I need some guidance :(

[Orangelova]

So, I’m up at 4:38am Uk time.

Can’t sleep because I have a dull ache in my kidney. It had calmed down for around a month but I’m on day 3 of my menstrual cycle & it’s back! The dull ache/ pinching feeling, for some reason even tho it’s not that painful my body just won’t fall fully to sleep, almost as if it’s trying to protect me?

My friend who works for NHS actually had an operation to check if she had endometriosis and it went wrong, therefore I am now terrified to go through that myself. I do suffer with vaginismus so there’s already been a bit of suspicion (from myself and my mum) in the past and current that I could have endometriosis. I also suffer with EXTREME period pain. Had to go on naproxen but that was causing other issues. The other thing I worry is have I damaged my kidney or caused issues by taking to many ibuprofens & paracetamols on an empty stomach (from time to time) I.e when it’s late at night and I’m taking them in bed to cover the pain, another thing I read about it lying down after taking meds is a no no. I’m worried I’ve triggered this stuff all by myself. I am having a blood test on Monday. But I just want some reassurance to be honest that it’s all going to be ok

[Darthradicool]

hey, I’m sorry you’re going through this :(. & it sounds like to me you need to get a gynae appointment just to check you out and peace of mind!

I’ve just recently been diagnosed with endo and as a result some kidney problems. So that would be my one piece of advice - push to see a gynae, advocate for yourself and don’t let people dismiss you. The kidney endo link is misunderstood by the average doctor so you really need to push them to get you checked out.

I will also say that kidney damage takes awhile, so you’re not going to do significant damage during a month for example, it’s only if it’s left untreated for a long time! Also I think you’d need to have a heck of a lot of pills to do significant damage, obviously I’m not a doctor, but yeah I don’t think you’ve caused it with pills! But yeah you don’t know yet what’s happening so try not to go down a rabbit hole of worst case scenario. But get the ball rolling on seeing a gynae!

[LME5]

I've experienced this pain in the past. It's awfully debilitating and can cause a lot of anxiety. First steps would be to chat with your GP about the pain being cyclical (aligned with your menstrual bleeds) and request referral to a gynaecologist and for kidney function tests - just to put your mind at ease for now. With the gynae, enquire about ultrasound and/or MRI investigation of your symptoms. The blood and MRI should give a clearer picture. A lot of the time with endo, it doesn't have to make contact with organs to cause pain or symptoms. Endo inflammation alone can disrupt things. So try not to stress and get started with the investigation process. I share what I can about endo on socials - check my profile for more info if you're interested