odd prickly/slightly stinging sensations in pelvic/abdomen area?

sisters,

wish i'd kept track of these sensations, but i've had them before. they come and go. my partner thinks they're nerves regenerating after surgery/chemo, i think they could represent new growths. in any case, wondering if anyone else has experienced them, and if so, when in relation to surgery or chemo?

thanx and sisterhood,
maggie

Comments

  • Kaleena
    Kaleena Member Posts: 2,088 Member
    Hi Maggie:
    I have gotten

    Hi Maggie:

    I have gotten that same sensation from time to time. They had gone away but when I had surgery again in 2010, I sometime still get that feeling. It sometimes feels like stitches pulling inside even though I know I dont.

    Kathy
  • maggie_wilson
    maggie_wilson Member Posts: 596
    Kaleena said:

    Hi Maggie:
    I have gotten

    Hi Maggie:

    I have gotten that same sensation from time to time. They had gone away but when I had surgery again in 2010, I sometime still get that feeling. It sometimes feels like stitches pulling inside even though I know I dont.

    Kathy

    kathy
    thanx for your response. it was helpful. do you think we're the only two out here with these strange sensations?

    sisterhood,
    maggie
  • Fayard
    Fayard Member Posts: 438 Member

    kathy
    thanx for your response. it was helpful. do you think we're the only two out here with these strange sensations?

    sisterhood,
    maggie

    Maggie
    I do not know if you are talking the same thing I have had since I finished chemo almost 3 months ago.
    I have like a pinching, pocking pain on the left side of my abdomen.
    I had an MRI about 2 months about because of it. It was clean.
    I still have the same pain. It feel like I have a staple inside pocking me every time I touch the area.

    I called my PCP today, and I am waiting for him to call me back.
    Have you talked to your doctor about it?
    Please let me know.
  • maggie_wilson
    maggie_wilson Member Posts: 596
    Fayard said:

    Maggie
    I do not know if you are talking the same thing I have had since I finished chemo almost 3 months ago.
    I have like a pinching, pocking pain on the left side of my abdomen.
    I had an MRI about 2 months about because of it. It was clean.
    I still have the same pain. It feel like I have a staple inside pocking me every time I touch the area.

    I called my PCP today, and I am waiting for him to call me back.
    Have you talked to your doctor about it?
    Please let me know.

    fayard,
    it sounds a little different. mine is more a stinging sensation, and moves around to different areas. it's not particularly sensitive to touch. i did talk to my doctor about it, and she doesn't have any idea what it could be, but doesn't think serious. i'm sure i'll know more once i have my ct/pet scan, yet to be scheduled.

    thanks for responding, and hope your pain is nothing. i did have a lot of roving, different kinds of pain after surgery and chemo, and did have a ct/pet which showed nothing.

    sisterhood,
    maggie
  • carolenk
    carolenk Member Posts: 907 Member

    fayard,
    it sounds a little different. mine is more a stinging sensation, and moves around to different areas. it's not particularly sensitive to touch. i did talk to my doctor about it, and she doesn't have any idea what it could be, but doesn't think serious. i'm sure i'll know more once i have my ct/pet scan, yet to be scheduled.

    thanks for responding, and hope your pain is nothing. i did have a lot of roving, different kinds of pain after surgery and chemo, and did have a ct/pet which showed nothing.

    sisterhood,
    maggie

    I can't say that I've had
    I can't say that I've had the same strange sensations but I want to let you know that there is probably a homeopathic remedy that would match your symptoms & help you get over them. Maybe your integrative physician can find a homeopath to help you. I used the homeopathic remedy Silicea 30C to help minimize adhesions.
  • evertheoptimist
    evertheoptimist Member Posts: 140
    for me personally, this is
    for me personally, this is definitely a sign of cancer. Not saying that's the case for you.

    I know the surgery related sensations: they are pinching sensations very close to the skin and the incision area. Always the same place. that's entirely OK in my mind.

    However, the sensations from deeper regions of the abdominal and pelvic areas were definitely cancer for me.

    I felt them when I was initially diagnosed. Though I did not know what they were initially, I made a connection. After surgery, a lot of it was gone, but a lot still left: makes sense, I was suboptimally debulked, and there were a lot of small nodules left. Within two weeks on chemom, I started to feel these sensations greatly abating. I knew then that the chemo was working.

    When I recurred, I started to feel very faint sensations like these building up again, and lo and behold, later scan revealed that indeed the cancer came back. When I read the scan report, I realized that the areas of tumor implant matched precisely areas where I felt the sensation. When I started to feel these, it was only after 2-3 weeks since a perfectly clean test results. So, by now, I am incredibly in tune with my body.

