Support for teenage sufferer

[Mary_Aliyah]

I’m 18, and began having problems with periods all of a sudden. In a house full of pcos warriors I was the only one with ‘normal periods’ until one cycle lasted for just under 8 weeks. Heavy bleeding, clots, soiling school chairs, missing lessons, consipation, sleepless nights and pain… every time I went to my gp I was told ‘you’re not 18 yet’, ‘try the pill to regulate periods’, ‘I’m the medic I care for you I know what’s wrong with you’, and this vicious cycle never ended even after I ‘tuned 18’ and still stuck. I’m on the pill now and take laxatives to help with constipation…

I had an ultrasound but it was ‘normal’. I just feel hopeless….

Has anyone else shared similar struggles… any tips… any support I highly appreciate…

We will all get through this… ❤️🤍

[R_elep]

Hi 👋🏽 - sorry to hear you’re going through this. For pain relief I know lots of people find TENS machines help, regular painkillers when needed, maybe try increasing fibre (a few prunes a day etc) to help with the constipation.

I’d also suggest maybe pushing for a MRI scan. I had a ultrasound in A&E and it showed a ‘small cyst’ of 2cm, but when I had a mri the cyst was actually found to be ~8cm and endometriosis affecting multiple organs etc, so I think mris can be much more useful. My endo is affecting my bowels too and I definitely find I’m a lot more constipated than normal likely because of this.

Hope things better soon and all the best! X

[PenelopeClearwater]

Hiya

So sorry that you’re going through this. I come from a long line of endo sufferers and had awful periods right from the time I started them, so I can empathise.

Looking back at my journey, I wish the GP had recognised the seriousness of the condition and acted sooner than they did. I would suggest insisting that your GP refer you to see a specialist gynaecologist, to get some further insight into your condition and any options that may be available to you.

I always asked my mum to come along to GP appointments with me, too. I just found it helpful to have her there to back me up when insisting on getting other opinions etc.

I hope that’s helpful, I know everyone’s journey is different and I really hope you get help asap 💙

[BloomingMarvellous]

Big hugs of support. Primarily trust your instinct and get another opinion. I would be very rich if I had a £ for every medic who told me there was nothing wrong. It can range from “it’s in your head…it’s your age… have a baby… we can’t find anything reason why… obviously you are a highly sensitive person…eat more veg …at 19 don’t cry because I’ve told you we are going to give you a hysterectomy “ . Trust yourself. Check it out. Ask others. You know your pain and bleeding isn’t right. Scans are a blunt tool often for endometriosis and adenomyosis and more often than not it takes a laporoscopy to confirm . There are indications with certain blood tests but they also cover other territory. Ie raised prolactin ( I was misdiagnosed with pituitary issues for years because of this little babe and consequently they ignored the gynaecology issues -placing the blame at the wrong door) which can go very high with stress and inflammation, raised ca125 can also be a bit of a pointer . Both are pointers to other issues but also can show with endo too. Often they will dismiss it but trust me when you’re trying to put two and two together it’s helpful. Get yourself into self help mode with a good diet reducing inflammation is a start and look perhaps at antioxidants support. Mostly go back, get a second opinion, third , fourth until you have the answer.