Scared of going Gyno/period pain
Hi, i just want to say sorry if anything I say sounds silly I’m not quite educated on this and have strong opinions. I experience SEVERE period pain (sickness, gas, heavy flow, blood clots, lower back&stomach pain, leg pain, pain spasms, nausea, dizziness) and have have had my period for 8 years now. I’ve been to the GP however I’ve been dismissed and not taken seriously multiple times. I was thinking of going private. I looked up online and found that I’d need to go to a Gynaecologist as they are specialised in that area. I’m not sure if I would be required to do this but I’m really adamant on not wanting to do a vaginal checkup or anything that requires me to do anything similar- I know it might sound silly but I just won’t feel comfortable. What possible things could they do instead to help diagnose what is wrong with me
obviously it depends on what they think is wrong with you what they will want to do but i can speak from my experience (admittedly on NHS).
if they want to find out what’s going on with your uterus (like endometriosis/adenomyosis) they’ll probs want to do an ultrasound - they can do one over your lower abdomen which isn’t invasive at all but to get the best view they would probably want to do a transvaginal one however you do not have to have that done if you don’t want to - they’re not gonna do any exam on you without your consent. i only had the ultrasound over abdomen because i couldn’t tolerate the other one and they still got an idea of what might be wrong.
they would never require you to have an invasive internal exam or scan if you did not consent to it. the only thing is it might be harder for them to work out what’s wrong because you can’t get as good of a view on an external ultrasound. but they can still do something for you and suggest treatments to make it easier (some hormonal contraceptives can stop your period happening, there’s drugs that can help with bleeding but not the other symptoms, for example).
if they want to find out what’s going on with your uterus (like endometriosis/adenomyosis) they’ll probs want to do an ultrasound - they can do one over your lower abdomen which isn’t invasive at all but to get the best view they would probably want to do a transvaginal one however you do not have to have that done if you don’t want to - they’re not gonna do any exam on you without your consent. i only had the ultrasound over abdomen because i couldn’t tolerate the other one and they still got an idea of what might be wrong.
they would never require you to have an invasive internal exam or scan if you did not consent to it. the only thing is it might be harder for them to work out what’s wrong because you can’t get as good of a view on an external ultrasound. but they can still do something for you and suggest treatments to make it easier (some hormonal contraceptives can stop your period happening, there’s drugs that can help with bleeding but not the other symptoms, for example).
Original post by Anonymous
obviously it depends on what they think is wrong with you what they will want to do but i can speak from my experience (admittedly on NHS).
if they want to find out what’s going on with your uterus (like endometriosis/adenomyosis) they’ll probs want to do an ultrasound - they can do one over your lower abdomen which isn’t invasive at all but to get the best view they would probably want to do a transvaginal one however you do not have to have that done if you don’t want to - they’re not gonna do any exam on you without your consent. i only had the ultrasound over abdomen because i couldn’t tolerate the other one and they still got an idea of what might be wrong.
they would never require you to have an invasive internal exam or scan if you did not consent to it. the only thing is it might be harder for them to work out what’s wrong because you can’t get as good of a view on an external ultrasound. but they can still do something for you and suggest treatments to make it easier (some hormonal contraceptives can stop your period happening, there’s drugs that can help with bleeding but not the other symptoms, for example).
if they want to find out what’s going on with your uterus (like endometriosis/adenomyosis) they’ll probs want to do an ultrasound - they can do one over your lower abdomen which isn’t invasive at all but to get the best view they would probably want to do a transvaginal one however you do not have to have that done if you don’t want to - they’re not gonna do any exam on you without your consent. i only had the ultrasound over abdomen because i couldn’t tolerate the other one and they still got an idea of what might be wrong.
they would never require you to have an invasive internal exam or scan if you did not consent to it. the only thing is it might be harder for them to work out what’s wrong because you can’t get as good of a view on an external ultrasound. but they can still do something for you and suggest treatments to make it easier (some hormonal contraceptives can stop your period happening, there’s drugs that can help with bleeding but not the other symptoms, for example).
