[plutoren12]

Hi. I'm worried. I have the following symptoms:***CRAZY sounds coming from my abdominal area, especially if I push on it (sounds like water and/or gas just chillin there)***a change in BM's. First I was experiencing loose, but formed stools for about 2 months, then this has lately turned to a couple days w/out going (but having NO URGE) then when I do go, its loose, but formed....sometimes diarrhea.***sounds gross, but I have stuck my finger up there to try to relieve my constipation and felt my stool (little balls/chunks) just hangin around the lower part becoming hard, but not causing any pain during my couple of days w/o going.***Have experienced pain during/shortly after intercourse lately on my right side.***Got a dull, aching pain during my last ovulation from my right side***Had a messed up (very light/spotted) period and theres no WAY im pregnant.IS THIS IBS? OR OVARIAN CANCER? Cause I've heard that IBS/OVARIAN CANCER symptoms are the SAME. (SO BEWARE FEMALES!!!) Anyway, has ANYBODY heard this, or CAN ANYONE, at all RELATE TO MY symptoms?!!! or is this a cyst? LET ME KNOW

 

[Trixyinaz]

I'm not sure what it is, but my mom is begging me to go and check to make sure I don't have ovarian or uteran cancer b/c apparently she's been reading that one of the signs of these cancers is being bloated in the abdomen. I haven't checked it out, but now that you bring it up, I just might. Everytime I ovulate, I get cramping, which I've been telling myself is just my IBD acting up - but it is always during ovulation that I get this cramping feeling. It's worth checking out I guess.Wish I could be more helpful.

 

[Homebound]

Well of course if your worried get it checked out! Even if just for your peace of mind.I'm pretty sure that some pain with ovulation is normal. I was diagnosed with having Polycystic Ovaries back in Feb. Basically I have many cysts on both of my ovaries. These cause me lots of pain, especially when they burst. My doctor also believed that it was irritating my IBS. Since then I've been put on the birth control pill and the cysts and pain are gone. Not the IBS though, unfortunatly.So I would get it checked out. My doctor did a pap smear and I had a catscan that saw the cysts. Good luck and try not to worry, I know that's hard!

 

[eric]

plutoren12, they have to test you and rule out diseases or conditions that maybe mimicking IBS, so it is very very important to get tested.This is on testing. http://www.ibsgroup.org/main/tests.html

 

[kamie]

