Abdominal pain - ovarian anything ruled out by ultrasound scans. Ideas?

[ruthosaurus]

I've been having left lower abdominal pains on and off for over a year now, pretty much since my periods came back after having my DS. I've had two ultrasound scans, the most recent today, I'm not pg and it's not, despite my GP's almost fervent belief, constipation or cystitis. The pain is consistent and low grade and is not menstrual pain, which I also get, but not too badly. I have a copper IUD which is where it should be.

Any ideas? I need something to discuss with my doc when I get my followup appointment other than "Have you tried taking 8 paracetamol and Ibuprofen a day forever and stopping wasting my time and NHS resources?", which is what she implied last time.

I have lower left abdominal pain also had all the scans and gyne exams I am now being referred for gastro tests for diverticulitis and other things like that but not specified by the Dr. Paracetamol does help but it upsets my stomach to the point were I was vomiting blood that is what pushed it to the point of more referrals for me. Good Luck hope you get some ans soon
Also the pain is worse one week before my period so am having blood tests to check hormones

This might not appeal to you, but try taking some Black Cohosh. I was suffering from pelvic pain a few months ago - ultrasound showed nothing up - also have a copper iud. The black cohosh cleared it up pretty quickly and I've had no further pain since.

Thanks, Atomic, I'll do.some research on that. Looks promising but not sure about poss side effects... Glad it worked for you!

Atomic what is black Cohosh and where would you get it plse?
Ruth just remember you are there for a service that the gp provides ask her what are the next steps that you want answers that provide a solution not solutions that provide long term problems or drug dependency for over 5 days. Often women's issues are blamed for all and every problem and take a tablet to make it better makes me so
Also I am sorry just realised how useless my other post was what I meant to say in a nut shell is if the coil is ok and there are no other gyne problems found, it could be bowel related.

Buzzy, you are ace! It's hard to remember sometimes that GPs are a service and that I have a right to be taken seriously. If it was my son rather than me I would move heaven and earth to get a diagnosis and treatment, although in his case I think we could rule out gynae problems...

I got mine from the health food store, but I think you can buy it from mainstream chemists like Boots as well.

Don't use it if you have a history of breast cancer though.

ruth

P.S Buzzybb - my writing below is also applicable in your case as well.

All that you describe symptom wise could be attributed to endometriosis. It is the second most common gynae problem seen in women after fibroids yet it is very much under diagnosed.

Also endo can affect the bowel and cause pain; this is called intestinal endometriosis. It can also be misdiagnosed as IBS.

Endometriosis is NOT picked up on any ultrasound scan or blood test. It is usually confirmed through a keyhole surgery op called a laparoscopy.

If GP continues to be unhelpful I would ask/insist on a referral to a gynae and change GP practices. Many GPs as well are ignorant of endo and this one has probably not given it a second thought.

You will need to be persistant in order to get answers. I would put money on it that endo is possibly the root cause here. You need to find the CAUSE.

Do you get periods that start not with a bang but with a whimper, as it were, with endometriosis? Also, the area of pain seems to be growing, up the left hand side of my abdomen towards the bottom of my ribcage. It's not agonising but it is annoying.

Why was I born female? Keeping my hair into old age is no trade-off!

Can I throw a spanner into the works here and ask if you're sure you don't have a back problem? The first signs I had of severe prolapsed discs were abdominal pain (although on the right side) as the discs were on my spinal cord which was affecting all sorts of odd things... It had the doctors completely mystified and I was even in hospital for a while. Only an MRI showed up the problem. FWIW endometriosis was mentioned in my case too.

I hope you get it sorted out.

Could be! Will take it in the list to my doc, thanks. Not a spanner at all and I hope you're getting good treatment and pain relief now.

I had constant niggling pain in the abdomen as well, turned out it*s fibroids.

Ruth do write a list and ask for each to be eliminated [I prefer male Dr's because female are more inclined to be of the opinion get on with it, every women suffers at some point ],
Atilla good point about the endo esp as it was ruled out just because
Maybe Chaotica is right about an MRI it rules out more then it would rule in iyswim
Atomic thanks for that will look into it,
Good luck Ruth hope you get prper help soon

Endometriosis came to my mind too. I would be pushing for gynae referral given that the pain started with the return of periods.

Thanks, all.

I've started keeping a pain diary, and with the arrival of my period today the pain has suddenly backed off a bit, like someone turning the volume down. It's bliss, comparatively speaking, as yesterday I cried myself to sleep over it.
I've also booked a GP appointment with a different doc, so fingers crossed.

Thanks so much for all your advice, ladies; it's so nice to feel less isolated.

Good luck, Buzzy, hope you feel better soon and get some answers too.

Just an update - I had my followup appointment and have been referred to a gynae for a laporoscopy (sorry, not sure of spelling). Yay!

Thanks for all the great advice about keeping a pain diary etc. I found some really useful advice on the EndometriosisUK website, including some useful templates and questions to ask doctors.

www.endometriosis-uk.org/

Good luck with it all.

I have been having lower left abdo pain since Wednesday. It seems worse when I sit down and radiates to my lower back.

I thought it may have been ovulation pain, but it started 3 days after my period finished...?

It does go with nurofen, but taking tou much nurofen gives me pain higher up like heartburn.

Going to the GP this week.

Get on that website, it was v useful to me. I spoke to my sister about it and it turns out she has exactly the same thing going on. She lives in France, where they automatically refer you to a specialist rather than you seeing a GP (as I understand it) and her gynae said it could be that she has a "hyperactive" vary on the side where the pain is. Will google it asap...

Hope you find a solution/diagnosis soon