quote:Originally posted by pH: I doubt it's endometriosis. One of my friends was just diagnosed with that, and I don't think my pain is nearly as bad as hers; she had to go to the emergency room earlier this week, and that's how she found out.
Just FYI, endometriosis can run the gamut from "no symptoms" to "unbearable." It's definitely a range.
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quote:Originally posted by pH: I doubt it's endometriosis. One of my friends was just diagnosed with that, and I don't think my pain is nearly as bad as hers; she had to go to the emergency room earlier this week, and that's how she found out.
To tell the truth, I've only been to a gyno once, when I was sixteen, and she didn't do a PAP smear or pelvic exam because I freaked out and started crying, partly because it hurt. I'm very shy about "down there."
But my friend who had to go to the ER is going to find a new doctor soon, so we might go together. I'm still going to severely freak out, though.
-pH
Listen to CT about the endometriosis. I've known a few people with it who had the full range of symptoms.
About being shy - honey, trust me on this. The vast majority of us are. I hear that after having given birth to a few kids vaginally, it changes, but I haven't experienced that, so I can't confirm. I don't like the pelvic exams much at all, but they're a necessary evil.
Another thing is that the more you stress about the exam, the more it hurts. If you can find a way to relax, it will go a lot easier. If it's really bad, talk to the doctor about taking a muscle relaxant first. I have no idea if that would be a good or bad idea, which is why I'm saying talk to the doc.
Find yourself a female doctor if you'd be more comfortable with a woman - I am, but ketchupqueen isn't - and tell her about your discomfort. If she's any good, she'll calm your fears. Get referrals from friends or other women, if possible.
But seriously, if you're having problem periods like that, you need to get properly examined. It could be anything and quite possibly easily fixed.
A friend of mine had problems with her period, and ended up having a 13 pound cyst removed. A little extreme, but seriously... Get yourself to someone competent.
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My doctor's office has a ceiling of acoustic tiles. One tile in every examining room has been painted by some artistic staff member - pictures of nature, trees and streams and flowers, with little fairies thrown into the scene for interest. The painted tiles are directly above the "chair" - so when you lay back you can focus on this little picture and it takes your mind off ... things. I really ought to tell my GYN how helpful those tiles have been.
Everyone hates it, especially the first time. It becomes easier to ignore the discomfort and embarrassment after a few kids, by mentally disconnecting; but it never really becomes easy or "commonplace". Just, as was said, "a necessary evil".
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Man, some exams are worse than others. Like anything that requires manually reaching my cervix. >.<
Relaxing does make a huge difference. Anything from the medical professional's demeanor to lovely tiles on the ceiling can affect that. Posts: 7050 | Registered: Feb 2004
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My current OB/GYN looks me in the eye and talks about other things as much as possible during my cervical exams. It really helps.
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I think the doctor I went to just didn't think it was all that necessary. She saw that I was completely freaking out and was just like, "Uh....here! Have some birth control!" When I went on the Patch, my pediatrician didn't think an exam was absolutely necessary because I was only 18 and not having sex. But now she says that since I'm about to turn 21, I should really have one.
I feel so bad for my friend; she said, "While I was in the ER, it was really embarassing. There were just SO many people all up in my business."
posted
Unusual periods can be caused by a myriad of different things (a few of them scary, most of them not), so it's always a good idea to see a doctor about them.
I've been on birth control several times to regulate my periods (when not on them I tend to have one every 2-4 months) and now I also appreciate the preventing pregnancy side of them. It does take a lot of experimentation to find what works for you. I had to switch pills several times because of undesirable side effects (like nausea) and then had to switch to a non oral method (because taking them raised my cholesterol a lot - like 60 points).
Pelvic exams aren't fun, but I don't think they're that horrible either. My doctor didn't see a need for me to have one done until I was sexually active (at 24). Find a doctor and talk to them about it beforehand. Find one that you are comfortable with.
So, yeah, go talk to a doctor. Posts: 5879 | Registered: Apr 2001
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quote:I feel so bad for my friend; she said, "While I was in the ER, it was really embarassing. There were just SO many people all up in my business."
Yeah, I've yelled at people for that. Seriously. I don't care if they all look the same and you've seen hundreds. You haven't seen mine and I still deserve to have some privacy and respect. *shudders*
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If you need to take anti-depressant for perimenopausal mood swings or PMS there is some good news. Mood swings associated with PMS are a direct seritonin effect, this mean that SSRIs work immediately. There is weeks of lag time before they take effect. This means that you don't have to take them all the time like you do for depression. Taking them when you are experiencing mood swings is enough.
