abdominal pain

[anbuma]

hi everyone

my abdomen is much more uncomfortable now.it is so much harder and its like I can feel a hard edge around my belly button if that makes sense.it Is so much worse when I lay down

I am getting more concerned now that it is a tumour.i have a gp appt on Friday as was first I could get with my own dr and the other dr I have been seeing they said was fully booked.

I did ask the surgery to leave a message fro him to contact me but he didnt.

my brother says I ve seen so many drs and had scans that I should accept there is nothing seriously wrong.as you all probably know from experience that drs don't listen and are unaware of ovarian cancer /cysts despite having scans etc they still go undetected..I have said i have gallstones but I know its not these causing the swelling in my abdomen as it has been like this fro a lot longer than when I first had gallstones(probably few months ago when they thought I had angina.my thoughts are for my dogs .I don't want anything to happen to me that I cant be there fro them.they sense something is wrong.

[crissy]

Could it b a hernia i wouldnt guess ubtill u c the dr gud luck

[Hidden]

Hi Anbuma

If you have been seen before I am sure it isn't anything too serious. Scans usually show up any problem and if you are unhappy you must get a second opinion.

I lost someone very dear to me of ovarian cancer and she had no pain at all.

Try not to get worried up. At least you have an appointment with your own doctor and so you can discuss your fears and worries with him.

Hugs Karen x

[ladymoth]

Hi anbuma,

I can understand how worried you are, but as you have had several scans, including a private one, I think you can put your mind at rest.

Ovarian cancers and cysts show up very clearly on ultrasound scans. I used to do them, and we could pick up tumours as small as half a centimetre. The pictures are also reported on by a specialist doctor after the scan, so it's unlikely they would miss anything.

The reason that ovarian cancer often goes undiagnosed is that the symptoms often don't appear until the tumour is very advanced, by which time treatment can be difficult.

Early diagnosis sometimes happens because the person with no symptoms has had a scan for some other reason. I'm sure you can be confident that you are clear of this, at least!

You say that you can feel a hard edge around your tummy button when you lie down - I think I can tell you what this is. It's almost certainly the transverse edge of your bowel. The muscle there is very strong and hard, and can be felt as a firm ridge - especially when you lie down. This is completely normal!

Your tummy might be swollen for several reasons - I really couldn't say, but it's a common enough problem for women, and often due to gas and fluid retention - it's not always serious.

I know that you are still concerned, so when you go to your doctor, write a careful list of the things that worry you, and go through them one at a time so that the doctor can explain them to you. Other things you should mention are :

Have you lost a great deal of weight without trying?

Do you have any unusual bleeding?

Are you having difficulty eating or keeping food down?

Do you have a persistent cough?

Have you any more pain than usual?

If you have none of these symptoms, I don't think you have any need to worry at all, but even if you do, it doesn't necessarily mean you have a tumour.

Your main trouble seems to be extreme anxiety - has your doctor given you any advice about this? You might benefit if you could talk to someone about your worries, so when you see your doctor, you might like to ask if that's possible.

Fear of cancer is a surprisingly common problem, and shouldn't be brushed aside, as it can be terrifying for the sufferer.

i do hope this is helpful. take care and try not to worry too much.

Love Moffy x

[anbuma]

thank you so much Moffy.it is very helpful and reading something like this does put my mind at rest a bit and then I go back to being concerned. I remember asking my DR back in the summer can something be done to get rid of the mass in my abdomen. the reply was "plastic surgery?"

I hope to be able to get to see him sooner than Friday.i I have lost weight recently,dont have any appetite so eat very little and have had a cough since about sept. all of which I have mentioned to him but not always acknowledged.will take your advice and write things down btu mostly I do that anyway as I know I will forget something if I don't.

love anbuma

[Jjudith]

What about Irritable Bowel problems? It is very common with FM and it is very painful. It does cause bloating of the stomach as well, which could be why your stomach is swollen. And with IBS it is made worse by anxiety, so by worrying about it you could be making it worse. And also making your FM worse. Have you tried meditation? It really helps with both pain and anxiety - I meditate every day, it took me quite a long time to get used to it so that I really relax but now it is one of the most helpful things. The other thing that I find useful if I have abdominal pain and bloating is taking Activated Charcoal tablets for a few days.

[ladymoth]

Some very sound ideas there, Judith. I find meditation very good for IBS - I've never found a way to make sure I practice it regularly, tho'

A lot of us are our own worst enemies in this respect - we know what we should do, but get too busy with other stuff. Ah well, experience is a good teacher!

Moffy x