Hi, I hope it's OK to post here as I have not received any diagnosis yet but I am pretty scared. Sorry it's long but thanks if you take time to read. I don't know exactly what's relevant to include you see.
I am 40 and a mum of 3. My kids are 17, 16 and 6. I have had heavy and painful periods as long as I can remember but just assumed it was normal. My moods get very VERY low during my period though so whenever I did seek medical advice, that was always the focus and I would be given antidepressants to try and sent on my way.
My periods got especially bad about 4 years ago. It felt like a vice was gripping my insides while an angry bear ripped and tore my organs. The pain would take my breath away but it wasn't constant. I also got pretty severe backache, sometimes finding it difficult to stretch it out in the morning but put that down to my active job. I wasn't overweight, I was still within a healthy range on the BMI calculator BUT I was heavier than I had ever been with bloating and excess weight that despite an active job and 3 kids to run after, I just couldn't shift.
I went vegan about 3 years ago, the bloating and pain diminished and finally shed my excess weight. So I assumed my previous symptoms had perhaps been the result of a poor diet. I felt amazing. Then came lockdown. I was no longer as active, no school runs to do, shopping mostly done online and I had returned to full time education, starting university as a mature student. All classes, lectures were online so when the bloating returned, it seemed perfectly logical to put it down to the less active lifestyle I was now leading.
The past few months I've been getting a dull throbbing in my left hip and lower back, together with periods that aren't as regular anymore. Sometimes it's a 29 day cycle, others it's 23 or 26. I also had spotting in between on one occasion. My moods are erratic and I seem to just cry at everything whether it's happy or sad. I was excited, thinking it was perimenopausal symptoms and my monthly torment was coming to its natural end. I went to my gp who was a female this time and she was a lot more thorough than the others. She ordered bloods, examined my tummy and also did an internal examination. She said she noticed a thickening when she was checking my cervix and that it looked inflamed. The swab came back clear though, no infection. My bloods showed an elevated level of some hormone produced by my ovaries (forgive me, I don't know the name) that she said would be raised in pregnant women (I am not pregnant) women about to menstruate (I was only mid cycle) or with some conditions such as endometriosis. I have been referred to gynaecology but in the meantime, I was booked in for an ultrasound. I had both types if you see what I mean. One transvaginal and one over the top of my tummy. The lady performing it wouldn't tell me anything BUT she asked me kind of midway during the scan if I was getting treatment for endometriosis. I thought it quite an odd thing to ask just out of the blue so maybe she did see something? She did also tell me she spotted a fibroid but she was unable to tell me anything else. Results take 7 days I was told by the hospital and my gp. After a week went by (which was last Friday) and I hadn't heard anything, I called my gp yesterday to check for any updates. The receptionist told me it can take up to 5 weeks sometimes (why do they always sound so happy to disappoint people by the way? 😂) and to try again at the end of the week. So now I'm currently enduring what has turned out to be an 8 day period, in pain and reading horror stories about what could be wrong with me instead of working on uni stuff. I'm scared shirtless and can't focus. Do these symptoms sound similar to any of your experiences? And if it is endometriosis, what is the next step?
New here, thick endometrial lining?
New to this community
New to this! Help & advice please
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New to this
