Seeking Advice - Bradenton,FL

J., Did you find anything out yet? I am a mother of 4 girls and a grandmother of 14.
I did that and it just kept getting worse. Keep trying to get help and have them check your thyroid. -L.

I just wanted to tell you to not give up. Be persistant in finding out what's going on. You know your own body better than anyone else. And beware of getting depressed. Stress of having a child can easily lead to depression, but adding the drama of an unknown illness can make it more likely. If you start feeling depressed, not only continue searching for answers about the illness, but also look into talking to a professional to help you deal with it all. Good Luck!

Hi J.,
Can I recommend an excellent OB/GYN to you? Dr. Hyler, located on Kingsley Ave. in Orange Park. I had been told for 14 years by many different doctors that there was nothing wrong with me. They said that it was just chronic yeast infections. I was having constant yeast infections, pain during intercourse, burning after intercourse, cramping with periods that seemed to get increasingly worse. They kept prescribing Monostat Cream over and over. I HATE that stuff!

The first time I went to Dr. Hyler he told me right away that he thought that I had endrometriosis. I had never thought of this because I had heard that you usually couldn't get pregnant with this, I had 3 easy pregnancies during these 14 years. In fact, all my symptoms seemed to disappear during pregnancy and start up as soon as the baby was born each time.

He did a laporoscopy and saw the endrometiosis and removed it, started me on Lupron injections for 6 months. I have been nearly symptom free for 6 years now. I LOVE him and his staff. I was about to give up hope and thought I would try Dr. Hyler because of others recommendations. I'm hooked. I hope you find a doctor who will help you. Keeping searching until you find one that will listen and take you seriously. You are worth it and your baby needs his mom to feel well.

I'm praying for you,
T.

Dear J.,

Here are some things that you can do on an immediate basis;
go to the following website and look at the list of iron rich foods as you will get anemic from menstrating so much and it is a short time after giving birth. www.bloodbook.com/iron-foods.html or you can do a search for "iron rich foods".

start eating these foods listed on the above website and eat some everyday.

you can purchase dessicated liver from the healthfood store and this is another source of iron.

Get yourself a really good protein powder and start making for yourself protein shakes every morning. The protein is essential to healing.

See if you can get tested for any kind of infection. These can be common after birth.

The reason I am giving you this information is that just the birth process is very stressful, then a new baby adds an incredible amount of stress. To also have physical problems and no answer is also very stressful. Anything that can help with this is very important!

I am almost sure you need extra vitamins. Not as a cure, as an aid. Minerals, A,B,C,D,E. These are the basics. They will help your body.

Hope this helps.

Deb

Dear J.,
It must feel terrible that no one can find out what it wrong with you!! When I was pregnant (2004) I developed pain all through my pelvis and low back and sides. I thought it would end but it didn't. I had a very long and difficult labor and delivery that ended in C-section. I remember saying to my doctors that I didn't feel like I was healing properly and everone said that I wasn't giving myself enough time. My advice to you is this: Don't stop seeking answers. With all of the bleeding, you need to make sure you aren't anemic. Continue your prenatal vitamins (or start them.) Go to another OB. Pain is your body's way of saying something is wrong. There are such things as normal cysts (such as around the time of ovulation.) However if you are on birth control pills I don't think you should be ovulating. If they claim you have a UTI then they need to do a urine culture. (Has anyone thought about kidney stones?) It is never a good thing to keep being on antibiotics because you are killing all the good and bad bacteria especially when they aren't helping. See your primary doctor! Your pain may not be gyn related and could be in your gastrointestinal tract or elsewhere. Good luck!!! Your not crazy!! Medicine is not exact and is mostly "ruling out" or relying on tests!! I know of some good OB/GYN's in the area if you need to know. K.

I just wanted to give another "don't stop" to the others you have received. This is not normal and you need to find someone that doesn't dismiss you! Pain and bleeding can be related, they could be seperate. I have been going through a birth control shift since having my son in April 05! I just had a month long period! I have finally put in for a Rx that I know works for me, but is expensive, so I was trying everything else first. I was on the same birth control for over 8 years and it just doesn't work for me since giving birth. Yaz is the name of the stuff I am getting now. The pain should not be there and if it was UTI, yeah, I think you would know that!! My husband and I have both gone through medical "mysteries" that were only solved because we kept going until we found a doctor that would listen and do the tests necessary. Who would have thought that could be such a hard thing to get done??!! The only other problem I had after birth was gal stones. 6 months after have my son, I had my gal bladder removed. They can see these by doing an ultrasound. The pain for me was in my chest, but it is different for everyone and I have heard people describe it like you just did. it was pain that kept me up all night long and sent me to the emergency room at 3am on morning. Which leads me to my next suggestion. It is more expensive, but going to the ER can solve a lot!! Once they admitt you, they are going to figure it out. They will do tests right then and there that you would normally have to fight for with you PC doctor. I really hope you figure this out!!

Your symptoms sound very familiar to me. I have had chronic endometriosis for years and after having my baby in 2004, I bled for like 9 weeks straight before I finally stopped (and I delivered via c section) - even after they put me on the pill. I was having severe pain and my dr did a laparoscopy to remove endo and I felt like a new person. I would recommend trying to find a dr who is commited to doing everything possible to make sure you are pain free. My dr will stop at nothing to make sure I am not uncomfortable and I love him. I am in brunswick (sounds like you are in Jax?) or I would recommend him to you.

Keep seeking second, third, fourth, fifth...opinions until you get to someone who can give you an answer. You know you don't feel well and something's not right. Keep looking until you find a Doctor who can figure out what's wrong! My grandmother had abnormal bleeding well beyond her menstrual years and learned that she had ovarian cancer. She fought it for years. I also have a couple friends and an aunt who have had cysts. They were fine until they became too painful to deal with and were removed. I hope all works out for you. Good luck.

HMMM .. have you looked into a chirpractor? that may be your prob.. when your PG your spine can become compressed and it can affect you in lots of ways!! while i was PG (near the end) i had a horrible cold which turned into just a constant runny nose, my midwife suggested a chiroractor (sounds weird huh) but i went anyways and he cracked me , lol.. felt so good, and the best thing.. all the way home my nose drained .. for about a day it did that.. and then no more runny nose ! i was so worried about not being aboe to breathe during labor (i was 39 weeks at the time) but the chiropactor helped me SOOO much ...

I have never been through anything like that and can understand how frustrating it all is. I don't know how your insurance works, but can you go to another ob/gyn doctor? My thinking is somebody who specializes in this area might be more help than a primary care doctor. Since your ob hasn't helped, maybe another one is your area might.

What you are dealing definitely does NOT seem normal!! Being a mother of two at 24 and having quite a few friends with children, I've never heard of anything like this...even with friends with difficult pregnancies, I've never heard of it. I think you need to try another OB clinic. If you haven't already, do some online research, and also research OB'GYNs in your area. This sounds like it could be dangerous. I had a baby in July 06, and although everybody's bodies are different, I didn't experience any pain other than the normal recovery pain. So PLEASE seek another OB/GYN. YOu may want to go to a doctor in Pensacola if you haven't already been.