Forever waiting

[Endmypain]

I was diagnosed with endometriosis in March, since then I’ve had multiple appointments with my gynaecologist who has pushed my priority to P3, now I have prolapse and bowel sticking so my gynae team have to refer me to the bowel specialist, urologist and Uro-gynae team to be booked for triple surgery. I have been to A&E several times for pain and complications but I still have no priority as I have to wait for these new assessments from various teams.

What do I do because life is truly unbelievably unbearable, especially when I have arthritis so my mobility is limited already!

[BloomingMarvellous]

Hello and so sorry to hear of the experience you’re going through. Such a stress juggling all the elements and the seemingly endless waits. Can feel like waiting for Godot.

Managing and getting respite from the pain and discomfort of the prolapse and sticking bowel while you wait is a fair ask in anyone’s book. Obviously your GP and medics will have some suggestions. You’ll likely need a number of tactics in your armoury to cope. I’d ask for a referral to the teams in house specialist pelvic physio to help support the pelvic floor as best you can without causing additional internal stress - it can help with the practicalities of day to day challenges and reduce the intra abdominal pressure that builds in these situations.

I’ve found some of the following useful . Using a squatty potty step ( you can buy them online ) will make it easier for your bowel to empty and reduce straining . Ensuring my diet was plant rich with good protein and easy to digest ( ie lots of soups !!!) and provided extra fluid to keep things moving . Using milled chia in food ( yoghurts, porridges, flapjacks, chia puddings) kept the bowel moving too . I drink between 3-4 litres of water gradually throughout the day with the last 2 hrs before bed so I sleep through ( not more !) with some electrolytes in which means the bladder and bowel are hydrated and don’t seize up. It stopped the bladder infections that I would have even at 2 litres per day and actually got my bladder irritability sorted . I found I could hold a lot better too without it causing pressure pain .

Plenty of folks find tens machines really, really helpful and as an acupuncturist I can vouch for them big time ( I’d use them with clients during labour for pain relief ). I also found the Curable app designed by pain specialists enormously helpful at managing pain day to day but also will be useful at building long term resilience in tackling pain which is excellent. It won’t cure the problem of the prolapse and adhesions but gives techniques to handle the pain that can be caused.

Hope this helps in some small way and hope the wait isn’t too long .