Please respond - worried out of my mind!

DianaR
DianaR Member Posts: 1
edited March 2014 in Ovarian Cancer #1
During the past few days, I have experienced some startling symptoms. For a couple of hours, I had sharp, piercing pains come and go in my left ovarian area. Then a few days later, my right ovary kept giving me pain, but it was more constant and less sharp. I am experiencing periodic waves of dullish pelvic discomfort, very similar to what I feel when my period is near. I also had constipation that resolved with over the counter medication and a diet change, but I experienced it again a few days later to a milder degree and then this AM, I had a soft movement which isn't like me. Re: the constipation, I have been experiencing this on average once a month for about 2.5 years and a colonscopy in April was clear.

Then one day last week, I felt more of a need to urinate, but then it subsided. I took a muscle relaxant because to me, it felt like my bladder was having spasm and that stopped it.

And yesterday AM I had a tiny bit of spotting, thinking my cycle was coming and it hasn't. I experienced this two other times -- once in 2002 and once in 2003.

I explained the spotting and the fact that my cycle stopped altogether for three months to my doctor in March. She proceeded to put me on Provera for five days which did start my cycles up again, though they've been a little irregular, ranging from an average of 21 - 30 days apart.

I had a trans-vaginal ultrasound in June 2002 to examine a small fibroid and nothing else was noted. My pap smear and exam was normal in March.

But I am so frightened this could be cancer. No female or colon cancers are in my family. I'm 43 -- soon to be 44 -- and have never had any kind of gyno problems before.

And of course, just this morning, I felt some faint stabbing pain in my right thigh. What is happening to me? I'm seeing the doctor tomorrow, but I'm concerned they'll just brush this off.

Any advice or feedback would be so appreciated.

Thank you!

Comments

  • mopar
    mopar Member Posts: 1,972 Member
    #2
    I understand your worry - you are right to be concerned. But don't jump to any conclusion. There was no history in my family at the time we disovered my Stage 1C ovarian cancer. I had no symptoms, except a uterine fibroid. But my doctor was very thorough. When you see your doctor request a CA125 blood test. Although it is just a screening/marker, it is a useful tool to combine with all the other tests. Please let us know what comes of your visit with the doctor. This is a wonderful support group, and it's loaded with valuable information. Till then, you're in my prayers. I'll be watching for your post.
    Monika
  • groundeffect
    groundeffect Member Posts: 639 Member
    #3
    My advice is to pursue the cause of your symptoms until you're comfortable with the diagnosis! I went for tests for symptoms starting in April the year I was dx, and didn't get to the bottom of it until August. I had symptoms that were attributed to the fibroids that were shown by the vaginal ultrasound I had, but the leg swelling I had was not investigated until I pointed it out to my family doctor in August. That was deep vein thrombosis, which resulted in a pulmonary embolism.

    I had been given a double shot of Depo-Provera early in Aug. to stem the horrible blood flow I had. It did the trick, but it probably really helped delay the inevitable.

    I had an odd urinary infection in June, higher up than I'd had them before. The doctor I saw for that wasn't my normal doctor, but he was a gynecologic specialist, so he did a pap then.

    Monika's right-you should ask for a CA-125 test. My advice would be to request a "color flow doppler" ultrasound, which could reveal tumor growth. The ultrasound and lower-body CAT scan I had didn't show the 1C OVCA and 1B uterine cancers I had. My doctors (family and ob/gyn) were doing their best. I was the one who didn't want to point out the swollen leg. Now I know that DVT is a symptom of lower body cancer. Fran Drescher says she felt her leg pain was a symptom of the uterine cancer she had, and Gilda Radner had leg pain, also. Get to the bottom of it!

Discussion Boards