    It's been two weeks since I started the treatment for the recurrence, and I already feel that sensations abating. So, I am guessing that the treatment is working.

    Going forward, if I go into remission, and if I were to recur in the future again, I will know almost immediately when the recurrence happens way before any tests of scans.

    Again, I don't want to freak you out. For you, it may be just remnant of the surgery related issue. For me, I know exactly what this means. To emphasize, for me, the surgery related sharp sensations that come and go that are commonly believed to be related to nerves regenerating are ENTIRELY different and very shallow. Cancer related sensations come from much deeper regions of the abdominal area.

    You said you had these sensations before, do you recall when you had them? At the time of DX? After surgery? This will be a clue for you. When did it come back? When did you have your CA125 last time?

    I sincerely hope this is nothing for you. But I am sharing my data so that if other women are reading it, it might help them interpret their body's early warning signs......
  • HellieC
    HellieC Member Posts: 524 Member

    for me personally, this is
    for me personally, this is definitely a sign of cancer. Not saying that's the case for you.

    I know the surgery related sensations: they are pinching sensations very close to the skin and the incision area. Always the same place. that's entirely OK in my mind.

    However, the sensations from deeper regions of the abdominal and pelvic areas were definitely cancer for me.

    I felt them when I was initially diagnosed. Though I did not know what they were initially, I made a connection. After surgery, a lot of it was gone, but a lot still left: makes sense, I was suboptimally debulked, and there were a lot of small nodules left. Within two weeks on chemom, I started to feel these sensations greatly abating. I knew then that the chemo was working.

    When I recurred, I started to feel very faint sensations like these building up again, and lo and behold, later scan revealed that indeed the cancer came back. When I read the scan report, I realized that the areas of tumor implant matched precisely areas where I felt the sensation. When I started to feel these, it was only after 2-3 weeks since a perfectly clean test results. So, by now, I am incredibly in tune with my body.

    It's been two weeks since I started the treatment for the recurrence, and I already feel that sensations abating. So, I am guessing that the treatment is working.

    Going forward, if I go into remission, and if I were to recur in the future again, I will know almost immediately when the recurrence happens way before any tests of scans.

    Again, I don't want to freak you out. For you, it may be just remnant of the surgery related issue. For me, I know exactly what this means. To emphasize, for me, the surgery related sharp sensations that come and go that are commonly believed to be related to nerves regenerating are ENTIRELY different and very shallow. Cancer related sensations come from much deeper regions of the abdominal area.

    You said you had these sensations before, do you recall when you had them? At the time of DX? After surgery? This will be a clue for you. When did it come back? When did you have your CA125 last time?

    I sincerely hope this is nothing for you. But I am sharing my data so that if other women are reading it, it might help them interpret their body's early warning signs......

    If in doubt - get it checked it out.......
    I think the moral of the story here is to get anything unusual checked out!
    I am also having roving pains, sometimes it feels like it's a tingling or ache in my lower back radiating down my buttock and leg (possibly sciatic nerve?), but sometimes more like a sensation of pressure, or pulsing feeling, or even a "menstrual cramp" feeling in the pelvic area Sometimes the left side, sometimes the right. Always OK when I wake in the morning and then starts up as the day goes on. Every day seems to be different! I am having an MRI scan later today to check it out. My oncologist feels that it could be adhesions/fibrosis/scar tissue from my surgeries and radiotherapy, which are affecting the mobility of the bowel, but it could also be signs of recurrence. I guess we are all different.
    It is great if you "know" your body so well that you can almost predict what is happening (I do hope that the treatment you are currently receiving will, indeed knock you back into remission). But I think that, for me, there is nothing more reasuring than having a scan to check what's going on - even though it only gives a "snapshot" of what is going on today!
    Kindest wishes
    Helen
  • lkchapman
    lkchapman Member Posts: 106
    sting sensation
    I have them quite frequently, say 4 to 5 times a week. I have stinging, electric shock like pains that move around my abdominal and pelvic area and they sometimes will "refer" to other parts of my body - say to my arm or leg. They are very short and sharp. I don't think they are related to a recurrence as I just had a relatively clean Abd CT, but my CA125 did jump another 5 points(although still in normal range). I will say that I have had them pretty much since I had surgery.
    Laura
  • lindaprocopio
    lindaprocopio Member Posts: 1,980
    lkchapman said:

    sting sensation
    I have them quite frequently, say 4 to 5 times a week. I have stinging, electric shock like pains that move around my abdominal and pelvic area and they sometimes will "refer" to other parts of my body - say to my arm or leg. They are very short and sharp. I don't think they are related to a recurrence as I just had a relatively clean Abd CT, but my CA125 did jump another 5 points(although still in normal range). I will say that I have had them pretty much since I had surgery.
    Laura

