Possible ovarian cysts should I have gone to A&E?

[DeeKline]

I've had ovarian cysts before.
Over the past few weeks I've been having lower right abdominal pain with urinary symptoms. On Monday night the pain was so bad I had taken painkillers but couldn't get to sleep until 4am. I'd taken paracetamol, ibuprofen and tramadol but still couldn't get to sleep until after 4am even though I was really tired. I was on all fours with the pain, I tried having a bath but couldn't get comfortable.

The pain had eased by the morning, it hurts every day and it is painful now but not as bad as it was on Monday.

If this happens again should I go to A&E? At what point should I go to A&E knowing that it will probably have passed within 12 hours.

Lately I have thought I am peri-menopausal but now I'm not sure whether these symptoms could have been due to the possible cyst.

I'm not sure what to do.
TIA

[DeeKline]

Bumping

[pinkfrocks]

sorry to hear you were in such pain.
What was the outcome with previous cysts?

I'd make an appt to see your GP and they will arrange a scan to see what's going on.

Cysts shouldn't cause pain like that unless they are very large or become twisted and that is an emergency A&E trip.

[ScaryMaryHinge]

If it's on the lower right it could be your appendix, so you really need to be checked out. I had the opposite recently, thought it was my appendix but it turned out to be a cyst. The GP sent me straight to hospital for tests and I was prepped for surgery just in cast it was my appendix.

[DeeKline]

Thank you for replying.
I don't have an appendix so I know it's not that.
The previous cyst was drained and some was taken away + biopsied.

[MarniRose]

I had your exact symptoms to the letter last year. Had scans,antibiotics, urine tests, bladder things, ovarian scans all sorts. The symptoms continued- I had the pain you describe and UTI symptoms. I was so worried

Finally I was given a CT scan of my kidneys to ' rule out kidney issues' and that's when they found a large kidney stone. It was the last thing I expected as I've never had a kidney stone in my life. It took rather a lot of months after that and three lots of lithotripsy and morphine and pain BUT I'm fine now

So I don't think A and E are your best bet here. I think asking your GP for a ct scan of your kidneys could be the way to go as you've got UTI symptoms and pain. Make an appointment and get the ball rolling

[MarniRose]

With a kidney stone you cannot get comfortable I'm afraid . Hot baths can sometimes bring short term relief but only whilst you're in them. Standing up , lying down, sitting up ... Nothing helps really. All you can do is drink lots, regular strong painkillers and push for an answer. I think the pain you're experiencing is renal colic

[Marshy]

You need to go to your GP before it happens again, not wait until you're in acute pain and then go to a & e. Make an appointment next week!

It sounds very unpleasant op.

[Marshy]

But saying that, if it gets unbearably painful again before you can get a gp appt, I would be seeking out of hours help. That level of pain when you don't know the cause is not ok.

[ragged]

What would they do for you in A&E? Strong painkillers or surgery?

GP could write you a prescription for strongkillers,it that's appropriate. Something for you to have on hand next time. I think it's worth going to GP to explain how bad it was and what strategy can you follow to make it more manageable; they badly want to keep you out of A&E so may rustle up an option not previously discussed. Good luck.

[pinkfrocks]

sorry if this sounds a bit 'off' but A&E is for exactly that: accidents and emergencies. The mad waiting times are due to lots of people who ought to plan a visit to their GP but use A&E like a walk-in clinic.

You ought to see your dr and not wait for this pain to come back then expect A&E to do investigations that could be put in place before it happens again to you.

[DeeKline]

I'm in some pain all the time but then a few times a week it becomes excruciating.
It takes a month or more to get a GPs appointment.
I agree that A&E is for emergencies, my concern is that something will burst or implode when I'm having a particularly painful episode.
So yes I will get a GPs appt but in the meantime between GP appt and referrals I'm sometimes in severe pain and I'm not sure where to draw the line and go to A&E.

[MarniRose]

It really shouldn't take a month to see a doctor! Whereabouts are you? You need to call and ask for an emergency appointment or call every morning asking for a slot or a telephone appointment initially.

You need referring for a further scan

[DeeKline]

I know it shouldn't take a month to see a Dr.
I called on Thursday of last week to ask for an appointment, they didn't have anything available in May and hadn't opened the list for June yet, they did suggest I could ring every day for an appointment as some are released throughout the month but they couldn't tell me when.
I tried again on Friday but there was nothing available, I will keep trying.

Sorry if this next bit is TMI.

My periods have been erratic since last summer, I haven't had a proper period since Christmas time which led me to think I am peri menopausal.

Then I had a bleed for 24 hours on Tuesday of last week but it wasn't a normal period, the blood was fresh, not like a normal period.
It's this that makes me wonder whether this is a gynae problem, possibly cysts.

To recap I have lower right abdominal pain, no appendix, the pain is often referred into my back and sometimes down my legs.
The pain is there all the time and sometimes it gets markedly worse.

I need to go to the loo all the time including through the night it's been like this for months.
My stomach is swollen and it makes me dizzy but that might just be the pain.

As the only adult in the house I think I am frightened too as I was in so much pain last Monday I would have been incapable of looking after my DC if they had been awake.

