Had my sort of annual

Woman’s exam today and to be honest I am not happy , well, I never am which is why I never go unless I feel I need to go. However, today I was not happy with the way the Doctor talked to me. Weird I know.

I had first gone back to her because it was obvious that the Adenomyosis that was diagnosed when I had a polyp from my uterus, removed in 2004, was getting worse. At the time she gave me two alternatives and one was the pill which I was take without a break. She also ordered a ultrasound to check, I presume, that that polyp hadn’t returned. Anyway today was my check back visit. I didn’t have pap last time I as there was some blood which could have compromised the result .(apparently). So I was tense and nervous, plus cold because as usual I had been left in the room, ready for a good 20 minutes before the doctor came in. Doctors surgeries over here might not be as crowded as the ones in the UK but for some reason, you can be left waiting even longer than you are in the UK! My appointment was at 9.30am and came out at 11am

First of all. the consult took a nosedive straightaway because she came charging in, saying, ‘you must always tell your doctor if your are going to get your prescription by mail order” in a really strident and angry way 1. When she handed me the prescription last time, she said, you might find it cheaper to order online, so I assumed she had given me a mail order prescription and 2. She was out of order, to be so rude. For UK readers, its standard practice over here, (on insistence of your health care provider) to get your pills via mail order

Then she went on about being contacted by Caremark (the prescription company) and she would fax them the prescription. She then asked me whether I had started the pills yet? Of course I had, she had told me to start straight away and I told her I would actually need a new script because I was just coming to end of the 3 wks and she had told me to just carry on without a break. She flat out denied this and then seemed confused over what I was saying. So I reiterated what I had just said this and again denied saying this. This despite the fact she had put me on the pill so I didn’t have a period anymore as that is what makes the adenomyosis worse. This appeared to make her even more dissatisfied as it meant she had to change the script she was about to fax.

Then we got to discussing the actual ultrasound. The adenomyosis had indeed gotten worse and it appears I now have the appearance of a couple of fibroids, although from the ultrasound its hard to tell. Both my ovaries have cysts on them which are according to her, aren’t too big (about about 2” diameter) and probably functional cysts which considering I am on the pill and not ovulating at the moment, seemed strange but explainable. I took it to mean the pill takes a while to take effect because she seemed think I could be still ovulating.

So, apart from her rudeness, I really had no complaints but I was unhappy with the consult for some reason.

I did feel that given that the adenomysois had gotten worse, there appears to be a couple of new lumps in my uterus that weren’t there in 2004 and my bowel movements have changed considerably in the past couple of months (we had a lengthy discussion on that subject), I thought she might have at least done a CA125 blood test, to discount anything else.

Maybe I should go another gynaecologist for peace of mind but trouble is how do you know whether they are any good or not? I really don't know that many women over here to get a recommendation. I don’t think there is anything seriously wrong with me but like I have said before, I have a dramatic imagination (I’m a hypochondriac with a capital ‘H’ to be honest).

Trouble is I have too much time on my hands. I knew before I got to the doctor that I had an under active thyroid as I had looked up all the symptoms. I knew before the doctor that my eldest had polycystic ovaries, because I had looked up all the symptoms. As my husband quite rightly points out, I am a walking medical dictionary who knows too much and too little.

Tomorrow I have the joy of a mammogram which I am very tardy about. You meant to have one every year once you hit 40 over here. This will be my third in 6 yrs. Still in the UK, I would still have another year to wait for pleasure as there is no history of it my family, so in that respect I should be grateful.