    I thought as long as pain 'roved', you were probably okay.
    I NEVER had any pain at all that actually signalled a recurrence. My recurrances were as free of physical symptoms as before my earlier surprise diagnosis. Most of the pain and twinges I've had were related to digestive issues and the pain was no where near anything that lit up on a PET scan. (i.e, discomfort in the bowel / recurrance in a lymph node in my arm pit. How could they be related?? They weren't.)

    My oncologist said he'd only be concerned about pains and twinges if the pain stayed in the same spot for a couple of weeks. As long as the pain roved around, it probably wasn't a tumor (since tunors don't rove). He also asked me once if my current pain lessened when I had a BM, and when I said 'yes', he waved it off as a 'not to worry' thing.

    I get CT/PETs almost every 2 months since my cancer is so active and we keep having to readjust my treatment plan. (Clearly I glow in the dark! HA!) I think close monitoring allows me to relax about the small daily twinges and not assume the worst. A scan will put your mind at ease, Maggie.
  • evertheoptimist
    evertheoptimist Member Posts: 140

    I thought as long as pain 'roved', you were probably okay.
    I NEVER had any pain at all that actually signalled a recurrence. My recurrances were as free of physical symptoms as before my earlier surprise diagnosis. Most of the pain and twinges I've had were related to digestive issues and the pain was no where near anything that lit up on a PET scan. (i.e, discomfort in the bowel / recurrance in a lymph node in my arm pit. How could they be related?? They weren't.)

    My oncologist said he'd only be concerned about pains and twinges if the pain stayed in the same spot for a couple of weeks. As long as the pain roved around, it probably wasn't a tumor (since tunors don't rove). He also asked me once if my current pain lessened when I had a BM, and when I said 'yes', he waved it off as a 'not to worry' thing.

    I get CT/PETs almost every 2 months since my cancer is so active and we keep having to readjust my treatment plan. (Clearly I glow in the dark! HA!) I think close monitoring allows me to relax about the small daily twinges and not assume the worst. A scan will put your mind at ease, Maggie.

    one more data point to
    one more data point to share:

    A friend of mine, who is an OB/GYN told me that sometimes abdominal sensations can be diffused, meaning, they don't always correspond to exact location of tumor implants.

    In my case, sharp pains that last about 30 seconds are coming very close to the skin (right below it) and the same location along the incision line. That is definitely related to the surgery. It have gotten almost non-existent (I am 9.5 months out of surgery).

    The other sensations are not pain, but weird twinge like sensation. Plus, pulsating sensation when they come from the rectal muscle and vaginal wall muscles. At the time of DX, these pulsating sensations from these two areas were particularly noticeable. With the recurrence, I started to feel them building up. Two weeks into the treatment, they are almost gone - very faint and very infrequent. To me, this was the most obvious tell tale sign. Scan results showed 13 x 8 mm tumor implant on the rectal muscle. Bingo! The abdominal sensations are a bit more diffused, but I can still match them to the scan reports in "general" areas. Plus: they are familiar sensations from those I felt at the time of initial DX and until the front chemo got rid of all the residual nodules.
  • california_artist
    california_artist Member Posts: 816 Member

    one more data point to
    one more data point to share:

    A friend of mine, who is an OB/GYN told me that sometimes abdominal sensations can be diffused, meaning, they don't always correspond to exact location of tumor implants.

    In my case, sharp pains that last about 30 seconds are coming very close to the skin (right below it) and the same location along the incision line. That is definitely related to the surgery. It have gotten almost non-existent (I am 9.5 months out of surgery).

    The other sensations are not pain, but weird twinge like sensation. Plus, pulsating sensation when they come from the rectal muscle and vaginal wall muscles. At the time of DX, these pulsating sensations from these two areas were particularly noticeable. With the recurrence, I started to feel them building up. Two weeks into the treatment, they are almost gone - very faint and very infrequent. To me, this was the most obvious tell tale sign. Scan results showed 13 x 8 mm tumor implant on the rectal muscle. Bingo! The abdominal sensations are a bit more diffused, but I can still match them to the scan reports in "general" areas. Plus: they are familiar sensations from those I felt at the time of initial DX and until the front chemo got rid of all the residual nodules.

