Oh Boy - what next???

If you are squeamish or don't like graphic descriptions, it might be a good idea for you to press the back button and read a different post on my blog.  :-)

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Can't believe this.  I've been on the new pills for just over a week now and they have actually made the pain a lot worse!  What did I do to deserve this?  You take medication on the advice of a Doctor in the hope that it will help (or at least not give you too many nasty side effects) and then it just doesn't.  It's gotten so bad now that I have had to break out the Ibuprofen (which doesn't help much anyway) just to get me through the day.  This means that  things are really bad because I have quite a high pain threshold and can usually put up with quite a lot without taking any meds.

To get it out of my head, I am going to describe the excruciating pain that I am in here.  This is the best way I have thought of to accurately describe how this pain actually feels to me, so here goes...

It feels like someone has split my lower abdomen open with a sharp knife, thrust their hand inside and is trying to grab hold of my internal organs and pull them out through a small slit.  

That sounds like I'm exaggerating, but trust me, I wouldn't make something like that up.

The fact that I get side effects from pretty much every medication I have taken used to bother me, but now I just put up with it.  However, I was definitely not expecting pain this excruciating to turn up.

Don't feel like I have much left in my Bravery & Strength reserves any more, but I'm going to try to keep going and keep fighting this until I am well enough to get on with my life!

                           

Dr V to the rescue - hopefully...

Today I finally got hold of Dr V as I can't keep going on like this.  The pain is getting worse every day now and I have absolutely no energy due to pain and other related Endo symptoms.  Not sure exactly what is playing up - guess it's just a combination of my Endometriosis, Adenomyosis and grumpy ovary!

Dr V assures me that my body rejecting the medication is quite normal and that she will just have to try me on another pill instead.  I have just been and filled the new prescription, so I'm hoping that these pills will do a better job than the last ones because I'm really struggling right now.

I'll just have to see how things go...  Really hoping these pills will work because I can't bear the thought of continuing to feel like this for another day, let alone another couple of months!

                                

Here Comes the Pain again...

I was hoping that I wouldn't have to write this post, but that was probably just wishful thinking on my part.  After starting to make small improvements in my pain and other symptoms, I was very optimistic that I would continue to improve slowly, but it seems that it's not the case.

Feeling like my Endometriosis is waging a war against my body and the medication that I'm on which is supposed to be giving me some relief from my symptoms.

Not much to say today really.  It's just so hard when you begin to see a glimmer of hope and then the door is slammed shut in your face and you feel like you're falling back down the hole again.

                               

Endo Empowered!

On the one hand, I am feeling a bit Endo Empowered lately.  It's like a little celebration every day that I can carry on with less pain than I've had since 2013.  To know that the Endometriosis, Adenomyosis and troublesome ovary are all under control on the pill is a good thing.

But on the other hand, there is the fatigue! The dark heavy cloud that I am living under every single day with what appears to be little or no relief whatsoever.  It's hard to carry on some days when you are so exhausted and lacking in energy, which in turn leads to being unmotivated.

As usual, it's swings and roundabouts in my Endo world.  My job is to just try and find the silver lining hiding under every cloud.

P.S.  Photo below is the view from my hospital window last year.  Pretty nice if you can get a window cubicle as it makes hospital life a little more bearable ☺

Another date with Dr V

Today I had another date with my favourite medical person Dr V.

This was probably my first appointment where Dr V and I both came away happy, which is saying a lot considering we have been together in a Doctor + Patient relationship since January 2014.  When I walked into her room in November she said to me "The last 2 girls I've had in here have gone away happy, so I hope you can be the third."  Unfortunately back then, it wasn't to be as I was still in a lot of pain every minute of the day.

This appointment was different though, mostly because in the last couple of weeks I have been experiencing significantly less pain.  This is awesome for a lot of reasons, but mostly because it's the most 'pain free to an extent' that I have been since mid 2013.  For Dr V, it was probably awesome because that means that this is the first drug that she has tried me on that has actually worked in reducing my long term pain.

Another triumph for me is that now that this drug is working to reduce my pain, no other Doctors can tell me that I have nerve pain / neuropathic pain / habitual pain etc.  My pain is real and it has a gynaecological cause, so to the Gastro Doctors, GPs, Pain Specialists I WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG!