Plutoren, First and foremost, you need to see a gynecologist or an endocrinologist.More specifically a reproductive endocrinologist if you can get in.More on that following.I too had a lot of extremely scary symptoms just a year ago.It took me a while to arrive at a diagnosis and a surgery to address the problems of my body and I am still healing from 2 surgeries I had back in April.The symptoms for ovarian cancer are very much likeIBS and a few other maladies.Unfortunately, Ovarian cancer rarely shows huge symptoms until it has advanced to the critical stage.That's the unpleasant truth of Ovarian Cancer.However, there could be existing conditions in your pelvis that could be things that may one day turn to cancer if not properly addressed in the now.Things like cystic or tumorous Ovaries._____________________________________Postlutoren12, they have to test you and rule out diseases or conditions that maybe mimicking IBS, so it is very very important to get tested._______________________________________While I totally agree with the above statement, I also know the facts about women and tests only because I've been down that road.And, by the way, if you go find BB's specifically for women who deal with the whole female health mystery in their own bodies, you will find what I am about to tell you to be very very common in the field of personal experiences.The problem with Labs and blood tests and imaging tests is that for some reason with womens problems, there are a lot of false readings.These false readings make it hard for women to get the real treatment they need so they wander around in an increasing crisis stage until one day they wind up with either a full blown emergency or premanent lifetime health conditions.I had all those highly recommended tests.Not just once either.I had to go through 3 gynegologists to finally get some medical attention for my problems.And even then, the gynecologist ONLY considered the procedure to enter my pelvis with a laproscope because the Urologist and the Gastroenterologist kept writing her letters at my insistence.At one point I was denied treatment and medicaion at the gynecology office because the gynecologist said that I was not a gynecology case.I had to go to the ER that day because I was very ery sick with horrible pain and my BP and pulse were tachycardic.So I went and my vitals were so bad that the ER dctor puts me on an I.V of Demerol and phenegranand then proceeds to do some tests.The ER doctor foud a little grey spot on one of the CT scans that he thought was a uterine fibroid tumor. And it was.But the gynecologist wwrote on her report that the ER doctor was WRONG and it had nothing to do with gynecology.Eventually, with all my demanding and whining and just being a generally unpleasant medical nusiance, the gynecologist agreed to do the Laproscope and take a look inside.However, she also told me that since I had a bad family history of female cancer and because my uterus seemed a little tender, that she would only do the lap if I agreed to a hysterectomy.Well, truthfully, by that time, I was in so much pain that I was about ready to either throw my self in front of a truck or do the hysterectomy myself, so I said Okay fine, yank it all out.So I got my laproscope.However, when the gynecologist got inside she found all those things that the tests said were not there.I had endometriosis, adenomyosis, a uterine fibrois tumor, cysts and the unhappy event of massive pelvic adhesions that were fusing my colon to the ovary and the colon and the ovary were both fusing to the musculature of the pelvix girdle. Both ovary and the colon had to cut away from the pelvic wall and they had to be cut away from eachother.In my case, with out surgical intervention I would have eventually lost the use of my colon.Since endometriosos was involved, the continued destructive growth of endometriosos in the pelvic cavity would have also continued and eventually the adhesins would have grown along with the endometriosis and who knows what the endo and accompanying adhesions would attach to next.There are women with massive internal endo who wind up with that stuff on their lungs.It gets pretty bad.Yet, adhesions can only very very rarely even been seen on the imaging tests.So really, getting a sonigram, either internal or external, is simply a diagnostic waste of time if you are having adhesion problems. Infact, as I found out, the false readings of some of these tests hurt my chances of swift and accurate treatment.It's kind of sad when the gastroenterologist knows more about the invisibility of the pelvic adhesions reality than the gynecologist.Also, I deffinately had endometriosis and nothing NOTHING indicating endo came back on my presurgery tests to detect endo.And on the adenomyosis...I just didn't have a slightly enlarged uterus, I had EXTENSIVE adenomyosis.So, in the gynecology reality, tests are not always our best friends.What a woman needs is a good doctor who is brilliant with diagnostics who can come to their conclusion about a pelvic codition with out the confusion of tests because in the gynecology reality, the laproscopic procedure would be the defining TEST.My gastrenterologist was the one who diagnosed my adhesion problem when I was sent to his office for a colonoscopy because the gynecologist had decided that I had a GI problem.He figured it out just taking to me and listening to my symptoms in our 1st meeting.He didn't even do a pelvic exam!!!!!!He knew.So he tells me while we are scheduling my colonoscopy that I really don't need a colonoscopy because based on my symptoms that my problems were pelvic and only intestinal because the pelvic adhesions were stuck to the outside of the colon stimulating the colon in a bad way, hence IBS symptoms.Now who knows if this experience of mine fits theacademic technicality of IBS........However, as a woman who went through gynecology hell and now suffers from a heart condition a year later, well, I just don't care about criteria because bottom line I can't stand to hear about the suffering of women who just need some ideas for trouble shootng potentially serious conditions.So take care and get agressive with your medical troubleshooting.It's not worth having to change your life style just because a mysterious condition was let go too long.I can no longer ride horses because of my adhesion problem.Because of my heart condition recently discovered, the scuba diving part of my life is now under question too.Preventative medicine is what helps us avoid these problems.Kamie

 

[ThisBearBites]

Don't assume you need just one dr. I am seeing my third GP, my second GYN, and a GI. (the first GYN I reported to the state medical board) And it seems the mess I am, it is going to continue to be all three for awhile. Don't be afraid to ask a GP to see specialists and find another one if the first one doesn't relieve your concerns. My families intial concern was that of ovarian cancer as well. The good news is I don't have cancer. The bad news is cancer could have been "fixable". What I have wrong isn't. And it isn't fatal. I won't die, I just might wish I did.

