Something that is bothering me. Since I was about 13 (my periods started at age 12, I’m now 25) I have had very heavy, long (usually 7-10 day) periods, which are often so painful I am curled in the fetal position for days. I also had an abortion 7 years ago. The past 6 months or so I have had pelvic pain month round, and occasional spotting or abnormal bleeding that used to last a day or 2. Urinating, defacating and intercourse all cause me pain (no burning), but sharp pain. I had an ultrasound done because of this 2 years ago, and it showed I had an irregular shaped uterus, which was my gyno’s reason for the pain (before it go so bad). I recently went to my family doctor and got referred to another gyno (as the one I have I can never get through to make an appointment) and he sent me for another ultrasound. It was only 2 days ago, but I am really on edge. My last period started on Jan 12th and lasted till the 18th. I had light spotting for a few days and that was it. Until the 25th, I started bleeding again. This time it wasn’t spotting, not heavy enough I felt for a tampon, but I HAD to use a pad/panty liner. It is now February 3rd, and I’m still bleeding. It seems to be going heavy/light/heavy/light and it is now accompanied my moderate pain on and off (though not as agonizing as those first few days of my period). My family doctor is concerned about me having Endometriosis. My mother had it severely and was force to have a hysterectomy at age 35. I don’t yet have an appointment at the new gyno, I called yesterday and they said they were booking for September! They aren’t booking anything for me until they see the results of the ultrasound (and have no background info on my issues), and will decide from there if I need to go in right away. I’m going insane, what could this be? I don’t know how much longer I can go on like this. The stress is probably not helping matters. I am also at risk of losing my job over this, as I cannot work when the pain is really bad, and it is usually agonizing for the first 3-4 days of my period. I am either curled up in a ball in so much pain it sometimes brings me to tears, or I have to take so much medication that I spend days in bed fast asleep. Knocking myself out seems the only way to be free from pain. I know that spotting between periods can be normal and just something that happens, but there has to be something wrong to have a 7 day period and less than a week later begin bleeding again and so far lasting 10 days. HELP!!!
Dr. Joshua’s Answer:
I’m sorry to hear about your difficult symptoms. Unfortunately I can’t help you over the Internet. It sounds like endometriosis is a possibility, and if the symptoms are as bad as yours, surgical treatment may be needed - it does not mean that you need a hysterectomy, there are other ways to treat endometriosis surgically. However, you’ll need to wait for the results of that ultrasound first. Given the severity of your symptoms, you should get an appointment within a couple of weeks, September is unacceptable in my opinion.
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