122 replies to this topic

[nancykind]

this one's on the left side, it's really big and it's really painful, as in i can't even touch the skin without pain kind of painful. so you can just imagine how the $%@#&)@#$%^*&# diagnostic mammograms felt today! then i went right in for an u/sound and.....

they don't know what it is.

definitely not a cyst.

could be a mass.

the dr wants to pull all my films going back several years before he makes any recommendation. i have an appt with my surgeon on monday which i am to keep "no matter what", but they may send me for an mri this week now, too.

i noticed this lump a couple of weeks ago but i got lots o' lumps, so i wasn't overly concerned at the time.... but my other lumps went away for the month and this one just got bigger and bigger and then i realized how painful it was. and then it got bigger and more painful, so i went to my dr. last week and that's what started this round of tests. one can even just see that my left breast is bigger, right through clothes and everything now - if one knew to look, that is.


and i have a terrible pain in my lower right abdomen, too. it started last night. if it's not better tomorrow morning i'm calling my primary. it's not bad as i sit here but every step i take with my right foot causes this terrible pain in my belly. appendicitis??? wouldn't that just make my day.


sheesh. welcome 2012.

Edited by nancykind, 03 January 2012 - 06:39 PM.

[JBetty]

Oh shit Nancy - you just can't seem to get a break.
Here's hoping it's practically nothing.

[nancykind]

seriously considering requesting hormone analysis......

i keep having to reschedule a colonoscopy because of this too. lumps beat out 5 year checkups.

[TEO]

(((Nancy)))

Thinking perhaps the lower abdominal pain is hormone related (perhaps menopause or perimenopause) was my first thought.

Hoping these are swiftly resolved.

[Lazy Lightning]

Ugh, sorry to hear.

Hope that this can be resolved and your health gets back on-track.

[nancykind]

they tell me i have years yet to go so i don't think i qualify as perimenopausal yet.

[TEO]

My Doctor tells me that perimenopause can happen for up to approximately 10 years before menopause.

[nancykind]

so what would the pain BE, then? haven't felt this before, either.

[TEO]

In my case I get cramps sporadically. Took me a while to figure out they were cramps as sometimes only one side, blah blah.
I tossed that out there as a possibility asif I recall correctly you recently experienced female cramping which is not "normal" for you.

[nancykind]

not normal but i do know what they feel like.

this is a discomfort in the area all the time but a reallllllly sharp pain in my belly when i put any weight on the right foot. (which is really weird to type!) my right leg just about goes right out from under me, it's so sharp.

[TEO]

Whoa, I have no experience with that, and now see my reading comprehension of that portion of your post was deficient, I didn't connect right foot to belly and it is quite plain to see.

Glad you are planning on calling your doctor.

[nancykind]

yeah, walking hurts belly! weird right?

i walked by this one lady downstairs who not un-naturally gave me a questioning look. "i dunno!" i shrugged and she came right out and asked me if i still had my appendix! she said i'm walking like her daughter did when hers went some years ago. dammit!! i do not need this right now!!!! it seems i have a stage or two to go between this and commencement of vomitting though - IF it is appendicitis in the first place that is - so i'm watchin'.... i'll go to the hospital tonight if it gets too bad tonight though.

[TEO]

Yeah if it is your appendix you really don't want it to burst before it is removed as that can significantly extend recovery time.

[scarfire]

i'm sorry to hear about your suffering nancy.

no clue what to say about the breast issue but do not wait too long if you suspect appendicitis. i had mine removed at 10 years of age and the surgeon said it was a very close call. severe pain in the lower right abdomen is a huge red flag.

keep us posted on your progress.

[JBetty]

How are you doing today, Nancy?

[sums]

(((nancy)))

the good news is that malignant tumors very rarely grow quickly or hurt, from what i've read (both mom and mom-in-law went through breast cancer/lumpectomies) so i hope that's some kind of indication!

i had a sharp pain lower right the other day and thought maybe appendix but turns out it was just gas

but yeah, get it looked at like now.

[nancykind]

i tried the gas fix, it didn't work! still isn't!

dr adams doesn't think it's appendicitis, he thinks maybe it's a............ wait for it - a cyst!!! chugging water and heading to hospital for that u/sound momentarily.

i've had several cysts before, never painful. never even knew they were there, dr's told me they were there.

[ladygingechilla]

(((Nancy)))!!! sending lots of healthy-love vibes your way:heart:

[nancykind]

ack.

they don't know.



yes there's a cyst but it's not terribly large and there's one on the left, soooo, why is the right side so hurty then?

the appendix is usually seen on this type of u/sound and there's no notation about anything unusual about it. i wish i'd asked the tech directly at the time but i was getting stabbing pains in my left breast's lump and got distracted.

soooo, we're waiting. right this minute the pelvic pain is less than it was yesterday so hopefully it IS just the cyst and it will go away on its own. if i get a fever or start throwing up, then i call the doc again or go to the hospital, my choice, depending on what i've been feeling up to that moment and time of day or night.

frustratin'!!!

