#gynaecology
Welp, that last post about not anticipating any gyno follow up really bit me in the ass
I was supposed to be having the second of my 6-month follow up Pap smears today. That’s not how it turned out.
My doctor was joking with me that this would be one of the last times I’d be looking at my cervix, and did the smear swab. Then he sprayed with the vinegar solution, and obviously noticed something he didn’t like the look of. He told me he’d be taking a biopsy. While this was a lot better than the first colposcopy I had, it still hurt like a bitch.
Then he said he wanted to do a scraping of the inside of my cervix, in the area he couldn’t see with the colposcope. “Some cramping” ensued, and there was a pretty decent amount of bleeding, so he had to use whatever that peanut butter-looking coagulant stuff is. Unpleasant.
That second scrape made me really nervous because he hasn’t done it before. I’m not sure why he thought it would be needed now, but hopefully he’s just being thorough.
He didn’t book a follow up right away, which makes me feel slightly better, but said he would call with biopsy results in a few weeks.
I asked him about TTC, and he advised me to wait. He said that it would be safer to make sure the biopsy is negative (of course) first, but that if I get pregnant, they can still do some treatment if needed. Usually changes take a long time to develop/worsen, apparently.
So, that’s awesome. Just waiting with baited breath now!
In other news, my last poke/prod of the week is scheduled for Friday when the Humira nurse is coming to my work to do the blood draw for the antibody test.
Ah how I love the Trotula!
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On excessive flux of the menses
29. Sometimes the menses abound beyond what is natural, which has happened because the veins of the womb are wide and open, or because sometimes they break open and the blood flows in great quantity. And the flowing blood looks red and clear, because a lot of blood is generated from an abundance of food and drink; this blood, when it is not able to be contained within the vessels, erupts out.
31. The cure. If, therefore, the blood is the cause, let it be bled off from the hand or the arm where the blood is provoked upward. Any sort of gentle cathartic ought also to be taken.
34. Let her eat hens cooked in pastry, fresh fish cooked in vinegar, and barley bread. Let her drink a decoction made from barley, in which great plantain root is first cooked, and boil it with the decoction and it will be even better. And afterward boil [the root] in seawater until it cracks and becomes wrinkled, and let vinegar be added and let it be strained through a cloth and let it be given to drink. Let her drink red wine diluted with seawater. And if great plantain root is boiled with the decoction, so much the better.
43. In another fashion, take shells of walnut and make a powder and give it in a drink with seawater. Then make a plaster of the dung of birds or of a cat [mixed] with animal grease and let it be placed upon the belly and loins.
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From ‘Women’s Lives in Medieval Europe : A Sourcebook’ edited by Emilie Amt (Taylor & Francis Group, 2010).
Gynaecology appointment Update—
A little history: I have always had extremely painful and heavy periods. I started brith control about 5 years ago. That didn’t help much so I then started taking BC for 4 continuous months then stopping to have my period. This worked moderately well, I got to skip my period for a while and only had to endure my painful period every once in a while. But that has changed. Back in June I had one of the most painful periods of my life. It was not normal, I was doubled over in pain, the meds weren’t helping it- my cramps felt like contractions and I couldn’t sit as my lady bits were too sore, it was torture.
I relayed this info to my gynaecologist who is sending me to get an ultrasound to check for cysts and fibroids. She also gave me two treatment options: get an IUD (which I didn’t feel comfortable with) or try a medication that is used to treat endometriosis. I opted for the meds (I later found out it costs $200, trying to see if I can get it covered). My Gynaecologist thinks it’s highly likely I have Endometriosis, which I’ve suspected for YEARS she just happens to be the first doctor that has listened to me. Waiting to get the meds and then do the ultrasound, based on how I feel on the meds and what the ultrasound shows will determine a path from there.
#Endometriosis #Gynaecology #ChronicPain #ChronicLyme #LymeDisease #ChronicIllness #Disabled
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoXLTB3necx/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1t93me2n56pot
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Support structures of the uterus. Weakening of any of these structures can lead to a uterovaginal prolapse.
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Amsel criteria for diagnosis of bacterial vaginosis. It occurs when the balance of bacteria that naturally occur in the vagina becomes disrupted (usually the lactobacilli number goes down), so some get to predominate leading to symptoms of an infection. IT IS NOT AN STI. One of the common causes is excessively cleaning the vagina. Patients like it when you emphasise this.
Usually they’re anaeroboes so treat them with metronizadole. No need to treat the partner. Tah dah.
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