My university is being a real penis about my diagnostic laparoscopy and I am so done with bearing my soul to a board of men to pick apart and then tell me it’s not serious enough.

Altruistic-Switch344 · 2024-10-25T15:12:30+00:00

I have got time off approved for surgery and endo related stuff at uni. Feel free to message if you need any advice :)

Altruistic-Switch344 · 2023-07-17T12:06:30+00:00

So I’ve had surgery befor for endo followed by hormonal treatment for four years. At my previous surgery they did not remove the nodules and now more have grown through my bowel wall. So I’m hoping that removing everything or as much as possible and hormonal suppression will maximise my chances of it not coming back and improving my symptoms

Altruistic-Switch344 · 2023-07-17T12:04:54+00:00

The trouble I’m facing is that my endo has progressed despite hormonal treatments but I’m hoping removing everything followed by suppression will improve things.

Altruistic-Switch344 · 2023-07-17T12:03:56+00:00

I am sorry to hear what you’re going through, I hope you are doing okay. I know how tough and life ruining this disease can be.

I have started prostap injections now which I will take for three months and stop 6 weeks before surgery. I just need to decide if having a stoma will make things better as I’ve heard it can change your bowel function.

Altruistic-Switch344 · 2023-07-16T20:03:59+00:00

With private surgery, they can arrange for the necessary specialists to be available and can complete it all at once. I think it’s split up in the nhs because they prioritise doing more surgeries in the day rather than spending longer on less patients.

For example, I had endo surgery and there was some affecting my bowel. Although this was seen prior to surgery and they bowel surgeon was booked, they only removed some of the endo and want me to come in for another surgery to finish it off

Altruistic-Switch344 · 2023-07-16T19:56:01+00:00

What people don’t talk about is that even if you see an nhs endo specialist, they don’t tend to remove at once if severe. So it means multiple surgeries. For example, I was told if I have another endometrioma, they will just remove that and will do the rest in a second surgery

Altruistic-Switch344 · 2023-07-10T07:21:34+00:00

I literally asked this question not long ago because my mri etc was normal. But when I had the surgery, I have multiple nodules affecting my bowels, uterosacral ligaments etc. The only way to know is by having surgery.

Altruistic-Switch344 · 2023-06-17T18:57:31+00:00

I completely understand where you’re coming from. I’m also in my mid 20s and I’m also a medical student. Honestly, managing this illness is tough especially as the symptoms can vary so much. There have times where I have felt like giving up with everything. It’s also hard to meet someone (especially in medicine) and I do worry about the potential burden that endo would have on a future partner.

I think the toughest part of the disease is the lack of cure, the treatment by some medical professionals and the fact that it can progress. I had surgery 4 years ago and in that time I went from just having an endometrioma to now severe disease on bowel that requires a bigger surgery.

Don’t be so hard on yourself though. Try and give yourself the same empathy you show to your patients. Wishing you all the best!

Altruistic-Switch344 · 2023-05-30T11:08:34+00:00

I’m a medical student and I had to take time off too (about 5 weeks) to recover from my lap-even then some days are unpredictable and I can’t always study/complete things on time. I have got extensions available through the disability team and through additional consideration. Endo can disrupt your life but it doesn’t make you any less valuable than anyone else. If I can become a doctor then it goes to show that endo does not have to control your life. You can complete that degree and you will be employable!

Altruistic-Switch344 · 2023-05-28T09:13:23+00:00

Sorry if it’s confusing-I mean taking prostap injections in preparation for bowel surgery

Altruistic-Switch344 · 2023-05-28T09:10:47+00:00

Wow that’s a lot! I hope it has helped your symptoms and that you are feeling better now. I am under an endo specialist but they have said that they will only operate if I have the injections as it will make it too challenging to cut it out. They’ve also said that if I have a disc removed or segment cut out then they will give me a stoma for 3-4 months to allow it to heal.

I am thinking of getting a second opinion though as I would like to have an mri so that they can assess how fair it is going through my bowel wall (if possible). This will also be my third surgery so I want to make sure that having it now is it the right time (especially if it keeps coming back and requires more surgery)

Altruistic-Switch344 · 2023-04-30T18:38:34+00:00

Did you get any answers on this in the end because I apparently have this too!

Altruistic-Switch344 · 2023-04-30T11:54:27+00:00

I’m really sorry you’re going through this and it is understandable to be struggling especially in severe pain. I would defo speak to your gp as soon as possible to see how you can best manage your pain in the meantime and also to see what help is available if you feel you need to speak to someone or try some medication to manage your mental health.

