Help me get dr to take period pain seriously

[Belonger]

I'm 47 and have absolutely had enough of the pain and flooding I'm suffering, anything from every 3 weeks to 6 weeks. It's stopping me going out, it's making me take time off work occasionally, and I'm going to the dr again this afternoon and want - well, I don't know. Any advice about what to ask for - referral to gynae? Pain killers the size of Wales? I've been googling hysterectomy, I'm feeling so desperate today.

Any advice to help me feel more informed at my appointment would be very welcome.

For info, I take tranexamic acid which helps a bit with flow, but I'm still getting changing supplies hourly some days and sleeping on a towel. Mefanaic acid didn't seem to help with pain. I find ibuprofen with lysine helps the most, which apparently suggests I have issues with absoption. I take Spatone because the blood loss made me anaemic. I had terrible period pain as a teenager and was put on the pill for it, stayed on pill until late 30s. Since then pain and heaviness has got steadily worse.

Just really at the end of my tether. Thanks for listening.

All sympathy to you op. I do think gynae symptoms are ignored and minimised as a hangover from it being all a bit taboo in medicine which was a man's world until fairly recently.

I put up with very heavy bleeding until my 40s as you describe and terrible pain which made me faint and dizzy.

I never got taken seriously as I wasn't anaemic or infertile.my mum had suffered similarly until her hysterectomy-the 80s cure all for complaining women.

I remember hearing people say whether they used tampons or towels and I'm thinking both and two of each if possible. Mooncup was helpful as it is a plug so less flooding.

Anyway, I finally got my referral when I passed out in the countryside in a remote place with 4 young children and a puppy.

Luckily some other walkers found us and called the emergency services and looked after the dcs until my de got there. Turned out it was endometriosis and a grapefruit sized cyst had twisted, bled and gone gangrenous. She put a Mirena in during the op and my periods became normal. Like pad or tampon normal. Like sleep through the night normal....

The gynae surgeons said women should not be fobbed off like that. My tubes, uterus, cervix and bowel had been all tied together by scarring, inflammation and cysts over the years. It was amazing I could conceive really.

I've told my adult daughter to keep going back to the gp as she is being fobbed off for not being anaemic although she has to set an alarm to change sanitary protection through the night.

As someone else said endo is a laparoscopic diagnosis (or possibly MRI these days). Either is expensive so hard to get a referral.

Naproxen has made the world of difference to my periods. It stops the flooding and combats the pain so I can go about my day and most importantly, I can sleep at night!

Belonger

I'm sure this thread will help others too.

If people talked about these things more they'd be taken seriously.

It's mad-if you had a blinding pain in your head, chest or eye at work you'd say and likely get taken seriously.

But if it's gynae you try to bear it, as it's just 'women's trouble', Aunt Flo, the decorators ffs!,, and all the other ridiculous euphemisms we have made up to avoid embarrassing or bothering men.

Have a look at the well women project.... a lovely lady has been working to treat period symptoms etc and she does amazing things x

Makes me so angry the way women are fobbed off by Drs. Male Drs are the worst but female can be almost as bad. It's sexist!

I have endo, was 14 years before I was diagnosed DESPITE classic symptoms and it only happened then because I had a complex mc that required complex surgery and surgeon saw it.

Entirely possible I could have avoided 14 years of symptoms inc crippling and not lost 3 babies.

Insist on a referral to gynae - you've already "tried" loads and as pp said ( and I too suspect endo) that won't show up on a scan anyway.

Exactly Graphista-

I hadn't realised how angry I was about not being diagnosed until now really. I was too busy thinking I was lucky I hadn't died or got ovarian cancer, which was queried when they saw the state of my insides. Also I was happy that my periods were sorted.

But actually I should have been angry at the level of care I'd had prior to my collapse.

Exactly ivegot it's shocking and completely unacceptable - regardless of cost - I very much doubt male specific tests/treatment would be curtailed on that basis! And I bet they don't have to ask twice for referrals either.

