I've always had bad periods but recently they seem to be getting worse. I went to the GP about it and she was really rude and dismissive to me and now I'm terrified to mention it to anyone else as I fear I would be wasting their time. Just wondered if anyone can relate to having periods like this? What would you do if you were in my situation?
Sorry if this gets a bit long, but so as not to drip feed, here is my history:
As a teenager my periods were relatively long (7-10 days on average), sort of irregular (cycle usually between 25-35 days) and quite painful. I had one random period that lasted about 3 months, was referred for an ultrasound but nothing came up. I then went on the progesterone-only pill and periods stopped altogether.
Jump forward about 5 years and I came off the pill to TTC and got pregnant almost straight away. Pregnancy was ectopic and ended up having an emergency salpingectomy due to a ruptured Fallopian tube.
After the surgery periods were similar to before, with a few extra sharp pains on the side where my tube was removed, and also some pain between periods.
I then got pregnant again about 5 months post-op. DD is now 17 months old.
After DD was born I bled for about 10 weeks, had 2 weeks break and then got my first period (felt very shortchanged by this as was exclusively breastfeeding and expected a break!). Periods have come like clockwork every 28 days ever since.
My periods now last for at least 10 days, often 14. The first 7 days are extremely painful and very heavy. I have started getting pains in my legs for the first few days, and a weird throbbing in my vulva which is excruciating - it feels a bit like there is a massive weight hanging from my labia. I have mentioned this to a few people and have yet to speak to anyone who has experienced this. I have also been getting some spotting and cramps between periods.
I went to the GP about it and she took some swabs, which came back normal. I then went again and had to beg her to refer me for an ultrasound. The sonographer literally scanned me for about 2-3 minutes transabdominally, told me everything was normal, and sent me on my way. I went back to the GP and she told me that there was no need to refer me to a specialist for further investigations, that my cycles must just be "normal for me", and that I'd better just "learn to live in pain" because they will probably always be like that until I hit menopause (I'm only 25 now!). She also said that I probably have adhesions left over from my ectopic pregnancy and that they may go away but will probably cause me pain for the rest of my life. She implied that I was wasting NHS time and resources and I left the surgery in tears.
I feel like I should get a second opinion. I'm sure my periods are not normal, and I think there must be more investigations that could be done. I'm finding it really hard to cope. I spend half the month in agony and the other half dreading the next period. The blood loss makes me weak and exhausted. The thought of coping with this for the next 30-odd years until I go through the menopause is seriously getting me down. But I'm embarrassed and scared of being made to feel like a time-waster again. WWYD?