I have a long awaited appointment with my gynaecologist this coming Wednesday.
Due to my lifelong anxiety I often find in medical settings I do not articulate myself well and my brain just turns to mush!
I often write down my issues but still somehow allow the professional to talk over me and I end up with a half discussed list. I do appreciate time is of a minimum on the NHS but I am really struggling with my issues right now and would like some answers.
In April 2021, after decades of gynae issues (very heavy periods, a history of uterine polyps which after removal would grow back, thick uterine lining, very painful ovulation etc) and trying various things to elevate these issues, I opted for a uterine ablation.
I had some concerns due to the fact the procedure can fail and lead to a condition called Post Ablation Failure. This leaves the patient in pain and often a hysterectomy is the only solution.
Because of the excessively long waiting times in our gynaecology department and because of Covid and lockdowns etc, I could not get an appointment with my gynaecologist to discuss my concerns. The secretary asked me to email a list of questions and she would have them answered for me.
I sent over a list (of approx 10 or so questions), asking about post op issues and details regarding post ablation syndrome.
The gynaecologist kindly answered my questions by sending over literature detailing how rare Post Ablation Syndrome was etc.
So based on his replies I went ahead with the procedure.
This involves having a hysteroscopy and during so a ‘wand’ is placed within the uterus, this sends radio frequency waves into the uterus and burns the lining away.
During the procedure the nurse asked me to describe the pain on a 1-10 scale, I said 8 or 9 (it was very painful) he interrupted us and said ‘Oh no, I’d say about a 4’, we both looked at him with a ‘wft’ look!
The other issue I had with him was prior to the procedure, when signing the consent forms. As soon he looked at my name, he turned to his nurse assistant and said ‘Ah look, this is the patient I was talking about, the one who asked soooo many questions haha!’. He said this with an eye rolling expression.
The procedure went well, was very painful for hours afterwards but fine within a few days.
However, I was quite disappointed to find that I still got my period that month and every month after that, it was a little less heavy but luckily no pain (I have never experienced painful periods even though they were horrendously heavy).
During my follow up 3 months later, the gynaecologist said this can happen and I may find that my periods suddenly lighten off. And he was correct because come 6 month post ablation they lightened down to a very light 4 day period.
However, every period since that time has become so, so very painful. The pain starts a few days before the actual period and radiates to my back, hips, rectal area and into my intestines and up into my stomach. I do also have IBS and it seems to have exacerbated that too, even though a recent colonoscopy found nothing in my colon.
I am absolutely gutted that I’ve traded off heavy periods (which had me so anaemic that I needed iron infusions) for extremely painful ones and am now concerned I may have developed Post Ablation Syndrome. I really do not want a hysterectomy.
My GP re-referred me in January and I have just received an appointment for this Wednesday.
Ideally, I would like to take someone for support but my husband can’t come with me and my best friend had offered but she has just come down with Covid.
I am nervous about this as I have always found the gynaecologists at our hospital very dismissive and feel they have that consultant ‘air’ about them. I haven’t experienced that with other areas, I am also under gastroenterology and have never found that issue with the consultants in that department.
So how do I get the most out of this appointment? How do I assert myself and not feel palmed off? I fear he will just tell me to take pain killers during my period (double edged sword as pain relief upsets my IBS). But I really do want to know what is causing the pain.