Low abdominal pain

[Rogueteal]

Hello, I am not sure this is the right place to ask this question. My mother passed away in 2003 from complications of ovarian cancer. About a year ago I started to have low abdominal pain and not with my period, which is also wierd. At first it began were I would only have the pain once in a while, now I am have the pain every day almost. I told my Doctor about this pain and described it to her like I was ovulating, but since I am on the pill this should not be happening and she basically shrugged it off. I would like to know if there is something I should be worried about and if so who should I go see to have this problem looked into. Also recently I had a CT scan done of my low abdomen pelvic region. According to that there was nothing wrong, and it stated that there was a tiny amount of fluid in the cul-de-sac. What is that suppose to mean. Also I should mention that my last Pap smear came back abnormal and I was suppose to have a colposcopy done with biopsies, but since I had this done before all she did was use the vinager to see if there were any areas to biopsy and ended up not biopsing anything. I just recently had my second Pap smear done for my 6-month followup. Still waiting on the results of that one. Thank you. If this is not the right place to ask these kinds of questions I am sorry.

[srm4041]

Yes!

[silver&gold]

I think you should ask for trans vaginal ultrasound, this shows up all the female parts and can give a lot of information such as , cysts , fibroids, the actual size of organs etc. You may have endometriosis , this can cause daily pain (I had it) . I am not a doctor though , you really need to insist on the TVUS to get to the bottom of your pain. Let us know how you get on.

Good luck

Angie

[srm4041]

I do not want to scare you and I'm not a doctor, but please ask for an abdominal AND vaginal ultra sound (done at the same time)....then maybe even an MRI (much better pictures than CT scan) of your pelvic region.  If nothing shows up and you still have symptoms six months to a year later, then get the tests again.  If your doctor keeps shrugging you off, change doctors until you get one who will listen to you.

I did not take the pill and my pap smears were normal.  However, the pain at my right ovary area was occasional at at first and was dismissed by three doctors.  Then the pain became more frequent until I finally could feel a hard mass eventually and then the doctors could not ignore that!  It was germ cell ovarian cancer stage 3c!

I was told that women could get harmless ovarian cysts that come and go, but a simple ultra sound or MRI could have saved me from having to take Chemo!  Since my cancer is supposed to be rare (although very treatable), it just was not on the doctors' radar screen.

Please just get checked out.  You deserve answers!  

srm4041
PS  The blood test for regular ovarian cancer (not like mine) is CA 125.  You can ask for that too.  There was something on TV about family history for breast and ovarian cancer, but I can't remember what is was...you can probably find out.

[jane65]

Hi, Don't ever apologize for asking for help, you're absolutely right to ask a question here, or anywhere.
I'm so sorry about your Mom, I know it was horrible for you and her to go through this disease, and I understand your concern for yourself.
I don't know what advice to give you, except that if you're not satisfied with your doctor, get a second opinion, and get your test results to take with you.
My former internist brushed off my symptoms for 6 months, and foolishly I trusted him.
Peace of mind is everything, I hope I helped...... Jane