I'd a twisted ovary prior to the last mc where it was diagnosed - something which is more likely in patients with endo and other gynae conditions - again even though they took a full history re my periods etc STILL wasn't referred to gynae.

I got a contraceptive implant put in three years ago for this as I knew it would stop my periods - had before. Been fine ever since - no period from the moment it was inserted. The first implant i’d had did cause random periods for the first six months but even that would be an improvement from what you’re currently experiencing. I think I bled three times rather than the expected six or more (had been having them for a fortnight with a week to ten days between!). The nurse at my GP practice told me this was normal over 40! Anyhoo my implant was due to be changed last month but I haven’t bothered as don’t need it for contraception - happy to wait until I get periods again and if they become unmanageable i’ll Just get a new one. Good luck.

I would also say I have a younger friend mid 30s who was having similar problems to what you describe. Two male docs fobbed her off with women’s problems and when she finally got a female who took her seriously she needed two blood transfusions!!!

Here are the government guidelines they are supposed to follow, might be worth a read.

cks.nice.org.uk/dysmenorrhoea

Also this

cks.nice.org.uk/endometriosis

I've always had and still have very heavy bleeding....it eased a lot with mire name coil but never went away...it also took 7 mths to regulate so I bled fortnightly over thus time...

The pain however is now completely gone following five sessions with a good osteopath last year for what I thought was an unrelated back problem...he explained that due to the tilt of my back my gynae bits were swelling and pressing on nerves..

I don't know I have got my period now until I'm soaked through!!

So Drs aren't even following NICE guidelines - great

May be of help to others reading this thread: www.wearwhiteagain.co.uk/your-gp-visit/#undefined

Campaign re raising awareness about heavy and painful periods, includes how to prep for dr appointment

nightshade that's so interesting re the osteopath! I'm really glad for you that the pain has gone

Really hope you get sorted OP.

If you think you might have endometriosis, this website contains lots of resources about the diagnostic pathway and treatments available:

www.endometriosis-uk.org

Thanks valenta and bills, I really appreciate the support

I have a vague memeory that you need to start taking mefanamic a of the second your period starts, before any pain (if applicable). Anyone else know better?
And if so, OP, were you doing that when you tried it before?
Hope it works a bit this time.

You're right, the aim is to take it before the body starts producing proglastins (or something like that). I do try but it's hard because over 40 my cycle has been very unpredictable. But I'm going to persevere.

I know it's been a while but wanted to update on this - I did manage to get my doctor to take this seriously, she was fabulous about it.

I had a scan which revealed a cyst and a fibroid, neither have turned out to be very worrying fortunately.

I've now been offered my choice of Mirena, ablation or hysterectomy, as the meds don't seem to do the trick.

I'm really tempted to go straight for the hysterectomy, I'm sooooo tired of the pain and flooding.

But would an ablation help with the pain, if I give that a try? I can't seem to get an answer on that. The gynae says it does help with pain becuase the uterus lining is gone so doesn't need to be shed by the cramping. But other places seem to say it's not a treatment for pain, just flooding/heavy flow.

Any experience out there among mumsnetters?

And thanks again for all the initial support, it really helped.

I had an ablation
Best. Thing. Ever
It Took a day in hospital And A week off work. Not really painful afterwards
No periods at all any more
Awesome

I was having 21 day periods with pain and was anemic (unsurprisingly)

"I've now been offered my choice of Mirena, ablation or hysterectomy, as the meds don't seem to do the trick".

It needs far more discussion with the gynaecologist before you decide on any of the above.

Given your menstrual history I am wondering why no-one in a medical capacity has seemingly mentioned endometriosis to you as a possible cause. Endometriosis as well can cause heavy bleeding as well as pain and I think this needs to be looked into as a possible cause before deciding on those above treatment options. Scans do not pick it up and what sort of cyst too was seen?. Have they not suggested a myomectomy op for the fibroids?.

Also if endometriosis is indeed the root cause here a hysterectomy may not bring permanent relief from this either.

I realise this is an old thread but I just stumbled across it.
I was prescribed naproxen, it's the only thing that ever helped me.