To think my doctor is wrong and also shit?

[PipGirl404]

I'm aware I do not have a medical degree, and she does, but I can't help but wonder.

2/3 months ago went in saying I have extreme period pain, and I'm sweating constantly at night. Cold sweats and I'm drenched so I have to get up about 4/5 times in a night to either wipe myself down or change etc.
She asked how my bowels were, I said fine, she then proceeded to diagnose me with IBS and give me peppermint capsules ??? I insisted on blood tests and they all came back fine.

So as of today, I'm still sweating buckets at night and it's at the point I'm delirious with lack of sleep. I phoned and explained everything, told her (new, different doctor) my periods are still extremely painful etc. She asked about my weight (so I gave her it, and my height) and she said my BMI is close to 30 so I'm obese, and that's what is causing the sweating. I said I've been this weight for years and I'm more muscle than fat etc and she said "I would recommend you lose 15kg and this should fix your problems. If not, come back"

That's it. End of story.

What the fuck?? I can't even register with a new Dr for a second opinion and there's only the 2 above doctors at my practice 😭

N. B. I was being facetious

If you download the NHS app and register and out in your go details you should be able to see what tests you had done

GP not go

Nights sweats can be very serious - you need to go back and insist on a proper investigation. My husband had night sweats and it turned out he was seriously ill.
The periods pains may be due to an entirely different cause. The two are not necessarily connected.
A BMI of 30 does not give you night sweats.

I am very sorry your doctors have not been more helpful.

If you are able to pay for it I would try to get an appointment with a private GP if you can. I had a long term health issue sorted in 30 mins with a private GP that the NHS had fucked about with for 10 years. It cost me 60 quid. Which was considerably less than I'd spent on totally incorrect prescriptions. Yes tests etc cost more private but if you can get an idea from them you can go back to your own surgery armed

Did your GP do an internal exam? I did wonder from your sympts whether you could have chronic pelvic inflammatory disease.

Have you mentioned the egg donation to you GP. This can cause reproductive problems which can also lead to a hormonal imbalance. I’m actually quite surprised about the way they’ve treated your weight, being overweight should be ringing alarm bells for hormonal imbalance. I hope you get some answers.

I too was diagnosed with IBS and told to take peppermint capsules for 3 months. This was in hospital the day before surgery to remove fibroids. For 3 months prior to the surgery I had been given hormone injections to bring on the menopause to shrink the fibroids. There had been some sort of admin error and the surgeon wasn’t prepared to operate, primarily because I didn’t present with “normal” symptoms (I had regular periods that weren’t that bad. The reason my grapefruit sized fibroid was discovered was because I thought I had cystitis that wasn’t clearing up so went to the GP. She gave me an internal exam and told me to go straight to the gynae ward as an emergency outpatient!). I then had to take peppermint oil capsules while experiencing excruciating pain, changed surgeons, had to to the menopause thing again and eventually got surgery for the things I should have had removed 6 months prior.

Moral of the story, doctors get it wrong, you don’t always present with all of the symptoms and peppermint oil is useless for gynae problems!

I saw my 2nd surgeon privately then got put on his NHS list. Keep going back until you get some sensible treatment and you look fab!

Can you find out what the results of your thyroid test were?

Where I live TSH range is .5 - 4.5. Mine was 3. Something and I felt awful. I had constant hot flushes. My endometriosis pain got worse. My skin literally started to peel. My eyes were swollen shut most mornings and I had the most painful boobs.

It took almost a year but I convinced GP to start me on levothyroxine. Within about 8 weeks my hot flushes were gone and the swelling(s) stopped. Within 5 months all my symptoms disappeared.

Some people can have awful symptoms even if their TSH is within range. Also the time you have your bloods done is important. TSH drops throughout the day.

YANBU. IBS, what a barmy army you have at your surgery.

I had this after I had my dc, and my aunt who was a nurse was having none of it and had my urine tested for an infection, and I had a UTI.

Night sweats can be a sign of an infection.