    I've been rather focused on the new blood vessels that tiny
    cancer mets signal to grow toward them so they can begin to make a larger mass of cancer. It is very possible that these expanding blood vessels are what you are feeling. The best option would be to get a scan or MRI? or might be something that measures heat, perhaps. Any how. The doctor's number is handy and an appointment is truly the only safe answer.

    Here's hoping,

    Love ya,

    Claudia
  • maggie_wilson
    maggie_wilson Member Posts: 596

    I've been rather focused on the new blood vessels that tiny
    cancer mets signal to grow toward them so they can begin to make a larger mass of cancer. It is very possible that these expanding blood vessels are what you are feeling. The best option would be to get a scan or MRI? or might be something that measures heat, perhaps. Any how. The doctor's number is handy and an appointment is truly the only safe answer.

    Here's hoping,

    Love ya,

    Claudia

    carolenk, evertheop , laura, linda & claudia
    thank you for your responses, sisters. i wish i knew when i felt these sensations last, but it's only been in the last week that i've felt them again--close to the time i've begun the high dose iv vitamin c regime. have no idea if these are related. this regime is for 6 weeks, so i think i'll follow through with that, then have lab tests, ct/pet, etc.

    the prickly twinges don't seem very deep, but it's hard to tell. i wouldn't be surprised if they indicated cancer, but will wait to see. the integrative doctor i see also has some more ideas after the iv c, and my immune system is stronger. both treatments have to do with heat, apparently cancer does not like heat. one is a bio mat that is less intense than cooley's toxins--which give one a fever and flu like symptoms, and apparently has been used with success in the past, and in europe. also heard of some unsuccessful attempts. in any case, i do appreciate all of you taking the time to respond to this vague inquiry.

    sisterhood,
    maggie
  • evertheoptimist
    evertheoptimist Member Posts: 140

    carolenk, evertheop , laura, linda & claudia
    thank you for your responses, sisters. i wish i knew when i felt these sensations last, but it's only been in the last week that i've felt them again--close to the time i've begun the high dose iv vitamin c regime. have no idea if these are related. this regime is for 6 weeks, so i think i'll follow through with that, then have lab tests, ct/pet, etc.

    the prickly twinges don't seem very deep, but it's hard to tell. i wouldn't be surprised if they indicated cancer, but will wait to see. the integrative doctor i see also has some more ideas after the iv c, and my immune system is stronger. both treatments have to do with heat, apparently cancer does not like heat. one is a bio mat that is less intense than cooley's toxins--which give one a fever and flu like symptoms, and apparently has been used with success in the past, and in europe. also heard of some unsuccessful attempts. in any case, i do appreciate all of you taking the time to respond to this vague inquiry.

    sisterhood,
    maggie

    Have you thought about
    Have you thought about getting CA125 unless this is not a reliable marker or whether the integrative treatment you are taking now make the number unreliable.

    In my case, it's a very reliable indicator. And, unlike a lot of women for whom the number goes up for a while before anything shows up on the scan, in my case, the number and the actual spots on the scan happen together and FAST. In one month, my number jumped 400% to show tumor implants on the scan, and 10 days later right before I started the treatment the number jumped again almost by 100%

    If the treatment is working, it will show on the number first, EXCEPT, I am on doxil plus an experimental drug as part of the trial, and I was warned that CA125 can actually go up during the early phase of Doxil treatment even when the treatment is working (it happens to 50% of the women). So, it may be a while it shows on the CA125 test).

    I had an instinct that my cancer is a very fast moving type, so I had tests done behind my gyn onc back, who insisted that the proper protocol is CA125 and scan every three months. I feel vindicated. If I had followed the good doctor's order like a sheep, the cancer would be spread all over before the "NEXT SCHEDULED" tests and scans are performed. I also had a good fortune of being followed and "studied" very carefully by the research team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in NYC and also a very good personal friend who is an OB/GYN, who gave me a prescription for the test I wanted - the tests that were outside the normal schedule by both MSKCC and my gyn oncologist. And, this is how I caught my recurrence at a very early stage. If I had not been so vocal about what needs to be done based on my "hunch", this cancer would be growing and spreading all over the place while I wait for the next tests according to the official schedule. I don't think my gyn oncologist will ever again throw the book at me about the "standard" following monitoring schedule of 3 months. I am the kind of patient who should be monitored very frequently.

    Again, I really hope your sensations are NOT cancer related. Good luck.
  • carolenk
    carolenk Member Posts: 907 Member

    Have you thought about
    Have you thought about getting CA125 unless this is not a reliable marker or whether the integrative treatment you are taking now make the number unreliable.