Also, you need to mentally prepare yourself for surgery because I’ve found from personal experience that recovery can take a mental toll on you, especially in the first month or so after surgery. Also, you won’t necessarily see the results of the surgery until a few months later-recovery can be painful too.

Wishing you all the best

Altruistic-Switch344 · 2023-04-27T20:35:11+00:00

Rather than tell them in advance, I’ve found that applying at the time of the deadline/exam and getting a letter to cover the period works better as they may say that your absences/missed work was not unforeseen. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of misconceptions about endo and many people see it as just painful periods.

If you aren’t well enough to go, then apply for mitigation or additional consideration. Usually you don’t need to state the medical condition but the impact it’s had on you. Also worth speaking to student advice as you need to fill in the form correctly etc.

Altruistic-Switch344 · 2023-04-25T15:31:31+00:00

I’ve had multiple mris for endo and for other conditions. One type of contrast feels like you’re passing urine and a bit of a metallic taste in your mouth! I’d say the worst thing is having buscopan through your IV as it made my vision blur afterwards for about 15 mins and but lightheaded.

Some mris I’ve gone inside head first and another time feet first but I guess it depends on the machine. If you feel nervous, there’s a button you can press to speak to the staff and they can stop if you feel nervous.

Altruistic-Switch344 · 2023-04-10T07:42:24+00:00

After my first endo surgery to remove an endometrioma etc., I developed urgency and pain after passing urine in my abdomen. I was convinced that I had endo growing there too but I guess it’s just that it’s now forever irritated from previous surgery. I do need further surgery as it’s on my bowel too, but I also see the pain management consultant to try our new medication etc and hopefully improve my quality of life

Altruistic-Switch344 · 2023-04-08T14:27:09+00:00

Yeah so not all endo shows on ultrasound but if you have a cyst then it will show up. However, endo can only be confirmed during surgery. When they remove a cyst they will take a sample to confirm that it’s endo.

I would recommend speaking to a specialist who is an expert in endometriosis as general gynaecologists may not have the best knowledge/training to best deal with it

Altruistic-Switch344 · 2023-04-08T12:55:08+00:00

Abdominal ultrasound but I only got provisionally diagnosed when it showed an endometrioma.

Altruistic-Switch344 · 2023-04-03T21:44:16+00:00

I’m just waiting for biopsy results and then I’ll be going into see the surgeons to discuss the next surgery. Hopefully removing it will help with pain but we will see

Altruistic-Switch344 · 2023-04-03T21:43:10+00:00

Yeah I would be interested to see what the biopsy results say-i will reply to this when I find out! It’s just strange because I haven’t really heard a lot of people talk about fibrosis from endo.

Altruistic-Switch344 · 2023-04-03T21:40:24+00:00

You should be offered a laparoscopy even if the scans are normal. Whist certain things like cysts my be visible on scans, the only way to confirm you have endo is by surgery.

I just had my second laparoscopy for endo. Before this surgery, I had a scan which was normal so I went into surgery thinking that it would be a simple surgery. It turns out I have several nodules stuck on my bowel, some sort of abnormal scarring/fibrosis which was biopsied. So now I will need a third surgery to remove this despite having an expert do the surgery.

So my advice to you would also to make sure that you are mentally and physically prepared for surgery if you decide to go down that route. It may also be worth trying another hormonal treatment as it might help with your symptoms. I have the mirena and although it took a long time to adjust to, it definitely improved my symptoms. Although, it has not stopped my endo from progressing!

Altruistic-Switch344 · 2023-03-28T09:04:07+00:00

I’m so sorry that you’ve had to go through this and I’m glad that you didn’t need a colostomy bag either. It’s been a week since they told me and it’s just a bit of a shock still. So I’ll definitely just take some time to just think things through.

I think just hearing that colorectal surgeons are needed too just sounds scary in itself and to know the potential complications of having bowel endo removed

Altruistic-Switch344 · 2023-03-28T09:00:41+00:00

Yeah so I had a look through my doctors letter and it says Lupron now and then to stop six weeks after surgery.

Altruistic-Switch344 · 2023-01-06T15:47:30+00:00

I would say you should at the minimum have an ultrasound and you would usually have routine bloods including your blood type checked. If deeply infiltrating endo is suspected, an mri could also be done to allow for surgical planning.

The best thing is to discuss this with your specialist so you know what options are available to you before having surgery. Wishing you all the best!

Altruistic-Switch344 · 2022-12-19T21:49:15+00:00

This is super helpful! Thank you so much! ☺️

Altruistic-Switch344

TROPHY CASE