Absolutely devastated

LegacyUser

Going unreg for this.

I have had what I consider devastating news today. I've been having weird vaginal/pelvic symptoms for a few months. I'm always very careful with my health, so I went to the doctor for an exam and the results all came back negative, she said it was nothing serious. The symptoms did not subside, so I went again to a nurse this time who did an exam and a set of swabs. I found the procedure very painful but she said that was normal, as she thought I had thrush. Results all negative again. I got a lecture about not using soap down there and so on. I voiced my concerns about pelvic inflammatory disease, because of the pain, and was told it was very unlikely, as I had no infections. I decided to go to an STI clinic just in case. I left it a couple of months, thinking there was no hurry.

Today I found out I do indeed have PID, which can result in infertility. There is no way to know how long I've had it or how much damage has been done. I'm absolutely furious, as with the amount of times I went to the doctor, this should never have happened. Not to mention I'm incredibly low risk to begin with. I'm 24, have had 2 sexual partners, both used condoms and both STI tested. I've never been pregnant, never had an abortion or anything. I just can't believe this is happening to me. I want to have children more than anything. I read that 20% of women become infertile after just one episode of PID. I did everything 'right', went way above and beyond normal careful behaviour and I still get it. I just can't get over it. I've been crying all day. I'm so petrified now I'll never have kids.

jokerrus

Sorry to hear that but theres still hope.
One of my old bestie's mother had the same problem and look at her now? 2 daughter well and alive and super brainy as well.
So dont worry too much about it. I know " easier said than done" but thats the only way.

LegacyUser

I know, but it's killing me that not only is it so preventable, I went completely and utterly out of my way to prevent it, questioning doctors, bringing printouts about pelvic inflammatory disease and asking them to check me, and I was completely ignored. It's so hard to deal with this when it should never, ever have happened to start with. I went to the doctor twice with my symptoms and she dismissed them as thrush without even examining me, the third time she did a very short exam, so I went to the nurse. When she checked me out, the pain was terrible, I told her so and she said 'oh thrush can be sore, maybe try some natural yoghurt'. Complete BS. They obviously thought I was so low risk for PID they could just fob me off.

jokerrus

Well this is Ireland afterall.
If anything happens to me (touch wood) I'd be out of this country in matter of seconds and get help elsewhere.

If u really want to have kids, u just have to work harder =P

jenga-jen

Very sorry to hear about your diagnosis OP.

I have no experience of PID but I can understand your frustration with your treatment or perceived lack thereof.

I've noticed an almost god-like fear we Irish seem to have for doctors, where we don't like to question them so well done for trying to push through the tests.

Have you thought about complaining to the practice where your doctor(s) is/are based or to the doctor(s) in question regarding your treatment?

If you feel that you would like to go down this route and that you have just cause to do so then maybe approach your local Citizens Advice (or similar if you're not based in Ireland) and get an idea of your rights?

elsy

Can i ask what pid is and what are sypmtoms. i have had a lot of operations on my ovaries and was so worried i'd have fertilty problems i now have a 2 year old and am 7 weeks pregnant on number 2 both were concieved quickly so believe me theres every chance everything will be ok

LegacyUser

I am Irish but living in the UK. I told the doctor today about how I'd been fobbed off and he basically made excuses for the other doctors, saying that PID is hard to diagnose and that I was low risk for it. I think that is the attitude which led to this - low risk is not no risk and I wish doctors would take people seriously! Even if there is only 1 % chance of having something, that's still a chance, and if someone had listened sooner, I wouldn't be in this situation. I just think it's especially bad that I essentially diagnosed MYSELF - specifically asked to be examined and tested, and they acted like I was a nutter. So much that I had myself convinced that it was nothing and I actually made an effort to relax and not go running to the STI clinic. Even my boyfriend thought I was mental to think I could still have something after all the tests and exams. I really was convinced today that I was wasting my time again and that everything would be clear, and then I got this awful shock. It's like some sort of bad joke. I keep thinking I'll wake up in the morning and it was all a nightmare.

Kanye

Contact your solicitor in relation to this. You don't want to risk having a phony diagnostician out and about misdiagnosing the world and its mother.

Ickle Magoo

I'm glad you got the proper diagnosis and treatment in the end. The Dr is correct, PID is notoriously difficult to diagnose but it shouldn't have been ruled out and testing should have continued until they found what was causing your symptoms.

If you wish to make a complaint you can contact the GMC (General Medical Council), what constitutes grounds for complaint and the procedure is outlined here; http://www.gmc-uk.org/concerns/making_a_complaint.asp

If it was an NHS facililty then their complaints procedure is outlined here; http://www.nhs.uk/choiceintheNHS/Rightsandpledges/complaints/Pages/NHScomplaints.aspx

Many women fully recover from PID and have no lasting physical effects, I hope you are one of them. Best of luck.

LegacyUser

It wasn't even one doctor, I mean, since about last July when I first suspected I might have PID, I went to my doctor at home several times, another doctor at home and then 2 different doctors and nurses here in the UK. Obviously it really didn't look like I had it - my STI screens were clear, my other tests were clear, I haven't slept with many different partners and while smear tests always hurt, the pelvic exam didn't hurt enough to convince them I had PID and I had sex with my boyfriend all through August (he's abroad) without any problems or pain. But I kept pushing and pushing for more tests and answers and eventually I was told to accept that nothing was wrong. The doctors were quite rude about this, I got the impression all 4 of them as well as the nurses thought I was a hypochondriac. I will speak to the specialist in 2 weeks and see what he thinks of all this, and how to go about complaining.

The doctor who diagnosed me was acting like it wasn't a big deal, but that goes against all the campaigns to get people tested for chlamydia, which all give PID as the 'worst case scenario'. He told me the statistics of 1 in 5 woman being infertile after one episode of PID were exaggerated, but I don't see how. I've been having a weird pulling sensation in my pelvic for months, which is why I first thought I had PID, and I've read that that often signifies scar tissue/adhesions in the pelvis. That is not good. I know I'm being negative, but I've had such horrendous luck so far, I don't see why it would change.

mood

Do you mind telling us what test was don't to find out if you had PID?

LegacyUser

mood wrote: »

Do you mind telling us what test was don't to find out if you had PID?

There is no test for PID. I gather that they can examine the samples for evidence of it, if an infection is found, but it's not very accurate. The main way it is diagnosed is through the doctor pressing on your abdomen while pressing on your cervix and vaginal walls. If this is very painful, it's considered highly likely you have PID.