Pain in the ovaries

I totally understand except my pain is on the right side.. Joked with my ob/gyn that it must be the ovary as my appendix should have ruptured by now.... I have had two transvaginal ultrasounds and she is now recommending an exploratory laparoscopy. I too am not ready for any more surgery but am concerned about what the Tamoxifen may be doing.

Wish I had an answer but can only commisserate. I was premenopausal but it didn't correlate with ovulation either. Sometimes would be almost unbearable for a few days then ease off to simply annoying most days. Now I seem to have stopped having cycles (since June) but the pain is better...just not sure what it means but hope it is just minor discomfort from the lack of estrogen...



Hopefully your pain will get better soon.

Trisha and Odie, I don't want to scare you or be a drama queen but I am a firm believer in you know your body better than anyone. Last summer I was having a very similar pain. I felt cramps like I was about to start my period but chemo threw me into instant chemopause. In about the location of my ovaries I was having a throbbing pain. The problem was the pain was not constant. I ended up with mets to the pelvis, ovaries, tubes, uterus, etc. On ultrasound one ovary was a little enlarged but appeared normal for my age (46) and being menopausal.



Trisha, ILC can be sneaky and not show up like it should. This past week I had an MRI that didn't show the same thing as the previous scan. The doctor said that ILC is more of a thickening than a distinct lesion. Again, I am not trying to scare you but rather to encourage you to pursue anything that lasts for weeks or consistently becomes worse.

Trisha-Anne, while it's true that exploratory laparoscopy is "invasive", it's not that difficult (I had it years ago after repeated miscarriages). A very small incicion is made and the tube with laparoscopic camera is inserted so docs can see all your pelvic organs. It's done under general anesthesia. My incision was very small - 3 stitches was all that was needed - and only hurt if I pressed on it. The gas that's pumped in to inflate the area is very uncomfortable and sometimes painful for some people but usually dissipates within a day.

Best of luck with whatever you decide.

Leah

edited to add: they made the incision in my bellybutton, which has never been the same.

Trisha-Anne, you mention that you've had a hyster as well as several ex laps over the years. Is it possible you have adhesions? I've heard that adhesions don't necessarily show up on scans so the only way to know for sure is surgery. Unfortunately surgery is what causes adhesions. And surgery is they only way to remove the adhesions. But therapeutic surgery can cause even more adhesions. It's an awful cycle. I hope you get some answers and feel better soon.

Trish, remember that your ILC was very small, and you had chemo, so hopefully your symptoms aren't cancer related.



Over to you but I still suggest following up sooner rather than later.