Advice for dealing with the nhs

Hi, I’m hoping to hear from people who’ve navigated the NHS gynae/endometriosis pathway because I’m feeling a bit lost after a recent appointment.

I’ve been dealing with worsening pelvic pain that’s very cyclical, alongside bowel symptoms that also flare around my cycle. Hormonal treatment hasn’t really helped, and over time the pain has started to affect my ability to work(had to quit my part time job due to too many sick days) and attend uni properly.

Earlier this year, my initial gynaecologist suggested ruling out GI causes first before any imaging. My GP referred me for tests, and I ended up having a colonoscopy. That ruled out bowel disease, but biopsies showed ongoing inflammation in the caecum, and the report recommended “clinicopathological correlation”. From my understanding, that basically means the findings need to be looked at alongside my symptoms.

I recently had a follow-up appointment with a covering gynaecologist, and it honestly felt really dismissive. Despite explaining the impact this is having on my life and asking directly about further imaging, he insisted that I need to have a pelvic ultrasound first and said an MRI isn’t something they’d consider yet. He also suggested that because my GP originally referred me for the GI tests, it’s now for my GP to deal with — which felt like being passed back and forth and no consideration of potential bowel endo.

What’s frustrating is that I keep reading (and being told) that ultrasounds often don’t show endometriosis, especially if bowel or deeper involvement is suspected, so it feels like another delay rather than real progress. I’m not looking for a diagnosis here — just some perspective from others who’ve been through this.

Have people found that ultrasound is just a box-ticking step on the NHS? Has anyone managed to get an MRI without first having an ultrasound? Did going back through a GP help more than gynae? And did private imaging actually help move things forward with the NHS?

I’m feeling pretty worn down and just want some sense of whether this is “normal NHS stuff” or whether there are better ways to push for proper investigation.

Thanks so much if you’ve read this — I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences.