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Year long problem

I started my period when I was 11 years old. Immediately the severity of what that meant hit. I would be in excruciating pain, I would throw up constantly, I had headaches, I was a walking zombie when awake because I couldn’t actually process the world around me (I ended up walking into walls, chairs, doors, etc.), if the pain was super severe I’d sleep for days without end. I didn’t even wake up to eat or use the restroom. The pain was always on the side that sticks out (my left side sticks out a lot further) (tho the part that sticks out wasn’t there initially) and wraps around my spine. I was in and out of the hospital and they refused to investigate further because they suspected I would have to have an ovary removed if they found the cause.

Now I’m 22 years old. Since a few years after my period the puffy part (idk what to call it) started to appear, I did not have medical so I hadn’t been to the doctor in a while. My periods stayed intense for years and over the past two years I had developed nerve pain that shot down my leg when I’m on my period.  Always the left side (the puffy side). After going to a doctor and being treated very rudely. I was told to return to the ER if the symptoms got worse and they did. Upon my arrival I was treated terribly. Some of the rudest and most unprofessional health care providers were on my team. As a black woman I never trusted doctors anyways so this wasn’t surprising just tiring.

I ended up making an appointment with a gyno and my care team failed to mention that my care provider would be a ******* resident. I expressed my interest in getting the implant in my arm because it’s worked well with my family and specifically my cousin who also had severe periods. The resident expressed a distaste for my choice and pushed that I instead get an IUD. This was my first pelvic exam (I was 21 and they refused to do one sooner) and I felt ignorant in a way and pressured. She brushed over the process and even pushed that I get the iud during that appointment and just wanting to never have to see this medical care team, I agreed.  

I was not informed that it was her first time inserting an iud, the head doctor made sexual remarks, they used my pain as a way to guide themselves (if I winced or cried out the lead doctor would say “that’s exactly what you’re looking for””that’s how you know you placed it right” etc. I walked out shaking and crying bleeding a lot on my bus ride home.

They failed to explain that an iud should be inserted during your period in an effort to shorten or even stop your period. Instead she did mine while ovulating which means the lining was at its thickest. My first period since insertion was over a month long (she did not warn me this could happen). I now have terrible cramps all month long, I bleed for weeks at a time and I constantly have to check for bleeding because my period stops and starts. I did some research and it says blood clots during your period should only be around the size of a quarter but I pass some much larger. I will have a week of bleeding that’s just dark and old blood and then it’ll stop for days and it’ll be bright red and go on for another week or so.

I’ve also noticed the terrible effects this is having on my mental health. After weeks of cramping when my period finally does hit I become suicidal. Almost hysterical. And as soon as my periods passed I’m back to normal.

I do want the iud out but I would like possible caused to my other symptoms so that I can educate myself before my next appointment and so I can argue my case with the new team I’ll be transferring to.

Some other symptoms I’ve experienced since my periods will be listed below. They may not be correlated but getting to the root of all of it or at least a good place to look would be very helpful.

•I have these weird fits where I’ll get hot flashes, I start pouring sweat, I get nauseous (usually throw up), and occasionally a migraine will follow.
      -the funny thing about this one is the fact that if I can cool myself down before throwing up. I can avoid the throwing up and the migraine. Usually I’ll put a fan or stick my head in the freezer. So long as I drastically drop my temperature I can stop it.

•I’m almost always dizzy especially if I stand up too fast or bend over

•I gain and drop weight drastically. I’ve had one week where I felt awful. I was ravenous, tired, burning up, dizzy, and couldn’t sleep. During this week I dropped 20 pounds.

I have had moments where I drop tens of pounds very rapidly always accompanied by the same symptoms and when they go away I rapidly gain the weight right back even with barely eating. Each time this happens I gain more and more weight.

I’m sure there’s more but this is the gist of it.
Plz help
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134578 tn?1693250592
COMMUNITY LEADER
See if you can get to an endocrinologist (this would be by referral from your ob/gyn). Also, see if you can at least get a woman doctor, and if you can, try for one who is not Caucasian. (My ob/gyn is Asian, for example.)

It's not on you to tell them the diagnosis, but do tell them the symptoms. Write it all out and make sure they know what has been happening to you. It sounds like a big hormonal imbalance of some kind, and you should get some imaging and blood tests to figure it out.
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1 Comments
By imaging, an ultrasound is a start, but also push to get an abdominal MRI. They're the gold standard for looking for scar tissue, fibroids, etc. But what you're talking about with the dizziness and the weight fluctuations sounds more like something the endocrinologist should assess. I'm thinking fluctuations of progesterone and estrogen, but there is also the chance of thyroid issues. Do you take Advil or Nuprin during your periods? It works better than Tylenol or other OTC stuff for cramps.
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