Wherein my 48-year-old body goes to hell.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Damned body.

I finally get off my fat ass and start going to the gym to work out. With a trainer, no less, so I have been seeing and feeling results. Legs look great; arms look much better. Butt firming up nicely.

Stomach? No change at all. Very little weight loss. Bad bloating.

And I fart. Constantly. All day long. No matter what I eat - or even if I don’t eat. Fortunately not usually noxious, but I am talking record-setting farts here. I work in a monitoring station where we sit in cubes, so I spend all day with my butt cheeks squeezed together trying to stop them. When I get up to go to the restroom for some relief, every step I take results in a tiny little poot. Then when I get to the restroom, I can actually feel my colon deflate.

This has been going on for over a year. The first doctor I was seeing - whose diploma is probably is written in some language other than english (and in crayon) - finally orders a pelvic ultrasound.

Results come back - she informs me that I have something in my uterus and something growing on my right ovary. “We’ll do another ultrasound in 6 months.”

6 MONTHS? Are you out of your mind?

That day, I call another doctor who has been referred by a friend. Her receptionist says yes, we can see you - next month. I explain the situation, and she calls back with an appointment for later that week. This doctor (both of these doctors are female, by the way) said “6 months my ass. You are going to a GYN. Now.” She sets up an appointment for the next week.

I go to my old doctor to have my records sent to new doctor. I am given a copy of my ultrasound results. In addition to the things growing, my left ovary seems to be missing. Did it go on vacation without me? Was it frustrated that the eggs it producted weren’t ever used, so it ran away? Dr. McStupid had not even bothered to inform me that I had a missing internal organ.

At my gyn appointment, the doctor - also female - explains that the growth in my uterus is most likely a fibroid, which is not cancerous or even pre- cancerous. She is a bit concerned about the missing ovary, and about the right ovarian growth. She does a routine yearly physical, schedules me for another ultrasound in 6 weeks, and sends me to the vampires in the lab.

Last week, her nurse called. My bloodwork indicates I am not in menopause, so there is no reason why I haven’t had a menstrual cycle in 4 months. She is talking about a biopsy.

I research ovarian biopsy. It involves either surgery or a looooong needle.

I am afraid of needles.

When I researched ovarian biopsy, I found a lovely little list: “If you have any of these symptoms, see your doctor” There are 10 items on the list.

extreme flatulence? check.

bloated abdomen? check.

I have 8 of the ten listed symptoms of ovarian cancer.

Two years ago, a friend of mine was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She was diagnosed on July 4th. She was dead by the middle of August.

I am scared.

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{{{{{SCL}}}}}

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I’m sooooo sorry. I don’t know if this will help, but I was diagnosed with breast cancer with metastasis to the bones a year ago. I’ve been on the same chemo for over a year and my cancer is stable. I don’t think it will ever be completely gone, but I am living a normal life–still teaching full time and I feel well and have energy.
I’ll be thinking good thoughts for you.

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:frowning: No fun! Sending supporting and healing thoughts your way!

5

A few years ago I had a mass on my ovary, and it was a benign cyst, with tooth and hair materials! Hey, you know how you know if you have one of those? Hold a bag of ice on your abdomen right there, and if you hear teeth chattering, that’s it!

I bet that’s what it is. They just took my ovary out laparascopically and sent it to path- very little pain, fuss, or muss. Do keep us updated and I am sending my best wishes for your outcome.

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I’m so sorry you have to deal with this. I really really hope you’ll be able to come back and regale us about how you either 1. just got diagnosed with a curable ailment(s) that remarkably closely resembles the symptoms of ovarian cancer or 2. how you’re gearing up to deliver a righteous beat down to ovarian cancer in a battle that is really very unfairly stacked against the cancer. Take care of yourself, good luck, and know that you’re welcome to post as much as you want here. We won’t mind.

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Wow. I am sorry. No fun at all. I wish I could really give you a hug.

Please try not to get too worried. The symptoms of ovarian cancer are pretty unspecific and could really point to a lot of things. It could be diverticulitus or something…

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Actually, it would be much more concerning for ovarian cancer if you HAD been losing weight. That’s when I knew something was very wrong with my mother (who died of ovarian cancer a few months ago) - she suddenly started dropping weight because the cancer was coating her stomach and intestines and making it harder for her to eat.

See, the thing is, the symptoms for ovarian cancer are very vague and can be explained by A LOT of different causes. Most people don’t leap to thinking it’s ovarian cancer right away when they have an upset stomach or feel bloated - because usually when you have those sorts of symptoms it is something totally harmless.

