all private specialists work for the NHS so they could then put you on their NHS waiting list meaning you won't need to pay for the lap but you know whom will be doing your op. It may be just as long a wait. Or you could go completely private; if you're working some places do have health insurance which will cover appointments, diagnostic tests and operations, if you don't have cover through work you can take out private insurance through say BUPA, there are lots so it may be good to research. Private means you'll be seen quicker and have your lap quicker. It also means that because the specialist is an endo specialist they'll quite often opt to remove the endo, do biopsies and check all over the abdomen in one operation. The NHS side will usually have a general gynae do the surgery so they won't look at the whole abdomen and will only diagnose, so you'll still need surgery / treatment to remove endo or reduce symptoms.

I hope that helps in some way.

[Ellie088 in reply to luthien]

Thank you this is really helpful 💓

[Lindle in reply to Ellie088]

You can't get a referral to a BSGE centre unfortunately without suspected or confirmed severe endo which is why I asked if you had had any nodules as that would have provided evidence. The lists in the centres are extraordinarily long at the moment - probably 2 years on average - due to Covid. But as I say you wouldn't get a referral at the moment anyway.

Have you been prescribed HRT with the injections?

[Ellie088 in reply to Lindle]

I’ve not been prescribed anything yet but I’m thinking about contacting the doctors to start as my mood swings ect are awful.

[Lindle]

Have any of the gynaecologists done an internal exam - fingers up bottom and vagina - to feel for deep endo nodules and if so have they felt anything that you know of?

[Ellie088 in reply to Lindle]

Hi yes, I’ve had lots of internal and tummy scans and all scans came but ok, other than som cysts on my ovaries which may of been from having my coil! It just worry’s me that they won’t put me on the laparoscopy list until I finish my injection treatments. But it could be somthing much worse, and what’s to say that after I finish my injection treatment I’m no different with pain ect and then have to wait a year if not more for this op to fully diagnose