To think women’s health issues aren’t taken seriously?

[Twowilldo50]

My 20 yo dd has very heavy periods lasting months at times. After investigation at hospital nothing “wrong” has been found. She’s tried a contraceptive injection which isn’t working, and is considering the mirena coil. I’ve never had heavy periods so don’t know what to advise but I feel she’s getting a bit of a “suck it up” attitude from our gp. It’s having a huge impact on her life.

I think she should ask for a private referral to a gynaecologist. It will be a few hundred quid but I wish I'd done this at her age as I was not diagnosed with endo till mid 30s and was more or less infertile by then.

You can just pay - you don't have to have insurance. Somewhere big like BMI Healthcare would probably see her within a week.

The mirena could be a good option for her. What side effects are you worried about for her. Heavy periods are awful and she really needs to push the huge impact it is havingon her daily living when speaking to any health professionals. And she will not accept it not being investigated and efforts made to resolve it. Unfortunately she will need to educate herself, be pushy and not take a head tilt and poor you as a acceptable.
We are very lucky to have a great womens health department at my local hospital and I am forever grateful for it.

So even on a thread specifically about the appalling treatment women are experiencing, the usual MRAs pipe up with the “what about the menz” guff.

It must get exhausting being on a crusade to protect the privileged.

It varies a lot between GPs. i had exactly the same issues as your daughter. First GP just prescribed me iron to address the anaemia. Second - awesome - GP sat down and talked me through the staircase of options in my case. Starting with tranexamic acid, then mirena, then potentially ablation, then hysterectomy. She also referred me for an ultrasound and did a whole series of blood tests to see what was causing it.

So really, as in every field, there are great GPs and rubbish ones.

YANBU. DSIL was dismissed as wimpy and hysterical for nearly a decade before she got a diagnosis for her endometriosis. I gather that her experience is pretty much standard.

There is only a male GP at my surgery. When I asked about female GPs you'd think I'd asked the most controversial question ever.

I was told that there are locum females but the days vary. So if I needed to pre-book an appointment with a female, I can't.

This male GP is a bit odd and so far I've not needed to access treatment of an intimate kind, but dreading the day as I may be forced to see him.

What grips me the most about GPs is their reliance on "loose weight and you'll be fine" .

My BMI is high because I carry alot of muscle mass - I cannot get my weight any further lower than 11st at 5ft 2 (yes, it shows as being massively over weight) because I become physically ill and lose my muscle mass. I am a fit, healthy, strong runner. Bizzare.

Because of my "extra weight" I was told it was the sole contributor of my PCOS and that I'd struggle to conceive without extensive IVF - something I believed whilst married and trying for children that never happened. Now sat here, with my new DP cradling a baby bump of surprise. Drs eh?

It took 8 months to work, but taking the pill consecutively so I don't have a period anymore is the only thing that's helped me.

She did try non stop pill - got some ideas for talking over with gp.

My concern with the mirena is could it affect future fertility? I don’t know as I haven’t researched that.

Also re mirena would it be extra painful for her to have it inserted as she hasn’t had any babies yet?

Similar experiences, not being given a a new form of contraceptive to try every time I went to to GP and told it needs 6 months to settle down. Before you know it 4 lots of 6 months 'letting it settle' and I was still having the same issue I originally had.

The mirena is just like any other long term contraceptive, so there is no more risk to fertility than any other form. It suits some women better as the hormone is working directly in the location it needs to be rather than through the whole body system like a tablet.
It might be uncomfortable to have it fitted but she could request to have it done at a sexual health clinic ( they tend to be more experienced in fitting younger women) or at a gynae clinic. I would push for a referral to a gynaecologist so she can really explore her options.

YANBU.

@WispaGoldsshouldcomeinmultipac muscle weighs around 20% more than fat, whereas your weight is more like 35-40% above healthy weight for your height.

She needs to be forceful, really describe the impact on her mentally and physically. I bled 8 months straight after having my ds. I was tired all the time, could not concentrate for long periods and was seriously losing the will to live. I had investigations and got the all clear. However I have been on iron tablets for 3 years.For the past two months I have been having periods that last a fortnight will be getting on to my gp again. It has gone on long enough for your daughter, ask for a referral to the private sector if you can afford it.

I found this - we live in Suffolk. It looks to me a if she is in the phase of trying different therapies - but these add up to YEARS of her life!

Yanbu. Any problem to do with the female reproductive system seems to be classed as ‘just one of those things’.

Absolutely - many links to studies here. www.nytimes.com/2018/05/03/well/live/when-doctors-downplay-womens-health-concerns.html

I was also told I was stressed and should relax. I bet a man who complained about shaking hands, heart rate double the normal and panic attacks would not be dismissed as simply stressed. (I was hyperthoroid).

I was only thinking this yesterday, because of an advert for those pads for weak bladders, all these young healthy women telling us not to worry, just walk about with a wad of cotton wool the size of a sandwich between our legs, NO it NOT normal for young women to leak piss everytime they fucking laugh or sneeze - if this happened to men under 60 it would be a very different advert.

Those adverts for incontinence pads really wind me up. I’ve been lucky enough to experience the NHS specialist physio service. WHY did I feel embarrassed about going? My gp was absolutely lovely about it, and very kind. The block to accessing that service seems to come from the patients themselves, but it’s crazy to spend all that money for the rest of your life and put up with the symptoms.

If it helps OP, I got the jaydess coil fitted at 21 (no kids, never been pregnant). The experience was excruciating. They tried to get a mirena in 5 times first then got the thinner jaydess in instead on the third go.
I was not adequately warned this could happen and it took about 8 hours curled over with a hot water bottle to stop being sick and feel normal.

HOWEVER!
It's not that bad for everyone, and it's one horrible day if so. I used to have horrible periods as well, but after a couple of months on the jaydess I more or less stopped altogether. I've only had spotting for almost 2 years now, which I think is fairly common for it.

Yanbu at all.
The nhs is totally inadequate compared to other European healthcare systems.

In issues relating to women’s health I mean