GP making me feel like I am being ott re periods. (WARNING TMI)

[JamesZebra]

I am putting this here for traffic - please be nice as I am feeling quite fragile and worried about it.

My periods have always been very heavy and very painful. Most months the first day of my period is so bad I just need to dose up on pain killers and stay in bed. The flow was so heavy that I would often flood through a tampon and pad and I hated going out during the heavy days as I kept having accidents. I have bled through clothes onto my work chair on several occasions as I would just get a wave of blood out of nowhere. I would also get massive clots which was quite scary. I have had many an occasion where I wake to what looks like a massacre scene where my period has flooded all over the bed- thankfully I have a very understanding dp! No Dr has ever taken this seriously even though I have been chronically anaemic for years!
About a year ago I noticed my periods had started to get lighter (I was 30 when this started) and the blood instead of being thick and red was watery and pink with no clots at all. Now whilst this sounds amazing (which to some extent it is) it's such a dramatic change from what I am used to that it worried me. I called my Dr and he was like "why are you moaning- this is good?" which to some extent I agreed with but I was concerned that the dramatic change might have been a warning sign of something more serious. Eventually he agreed to do some blood tests (day 3 & day 21) of my period which showed I had raised prolactin levels. Nothing more was said about it and I was told not to worry and just get on with my life. Since then I have had a smear test and it all came back fine.
This month my period arrived on time - however I had spotting for about 5 or 6 days before hand and my period has been so light I barely had a need for a towel. I have gone from needing to change my pad constantly to using the lightest absorbency available, but bleeding for nearly 2 weeks of the month which is just annoying. The flow is super light. I spoke to the GP again and I could hear from the tone in his voice that he thinks I am making a fuss over nothing. He didn't offer any tests just told me this is normal.......it doesn't feel normal at all and I am worried. DP and I have been not using contraception for over a year and I haven't got pregnant (GP is aware of this) and I think that there is obviously a problem. My periods are still cripplingly painful and if anything the pain has gotten worse and lasts for more days now instead of just 1. I am so sick of being fobbed off and treated like I am silly when this is something I have to put up with every month. I called the Dr's surgery and asked to see a different Dr and they are insisting that I see the same Dr- I said i wanted a second opinion with a female Dr and got scoffed at by the receptionist.

I am not sure what to do or if I am being ott- I would just like reassurance from someone that there isn't something wrong with me- if I can't have more kids I would accept that the same as if I am going through early menopause.....I just want to know what is going on because it is worrying me. I feel like I have gone from one extreme to another.

May be a bit of a stupid question but are you sure you're not pregnant? The pink discharge sounds like implantation bleed.

Cant tell you what is causing it but deff reccommend getting tested for fibroid and pcos for a start. Sadly it's a known fact that women's issues rarely get taken seriously. If you didn't want to conceive id deff reccomend a merina coil (this really helped me).

Keep pushing - this does not sound normal or helpful. Get a referral to a gynocologist and don't let it go

Your doctors surgery sounds terrible.. what did they actually say when you asked for a female gp.
I would look into their complaints procedure about this and consider moving doctors. What you describe doesn't sound normal and even if it IS normal they should be reassuring you, not treating you like an annoyance.

Ask for a referral to a gynae and push for it.

If the heavy periods return go to a&e. I never understood how serious periods can be until I found myself in a&e. The first time the gp sent me there I thought they was over-reacting.

Ask to speak to another GP. Can nurses make referrals to gynaes? Put in a complaint. Change practices.

And are you sure your not pregnant?

@MrDarcysMa I has asked to speak with a female Dr numerous times in the past for different reasons and always get the same spiel - that I can talk to my Dr about anything- he is very professional and I will get exactly the same answer/treatment from him as I would a female dr. That my Dr knows my medical history and I am better off seeing him.

I am sat here in pain again- my poor son (teenager) has been running round doing housework and getting me meds this morning because i can't get out of bed until the painkillers kick in. I haven't long woken up because the pain kept waking me in the night. I hate it. I am really tired from it.

As far as I'm aware they are obliged to allow you to see a female GP if you ask for one.

Is there a nurse practitioner?

I am pretty sure I am not pregnant- i did a test a couple of days before I came on but will do another. I have to be careful- had an ectopic a few years back.....another thing my GP poo poo'd and then it nearly ruptured!

I will call back on monday and ask to speak to someone else and if they refuse I will register with a different practise.
I feel like I have been trying to get help with this for so long that I can't tell if I am being ott or not. I have a tendency to do as I am told even to my own detriment (having been in a horrible abusive relationship years ago) so I probably need to work on that!

I would check the patient charter of your practice. You could also lodge a complaint or move to another practice altogether to see a different GP. Sorry you are continuing to suffer OP, I hope this gets resolved for you very soon.

@dodobookends its a pretty big dr's practise so I would guess so.

Your gp has not only ignored your serious pain but put your life in danger by ignoring an ectopic pregnancy? Change gp

Your doctor is pretty shit tbh. He’s not taking you seriously and not giving you what you requested (female doctor). I am sure you will get different treatment from a female doctor.

Women have to fight harder and longer for the same treatment as men get. When it comes to periods or anything gyno it’s twice as hard. Don’t accept a brush off OP. Periods aren’t supposed to be like that.

How high was your prolactin level? High prolactin can be a sign of a pituitary tumour called a prolactinoma. They are very treatable with medication but certainly could be the cause of lighter periods. Ask for your prolactin to be tested again. If it's still high they should refer you to an endocrinologist - if they don't, ask why not.

I've always found the nurse practitioner (female) to be far better then my male GP for anything gynae.

I’m sorry that’s just appalling. You need to demand a female GP (I’m not a big advocate of demanding generally) but you need to get serious and see someone else.