Dr V is really happy altogether with my progress because my pain is reduced and my latest ultrasound scan came back looking good and like everything was gradually settling down.  She wants to see me again in the middle of the year and said to me before I left "Now maybe you can have your life back", and to be honest, that's exactly how it feels.

Side Effects and their effect on me

I'm on a tablet to help me sleep at night, since I haven't had a decent natural nights sleep since December 2013.

Printed on the box label, it says to "protect yourself from too much sunlight."  I have fair skin anyway, but I have been extra careful to not be in  the sun too much because of the warning on the box.

Today, I walked from the car to our local shops and was maybe in the sun for a total of 10 minutes and this happened!

Oh joy, the side effects of medications can be really annoying sometimes 😕

Inside the mind of a GP

I was hoping for a little support from my GP when I went to see her this morning.  Since this has all been going on for over a year now and I am really starting to struggle, especially with my worsening fatigue and racing heart.  You would think that a little bit of sympathy and support wouldn't be that hard to get - right?

Wrong!

Talking about my fatigue that has so far lasted 8 months (very briefly) - "You're just tired because your body is fighting some kind of unknown allergy.  "Here, take this antihistamine for at least 4 weeks (even though she's put me on it before and it kept me up at night with terrible stomach cramps and diarrhea until I stopped taking it) and then we'll see what happens.  Oh, and by the way, it will help with your nausea as well!" 

Talking about my mysterious bloated stomach - "Oh, you're probably constipated."  No I'm not, I know what that feels like from when all the pain meds in hospital made me constipated and I would definitely know if I was!

Talking about my ongoing pelvic pain - "Is it worse than before, or just the same as before?"  Yes, it's the same as before, but it was pretty bad before, so shouldn't you be concerned that it isn't getting any better?  "Oh, I'll just make a note of that."  Great, how is that going to help me???

All the "helpful advice" I got from her today was to be told that I was dwelling on my symptoms too much and that I should learn to distract myself and not focus on how I was feeling!!! 

Mum (who comes to all of my medical appointments as my support person and second brain since my memory is so rubbish) stepped in at that point and told GP that I was really positive and pretty much permanently used the art of distracting myself to just get through the day.  I also added that I tend to go and write down what symptoms I am experiencing (and at what level), then just go and do something else.  Basically, my attitude is if I'm dealing with less symptoms that day, then that's great and I will enjoy it while it lasts.  If it's a bad day, then I just do what my body can handle and settle for that.

There is so much frustration inside me right now, as I feel like I am being treated like a complete idiot and every time I go to see my GP they just say "Here's another tablet - try this" with no real explanation about what might be wrong.  Or alternatively just say there's nothing they can do to help (like my last ex GP), or tell me to wait until my next Specialist appointment, which could be at least  3 -  6 months away depending on how long I've had to wait.

My GP also seems to have a low opinion of me when it comes to trying new tablets.  She says to me to "make sure I give this one a good go" like I don't want to try anything new.  This is not the case at all - I will try anything!!!  Just because I had to stop the last 2 tablets that she put me on due to side effects including stomach cramps, diarrhea, extreme tiredness and blurred vision does not mean I am not open to trying new things!  It just means that those tablets obviously don't agree with me.  Then she asks "How do you know that those symptoms were caused by the tablets I put you on?"  Um, because I didn't have these symptoms until I started the new tablet, and after I stopped it they went away - isn't that logical enough for you?

GPs seem to have very little understanding of Endometriosis and how to take care of their patients who have Gynae issues along with other mysterious symptoms in my case.  Also, they never believe you when you suggest that your other symptoms including worsening fatigue and my fabulously bloated stomach (otherwise known as Endo Belly by some of my bloggy friends) could be related to Endo.  They just say "No, those aren't classified as Endometriosis symptoms."  I get better advice from my fellow Endo Bloggers and other young women who are going through similar things to me than I do from any Medical Doctors - isn't that saying something???

OK, enough GP ranting now.  Time for a song to remind me that I can carry on and that one day everything will be all right again.