The bloating they talk about with ovarian cancer is because of fluid collecting in the abdomen (ascites). If you had ascites, they probably would have made note of that on the ultrasound.

Did your doctor do a CA-125 when she sent the blood work? If you had a high CA-125 that would also be more concerning for ovarian cancer, but even then, there are many benign and normal causes for a high ca-125.

Ovarian cancer is a bitch to diagnose because it is so sneaky and there is no big red flag indicating something is terribly wrong. But that’s sort of “good news” for you because your symptoms can all be explained by normal, harmless things.

I hope you never have to deal with ovarian cancer, but if you do, http://www.ovarian.org is a good place to start in finding support.

Oh, and incidentally, my mom lived for 2 years with very advanced, inoperable ovarian cancer. The majority of that time was good quality time, and there are other women who live even longer. Sadly, my mom’s time was cut short by an unusual complication (she still had other chemo treatments she could have tried and could have potentially lived a lot longer if we had had the chance to try them). If you have to get a metastatic cancer, ovarian cancer is a relatively “good” one in the sense that it is quite sensitive to chemotherapy. The reality is that most women who have ovarian ca are not cured of it and will die of it eventually, but many experience long remissions thanks to chemotherapy.

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What else is there to say? Best wishes, SnakesCatLady, for everything to turn out well.

In the even that you’re in the mood for a chuckle, please know that when I read

[spoiler]

I thought to myself, well that explains why it’s firming up so nicely. :)[/spoiler]

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You’re in my thoughts and prayers, SnakesCatLady and I am seriously praying that things will go well for you. {{{{{{{SCL}}}}}}}

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Ditto–very good vibes your way, and may it turn out to be nothing but something that gives you a big sigh of relief. (Sorta like when you get to relax and faaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrt.) Thinking good thoughts for you.

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Don’t worry about a thing. The doctors are on top of it, and IIRC, none of them have even mentioned the bad word.
Also, as per your missing cycle, back in the day i read that extreme exercise (particularly among runners???) could be the cause.

Change in diet could also be cause for extreme flatulence, esp. in relationship to your new health regimen. Back in the day when I was drinking about 1-2 litres of diet Mountain Dew, I was blasting away non-stop till about 2pm every day.
Best wishes,
hh

IANAD, but I do surgeries cheap!

13

I am so sorry you are having to deal with this. You are in my thoughts and prayers until they tell you it’s nothing to worry about! (((hugs)))

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Gah. I have a girlfriend that uses the internet to diagnose her symptoms. Bad, bad idea.

You’ll have plenty of time to fret if/when you ever get a diagnosis, but until then, have patience and don’t jump to conclusions.

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Ruby, I am not using the internet to diagnose; I had already changed doctors and been told I would have to have a biopsy before I found that list. I have plenty of time to fret now - #1, I am looking at the prospect of having a very long needed jammed into my belly. Not my idea of a good time. #2, I sat with my friend Libby during the six weeks she lived after diagnosis - she didn’t actually die of cancer, but of the pneumonia the hospital gave her (free of charge!) after the chemo had weakened her.

Yes, I am scared of the possibility of cancer. I also sat with my uncle as he died of it. Nowhere in my post did I say I have it - I said I was scared. I am sorry if you think that is “jumping to conclusions”. and I thank you for your support.

Everyone else, thank you for your support and kind wishes. I just needed a place to vent, and didn’t want to worry my family and friends more than they already are.

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Hugs to you **SCL. ** I hope you receive good news.

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Good vibes heading your way, SCL.

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First of all, since this is the Straight Dope we will need photographic evidence to verify your claims about the legs and ass firming up :wink:

Don’t worry about that. Depending on your body type the stomach might be next to impossible to lose.

What are the rest of the items on the checklist? I have those two and I am male :stuck_out_tongue:

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{{{{{{{{{SCL}}}}}}}}}}

What a scary thing to be going through. Please keep us apprised.

FWIW, I dreaded amniocentesis for the same reason you’re not keen on the biopsy. I told the technicians I would be fine as long as I never saw the needle, so to warn me when they were getting it ready so I could close my eyes. They did, and I did, and the procedure was really no biggie.

Sending you good thoughts!

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Props to you SCL for taking the initiative and going to see another doctor. If you think something is drastically wrong, then it is up to you to make sure you get it checked out completely. You are doing that and it will make all the difference for you later.

I wish you the best of luck on your test results.