Are you taking supplements? These can affect your metabolism, and accordingly your body temp.
I am also interested in your comment about donating eggs. Did you take hormones for this to stimulate ovulation? Perhaps this has affected your pituitary or another part of your endocrine system. I genuinely think your GP is shit for blowing you off and not checking your hormones. Your night sweats are actually quite concerning. I would be looking at a few endocrine diseases as well. Do you have flushed skin, stretch marks, unexplained bruising, pallor, etc. All of these need to be looked at.

Sorry - you need to get your cortisol levels checked. X

Have you taken corticosteroids for asthma or injuries? You may have an adrenal disorder. Do you feel that you are excessively thirsty and maybe pee a lot more than normal? Just another couple of questions, have they ruled out lymphoma? Have you had any chest infections? Have you worked with elderly, migrants or homeless people? Night sweats are also symptomatic of tuberculosis. (Uncommon, but increasing in vulnerable communities. You were probably vaccinated, but you never know....) If these questions have not been brought up by your GP - because night sweats at your age are definitely NOT normal, you need a new GP.

Sorry, haven’t read tft but I went to my dr on and off for a couple of years complaining of many things and the answer was always “you need to lose weight”. So I lost weight. 7st in total. Problems still persisted but ended up being diagnosed with pcos. The treatment for that caused me to have a TIA and eventually be diagnosed with a hole in my heart.
All dismissed initially because I was an overweight woman.

Sertraline can cause the night sweats. It might just be that. Period pains could be a separate issue.

@Didntwanttochangemyname wow that is an astonishing change. How did you manage to keep going with it at first?

A family member had your exact symptoms and was dismissed for years by her GP with "IBS", "psychosomatic" and even "anxiety"! She finally managed to get a referral to a gynaecologist and quite quickly ended up having an operation for a severe case of endometriosis. Her gynaecologist said that he wished he was surprised to hear how often her symptoms had been dismissed/ignored, but unfortunately he'd met 100s of women who'd had a similar experience with their GPs. Please insist on a referral to a gynaecologist!

Are you taking any supplements? Vitamin B3 can cause sweats.

www.refinery29.com/en-gb/night-sweats-not-caused-by-menopause

Also you could try a wool duvet - they’re better at regulating temperature and wick away sweat better than feather or artificial fibres.

Hi PipGirl404. Sorry to hear that you are suffering with bad period pain and night sweats. Please push the GP for a hormone specific blood test, and, a referral for an ultrasound of your abdomen, followed by an internal scan (I have recently had an abdominal ultrasound and the internal scanner at the hospital, they do both of them in the same appointment). If all tests are clear, next step is to have thyroid/adrenal bloods done. But, first thing, start taking high dose evening primrose oil, ideally with starflower oil

In my culture there is some thing related to misalignment in the central/naval nerve that can cause a lot of problems and a specialist massage is needed to align that. You mentioned that you lift weights. Do you have a heavy feeling in the lower abdomen? May be get a massage to get it aligned, but make sure it's someone who can do that. I think it's called mizan therapy here. Or another traditional way (and don't laugh at it as it works for me) roll up a tshirt, place it on top of a hard surface object such as edge of a bed or a chair handle and then sit on it, making sure it puts pressure on the pelvic area.

I have a slightly higher BMI and went to my GP with night sweats, no mention of my weight. Had bloods done and cause was found, referral made and all sorted. Definitely shouldn't be dismissing you

I have similar symptoms and I have endometriosis. This doesn't show up on scans so wouldn't have been seen when you did your egg donation.
Unfortunately can only be diagnosed with surgery and takes on average 7 years to get a diagnosis.
I was wrongly diagnosed with PCOS, IBS and a few other things first.
It's certainly worth checking out the Endometriosis UK website. They have a checklist and guide to help you discuss symptoms with the GP.

Very interested to read your post @Blackredblack. My thyroid had been tested a few times always normal but my symptoms have definitely changed recently and ,I have a feeling it's my thyroid. My mum had underactive thyroid that was missed for years and only when she had zero thyroid function and her organs started to fail did they notice and diagnose her!
How did you convince your go to take your concerns seriously?