laproscopy for possible endometriosis, very worried

[denisemc]

I am 32 and last month I had a complex cyst which I was told ruptured and was resolved. I have also had a lot of gastro-intestinal problems and weight loss over the past few months. After the ruptured cyst, my family physician put me on ortho tricyclen LO. He also referred me to a doct of gastroenterology. That doct has me sceduled for an upper endoscopy and colonoscopy next month. In the mean time, I started to have lots of breast tenderness and my last menstrual cycle was very painful and was followed by a week of severe pain in my lower left pelvic area, pressure on my bladder, with pain into my lower back and vaginal area and weakness in my legs. I also have a lot of 'gas' at night when i lay down and laying on my side seems to make the pelvic pain worse. My physician then gave me a referral to a gyno. I continue to have pain in those areas on a daily basis just not as intense as right after my cycle. I finally saw the gyno this week and he scheduled me for laproscopy next week Nov. 30 to check for endometriosis. I told him that my husband is over seas and that I don't have family or friends near by to help me. He said 'that's ok' and I can ride home in a taxi and will be fine to take care of myself home alone. First of all I wonder if this is endometriosis and I am very fearful from things that I have read if I will really be okay taking care of myself after laproscopy. Plus I have the upper endoscopy on Dec. 14 and wonder how I can handle that just 2 weeks after laproscopy.

[runningchick]

Hi,

I had a lot of the symptoms you described with a ruptured cyst, for what we do not know the contents of.  I was especially worried about my breasts, particularly my left, as the pain tracked anti clockwise and finished finally in my left breast.  I got a large lump on the upper outer, pain down my arm and discharge from the nipple when squeezed.  I saw a breast specialist, who was not concerned, and said it was due to what was going on in my ovaries.  If you think about it, the contents of any cyst probably contain a store of hormones, probably estrogen, which is then released en mass into the body.  The surge is probably enough to make you feel like you are pregnant, and make your body respond as if it is.  It's been 2 months since my cyst ruptured, and although my breasts are tender and slightly larger than they were (I have gone up from 34aa to 34B), the discharge has stopped and the lumps subsided.  

But as with anything, go and get it checked out, but I hope this is some reassurance.  I have the gas too, which is great revenge on 12 years with my husband.  Might as well get a little humour out of something that's not very funny.  Nov 30th is not too long to wait, so hang in there.  I hope things get better for you after that.  Also, there is very little evidence to support that a ruptured cyst can spread from the ovaries to the breast.  That, I found very reassuring.

[denisemc]

Thanks for your response.
Something else I forgot to mention is in the last 2 months I have had lots of problems with vaginal infections, which is also unusual for me. Last month, days before they diagnosed the ruptured complex cyst, the doct had taken a vaginal swab and it revealed vaginal b. strep (they made me take a pregnancy test even though I knew I wasn't pregnant). Then the end of last month I had alot of redness and pain in my vagina and was told I had a yeast infection. Now I am starting to have symptoms of another infection. My family physician knows about these, but I forgot to mention this to the gyno, since my biggest concern is all this constant pain.
Also, the gyno kept asking me about pain during sex, even though I told him my husband is overseas and I have not been having sex so I wouldn't know if it is painful for me or not. Why would he ask this question? It makes me wonder if he thinks there is more wrong with me than he is letting on.

[runningchick]

It's a weird question, isn't it - do you have pain when having sex - surely the question should be "are you having sex?  And if so, is it painful?"  My doctor asked if there was pain when having sex - I didn't want to tell him that it had been about 3 or 4 months since I had sex!  Like you, I got a yeast infection when I was going for the lower abdominal pain, but haven't had one since that was cleared up with drugs.  They ask about pain as if there is a cyst, then it can cause pain whilst having sex.  You may also be asked whether you have had bleeding whilst having sex.  They don't seem to listen sometimes...