Women only!!!!!

[3tikes]

Hi, I'm new here, I'm a 40 yr old female but have suffered with HA for a couple of years but seems to have hit a high over the last week or so. Anyway about 10 days ago I started getting a sporadic twinge in my right groin, followed by a pain in my lower right abdomen which would come and go if I coughed. I had a couple of days of pre period brown spotting which is unusual for me but my my period started on Saturday last week so I stopped worrying. Later on that day I had a real heavy feeling inside my vagina/cervix it felt like I needed to give birth like a pressure feeling. On the Sunday this completely disappeared!! Then on the Monday the groin pain came back intermittently, nothing too bad, just niggly. By the next day that pain went but moved up around where my ovarys are and the pressure feeling inside my vagina kept coming and going. By Wednesday the stomach pain went and could just feel the pressure inside but only when I was sitting or lying down. Today I have pretty much felt constant pressure and I'm sure I can feel a lump on my right side about a inch above my pubic bone and feels slightly tender. Then the vague stabbing pain started again for a few seconds!!
I know this all sounds a bit confusing but I have managed to convince myself that I have either ovarian cancer, cervical cancer or uterine cancer or at best a prolapse. I do have a need to urinate and poo frequently but think that could be down to feeling anxious. The more I think about the pressure in my vagina the worse it seems to feel. I'm terrified of seeing the doctor (which isn't like me). I wonder if the pressure feeling could be another symptom of anxiety. Please help.

[RoseEve]

I think anything can be a symptom of anxiety. Especially when you keep thinking about it. I've occasionally had the brown spotting. Anxiety can also mess up your cycles. When is the last time you went to the gynocologist if I may ask?

[3tikes]

I haven't seen one recently. I had an abnormal smear (pap) test 5yrs ago and had a colposcopy, they took 2 biopsies but no further action was required. I had smear tests every 6 months for two years and then annually until February last year and now on 3 yearly ones. So last February was my last test. I had an ectopic pregnancy back in May 2007 which was in my right ovary. I think because of both these things I'm ultra sensitive and feel that for some reason this makes me more susceptible to the big c. I'm sure I'm being irrational but convinced something is wrong. Also I've been diagnosed recently with a thyroid disorder and have been told I'm auto immune but as it's all relatively new I not yet on any medication as they want to monitor how it progresses.

[GlassPinata]

I've started having preperiod brown spotting for several days before my period, as well.
This has been going on since the birth of my two year old. I am 41.
I've had several thorough examinations, and they say there is nothing wrong with me.
Apparently as we get older and closer to menopause, we produce less progesterone, which is the hormone responsible for maintaining the integrity of the uterine lining.
Right before your period, your progesterone level drops sharply, causing the lining to basically disintegrate and come out. That is your period.
But as we age, we sometimes have too low a level of progesterone, and so as our period nears, the lining of our uterus begins to disintegrate a little early, and that is why we get a few days of spotting prior to our periods.
Apparently this is extremely common, almost universal, in women who are nearing menopause.
Be warned that this does not mean you are infertile (as I said, I have a two year old), and continue with your birth control method until after you've completed menopause (usually around age fifty).
As for your other pains, I've had similar weird cramps for a few days at a time, and then they go away and that's it. I think sometimes intestinal gas and cramping can feel like gynecological complaints, when really all you need to do is use the toilet.
But if it continues, see a doctor. Best luck to you.

[Lin71]

Hi there

Just to say, none of the symptoms you've described sound anything like any kind of cancer to me.

Brown spotting before the 'proper' period starts is very common, I've had it for years.

I also get loads of weird pains just before and during the first few days.

You mention a pain when you cough and a possible lump above the pubic bone, may be worth checking with the doc to see if you have a hernia? They are less common in women but they do happen and are easy to treat.

It's worth a visit to the doc just to put your mind at rest but I'm sure there's nothing serious going on here.

[GlassPinata]

The lump could also be a lymph node. We have them in our groin area as well as in our necks, and sometimes they swell when we have an infection, or simply for no discernable reason.

[nomorepanic]

Hi

This is just a courtesy reply to let you know that your post was moved from its original place to a sub-forum that is more relevant to your problem.

This is nothing personal - it just enables us to keep posts about the same problems in the relevant forums so other members with any experience with the issues can find them more easily.

[3tikes]

thank you all for your replies, i will try and see a doctor on monday, even if its to put my mind at rest. probably something simple like a uti.

[3tikes]

Just a quick update.... I went to the doctor this evening as the pain in my groin and side had got worse and had started in my lower back. Anyway, he has ruled out it being a uti, but just incase I have to drop a sample in tomorrow, he poked and prodded my stomach, made me cough 3 times and said he would refer me for a routine abdominal ultrasound. He didn't say whether or not he could feel anything and I was too scared to ask but I'm assuming he would have said if he could. I mentioned my fear of ovarian cancer after having an ectopic pregnancy in my ovary 6yrs ago and he said the scan would check my ovaries. He said I could possibly have a hernia or it's just musculoskeletal. He advised me to take ibuprofen and paracetamol for a week.