[pinkfrocks]

what sort of appt system does your surgery offer?

I cannot believe someone would have to wait 5 weeks - that's plainly ridiculous. Are you sure you know how the appt system works?

You need to phone or turn up at reception and ask for an emergency appt.

[AttilaTheMeerkat]

I would be changing your GP practise as a matter of course if they cannot see you for a month!. Its ridiculous and I would complain to your primary care trust.

You really need to see a gynaecologist with the symptoms you currently have. I would also keep a daily pain and symptom diary if you do not already do this, this can also give the gynae clues.

[adarkwhisperinthewoodwasheard]

I had similar symptoms to you last year (except left side). Tried to make gp app but couldn't get one. Called nhs direct and they contacted gp - got an app that evening. By the time I was there I could barely walk and sobbed all over the poor doc. He thought it was kidney stones and prescribed strong painkillers that did sfa. Ended up at out of hours at the hospital that night, was then transferred to a&e, then admitted. Turned out it was a cyst with a twisted ovary - which is an emergency - and had surgery straight away.

If you are that incapacitated with pain it is an emergency, despite what pps have said. If you have a cyst that is causing your ovary to twist that can quickly cause the ovary to die, become necrotic and can kill you. The pain I had was worse than childbirth (for which I had no drugs) and I was begging for morphine. That said, if you're not in acute pain try gp first (emergency app)

[Marshy]

Op does your surgery offer telephone consultations? IME these are easier and quicker to get. I think if you were describing those things to your Gp over the phone s/he might find you an appointment.

[DeeKline]

adark that's how I was on Monday and that was my thinking, trouble was that I was in too much pain to make a rational decision about what to do about it and it was the evening so the surgery was closed, which is why I was asking about the ambulance.
There's a fine line between not wanting to bother anyone ie by calling an ambulance and running the risk of causing myself serious harm by not calling for help.

I agree that it is abysmal that my surgery cannot offer a routine appointment for a month but I do know that it is not alone. I understand how my surgery appointment system works, they release some appointments at 8:15 every morning. I tried to get one of these when I rang on Friday but it was engaged and by the time I got through at about 8:45 they were all gone. Assuming I'm not worse in the meantime I will try again on Tuesday, plan B is a request for a GP to ring me, plan C is to try 111, plan D is to turn up at the surgery and beg.
I didn't mean to start a debate about GP waiting times although I can see how this thread went that way, I was really asking for some clear-headed advice about what to do if I get worse again.

[Marshy]

One of the reasons for the current crises in a&e depts nationally is that people can't get to see their gp when they need to, so you are not alone op, far from it.

I hope you manage to get something inside a month. Maybe going in to the surgery would be best. I did that one one occasion when I was being fobbed off, explained my situation, which was quite serious at the time, and the receptionist found an appt for me.

But don't delay to seek help out of hours if you need to. Only you know how you are feeling.

Good luck!

[Queenofknickers]

IME If it's a kidney stone you won't be wondering wether to go to A&E or not you'll be begging to be put out of your misery. Excruciating agony. Fingers crossed for you it's not that.

[ragged]

The problem for HCPs is what if you think it's 'just another cyst issue' when it's really something far worse no one expected. Safest bet is for you to be checked out.

But if I were you, spending hours in pain waiting in A&E only to suddenly and predictably get better right before I was seen would be frustrating beyond words. Would something like ovary removal be a crazy idea to fix this?

[pinkfrocks]

Many surgeries work on that basis. It's terribly frustrating. You have to sit with your finger on the phone and keep re-dialling until you get through, first thing in the morning. The bookable appts are often several weeks ahead, but that means 90% of appts are booked on the day by phoning first thing. If you leave the phone and wait until 9am then all the appts will have gone. It's a mad system but the only way to beat it is to not give up when you call them and keep dialling until you manage to get an answer.

The other option - if you can- is to go to the surgery for when it opens and then you will be there in person to book an appt for that day.

I doubt you have had a twisted ovary caused by a cyst because the pain would not have gone away. But you do need a scan to see what is going on.

[DeeKline]

The pain hasn't gone away, not by any means, but I can function now, rather than crawling around.

[Plateofcrumbs]

I have had pain which I believe to have been caused by cysts bursting - I know I have quite bad cysts/endo (confirmed via scan) but I'm guessing a bit that this was the cause of the pain.

It came on at the start of my period and at first thought it was just bad period pain, but it quickly got much worse, could hardly stand up, and painkillers made not one jot of difference. The worst of it last about 4-6 hours (crippling pain), then took about 4 days til It had really gone away - felt like I had hot rocks in my belly.

Didn't occur to me at the time to go to a&e or anything (I didn't know I had cysts at that point, and because it coincided with my period I just thought it was particularly awful period pain). But if it happened again I would definitely call NHS direct at least.

[Penfold007]

DeeKline your surgery has to provide emergency appointments, ring them first thing tomorrow morning and tell them you need an emergency appointment. If the receptionist asks why you can either say it's a private matter or you have unexplained pain and bleeding.

Like you I have ovarian cysts and they can cause pain and/or bleeding.