I was diagnosed with endometriosis and was diagnosed after the lap. Before I was diagnosed I spent years trying to manage pain and reduce bleeding using oral contraceptives. I’ve been on cerazette for about a year now and it’s definitely reduced bleeding but I’m still suffering from severe cramps throughout the month. I’ve spoken to my GP multiple times and they have prescribed naproxen but this barely touches the pain at its worst. I’ve been referred to a gynae but the waiting list is ridiculous and they’re not taking apps due to covid.
I’m in my final year of my degree and it’s really affecting my studies as I’m frequently in pain. Does anyone have any advice for pain management or what to ask my GP? I have a TENS but it hasn’t helped.
Thanks,
A struggling student 😢
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Rainb0w28
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Hi.I’m really sorry to hear that you are going through this.
You’ve got a lot going on, final year of degree, pains, pressure, waiting to hear from gynecologist, all that stresses you are going through.
It’s normal for you to freak out.
And probably you got to check things on the screen sometimes for studying and straining your muscles in your body a lot without realizing it.
Take a big breathe, it takes only seconds.
Postures of your body can cause troubles too, so do a stretch if you can and when you can.
Have a nice warm bath to relax your muscles and help your blood flows well in your whole body that will fix you slowly.
I know it’s easy said than done but give yourself a little moment to check what helps reducing your stresses and the pain, what makes you happy and relax you.
Even the foods you eat, drinks that you drink, have a little break to do what you love to do.
And do you remember, painkillers are only to numb the pain and endo is what needs to be dealt with.
So calling GP to check where you at even they may tell you, they don’t know and it’s slowing down because of Covid, give a lot nudge sometimes now again and you want to let them know the medication they gave you isn’t working is the information they should have, so it’s all good.
But meanwhile, like I said earlier, give yourself a bit of break to have your you time.
Hey hun, I feel you, currently back in hospital for pain relief. Breath work and a hot bath only go so far and when you’re having a flare up the pain is insane. Mine is so bad I’ve been vomiting all week and can’t keep any pain killers down. I’d have a chat with your doctor, there’s a few other pain killers that you may want to try: amitriptylene, gabapentine, diclofenac with codeine but all block me up, so I take laxatives too. I’m seeing a nutritionist so trying to tackle it from that aspect too, cut out dairy and sugar which are a big no with Endo apparently, alcohol and wheat, you have to get creative with dinner but has helped with heaviness of my period.
I also brought an electric heat pad as the patches/hot water bottle burn my tummy and it’s now my go to as soon as I’m cramping. Try Epsom salts and magnesium salts in a bath as they help to relax your muscles and also some turmeric tea/vegan lattes for inflammation just a few things x
Hi, I hope you’re doing okay. I’ve found that naproxen keeps my pain down to stop me vomiting but still not enough. I haven’t tried any of the other meds so I’ll definitely ask my GP about these. I definitely need to change my diet as I always seem to comfort eat but it only makes the bloating worse anyway! Thank you for your advice and support x
Thank you, I’ve tried naproxen but it didn’t do anything and really changed up my diet, the desire to comfort eat when you’re in pain is real, I feel you! Be strong and just think of all the time not feeling bloated and uncomfortable, I find a food diary and an intolerance test which you can get online really help to eliminate things that make it worse
So sorry to hear you're going through all this. As another person has said, I would look at what you're eating and keep a diary if you can. I found out that if I drank more than 3 cups of green tea a month, the pain could be so bad I'd end up in A&E. My niece had the same problem taking green tea. It didn't cure all my pain, but I've found that keeping to more of a healthy diet (plenty of veg, salads) can make things more tolerable. And keep the caffeine low. It might be worth seeing over time if there are some foods/drinks that are a trigger. Definitely worth staying away from sugary foods. It might also be worth looking at magnesium gel. Cramps tend to be worse if we are deficient in magnesium. Can you ask your GP for a magnesium test? Another thing worth checking out is Lactobacillus gasseri probiotic. Over the years I've taken mefenamic acid, voltarol and tramadol, not tried naproxen. Very much hope you will feel better soon. And wishing you very well with your studies.
Hi, I will definitely keep a good diary and try to cut down on sugary foods. I have requested an app with my GP so will speak to them about your advice. Thank you so much x
Thank you, I’ve had all the blood, stool, urine tests you can have and apart from vitamin D, which I now supplement I’m really healthy. Even before my diagnosis I kept a good diary and have done an intolerance test to identify triggering foods/drinks. Green tea didn’t come up but that’s interesting as I drink that every day. I also see a nutritionist and have had multiple probiotics and gastro supplements for good gut health but no joy as yet. I don’t eat sugar, dairy, wheat, alcohol but will keep looking, thank you
Sounds like you're doing plenty of good things to help! Amazing and seriously well done! It's not easy being careful of so many things. Just to mention that I also had an intolerance test and Green Tea didn't show up, but it was something I discovered. I really do hope you get some relief soon!
Ibuprofen works better than naproxen for me but I’m guessing you’ve tried both. Ibuprofen used to work wonders but it’s become less effective over time. Not sure if it’s tolerance.
I think that’s the case, I take paracetamol and ibruprofen daily and have to have oral morphine regularly but that barely helps and often end up in a&e, awaiting an mri now and possibly further surgery, not an ideal solution as I wanted to try to resolve this naturally but that doesn’t seem to be working
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