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Lately I’ve wanted to cut out my midsection and discard it. You know how you get used to something after awhile? You think it’s normal after awhile, and it actually really does turn into “normal” because you’ve dealt with it for so long. Well that’s how I’ve felt about my back pain and the pains I’ve dealt with in my lower abdomen. After going to a few doctors and not being diagnosed with anything, I kind of just gave up. After awhile I just thought this is what it feels like to live in chronic pain. Then the blood came. Then I got a little scared. Blood is a ‘real’ symptom. Blood is not mental.
I scheduled two appointments to cover all areas, one with the OBGYN and the other with our family physician. Either they could run some tests and find out where the pain and blood was coming from or they could give me some powerful drugs to stop the pain and the blood. The latter is a joke. I don’t usually take pain killers, but at this point I’d be willing to listen to the good advice of a smart doctor if they advised it. I hoped that wouldn’t be the case. I knew something was causing it and I wanted it fixed, not masked.
Thanks to my visit with my wonderful physician I ended up spending the evening getting not one, but two CAT Scans. The first scan was given to see if I just needed the basic scan, without the yummy drink and the dye IV. I wasn’t that lucky. I’m sure there are more than a few who have gone through this. The warm sensation in the groin was not pleasant at all. My blood pressure is quite temperamental, it has the desire to just ‘drop out’ whenever it gets a little tense. I have shy veins. They have to be beat into submission, so I never have fun with needles. And I’m always a little afraid of the unknown, so I didn’t really have fun. Thankfully, the professionals who took care of me knew their stuff. I knew I was in good hands.
Today I was online most of the morning. We’re still a little old fashion here in our home, we still have dialup. I think I was actually avoiding the phone. My doctor finally reached me this afternoon.
Not one of the above, but all three. Misty, my doctor, said she’d scheduled me an appointment with a Urologist for the Kidney Stones, an appointment with a General Surgeon to get my Gall Bladder removed immediately and that she was faxing the information on the Ovarian Cysts to my OBGYN. She kind of laughed and told me that when I came in and told her I was hurting everywhere, I literally meant everywhere. Then she said she was so sorry that I was going thru this. I really like my doctor.
So, I’m happy. I’m hurting yet happy. And if I must admit, a little worried. Okay so they remove my Gall Bladder, great! What do they do about the Cyst and the stones? They don’t remove those unless it’s absolutely necessary, right? Stones and cysts are reoccurring buggers aren’t they? Yes, they are. I know because I had a cyst on my ovary when I was 18 and I was diagnosed with Kidney Stones in my early 20’s. I’ve told every doctor this since. Why didn’t they suspect that the same things might be bothering me? Did I mention that I really like my doctor? She listens, and I appreciate it.
Do I need to revamp my diet and my lifestyle?
Oh well…at least I’m diagnosed. That in itself brings me relief.
Hey, when you hurt, do yourself a favor and make someone hear you. You’ll be glad you did.
Posts: 3771 | Registered: Sep 2002
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posted
Yaay for good doctors. I'm so glad that you have one you trust and who listens to you. That's so important and will help in the time to come. (( Tammy)) You have our support, too, if you need it.
My dad just had heart surgery and had originally been diagnosed with gall bladder problems. Luckily, he also had a CAT scan and they were able to rush him into surgery for a ruptured aorta. He was just going to lie in bed and rest for the afternoon because he felt ill, but luckily my mom made him go to the ER.
Posts: 1777 | Registered: Jan 2003
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I don't know anything about cysts but with stones they either
1)Wait them out and hope they pass (which hurts like hell if they are big stones) 2)If they are bad they can use sound waves to break them up so they can pass (again ouch) 3)I think if it is insanely bad they do surgery...but I don't think that is common (I think surgery is always a big ouch)
Stones are reoccurring in a lot of people...though I believe certain diets can help...though you'd need a specialist to tell you about that Sorry that you have to deal with all that at once. Hopefully things will work out.
Christy - That's scary! I sure hope your father is doing okay! I guess after you've had a few aches & pains, be they minor or major, you feel ridiculous rushing to the doctor at the first few signs. Sometimes you don't have very much of a warning!
Thecca...I was going to reply to your post, then couldn't find it? I'm going to ask a lot of questions before I let them suck out my gallbladder. I don't really like the idea of losing any of the organs I was born with. I know organs are removed all the time, it still freaks me out a bit.
Thanks for all of your nice words! Sweet people here!
Posts: 3771 | Registered: Sep 2002
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Sorry to hear about your troubles. That IS a lot going on, but luckily they all seem to be conditions that are not too hard to handle, at least by themselves.
I had an Ovarian cyst that my OB/GYN described as "the size of a large lemon or a small orange." (The fruit imagery still squicks me, and I wonder if he had a than for fruit.) Anyway, it was about the size of a baseball. They gave me a strong type of birth control pill for one month, and it was gone. It was what they call a 'fucntional cyst' -- evidently you can get 'em when you ovulate and it it isn't a big deal. I wasn't on the pill at the time (have always had weirdness related to the pill, even the newer, gentler types) and the doctor even scolded me a bit about that. ("This is what happens when you don't use the pill." That really pissed me off because taking a damn pill is NOT the natural state of my body )
Anyway, if the hormones don't zap it, they may do other stuff, but don't worry-- most ovarian cysts are not serious.
Posts: 1664 | Registered: Apr 2004
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I'm not really worried about the cyst in itself, or any of the stones. I really would just like some relief from the pain. My doctor recommended up to 800 milligrams of Motrin. That seems like quite a bit to me. I took 600 yesterday and felt funny. I'm just not used to pain killers. It did seem to take the edge off.
I’m leery of birth control pills as well. I really have a problem with any pill that I think will make me gain weight. That’s the last thing I need. I’m not being vain here either. When I’m bored, sad, depressed or stressed in any way, I want some comfort foods. I don’t want any pill making that urge stronger.
*crosses fingers* My entourage of doctors will fix me up!
Posts: 3771 | Registered: Sep 2002
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A really bad gallbladder makes it feel like someone is stabbing you in the chest with a knife.
Gallbladder removal is the most common surgical procedure in the US. I can assure you that I haven't even noticed mine is gone (other than the pain relief!) You should eat a lower fat diet for a while after the surgery but I haven't had any problems with an occasional bit of fatty foods either.
I tend to get occasional acid reflux that feels like it irritates the gallbladder scar but rolaids or prevacid does the trick.
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I had a lot of little ovarian cysts, and it's quasi gone out with the contraceptive pill. At the beginning I was hungry all the time, but resolved that by drinking a lot and eating 0% yoghourt if the hunger was too strong. You get use to it in a few weeks, actually, and now I don't feel hungry more often than before the pill.
Posts: 3526 | Registered: Oct 2001
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Yep. Hard to bear for the first weeks, and then you get used too. At last, most women get used to.
Posts: 3526 | Registered: Oct 2001
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