Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Bettyboo]

Although I don't post often, I am always here. I don't know where I would be without the forum, as I can usually find a thread about whatever weird symptom has shown up and this helps with the health anxiety. The recent discussion of fibroids has been very helpful, while we are on the subject I wonder if I can ask another question?

For years I've suffered from ovulation pain, usually on the left hand side. Last year (September 2014), it was getting worse and periods were erratic so could not tell if ovulation pain or not, I mentioned it to new GP and was sent for a scan. This revealed lots of small fibroids. Then I went to see a gynae and he said they were nothing to worry about but he could give me something to get rid of them -  esyma, I think. I never took it because it had to start the first day of a period and for a few months periods had decided to stop. When I did get one I was away at a funeral and pills were at home – typical. He also said it would be painful and I recall looking it up on the ‘net and not liking the sound of it.

In this last year I have had four periods. Nothing between April and October so I thought they might be stopping, but no they have started up again. So last ‘month' I had twinges of pain, right side, left side of ovary region, joint aches, terrible hip and back pain, spots, health anxiety in overdrive – hormonal chaos. At the time my HA decided it was some sort of cancer, but then along comes a bleed and I felt fine for week. It was weird, I actually felt really well, better than for months, all through the period time. Then I had a few days of being OK and now the twinges have started up again, if you were counting cycle days it would be 12 – 15.

I don't usually allow myself to Google symptoms (because of the HA) but I did have a quick look and it seems that fibroids can actually cause pains at different times of the cycle and are triggered by oestrogen. So, I'm wondering if the fact that the periods have started up again means the twinges are related to the fibroids. Does anyone else with fibroids have these random pains or twinges? – I say twinges because they are not constant, don't keep me awake at night and not really bad enough to take a paracetamol.

Thanks
BB

[Kathleen]

Hello Bettyboo.

I am no expert but I do know fibroids respond to oestrogen which is why they shrink or even disappear as in my case, post meno. It makes perfect sense that your periods are causing you to notice them.

I'm sure more detailed advice will be along soon. Take care.

K.

[BrightLight]

Hi BettyBoo - was it my ramblings on fibroids that you have read? I really am none the wiser than you really because I have been putting little twinges and things down to muscles, stress, hormones etc However, since discovering I have many fibroids I am now wondering if these are 'pressure' symptoms where the growths are pushing on things (eek).  I can't say really and I wish I could.

For the last year I have just felt my pelvis wasn't right, posture, back, hip aches and also the ovulation 'pain' but more of a twinge and mine is on the left side as well.  Today I have it and I am mid cycle.  ALL of these things come and go and are quite mild, no need for pain killers. The ovulation pain is something I have had on and off for a while though and if anything I was thinking cysts, because I have had them before.

I have been wondering whether fibroids can change size a little bit throughout the cycle, because my symptoms have so far only been mid cycle and before a bleed. So your observations on that are interesing. In a nutshell I don't know, but it is feasible to me that estrogen peaks have a role in my situation and perhaps at perimenopause this is all the more obvious.

The only thing that we can do is have scans and ask questions, the pains could have nothing to do with fibroids but generally speaking if there are fibroids there is less space and I guess things could feel tender at times like ovulation/bleeding when naturally ovaries and uterus 'swell'. 

I think if you are concerned, see if your GP will offer you a scan to see how the fibroids are?  They grow very slowly I am told and sometimes with a spurt around perimenopause and pregnancy.  To add to my story - I was diagnosed with a fibroid 15 years ago and told to ignore it, so I did.  I have not had children, so have not had scans etc so mine could have been with me a long long time and only just showing mild symptoms. 

Even though I am anxious about my situation, I do know there is really no need as these are very common - though the not knowing about how and why certain things are happening is hard.

Where are you in your perimenopause?  I really do think there is a possibility that anything we are prone to flares at this time of life, but as you say your symptoms are not constant, so perhaps things are just shifting.  Sometimes I wonder (hope) that my twinges might be the fibroids regressing!!  x

[countrybumpkin]

I had always had terrible ovulation pain in my right ovary from age 16 almost every month and many a hospital stay because it was so bad!  When I was just starting the peri menopause my ovulation pain because horrendous and  lasted much longer each cycle. 
Once I was in the worst bit of peri meno ( constant bleeding and flooding) the pains went away never to return which was when my ovary must have packed up for good

If you are at the beginning of peri meno  ( at the beginning my periods became erratic) then if you are like me your ovulation pains will get much worse.

I could always identify ovulation pain as I called it my walking on eggs pain because if I put my foot down too hard or every time I went from sitting to standing or going to the loo the pain hit. This was due to the change of pressure in the abdomen on these activities.

