Really worried for my mum, need advice on how i can make sure the doctors are doing everything??

[madness]

Hi!

I was wondering if someone could give me some advice? My mum (nearly 50) is having alot of gyne problems and is seeking help from her doctor but i want to make sure they are checking for the right things so to speak i guess? Ok here goes!

My mum has been having

*persistant pelvic pains

*bloating/windy feeling

*tiredness (which if anyone knows my mum it in itself isn't good!-live wire )

*problems going for a number 2

*urgent need to urinate

*extreme pain during sex

*heavy feeling in womb area.

Most of the above have only got worse in the last 3-6 months.

Her doctor sent her for a ultrasound which was last Monday i believe, on Thursday she was extremly bloated and in pain so rang the doctor who said ultrasound results were not in, so take pain relief and he would see her next week.

At the U/s they found she has fluid in her pelvis but also has PID which they think is from a previous operation. The U/s lady told my mum she needed to see her GP within a week.

In most cases i know it isn't cancer, however could you tell me

a.) if the ultrasound lady had seen something to worry about, would she have just sent her back to her GP or would they have called a doctor in to go over the scan then and there like they would if you was pregnant?

b.) would the scan alone have noticed if she had cancer ie should the gp be doing other tests?

Im a very laid back person in general but i am seeing my mum in alot of pain and something doesn't feel right, she has text tonight to say she has taken her self to bed due to extreme pelvic/period like pains (she doesn't have periods) this is so unlike her its untrue.

She has had all the basic tests ie STI (!!) pregnancy (!!) UTI, anemic etc

Thanks in advance

[Hidden]

Hi ,

I think if the person that was doing the ultrasound suggested your mum should see the doctor, then she should see the doctor, I am not suggesting there is something wrong but if there is something wrong she shouldn't hang around, I don't know whether she would call in a doctor it would depend if there was one available I suppose.... you could give the Ovacome helpline a ring and speak to the nurse Ruth Payne tel [phone]

Best wishes love x G x

[madness]

Thankyou Gwyn, my mum has a appt this Thursday, this was the earliest appt they could give her. U/s results are due in tomorrow (Mon) so i guess if the dr checks them before thursday and notices something he may call?

[jazz007]

I think the doctor would have to call if the US had any negative results. My gp surgery always calls if something isn't right. I have been told following a clear US scan however to ask for a ct because my ca125 level was raised to 83. Your Mum should request a ct scan, it seems a little more accurate! Best wishes Jan x

[ChrisH]

If there is anything showing on he ultrasound I would expect your Mum's doctor to call her in quickly. I don't know how much an ultrasound shows, I've only experienced them when I have a lot of fluid & need a drain. Your Mum should ask for a CT scan, which I believe is more accurate, if she doesn't get an answer from the US. I know if they push you can usually get emergency ct scans done very quickly. I was rushed through the A & E system by my GP, so I had scans, tests, a drain put in and contents sent for testing within 24 hours In an emergency, its amazing how fast test results are available! Also, have they done a CA125 test? Some doctors don't believe in it, but they don't cost much, and in a lot of us it really is a good indicator of what's going on. Best wishes Chris

[Whippit]

I never ceased to be amazed at the experience some of you have with your GPs. Can you Mum book an appointment with anyone at the surgery today as the results are back with them. She's in severe pain and needs the reassurance that somebody is doing something.

I don't want to worry you but I had an ultrasound and the operator told me my uterus was crammed full of fibroids with a long one hanging down. My GP was alarmed at the report and send me for an emergency appointment with a gynaecologist which I had within 4 days. They used a different sort of scanning device which looks from the inside. The Registrar was obviously a bit unsure and called the consultant in and a second opinion on the results of the first scan.

By this stage I was in very bad pain and the GP prescribed very strong painkillers which worked for the most part. There was no panic and in fact no one mentioned Ovarian Cancer. They quietly did a CA125 test and this came back raised so I was referred for surgery within a fortnight. The surgeon told me afterwards that there wasn't a fibroid in sight.

Your mum is in pain. I would strongly recommend she rings the surgery for an appointment today. It may well be nothing frightening at the end of the day but there is something wrong there that needs urgent attention and immediate pain relief.

I hope you get some resolution for this very soon.

with love xxx Annie

[BJ_UK]

I can only tell you what happened to me. When I had my ultrasound scan, the sonographer told me to see my GP within the next two days. I said I didn't think that would be likely to be possible, and he said they would fit me in. He went on to explain that I had a large complex cyst which might be malignant and in any case certainly needed to come out, that my GP would arrange for a CA125 test and urgent referral to the gynae department at the hospital, and that I should expect to have an operation within a month. I then went and spoke to the receptionist at my GP surgery, who was just as dubious about giving me an urgent appointment as I expected, saying that she didn't expect the report from the ultrasound exam to come in till the following week. I explained what I had been told, went in to have my flu jab and asthma review with the nurse which had been arranged for that day beforehand, and when I came out the receptionist said that the report had already arrived and offered me an appointment at the end of the following day's surgery. The day after that I had the CA125 test and two days after that I had my gynae oncology appointment at which I was given appointments for a ct scan, pre-op assessment, meeting with the surgeon and date for surgery. The CA125 had come back raised, so they were fairly sure the cyst was malignant. I was also introduced to the oncology nurse at that appointment. The operation was just over 3 weeks after the initial scan, and the cyst was indeed malignant.

I would take heart from the fact that the ultrasound results had not yet reached your mum's GP, but I would certainly make sure that she sees her GP as soon as possible.

I hope everything goes well for your mum, and that it doesn't turn out to be oc in her case!

[drdu]

Would suggest you phone the GP and ask for the u/sound result over the phone, or get an appointment before Thursday, as the U/S lady had recommended an appointment within a week.

All best wishes to your mum.

Eileen x