Thank you for this!! I had an ultrasound but it didn’t state which type of ultrasound it was- I googled it and it said there’s 2 types. Vaginal ultrasound and the one where they put it on ur belly. I was so scared it was the vaginal one and I didn’t want to seem annoying or stupid by calling up so I just cancelled the whole appointment. I know it sounds silly but I was convinced they’d force me. My family are really religious so I don’t think they’d allow me to take any hormonal contraceptives or birth control unfortunately.
I don't mean to be rude, but if you want a full answer of what is wrong, then I would ask for a referral and I would encourage you to take all the tests offered. Yes, they may be invasive or uncomfortable, but they are done for a reason - to gain information. By thoroughly gathering the best information means that they have the best chance of helping you. An internal scan is very quick and by no means painful.
That said - there is little point you going through any of the tests if you are simply dismissing the likely treatments at this stage. Average age to start your period is 12, you say you have had them for 8 years, making you a roughly 20 year old woman. It's none of your family's business what treatment you require to deal with this pain that sounds so debilitating. If the treatment they give you for this specific problem has the side effect of also being a contraception - so what? It doesn't mean your moral compass with go out of the window and you'll be jumping into bed with every man you meet (in fact a lowered sex drive, ironically, is a common side effect of many types of hormonal birth control).
This is nothing to do with your family - this is about your health and what is best. Keep your family out if they will interfere and take a trusted friend. My strongest advice would be to battle through the tests (even if briefly invasive/uncomfortable), get the results you need, take the drugs you need and get back to a normal life. A five minute examination has to be way less of an issue in the grand scheme of things.
Good luck
That said - there is little point you going through any of the tests if you are simply dismissing the likely treatments at this stage. Average age to start your period is 12, you say you have had them for 8 years, making you a roughly 20 year old woman. It's none of your family's business what treatment you require to deal with this pain that sounds so debilitating. If the treatment they give you for this specific problem has the side effect of also being a contraception - so what? It doesn't mean your moral compass with go out of the window and you'll be jumping into bed with every man you meet (in fact a lowered sex drive, ironically, is a common side effect of many types of hormonal birth control).
This is nothing to do with your family - this is about your health and what is best. Keep your family out if they will interfere and take a trusted friend. My strongest advice would be to battle through the tests (even if briefly invasive/uncomfortable), get the results you need, take the drugs you need and get back to a normal life. A five minute examination has to be way less of an issue in the grand scheme of things.
Good luck
Original post by Anonymous
Thank you for this!! I had an ultrasound but it didn’t state which type of ultrasound it was- I googled it and it said there’s 2 types. Vaginal ultrasound and the one where they put it on ur belly. I was so scared it was the vaginal one and I didn’t want to seem annoying or stupid by calling up so I just cancelled the whole appointment. I know it sounds silly but I was convinced they’d force me. My family are really religious so I don’t think they’d allow me to take any hormonal contraceptives or birth control unfortunately.
If you feel like trying again it’s really worth getting to the bottom of things if you can. Doctors should NEVER force you to have invasive tests if you don’t want them - it’s not silly to be worried about that but please know that your consent for medical procedures like this is very important. I appreciate the difficulty with your religious family in terms of accessing hormonal contraception - though it’s worth knowing its effectively a multi-use medication, use for treating periods is just as valid as preventing pregnancy (though I appreciate depending on your family’s beliefs they may not accept this). If it’s within your personal comfort level there are forms of it you can have that don’t require you to take pills every day, there’s implants you can have put in which last years and your family would probably never know, so it’s worth discussing this with a doctor as well if they suggest hormonal contraceptives after investigating.
I would really recommend trying again to get this sorted - your health is important and you should not be putting up with this much pain. If you have a trusted friend to come with you and help advocate for you at appointments, might that help?
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