[Bettyboo]

Thank you so much for your replies. Bright Light you seem to be in a very similar position to me, although I am older (51). The peri thing has been going on for at least three years now. I have had the night sweats (these seem to have gone), very heavy bleeding and clots, joint pains, tingling, shooting pains in head, health anxiety, palpitations, and more that I can't remember - memory fog!. Periods had become very intermittent so I was hoping it was coming to an end, but perhaps not.

I have always had this ovulation pain- usually on the left - since I was a teenager and like Countrybumpkin seen Docs many times for it, though not one ever suggested it was related to menstrual cycle, never had any scans in those days. When I was on the Pill it went away, presumably because not ovulating, so I had some years free of it.

Like you Bright Light I have never had children and so no real idea of what is going on down there. I think that makes me less in touch with my body. I am always impressed by how much many of the ladies on here understand their bodies. I'm afraid I've always expected mine to work, never took much notice of it and now I am shocked that it is out of my control.

Your descriptions of the pain or discomfort is spot on. Sitting down, standing up, sometimes its like there is a broom handle up there (if you now what I mean - sorry too much info!). Yesterday was better then suddenly at about 6pm there was a really bad pain on the left for about ten  minutes, then it went away completely. The joint pains are really bad at the moment too, and breasts starting to swell and become sore, so  i'm sure it is to do with the cycle. I'm mid-cycle at the moment too. I did some research yesterday that suggested the fibroids do swell and shrink during the course of the cycle, I'll try to find it again. I'm also trying to keep track of symptoms in my diary although that makes the HA worse.

I suppose I need to get another scan and go back to the Gynae. I live in France so the system is a bit different here. The GP just gives you a note for these things but you have to see the Gynae for everything. Unfortunately I did not like the bloke I saw. I can speak French but still some of the subtleties get lost in translation.

[BrightLight]

Hi Bettyboo - I feel very similar about expecting everything to just work and feeling out of control when I just don't understand what is happening, what is expected and what, if anything I am supposed to do about it. 

Some days it feels like I am hurtling towards a train wreck and just waiting for the crash - slightly extreme, but I do feel better when I understand and know whether to just get on and ignore things or whether to take action.

I will say that when I wrote a few days ago, I had all the discomfort I described and yes, sitting down, standing up, it all just feels 'wrong' somehow but today - all of it has gone, well there is a slight sense of 'heaviness' but nothing that would keep my awareness like it was the other day.

I am certain all these things are reflective of hormones going up and down and fibroids too - it makes rational sense.  I am now wondering if I have a cyst due to the repeat discomfort in the lower left side, but again, it's gone now!  The ultrasound couldn't see my ovaries with the fibroids in the way! eek

I hope you can find another Gynae that you feel more comfortable with and the language barrier with all the medical 'jargon' must make things even more challenging.

My antidote to all this seems to be walking, I never really felt inspired before, but these days I can just take myself off to a huge park nearby and just walk - it doesn't seem to matter where or what I can see, the one foot in front of the other seems to just help blow all the challenges of this away.

[BrightLight]

BrightLight, good to hear you're feeling a bit more comfortable.  Totally agree about the walking, I'm the same, 45 minutes in the fresh air is enough to make me feel better.  My gp did suggest it might be the reason I hadn't had any flushes, can't quite believe it's that easy but I like to hope she's right!

S x

Thank you - yes, I seem to be managing my anxiety too, so I'll take these good days and make the most of them.  Went a bit bananas in the supermarket buying food I fancied for Christmas, though my appetite has been a bit up and down since all these changes, so maybe I will not want it tomorrow! ha.  I will keep the walking up if it's a possible rememdy/preventative measure for flushes - I have not experienced those (yet) x

[Bettyboo]

Bright Light - good that you are feeling better. Yes walking does work. I don't really have much pain when I am walking, I walk twice a day with the dog for total of up to an hour and a half.

I am not feeling much better really. The pain/ discomfort feeling moves about, mostly low down left hand side, but can be near bely button and in lower back and left hip. At the moment worst is left hip, but other random pains too. As mentioned on another thread I was once told I had fibromyalgia but I do doubt this, though this could be a 'flare'. Trying to keep going for at least 28 days to see if it is a cycle-thing (day 23 today) but fear I will have to go back to Doctors. Have pain all down left side, from shoulder down through hip to knee. I wonder if some of it is muscular, as I had a right-side problem in the summer which Dr said was muscular and did eventually go away. I have poor posture and work at computer a lot. I've just got a sit-stand desk so I wonder if the change in desk is part of it. It's really weird, sometimes I even wonder if the pain is actually in my head as my health anxiety is really bad. OH says I am focusing too much on it and over thinking everything.

I am fighting it all I can and have just started doing the Headspace app which someone mentioned on another thread. It seems quite good. I used the breathing thing when I woke up in the night and actually went back to sleep!