To go back to the GP and get a bit pushy

[NotSmallButFunSize]

Hopefully brief....

Since I came off the pill after last baby (she is 8) I have frequently noticed ovulation pain and bloating on my left side. Last year it was annoying me so much I saw the GP and had blood tests and 2 internal scans done. Normal bloods and nothing really seen on the scan but the reason I had 2 is because apparently my left ovary is very hard to see so they had another go. Nothing came of it, some suggestions of maybe fibroids but nothing else.

In the last couple of months, it has been bothering me again and I have also started having semi- regular breakthrough bleeding about a week after my period, just a bit of a day then gone again.

This month I have felt so bloated for the last 10 days or so and have an uncomfortable sort of pain on the left side, almost like trapped wind type feeling but nothing relieves it. I want to go back to the doc and ask for something else than another scan and feel like I will have to get a bit mardy with them. Just feels like they went "ah well, we dunno??" and that was supposed to just be ok?! Half the scan write up wasn't even accurate (said I was menstruating at the time when I wasn't etc) so not even sure if I trust the bloody result anyway!

WIBU to go back and demand someone does a more thorough check?? I know of course I am not really but what is even next after an ultrasound?!

Speaking as an Ovarian cancer survivor: go back. Get pushy. It is likely nothing serious but the first doctor I saw told me I was constipated (!), I feel very lucky that the second took me seriously.

Oh and what was next after an ultrasound for me was a CT scan

If it wasn’t a transvaginal scan then that’s what you need to have. If you have had that, you can get more accurate imaging through an MRI.

Tbh some ovulation pain and bloating is not at all unusual for someone in their 30s or 40s so perhaps if they didn’t see anything there’s not a lot to worry about. But if the pain is distracting and lasts for as much as 10 days at a time then perhaps focus on that at your next appointment.

It was a vaginal one both times - the first one also did an external ultrasound.

It feels annoying that it might just be something I "have to put up with"

If it’s bothering you for 10 days of the month I think you should push harder. Keep a track of it too. It might be worse when you ovulate on the left side.

You really need to be pushy when it comes to anything women’s health related I’ve found.

I had been going to the GP for nearly six years for pain during sex and other symptoms, with history of ovarian cysts which needed removing. In the end they found an endrometrial ovarian cyst 10cm wide and their answer? “Take a paracetamol before intercourse”

after being continually pushy I am now waiting to see the endo consultant (but it’s a really long waiting list and I still don’t have an appointment 10 months later)

so now I’m being pushy with the hospital

Echoing @FreedomDogs post with a similar story - go back if you aren’t happy, don’t put up with being in pain and discomfort. Continue to advocate for yourself and get pushy. It may be something that can be fixed but equally it could be something more sinister that is being missed…so whilst no one wants you to worry unnecessarily, it’s also really important to get to the bottom of why you are having pain, especially if your left ovary was very hard to see.

To add, really the only other things they’d do further is potentially a ct or mri scan of your pelvis - or exploratory laparoscopy (look inside during an operation).

edit: you could also go back to the gp and ask them to redo your ca125 as well, this might help the bigger picture

Unfortunately, you do have to make a nuisance of yourself sometimes.

It's also worth trying to see a different GP, if you can. Some are great in particular areas, but I've found a lot of doctors have differing attitudes on what to do about persistent pain. Another one might be willing to take you seriously. It sounds like it's really bothering you.

Go back and be demanding. I'm presuming your GP is a man? I'm afraid that 'women's problems' still are treated as hysteria by some GPs.

For instance, I had a IUD fitted some years ago. The doctor was having immense trouble fitting it and I was in agony. He also decided to do a biopsy of some cysts at the same time, resulting in unexpectedly heavy bleeding. By the time I got out, I felt as if I had been assaulted.

When it was time to have it removed, I saw a female doctor. She asked me if I wanted an anaesthetic. 'Why?' I asked. 'Is it going to be that bad?'

No, she replied, it was in case I wanted another one fitted.

I explained that, after my previous experience, I would never have another one - she was horrified to learn that there had been no anaesthetic the first time and said that, particularly with the biopsy, it should have been given - but that doctor, that man decided not to bother. I hope he rots in Hell.

So, be demanding and don't be embarrassed about it.