QuestionI'm beginning to think I'm a hypochondriac. I think my gyno thinks i'm crazy too. After going to her, she did an internal exam, had a sonogram and it all came up negative. she asked me if i was being sexually abused! I'm not! I'm happily married, thank you. In a nutshell, I have extremely painful periods, not cramps, pain. I have rectal bleeding during periods, extremely heavy periods, pain during ovulation, sometimes pain during defecation and i've experienced painful sex in the missionary position but not if i'm on top. Because nothing conclusive has shown up on exams and because my symptoms come and go (rectal bleeding and painful sex and defecation are new) I feel like it must be in my head. What should I do? How aggressive should I be about this? Should I be concerned? I'd appreciate any light you can shed on this as I'm getting very down about it all. Thanks for your time.
AnswerHi Debbie,
You should deffinately be concerned about what is going on with your body. If you do have Endometriosis, which it sounds like it is a HUGE possibility, that would explain all these problems you are having. The pain is symptom number one. The rectal bleeding points to the fact the Endo could have envaded your bowels. Painful sex is another very common symptom of Endo and so is pain while going to the bathroom.
An internal and a sonogram will NOT diagnose Endo. I have been hearing this a lot lately and it really frustrates me. The only way you can diagnose Endo is with a Lap. It's a small, outpatient procedure where the doctor gives you two or three incisions in your abdomen and uses small camaras to look around in your abdomen. There is no other way to rule out or diagnose Endo. If your doctor said anything about doing a sonogram for Endo....do yourself a favor and find another doctor...she's obviously not the best doctor to be going to and is not well versed in treatment of Endo.
So many women with Endo are told or made to feel that their symptoms are all in their head. It's really very unfair to us. While trying to find a diagnosis for their pain, the average woman seeks help from 10 different doctors until they find out what is wrong. Those numbers are hideous. We need to be proactive in our search for answers.
What I still don't understand, since 1 in 15 women have or will have Endometriosis...when a woman goes into a doctor for painful periods and ovulation, I think a doctor should be considering Endo first until proven otherwise....but for some reason, it's just not like that.
So, to sum my answer up....sounds like Endo....have a Lap done (insist your doctor do one and if she doesn't want to, find another doctor)and be proactive in your search for answers.
Please visit www.endo-resolved.com and arm yourself with as much info as you can on the disease. It will help if you know in your heart whether you think this is the problem.
There is also a great letter floating around in cyberspace by a woman named Heather Guildone called (I think) A Letter From Survivors...it is very powerful and sums everything up...check it out.....www.hcgresources.com/SurvivorLetter.html.
If you have any other questions please feel free to contact me again.
Sincerely,
Angie
