Severe anemia, period pain & endometriosis - Endometriosis UK

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Severe anemia, period pain & endometriosis

Diane88 profile image
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Hi. New member here. Just looking to see if anyone else has experienced anything similar. Have been told ‘unofficially’ by the GP I have endometrosis. I am severely anemic. During my period I am very fatigued and constant period pain. I am also having this the week I am ovulating & the lead up to my period. Recently I am having, what I can only describe as a burning sensation combined with period pain around my c section scar, lower stomach, lower back & hips. It is so painful I either end up sleeping for 3-4 hours or I am rocking myself with a hot water bottle, even after taking co-codamol or tramadol. I have a 18 month old & a 7 year old with sen & they can be quite a handful together at times & I am very lucky to have a husband who takes over & let’s me rest when these episodes keep occurring. But they are getting worse & so is my anemia. I was told in September that if I continue loosing more blood/iron I will require a blood transfusion as it is that low. Yet all the GP is doing is giving iron tablets. I am waiting for a lascopaty, apologies if spelt wrong but have been told it will be at least April 2021 before they consider looking into it.

Any advice on how to continue dealing with this condition would be helpful.

Thank you Diane :)

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Diane88
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Noodle1984 profile image
Noodle1984

I would highly recommend checking with a naturopath clinic to see if you can get an iron infusion. I have severe anemia (oh the bruises all over my legs 🙈) and also suffer from constant severe nausea which makes the tablets and liquid hard to stomach. I am hopefully going to get one in the new year so that I can just be topped up and not have to suffer through the extra nausea. It’s $600 here in Canada so just waiting until Christmas is through before doing it.

I was just diagnosed in February with stage 4 recto vaginal endometriosis. I have had painful periods for as long as I can remember. I even remember being a teenager (17 or 18) and when I went to emergency they gave me a pregnancy test and that was it. So I asked my doctor and she said painful periods were normal. And so began the journey of misinformation from doctors. I asked my GP about endometriosis around 6 years ago, this was after a miscarriage and continuously trying for a year to have a baby and not getting pregnant, and she laughed at me and asked what would make you think that. I also at that time was having 7-8 bowel movements a day and on my period every bowel movement I would get a sharp knife hot poker up my rectum (sorry tmi). I say this because I have a high pain tolerance so I just thought it was normal. But my surgery was horrible and hard to recover from, I almost ended up with an colostomy bag. It took 3 hours for them to remove my rectum that was pulled up and over my vagina. Please don’t let it get to where I was. Stay on top of your doctor!

I also have 16 other chronic conditions including adenomyosis and fibroids. I say this because I have done a ton of research on my conditions and anything along the way I thought might also be going on lol.

Everyone hates this and wants a “natural” way but Endo isn’t that type of disease. I really have to stress the importance of birth control of some kind. There are 4-5 different types then each type has lots of sub brands. You don’t have to suffer, you don’t have to have a period either! I haven’t had one for over 3 years. You can only have so many surgeries before you’re left in permanent pain.

There are a few things you can do for yourself now..

1. Find a pelvic physio who specializes in pelvic pain or endo. They can give you different exercises to strengthen, help with penetration and sex pain, help with incontinence, bowel pain, etc.

2. Eliminate inflammation inducing foods. Everyone hates this one, and I’m not saying you can’t cheat here or there but be prepared for the consequences after you haven’t had it in a while lol. Eliminate sugar (added, fruit sugars are okay), dairy (coconut and almond are great alternatives, and cheese from certain parts of Europe where they haven’t bred the cows to produce an extra protein), gluten/wheat (schar brand is amazing!), and soy (produces estrogen in the body which extra isn’t good). Also try to reduce the amount of processed foods and eat as organic as you can.

3. A heating pad is your best friend. Don’t try the hot water bottle, the pressure hurts my uterus.

4. Magnesium is your second best friend. When you’re feeling cramping and you can, run a warm bath with 2 cups or Epsom salt (magnesium!) and it will help to soothe. I take 400 mg of magnesium in capsule form at night, helps with cramping and to sleep. Also amazing if you have restless leg syndrome.

5. Keep a diary of your symptoms and what you were doing when it happened or what you were eating. Maybe you can figure out some of your triggers.

6. Make sure you’re seeing an Endo specialist. Do whatever you can, don’t find one that just has a special interest. Most general gyn don’t know much about the condition. They tend to only do ablation (basically removing them top and leave the root). Instead of the gold standard of excision where they remove the whole implant. I have read so many stories of woman either coming out and they find no Endo or are still in just as much pain.

Sorry about the novel! Please feel free to pm me if you have any questions. You got this! Just keep hanging in there. 💕

Radix profile image
Radix

Hi DianeI also get ovulation and period pain and anaemia-although I think I have it under control 🤞. I would agree with Noodle that a naturopath /medical herbalist /nutritionist is your best next step. I also find acupuncture is amazing. In the mean time, you could try switching up your iron supplement. Floradix is good and non constipating. Also, avoiding tea, especially 1 hour before /after taking your supplements - as it hinders iron absorption. Vitamin C is needed to absorb iron too so try to make sure you've got enough of that. Organic apricots are an excellent source of iron. I have 2 every day in my porridge or just as a snack. Pumpkin seeds are as well and are a great source of essential fatty acids which help to reduce inflammation. Red meat and greens are really important too. I'm in the Female Health Hub with Jodie Brandman Nutrition and she recommends that we eat lightly cooked greens at every meal! I really recommend looking until the hub - I'm in no way affiliated - I'm just finding it very supportive and helpful. Sending you lots of goodness :) x

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