Of course its harder when your body isn't following a predictable schedule.
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I'm one of those folks who has zero modesty left, I really don't care what a doctor or nurse sees, because I know they aren't thinking "OOOH! look - she's naked!" They are looking with professional detachment, and it doesn't bother me one bit.
I will echo the endo statements already made and verified - some people have no pain, some people have severe pain. There is also a sneaky little disorder called adenomyosis, which is abnormal growth in the uterine wall, I had it as well as endo, and it can cause irregular as well as painful periods. Then there's PCOS. Had that one too.
One thing this thread has done is remind me that as soon as I get done with chemo, I need to have a bone density scan done. My gyn scheduled one a year after my hysterectomy as a baseline, but I cancelled the appt. and never re-scheduled. *wince* Bad idea,I know. I really need it done, my grandmother had problems with osteoporosis and I'm a white female who had a complete hysterectomy before 30.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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Speaking of privacy and respect...I feel the need to share a story along those lines. I probably shouldn't since I don't want to scare pH away from going for an annual exam...that and I don't really know any of you.
When I was a student, I went to the student health center for my annual exam, because it only cost $15. The doctor said, (I was already in the stirrups), "So today we have the medical students in the clinic and they're going to come observe this procedure." She wasn't asking me. She was telling me.
My reply was, "Ummm. WHAT? Ummm. No. Absolutely not."
And then she gave me a snippy, "We ARE a teaching clinic, you know."
To which I replied, "I don't care."
Then she didn't say another word to me except to tell me she was finished, but at least the medical students stayed out in the hallway during the exam.
While I understand the need for medical students to observe things like that, I couldn't believe she was actually offended at my request for privacy. I might even have reacted better if she had told me BEFORE I was in the stirrups. You can't just spring that on someone and expect a positive response.
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pH, I had to go to the ER at 17 for an ovarian cyst (it was like cramps times ten plus major nausea), it was about midnight, and just the most embarassing terrible experience. So I really feel for your friend.
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Oh, Stasia, that's awful. At least she didn't pressure you to do it. I know I would've been mortified.
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Stasia, that's terrible! My first pediatrician was a man, and one day when I was maybe thirteen and went in for my physical, he brought someone with him to observe. Fortunately, she was a woman. He asked if it was okay. And when it came time for THAT part (which was not nearly as embarassing or scary as the gyno, although I was much younger too, and that probably had something to do with it...plus it wasn't invasive like the gyno), he left the room, and she looked, instead.
I can't believe that your doctor would be so insensitive! But student clinics can be like that; the doctors just don't seem to care that much.
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Stasia, that's also against the rules in most places, teaching clinic or not. She should not have tried to pressure you into it; you're always allowed the right to refuse to have students present.
When I was going to an OB/GYN at a "teaching hospital", there was an address update form you had to check at each visit, and there was a box on there to check that said, "I prefer not to have medical students present during my visit." There was also a sign up notifying you that you had the right to have an assistant or nurse present (doctor was male) and that you had the right to ask medical students to leave.
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When I've been to the teaching hospital I was always asked ahead of time if I would allow someone to observe. I usually say yes, because I know they gotta learn and like I said, modesty in the medical setting is not a big issue for me. That said, I have never had a gyn or OB exam in a teaching hospital and I would definitely be uncomfortable with a roomful of people watching me get a pelvic, and I think the doctor was very rude to Stasia. Sorry you went through that.
I've never, ever been examined by a gyn without another female present in the room, unless my husband was present. Even when I was examined by a female doctor, she had a nurse present. My gyn had a very small practice and if both his nurses were busy he'd grab his office manager and she'd come in the room with us. I don't know if that's just common policy or if it's mandated somehow, but I know that through all my years of exams (and there have been many, since I've had so many complications and three pregnancies) never was I alone in the room with a doctor when I was undressed.
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Needless to say, I didn't go back there again.
I'm sure part of my mortification was that I was very young and had only had one annual exam before this incident (this was over ten years ago when I was an undergraduate) because I think that if a doctor asked me now I'd probably consider it as long as s/he asked first and didn't try to bully me.