    In my case, it's a very reliable indicator. And, unlike a lot of women for whom the number goes up for a while before anything shows up on the scan, in my case, the number and the actual spots on the scan happen together and FAST. In one month, my number jumped 400% to show tumor implants on the scan, and 10 days later right before I started the treatment the number jumped again almost by 100%

    If the treatment is working, it will show on the number first, EXCEPT, I am on doxil plus an experimental drug as part of the trial, and I was warned that CA125 can actually go up during the early phase of Doxil treatment even when the treatment is working (it happens to 50% of the women). So, it may be a while it shows on the CA125 test).

    I had an instinct that my cancer is a very fast moving type, so I had tests done behind my gyn onc back, who insisted that the proper protocol is CA125 and scan every three months. I feel vindicated. If I had followed the good doctor's order like a sheep, the cancer would be spread all over before the "NEXT SCHEDULED" tests and scans are performed. I also had a good fortune of being followed and "studied" very carefully by the research team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in NYC and also a very good personal friend who is an OB/GYN, who gave me a prescription for the test I wanted - the tests that were outside the normal schedule by both MSKCC and my gyn oncologist. And, this is how I caught my recurrence at a very early stage. If I had not been so vocal about what needs to be done based on my "hunch", this cancer would be growing and spreading all over the place while I wait for the next tests according to the official schedule. I don't think my gyn oncologist will ever again throw the book at me about the "standard" following monitoring schedule of 3 months. I am the kind of patient who should be monitored very frequently.

    Again, I really hope your sensations are NOT cancer related. Good luck.

    .
    Maggie

    I can't say what is going on with you--it could be something good. The vitamin C IVs used to make my tumors hurt but I still needed to do chemo. Like evertheoptimist, the cancer in me was really aggressive in the past. Now, I think I am having some success in slowing it down using IV vitamin C, diet, herbs, hyperthermia, etc.

    I agree that a look at your CA-125 is a good idea.
  • carolenk
    carolenk Member Posts: 907 Member

    Have you thought about
    Have you thought about getting CA125 unless this is not a reliable marker or whether the integrative treatment you are taking now make the number unreliable.

    In my case, it's a very reliable indicator. And, unlike a lot of women for whom the number goes up for a while before anything shows up on the scan, in my case, the number and the actual spots on the scan happen together and FAST. In one month, my number jumped 400% to show tumor implants on the scan, and 10 days later right before I started the treatment the number jumped again almost by 100%

    If the treatment is working, it will show on the number first, EXCEPT, I am on doxil plus an experimental drug as part of the trial, and I was warned that CA125 can actually go up during the early phase of Doxil treatment even when the treatment is working (it happens to 50% of the women). So, it may be a while it shows on the CA125 test).

    I had an instinct that my cancer is a very fast moving type, so I had tests done behind my gyn onc back, who insisted that the proper protocol is CA125 and scan every three months. I feel vindicated. If I had followed the good doctor's order like a sheep, the cancer would be spread all over before the "NEXT SCHEDULED" tests and scans are performed. I also had a good fortune of being followed and "studied" very carefully by the research team at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in NYC and also a very good personal friend who is an OB/GYN, who gave me a prescription for the test I wanted - the tests that were outside the normal schedule by both MSKCC and my gyn oncologist. And, this is how I caught my recurrence at a very early stage. If I had not been so vocal about what needs to be done based on my "hunch", this cancer would be growing and spreading all over the place while I wait for the next tests according to the official schedule. I don't think my gyn oncologist will ever again throw the book at me about the "standard" following monitoring schedule of 3 months. I am the kind of patient who should be monitored very frequently.

    Again, I really hope your sensations are NOT cancer related. Good luck.

    Oops!
    Double post.
  • RoseyR
    RoseyR Member Posts: 471 Member
    carolenk said:

    .
    Maggie

    I can't say what is going on with you--it could be something good. The vitamin C IVs used to make my tumors hurt but I still needed to do chemo. Like evertheoptimist, the cancer in me was really aggressive in the past. Now, I think I am having some success in slowing it down using IV vitamin C, diet, herbs, hyperthermia, etc.

    I agree that a look at your CA-125 is a good idea.

    Your Vitamin C IV treatment

    Dear Carolenk,

    Can you describe at what phase of your treatment you had IV Vitamin C? How often--and at what dosage? I am thinking about it myself. How expensive were your IV treatments?

    Thanks,
    Rosey