[ SECRET POST #2356 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2356 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 06 pages, 134 secrets from Secret Submission Post #336.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 2 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 1 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[belleweather]

I let doctors tell me I just had to live with my terrible periods (I would also miss about a week of school/work per month, and end up in the ER from passing out and uncontrollable puking) for years. First they told me that it would go away when I was no longer a teenager. When it didn't, they told me it would go away when I was more comfortable with my sexuality. When that didn't work, they told me it would go away once I'd had a baby. Two kids later, they finally decided to take it seriously enough to give me drugs. Don't let doctors do this to you -- find someone who takes you seriously, no matter how many people you have to talk to. Midwives are great for this, but there are also specialist OBGYNs who deal with endometriosis and pelvic pain who aren't going to blow you off about something that is seriously negatively effecting your life.

Birth control can help, but they can also have side effects -- I think people who have terrible periods tend to have more side effects on hormonal birth control than people who don't, because your hormones are already off-kilter or your period wouldn't ruin your life. For me, I found that most synthetic progesterones (which they will want to give you because they tend to help with cramps) made me depressed in a way that really effected my life (and made me puke, too. Morning sickness perpetually... good times!) I would avoid anything long-term (Depo, etc.) until you've got a better sense as to how your body copes with the hormones. I know people in the U.S. are weirdly terrified of them, but the one thing that did the most to give me my life back and let me hold down a serious, professional job was the IUD. LOVE IT. I get no periods, normal-person cramps that can be handled with tylenol and a heating paid, and sadly, some messy PMS. But it's 1000% better than normal periods.

As far as pain control, don't just take more of the over the counter stuff. Your stomach lining can't hack it. INSIST on proper prescription-strength pain control. There's a new drug on the market called Ponstel which is available in a generic and is much better than anything else I've tried for pain. Otherwise, there are a slate of NSAIDS out there, and always Narcotics if you're willing to do a pain contract with your MD and you need them.

I'm writing this big long comment 'cause this is the stuff I wish someone had said to younger me; you don't have to be in pain, don't let your parents or your doctors or anyone else brush it off like it's just a girl thing or you'll grow out of it or whatever. Find a new doc, and if your parents can't advocate for you find a nurse or a midwife or a friend who will. Because you deserve to be whatever kind of a hero you want and your uterus does not have to run your life.

*hugs*

[(Anonymous)]

this is good and you should feel good for saying it.

thank you.

[(Anonymous)]

You're awesome for taking the time to write this.

And reading this, I feel so angry at the medical profession for treating you like this. I'm sorry you had to go through that.

Women especially cop the "you're just being hysterical" (pun intended).

[(Anonymous)]

Amen to this. I also had a doctor who brushed me off in a really patronising way (even though she's a woman). It's disheartening to hear this sort of attitude is widespread among doctors.

In my own case, I use a combination of regular exercise, acupressure/acupuncture, and strong painkiller (which I only need in small doses by now). The symptoms that caused me the worst trouble and made me take sick days, like nausea/vomiting, fever, high fatigue, dizziness, excessive bleeding, etc. have almost completely disappeared.

Don't give up because some doctors won't take you seriously. There are ways to get your life back to bearable, keep trying until you find something that works for you.

[tei]

This is an awesome comment.

[(Anonymous)]

AMEN ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This comment is awesome and you are an awesome person.

I had a shitty doctor who told me that it was just "normal teenage girl stuff" to be bleeding heavily for over a month.

Then I ended up in the ER and had to get a blood transfusion, so that doctor can go fuck himself.

Also, to the OP: Your heroes aren't looking down on you. They're cheering you on, because what you have to deal with isn't the average "girl stuff" - it's a debilitating medical issue. You have to be strong to deal with that.

[comma_chameleon]

I am so sorry you had such shitty doctors. D:

I never had problems with my period until I was about 21/22. I was in college and I started having to skip days of school when I was on my period because I would spend the whole time in the bathroom curled up in the fetal position with vomiting and diarrhea on top of massive bleeding.

I went and saw an OBGYN who suggested it might be endometriosis, sent me in for laporoscopic(sp?) surgery and they cauterized it right then in there, and then put me on BC pills to help manage any remaining symptoms.

I was so grateful that he took me seriously and didn't just say, "Oh it's just a period, suck it up."

Now I still have some cramps and nausea around my period, but I'm not skipping work to stay at home on the bathroom floor, which could have been my future.

♥ to you and the OP, please seek medical attention. Health issues that interfere with basic day to day living (like holding a job) need to be dealt with, and if the first doctor you see brushes you off, then see another, and don't stop until you see a doctor who listens to you.

I know medications have a lot of side effects, but the majority of people experience none at all, and if you're a non-smoker and otherwise relatively healthy, the more serious side effects of BC like DVT and stroke drop to about 1 in 10000, which IMO is better than going through the agony you're in now.

[belleweather]

For me, it is not (so far as we can tell) Endometriosis, although there's no way to know until a laparoscopy is done. I've considered having one, but the cautery works for some women and doesn't work for others and I'd hate to take the time and expense to have it done and have it not work. In fact, it can make the problem worse by causing more adhesions to grow, so I haven't done it because I haven't needed to.

We're close to deciding if we're done having kids, and at that point I may do something more long-term about the problem because I won't have to worry about fertility anymore, but right now the IUD has given me my life back (literally) and I'm happy with that.

But YES. Birth control, of whatever form, can help and having a life is so very worth the risks you've got to take to try it.

OP

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you for taking the time to write all this. Sorry to hear about all the doctors that snubbed you. It sounds like you get a lot sicker than I do. I can't imagine trying to live with feeling worse than I already do, I'm at my wits end right now with this whole thing.

The thought of hormones and testing and things scare me off so badly, but after all this support I'm thinking about going to the doctor soon and talking about my options.

I actually was really interested in Mirena at first but I heard a lot of stories about how much pain they can cause somebody who hasn't had children and some people said that it made their periods worse, and that they bleed more, so that has scared me off because the last thing I want is more pain and I want my period to stop if possible. :/

Re: OP

[belleweather]

Some people have really bad reactions to hormones. Other people have really bad reactions to the Mirena. Nothing, sadly, works for everyone. But you've got to get out there and try SOMETHING if you want to find what works for you. Be brave, see the doctor and find out what options you've got.

[(Anonymous)]

they told me it would go away when I was more comfortable with my sexuality

Wow, that... wow.

As I once had someone tell me, getting through med school might require a certain base level of intelligence and commitment, but that doesn't mean all doctors are equally smart or good at their jobs and even some of the smart ones still may be too lazy or uncaring to really count as competent in practice.