Keep pushing for a referral. You shouldn’t have to put up with this. Women’s healthcare is such bullshit.

I was having heavy periods (bicornuate uterus, hypthyroidismm polycystic ovaries, fibroids and polyps in the uterus). It took years of GP battling to get a referral but in the end I went to a minor injuries clinic and saw a doctor there. It was one with a sexual health clinic tagged on, so they deal with women's health as much as broken bones. They wrote to my GP insisting on a hospital referralm as my GP had always dismissed it was perimenopause. Once done, I saw a lovely consultant who spotted the polyps and abnormalities inside. I didn't want more kids so he did an endometrial resection as a day case. It was life changing and the pain/ contractions were much diminished. It is better than a hysterectomy because it does not affect your hormones, but it does reduce your periods to nil or light. It had a dramatic effect on my pain from rolling around on codeine seeing stars and unable to walk, to being totally able to do what I want and forget about 'womens troubles;. Go to another GP practise and request an appointment with a female practitioner. Go to a minor injuries unit in the meantime and ask for an examination. Write a letter of complaint to PALS about your GP surgery...so other women do not suffer the same way. You should be having a series of blood tests as a starting point to working out the status of your hormonal function and if there are any endocrine reasons why this is happening to you.

@JamesZebra, with such a change in your periods plus the pain, I would suspect some hormonal changes (and maybe aenemia too).

Seeing that you have been trying for 1 year and have shown raised prolactin (which is NOT normal), I would push for a referral to a gyne. I’d go and see your go and remind him of the pain during your periods. Remind him that period pain isn’t something to be laughed at (it has been evaluated as bad as a heart attack!!) and demand a referral.

Then I would raise the issue if the change (which should always be investigated imo) with the consultant.

Btw, your gp is crap but then it’s the case of many of them when it comes to gyne problems. :(

I would google family planning / sexual health clinics and go for a full work up. Ask them if they will do an abnormal cell Pap smear test too if you have not had one. Google how long you need to be trying unsuccessfully to get pregnant before NICE Guidelines say you can be referred for fertility testing - I think it’s two years - find a new GP and tell them you have been trying for over two years. Acupuncture is amazing for balancing hormones - definately try that. My periods were so heavy I developed a giant womb and a gyno offered to take my womb out. But three months of acupuncture and started light periods and scan showed my womb had shrunk.

It sounds like it's the reception staff who are blocking your access to a female doctor.

They can't do that, as long as your practice has both male and female GPS you have the option to specify which one you want to see.

www.nhs.uk/common-health-questions/nhs-services-and-treatments/can-i-choose-to-see-a-male-or-female-gp/

Call again and if they try to block you ask for the practice manager as you wish to make a complaint.

@QuestionMarkNow I have had awful period pain since I was 14 and every GP (all men) have told me to get on with it.
I have also had anemia since I started my periods but always get told it is probably down to my diet- I could eat broccoli and spinach until the cows come home and still have it. I struggle to take iron tablets because they cause constipation which I need to avoid due to a bowel issue (which flares up every time I am due on)
I have found a slow release Iron that seems to work really well for me - feroglobin and have been taking that for a few months so I am hoping that will have helped raise my iron levels.

I will call my GP on Monday and be a lot more forceful in my approach.

Write a letter to your GP detailing the problems you have been having and asking for a referral to a gynaecologist. Have a look at what the NICE guidelines are for treating your symptoms. I had an issue with bleeding in between periods after menopause and I ended up putting my concerns in writing to my GP. Lo and behold I had a referral made.

Can you change doctors? Yours sounds really disinterested.

YANBU

I’m a doctor and I think your GP is being offhand. Periods can and do change over time for some women, sometimes with no obvious or treatable cause, but that is the conclusion you come to after doing some investigations.

And you are entitled to seek a second opinion at any time, so they should allow you to see another GP. I understand the reasons behind trying to keep continuity of care by making sure you see the same dr, but if you specifically ask to see someone else then they should facilitate that. I’d phone back and ask to speak to/see another GP . If they refuse, ask to speak to the practice manager and make it clear you want to seek a second opinion.

I’d say periods heavy enough to cause chronic anaemia should have been investigated a while ago. Not always an obvious cause, or one that is curable (but may be possible to manage the symptoms with treatment) but still needs addressed. The change also needs looked at- initially examination, bloods and quite possibly an ultrasound scan. Most gynaecology depts will ask these are done before they would agree to see you.

Good luck.

Sounds awful, you need a referral to a specialist.
And a new doctor. He’s a doctor ffs, and so dismissive of what you are going through.
I had an awful experience with anemia, flooding, blah blah (not my story time) and my doctor did EVERYTHING in her power to get to the bottom of the issue, which we did in the end. She was amazing and I’m so grateful

Hi,
Just wanted to check in and say this happened to me!
I ended up pushing (I sat in tears in the doctors reception refusing to move until I got a specialist referral), had a laparoscopy and was diagnosed with endometriosis.
Then, my periods changed just like you describe and paid for private Estridol tests, Progestrone and Estrogen dominance tests which revealed a hormone imbalance.
Verisana Labs do the estrogen dominance test which was most helpful.
Good luck!

This makes me so angry. Women have to suffer pain for years and be patronised and told to get on with it. If a man has a slight twinge in his balls, it's straight off to a specialist.

Print this out and take it with you. They are not following nice guidelines. I would also write a letter detailing your medial history and the clear signs that it is probably endo. Do it in writing and it should be added to your medical files.

www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng73/resources/algorithm-for-diagnosing-and-managing-endometriosis-pdf-4595719645

Also I forgot to add, be polite but firm. Stick to the facts or they will likely call you hysterical.