Plug it up!

Breaking news from Gynaecology Horror Land!

I went into detail in a previous post about my various frustrations with how my "treatment" has been going with my gynaecologist, where the central gripe was poor communication.

It was really starting to chip away at my already splintered anxiety. The crux of these issues being that I haven't understood the reasons why she has reached the decisions she has. When I had my hysteroscopy last year she was happy with how everything looked in there and said that the coil was doing what it was supposed to do and I was discharged back to the GP. It didn't leave me in any better position pain-wise but at least it confirmed there wasn't anything immediately sinister going on in there. She didn't leave me with anything else except a vague suggestion that the GP prescribe me supplementary progesterone.

My lovely GP wrote to her just to get some clarification on dosage and received no response. After a few months when I spoke to Lovely GP next about my HRT prescription, she sent a chaser and received no response to that either. Until I received a notification in my NHS app that the gynaecologist referred me back to her with an appointment to see her in clinic.

It was a bewildering experience because she clearly hadn't read up on my notes (if she had any) so I had to explain why I was there and for some reason the whole purpose - to discuss the progesterone supplement - went completely out of the window. She wanted to do another hysteroscopy despite the fact I had had one just a year before, and she wanted to take my coil out. I never got a satisfactory reason for that.

I came away from that consultation feeling very confused and frustrated. Whenever I tried to give her some information about my symptoms or previous procedures, or tried to get clarification on anything, she would ramble and not address the issue at hand at all. I didn't feel confident about the hysteroscopy either. I'm not an expert of course, but the last one was clear. I tried explaining that after many ultrasounds and a hysteroscopy, the only time anything was picked up was via both of my laparoscopies, but that fell on deaf ears too.

When I went to my appointment to have my coil removed (and this particular coil was still quite "new" as I'd not long ago had it replaced), I told her about my horrible flare-up episode which took me to A&E. She didn't even seem to listen and just dismissed it and wanted to get on with the coil removal. Complete tunnel vision; nothing will dissuade her in what she has decided to do in that moment.

I was incredibly concerned about being on my HRT patches without any progesterone - again, she didn't seem to be listening to me.

My coil was removed in July. Last week I had my first bleed.

This was very unsettling. I'd had the coil since 2018 and it completely stopped my periods. Before that I had been on the pill since my mid-late teens so I hadn't had a "natural" period since before then!

It was awful. Painful and clotty. Made all the more frustrating because my coil stopped all that and I didn't even know why it was taken out in the first place! I also hadn't needed to buy sanitary towels for absolutely years so that annoyed me as well.

It gave me the nudge I needed to get an appointment with Lovely GP though as I was also just a few patches away from finishing my last box of HRT and I wanted to discuss with her about my lacking progesterone.

She gave me a call this afternoon and immediately put me at ease. She's so easy to talk to which was such a relief after my previous failed attempts to make any sense out of the gynaecologist's tangents and rambles.

I hate to "badmouth" a professional but I did end up basically vomiting all my anxiety, confusion, and frustration about my various trials and tribulations. I told her everything and explained how terrified I was about not getting any progesterone and how in the weeds I have felt around my own treatment.

I'm so glad that I did. She listened to me really carefully. It was so refreshing to feel like I was really being heard. She was incredibly empathetic. She apologised for how I'd been made to feel and that my concerns and questions were valid.

She also sounded annoyed by the lack of contact with her as well. She said they don't often have the time to send chasers to queries so she must have been really annoyed when she did it!

Anyway, after venting all of that spleen and telling her how horrible the bleeding had been, she very quietly and seriously asked me if I wanted to go ahead with the hysteroscopy and if I would like to be referred to someone else. That took me aback a bit as I just wasn't expecting it, but it felt really good because it felt like I had some control back, instead of feeling lost and bewildered.

I was more than happy to bin off the hysteroscopy. It's an unpleasant procedure which I know will cause me pain and discomfort for days after.

Seeing a different clinician would mean a completely new referral so it would basically see me being back at square one, which isn't ideal but considering that I am really not confident in how things have been going, it's really important that I actually understand why certain decisions are being made. A new referral seems like the best option for me.

So, no hysteroscopy (I called the hospital and cancelled right after the call with Lovely GP and told them I didn't want to reschedule it). No Zoladex injection for now. She's prescribed me progesterone so I'll hopefully be no worse off than I was before and we can start again, hopefully with a clinician I feel I can have a decent dialogue with.

I came away from that conversation feeling so relieved. It really brought it home just how important it is to feel listened to by medical practitioners. I was very effusive in my thanks and gratitude and she said she was glad I felt better with our new plan of action and that if I had any concerns or questions in the future, that I could always speak with her. I did cry when I got off the phone. I'm so grateful that she took so much time to listen to me and empathise with my experience.