Question:
I'm very worried about these pains I keep getting. Problems first
started in early 2004 when I had missed about 2 or 3 months worth of
periods. I also felt a pain one night which was in my very lower
abdomen, which was a severe stabbing pain accompanied by a dull ache
across my pelvic area. I also kept shaking and being sick. I went to
the emergancy doctor who said if it hadn't stopped by the morning then
come in as it could be apendicitis. However, when I finally managed to
sleep over the pain, I woke up and it was gone. I went to the doctors
for my missed period. He gave me a pregnancy test in case of etopic
pregnancy and put it down to stress. The next few months were hazy,
all I know is I was sickened with worry and convinced myself something
still didn't feel right. I had indegestion, often felt panicked and
short of breath, convinced myself I felt bloated. In November I
got a similar pain which was focused on the right hand side (yet not
as severe as before). In December I got the pain again, so in January
I went to the doctors for blood tests (for anaemia, kidneys and a few
others I can't remember). They all came back negative. The pain came
again in mid-March of this year. The pain was so bad like before I
found it hard to walk and was sick. After about 8 hours it wore off,
and a part from being uncomfortable the next day, it went back to
normal. I've felt really well since then, up until last weekend. Now
once again I'm suffering from various abdomen pains. It started as a
dull ache in the right, spread across my abdomen, and now it even
keeps twinging in the left of my lower abdomen. I feel full and
bloated, need to urinate more than usual, and it doesn't feel right
when I feel the need to go- like something is putting pressure on my
bladder to tell me to go rather than it being full. I also feel short
of breath but I know that could be down to the panic I've experienced
for the past 5 days. I've also noticed these past 4 days that the pain
begins later on in the day, at about 12, and worstens at the day goes
on. I feel totally panicked about why I feel like this. My
psychologist said the pains in my right weren't typical of an anxiety
disorder (which my doctor refered me as having earlier this year). I
want to make an appointment with the doctor but I'm scared of what
he'll find, also that he'll see everything I say as either being
side-effects of anxiety, or as someone with an anxiety disorder
overreacting, and any physical bad health will be ignored. Can
anyone tell me what might be wrong with me?

Answer:
You need to make an appointment to see a gynecologist - not a general
practicioner or another E/R doctor. It could be an abnormality in your
uterus or with your ovaries. Don't delay making an appointment out of
the fear that something might be found. Wouldn't you feel better once
you got a diagnosis and got to the bottom of it? Also, if something
abnormal IS found, then the earlier you are treated, the better your
chances are in regaining your good health. Your shortness of breath,
etc, is due to the anxiety you are having over worrying about
yourself. Please make an appt. with a GYN. You have put this off long
enough.

Answer:
Hey ellel, how are you doing? Treatment is surgical removal of the
tumor in almost all cases. The most common subjective symptoms are low
abdominal pain or discomfort together with distention and the presence
of an abdominal mass. Specfic symptoms will depend on the size and
location, and type of tumor as well as twisting, hemorrage, infection,
or rupture. A tumor of the ovary can become grossly large, often
reaching the size of a small cantalope. May begin as a beign growth
and later become maligant (about 15 percent are initially maligant).
May appear at any age, from teens to beyound menopause. Feminizing
tumors often produce menstrual irregularities during the reproductive
period. So difficult is the clinical diagnosis that many patients are,
in fact, operated upon to exclude ectopic pregancy (gestation
elsewhere than in the uterus (as in a fallopian tube or in the
peritoneal cavity). The treatment of menopause comprises of the
exclusion of organic causes of any associated menorrhagia (missed
periods), detailed explanation of the physiologic consequences of the
climacteric, ventilation of the patient's anxieties, and reassurance,
and hormonal replacement. Over a period of time the patients with
feminizing tumors tend to develope hirsutism and, in some occasional
cases, frank virilism (the appearance of secondary sex characteristics
of the male in a female). Best wishes,

Answer:
Greetings Ell, From your concerns it sounds like you might have
something wrong with your colon, perhaps you have Candida. To find out
more I suggest you visit a site called SecretEnergy.com - They have a
free health analysis which will test whether or not you have problems
in that area, and also they have a non invasive test which might help
figure out what your problem really is and help you naturally get rid
of it, without surgery. When I hear the word surgery I cringe. I think
it's the last thing a person should go through. anyhow i suggest you
visit that site, i had a lot of problems and they really helped me a
lot.

Answer:
Elle, No one here is
saying that you have cancer. What we are all saying is taht it is not
normal for you to be experiencing this recurrent pain and that you
need to see a doctor to determine what is causing it. In regards to
that other person that made the suggestion that it could be
Candida.........that means "yeast infection", not cancer.

Answer:
Thanks. I was referring mainly to when bkdaniels said: "A tumor of the
ovary can become grossly large, often reaching the size of a small
cantalope." I don't understand exactly what this means.

Answer:
What he is talking about is a condition where one develops a tumor
(cancerous or not) on the ovary (or in the uterus). These tumors can
often grow to a very large and uncomfortable size, as he stated. He
isn't saying you have one, of course, he is suggesting that you should
keep in mind that there are such conditions and that this could be
something that you may or may not have. For these reasons, you
need to see a Gynecologist (not a family doctor) and have a pelvic
exam or perhaps even an ultrasound (vaginal and/or abdominal) Don't be
afraid of being examined in any way. The smartest thing you can do for
yourself is to take measures to see if there is a problem. The
other person here mentioned the possibility of a colon problem. What
that person meant is that there are conditions of the colon
(diverticulitis, diverticulosis, colitis, crohn's disease to name a
few) that can all cause pelvic pain. From the way you describe your
pain, I honestly don't think that you have a problem with your colon.
If I were your doctor, I would order blood tests, and and Abdominal
- Pelvic Ultrasound. If this does not show a cause and your pain still
exists, then you should have either a CT of the Abdomen/Pelvis and/or
a HIDA scan. The HIDA scan would assess your gallbladder to see if
this might be the problem. Also, the panic you feel is due to the
anxiety and not your physical problem. (For whatever my opinion is
worth). Let us know how you are.