 

[plutoren12]

THISBEAR BITES: What is it that you have? Is it IBS? Did you have all of the IBS symptoms which made your family worry? LET ME KNOW, thanks. Sorry to hear ur in pain

 

[RitaLucy]

pluto,You need to get your questions answered by seeing a Dr. I know that feeling of being anxious and scared but the only way to alleviate it is to find out for sure the what ifs. We can sit here and tell you what it might sound like etc. I recently put myself in quite an ovarian cancer scare. I had a colonoscopy which revealed a bump behind my colon. My gastro said likely things to cause it and mentioned an ovarian problem. He NEVER said ovarian cancer to me but I looked up the symptoms -- and there they were staring me in the face in black and white... I became very freightened about ovarian cancer because the symptoms can mimic other conditions.I then was relieved when I did some self talk to myself and said things like geez I have had IBS for 20+ years. I have had my symptoms so long that it couldn't be ovarian cancer...I would know it by now. Then I went down the oh but what if it recently developed road with my self talk and here I am thinking it is just IBS and then bam...something has shown up and I have ignored the symptoms...just brushing them off to IBS.I guess what I am trying to say...is get it checked out! I had the CA125 blood test which was totally normal and I also had a pelvic exam and a pelvic CT scan.If your problem does turn out to be an ovarian problem it will most likely be a benign cyst because as my Gyno tells me most woman have them. Or in my case...it could be IBS related etc.I would start with a gastro and have some tests or at least an exam.Best of Luck....

 

[sabriel]

Hi,Ovarian Cancer and it's symptoms is a topic that has been discussed quite a lot recently.You might want to check these threads for more information: http://www.ibsgroup.org/cgi-local/ubbcgi/u...ic;f=1;t=027974 http://www.ibsgroup.org/cgi-local/ubbcgi/u...ic;f=1;t=028017 http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php...ic;f=1;t=027832 http://www.ibsgroup.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php...ic;f=1;t=027974 I would say though, don't go talking yourself into something nasty without seeing a doctor. You could be worrying yourself for nothing. Your symptoms sound much more likely to be a cyst to me.Also, even if you did have ovarian cancer, it is not neccessarily a death sentence. I had ovarian cancer 6 years ago and I am still here. I had sugery and chemotherapy and have been fine since.Also, depending on your age it may be very unlikely anyway. Ovarian Cancer is most common in post-menopausal women (generally those over 50). There are of course exceptions as I was much younger than that, but it is VERY rare.Take care and do go and see that doctor ASAP to get some tests done. It is much better to know than to be frantic with worry.Hope that helps some.Take care.

 

[ThisBearBites]

I had a hysterectomy (adenomyosis and PID)at a young age (23), they left only one ovary. I had severe scarring and adhesions from that surgery and a few others. I have been IBS since shortly following my hysterectomy. 17 yrs later, IBS-D became very acute this spring, along with exhaustion, plus severe abdominal pain. Nothing let up. Finally, last month my GYN did a laporoscopy. Said he had never seen adhesions so bad. The adhesions had glued my ovary around the colon. My artery going to the leg, tendons to the leg, and the uretor going from the left kidney to the bladder were all tangled in that mess. All that was glued to the abdominal wall OUTSIDE the periteneum. My vagina was glued to the rectum. There was a mass of adhesions, described as a large fist sized, pushing in on the stomach and connected to the nearby kidney. Almost nothing inside of me was clearly visible because of adhesions. There was also calcified scar tissue. It appears now after many more proceedures and tests, that my kidney and uretor were damaged and scarred by the adhesions. And the I now have IBS AND something my GI called 'Adhesive Bowel Disease'. Meaning adhesions have damaged the outside of the small bowel and that can't be fixed. All they can do is treat the symptoms. When you added the definate ovarian pain I had with the exhaustion and severe uptake in my IBS-D, my family rather - freaked. But we were all dancing around each other. I thought I was hiding it from them and they thought they where sparing me. And by the time I found doctors who took me seriously, I had lost the ability to sit up because of the pain. So don't let the doctors jerk you around. If one is blowing you off there is probably another who will truly care about the person inside. They don't rule you, you're the one who pays their salary!

 

[HipJan]

Yes, go see your gynecologist and get things checked out. I've been that down that route before, myself; RL has summed up my own sentiments well. Over the past 4 years, I've had a lot of lower (and upper) GI problems, plus I've had even more gyno. problems (cysts, adenomyosis, some adhesions, lots of pain, etc.). It is very hard at times to tell what is going on.I would be quite surprised if you have OC, but it's always best to check it out.