Painful periods but getting nowhere with gps, any advice please

[Clio135]

Since I was about 12 my periods have been getting worse and worse and heavier every month to the point where at about 15 I was constantly bleeding through clothes and having to switch to "long" and "night" pads and everything from ibuprofen to cocodamol was absolutely useless. I have seen doctors but all they seem to want to do is change the pills I take and hope eventually one works. I have been on the pill for about 2 years now, a year ago a doctor suggested I could potentially be sent for checks but no more was ever said. I've been advised to take my pills back to back so I have less periods but they're still agonising and the last one was so bad I started crying again like I would have before taking pills. I've had an ultrasound which didn't show any cysts but my gp hasn't suggested any steps to take from there. I have a hardness in my lower right abdomen beside my hip which hurts sometimes. Can anyone suggest what they think this could be if they had a similar experience or suggest if they think this hardness is related in any way? I'm sick of kind of being waffled about by gps at this point as I have other conditions that leave me having to visit frequently also. Also is it possible for me to request a lap if they haven't previously suggested any sort of diagnosis?

[Christin_a]

Next time you're in maybe try suggesting to them that it could be endometriosis. Asked be looked at in more detail and request a referral to a gynaecologist.

Ultrasounds frequently don't pick up endo so just because they didn't pick anything up didn't mean anything.

If that gp didn't do it ask at reception if there's any GPs who have extra training in gynaecology, I'm super lucky and I have one at my practice so that's what I did and she straight away referred me to both have an ultrasound to rule other things out and to a gynaecologist. Make sure that the gynaecologists had a specialist interest in endometriosis as unfortunately General gyneacologist /those with other specialisms can miss endo.

[flyagaric]

I agree with Christin_a to suggest to your GP that you could have endometriosis - I would also request a referral to a gynaecologist in your area, preferably one who specialises in endometriosis. This is really important. It’s really challenging, but sometimes you have to be firm with your GP - this is super hard when you’ve felt undermined in previous appointments.

You would request a laparoscopy from your gynaecology consultant, this is why it’s important that the GP refers you. You can only be officially diagnosed with endometriosis once you have had a laparoscopy (as it stands*), the disease cannot be unequivocally detected and diagnosed via scans.

* I’m pretty sure there is early stage research going on to develop a less invasive way to diagnose endo, but it’s nowhere near ready for use on the public.

As for the feeling of hardness you have in your hip/abdomen, my advice is to stay aware of your body and always listen to it - but try not to fret too much about what it could be. Just use that anxiety as an incentive to push the GP for that referral.

Best of luck, my heart goes out to you.

[Afrohair]

I’ve heard people have Endometriomas in there abdomen you should have a scan to check

[Clio135]

Thanks everyone for the feedback, I did go see a gp about the hardness and I did suggest I was worried about endo as it would explain a lot for me and he said basically they won't just do a lap willy nilly because it could open me up to possibly unnecessary infections and complications and we're doing some trial and error of meds for different conditions to see if anything helps first. I feel like I'm still really far from the answers I need but I feel like I'm starting to be heard and not just waved off so thank you for the advice and bit of a boost