I wanted to blog about The Royal Surrey Hospital in Guildford and my experience of the team there. I have been seeing Mr Kent and team since May 09. I wanted to blog about them as I wish I had been referred to them years ago and if you are looking for a new hospital or one that is more Endometriosis Specialised, this might be the one for you. This link will take you to their website. http://www.royalsurrey.nhs.uk/
I only learnt that they were there when I attended the Endometriosis UK awareness day in London and I went to the talk on painful sex given by Wendy Rae-Mitchell. Wendy is a Nurse Care practitioner at the Royal Surrey Hospital, I had never heard of this position before, in all of my previous hospitals (three) I was just looked after by a Consultant. It took me a while to realise that not all Consultants were what I call super specialists, some are Gynaecologists with a specialist interest in Endometriosis which is not the same as the super specialists.
The Royal Surrey Hospital was the first hospital to refer me for an MRI, then onto their pain team and Wendy. My last surgery was a joint surgery with both Mr Kent and Professor Rockall (Bowel Consultant) as I had a bowel re-section. Personally, when having surgery I want somebody who performs lots of these operations and really knows their stuff to minimise the risks of surgery.
I was really well looked after before the surgery and afterwards. Wendy rang me the day after I got home and gave me support via the telephone for some time so the care didn't end at discharge. I was so grateful for these calls, it gave me confidence speaking to somebody medically trained and emotionally aware of the impact of Endometriosis and surgery. If I had anything that I was worried about I could talk it through with her or if she thought I should see my GP, she would organise that to happen. It was a much more positive experience than I have had before and made a real difference to the way I felt.
There is also a great support group at the Royal Surrey, there is normally one support group a month instead of every other month as one is a hospital led group and the next is an Endometriosis Uk group.
Lily Lou x
Glad to hear you've had a positive experience with the Royal Surrey Hospital :) Makes a nice change to have some positive experiences with the NHS eh?! Do you still attend the VP support groups? I go rarely these days, but attend when I can... Just wanted to update you on the CBFM. It's really good actually and much easier to interpret that the ovulation test sticks and it's digital. I would recommend it as it gives you more warning of ovulation, so you may be able to catch the egg better. I've bought some yes baby, but have been a bit scared to use it in case it causes a flare up! Will see how it goes as seem to be doing ok without it atm...Just one other tip I'd thought I'd pass on with regards to your ovulation; I have been taking my basal temperature every morning with a special digital thermometer and tracking various other signs with an online chart. By taking your temperature 1st thing on waking you will be able to confirm whether you've ovulated or not as your temperature rises after ovulation due to a rise in progesterone. This could help to pin point if you're having issues in this area anyway.... Fertility Friend website has a lot of info about basal body temperature and also that's where I do my online chart... Hope this helpful...
ReplyDeleteAll the best, Claire x
Hi Claire,
ReplyDeleteLovely to hear from you again. Yes, I agree with your about experiences within the NHS. I feel lucky to have found Guildford for the treatment of Endometriosis. The last three hospitals weren't set up in the same way and my experiences were very different.
When it comes to the Vulva pain, I have been through many GP's and hospitals but have recently been to UCLH to see Natasha Curran and again they are really good. I'm going to blog about them too.
Thanks for letting me know about the clear blue fertility monitor, I'll have a look at them and for the heads up on the basal body temperature, again I may give it a go, it seems to give you more control over the situation. I am thinking about following up on the comment that S left about the Chinese medicine and acupuncture to help with both pain and falling pregnant.
Before I put YES all over my Vulva, I put just a small bit on to see if after a few days my skin reacted to it and it never did. Its good that you are already doing well without it.
Thanks again Claire, you know lots of information on trying to conceive, its great you are sharing it.
I haven't been to a LVPSG for a long time as they always seem to clash with my periods, I do have the dates in my diary and will try to come when possible.
Take Care and let me know how you are getting on
Lily Lou x