I've had a lot of different doctors since then (I've been averaging about one new insurance company, or lack thereof, per year since then) and all of them have been very good about privacy and making sure I felt comfortable.
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I went to this free clinic place to get birth control when I became sexually active. It's a place that keeps things confidential, and I didn't need my parents permission or signature or anything. They give you free stuff, like birth control, condoms, pap smears, pregnancy tests, and blah. It's pretty rundown, though.
The main doctor there is a male doctor. The first time I came in (I was 15) and asked for birth control pills, he said, "You know, birth control isn't a free ticket to have as much sex as you want. You don't to be a slut, now do you?"
As rundown as that place is, I still expected some kind of professionalism. Sigh.
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As long as we're asking questions, I've got one. I am a 24 year old, white, non-smoking, rarely drinking female. About a month ago I experienced some dryness and discomfort during intercourse. When I had my annual last month, the doc checked under the slide and said everything looked "the best I've seen all week."
Now I've gotten a note in the mail saying my Pap needs to be redone. How worried about cervical cancer should I be? My boyfriend and I have both had other partners before, so I most likely have HPV. OTOH, I'm a worrier and tend to gravitate towards the worst case scenerio. Any thoughts?
Posts: 2283 | Registered: Dec 2003
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What about if you get yeast infections, like, a lot?
Even if I just end up falling asleep in my jeans for like, a short nap, BAM! Yeast infection the next day.
If my pediatrician has to put me on an antibiotic, she always writes prescriptions for two diflucans, too. And I usually have to take one a few days later, and another at the end of the antibiotics.
Avid, you had your exam a month ago, and they JUST told you to have it redone? That seems weird to me.
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I was supposed to get my test results last week, but I was training a new employee and couldn't make it. They mailed it to me after I missed the follow-up.
Good call about the yeast infections, though. I am prone to them. I hope it is something simple like that.
Posts: 2283 | Registered: Dec 2003
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These new wetprep pap smears are so good, they pick up more stuff than the old ones. So there are more false positives. I would get it redone, but I wouldn't worry.
Posts: 1014 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Thanks, Theaca. I'm with quid, though. What is a wetprep? I remember the doc spraying something on a piece of cardboard, so I suppose that's what it was.
Posts: 2283 | Registered: Dec 2003
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Oh. I actually meant thinprep, not wetprep. It's when the pap is put in a jar of liquid instead of being spread on a slide. So if they sprayed a slide, it was the old kind. I didn't know those were still being used.
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On the bright side, if they used the old one, it could just be background noise from the fixative making it abnormal. I'd much rather have the slide acting funny than bits of me acting funny.
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Okay, realized that it has been three times in FIVE weeks.
I don't wanna go to the school clinic because the nice lady doctor is never there. It's always the creepy man who says you have gonorrhea of the throat or an anyeurism.
I do know where the nice doctor's regular office is though, so maybe I could call and ask them where I should go, or if she can just see me herself.
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I have no idea. But I can't sleep in my jeans/underwear. Maybe because you move more when you're awake? Because I think the reason it happens if you fall asleep in your jeans and underwear is that you don't get enough air or something.
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I'm really prone to yeast infections, too. It's a pain in the butt. I've been off sugar for about a year, and I still get them... I have to go to great lengths to make sure I don't get overheated, because that just makes it worse. You have my sympathies. Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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Hmm I don't get yeast infections but my daughter did. I find that if she takes an acidophilus supplement regularly, it reduces the frequency significantly. This is the good bacteria in yogurt, by the way. My daughter takes the supplement because she can't eat yogurt (allergies).
Posts: 251 | Registered: Apr 2005
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I eat yoghurt (with bacteria, as opposed to gelatin) every single day, and have for the last year. It's the only form of friendly bacteria we can get here. It's helped me some, but not enough. Don't know why.
pH, I've just learned that low progesterone relative to estrogen can cause wonky periods that are short, frequent, and hellish, so when you see a doc next, make sure you get your hormone levels tested. Hopefully you can get this taken care of now rather than waiting decades like me. And I'll be making sure I get mine tested the next time I see a doc, too.
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My first pediatrician was a man, and one day when I was maybe thirteen and went in for my physical, he brought someone with him to observe. Fortunately, she was a woman. He asked if it was okay. And when it came time for THAT part (which was not nearly as embarassing or scary as the gyno, although I was much younger too, and that probably had something to do with it...plus it wasn't invasive like the gyno), he left the room, and she looked, instead.