[LostsailorVT]

Hey Nancy, I haven't been around here for a while. Just checked in and just saw this post. Sorry to hear you're so uncomfortable. I hope you are feeling better really soon. Sending hugs and healing thoughts your way.

[nancykind]

thanks!!

so my pelvic pain is down to a very manageable pinch today, wheewwwwwwwwwwww!

the left breast is just gettin' bigger 'n bigger. to just touch the skin hurts less but the stabbing pains have definitely increased in numbers.

[TEO]

(((Nancy)))

Hope this all gets fixed so you can be pain free and in good health for a real long time.

[Lemireacle]

I just came across this checking out the threads with new posts. So sorry nancykind!!

Sending much and strength and good healing vibes your way.


Drop me a line if you need anything. Although we'd have to be in another city or state to actually meet up!!

[nancykind]

it's only 1/2 hour or so to the vt line, i'll call you from there.

'bout the same today, thanks sooo much to all for your good thoughts.

and yeahhhh, that 'today's post' button does make things like this more visible but ya know what? i decided some time ago that i didn't care and even feel that maybe something i say will resonate with someone else some day, and can be helpful. if i can do that for someone known or unknown, then i'm fine with it.

[TEO]

[vinandtonic]

what a crappy start to the new year.

hope you're feeling better soon and the lump is nothing.

:heart:

[Karen]

How are you feeling today darlin?
I hope your comfort and healing is heading in the right direction!

[nancykind]

lots of stabbing pains today. the back of my neck started aching on friday so i got that going for me now too. doesn't feel like muscles, it feels like the lymph nodes along the hairline - that ache when you're coming down with something except this is worse than i recall that usually being. i'd say i'm having a bit of a frustrating weekend. thanks for asking, i appreciate it.

[nancykind]

went to Dr Scalia the surgeon today, there are TWO lumps in the left breast but i can only feel one of them. "fibrocystic breast disease", which i have, is an extremely general term for the existence of extremely fibrous breast tissue. this disease can cause not only cysts, but a bunch of other things as well.

so i have the lump that I can feel and that is painful - Lump A. we don't know what that lump is made up of and nothing definitive showed up on the films. The imaging place has no recommendation on this lump.

and then I have Lump B, which I cannot feel. Lump B is a 9mm nodule and shows up very clearly on the films. the imaging place suggested a 6 month follow up u/s on Lump B, unless the surgeon feels differently.


for Lump A I have agreed to 2 days of heavy aleve-taking. if, after 2 days I see and feel no difference then he will schedule me for an excisional lumpectomy and take out BOTH lumps. It is not possible to predict the exact size of the incision(s)/SCAR(S)! :'-( in advance. he may, day of, prefer to make two smaller incisions rather than one large one, after they do the final u/s that morning at the hospital. and he sketched this all out on my breast, in sharpie! lol. not sure what day he'd schedule this for, he said he might be able to do it next week though. i'd need a driver because I will have both a local and a light general anesthesia but should be able to go back to work the next day as long as there are no complications from surgery or from anesthesia.

if after 2 days Lump A is smaller and/or less painful then I will be scheduled for just a biopsy. they'll definitely biopsy Lump B and they MAY biopsy Lump A, depending on where it's at, at the time. because if it got smaller in two days, it might be even smaller by then.

i think that's it......... i asked lots of questions and took notes and he's really very nice once i get him to slow down just a tad.

they are to call me on thursday to see how it's going..................

Edited by nancykind, 09 January 2012 - 07:18 PM.

[TEO]

Deep breaths

Oh and #1s or nans on the sharpie.

[nancykind]

ok........

here's just a little bit of the upper part of it. you can see he changed the angle once, then circled part of it as he chatted.

yeah, i removed it...

Edited by nancykind, 09 January 2012 - 08:40 PM.

[TEO]

Looks a bit like a tattoo!

[JBetty]

Tit for tat, or tat the tit?

Either way, best of luck with getting this all sorted out in a timely and favorable fashion Nancy.

[nancykind]

okay, i took the pic down. he sketched a lot more than that too - on paper, fortunately!

thanks.

[vinandtonic]

best of luck! please keep us posted..you'll be in my thoughts.

[sums]

(((nancy))) what a pain in the butt. i mean breast.

there are definitely dietary things you can do to help ease fibroids but they are no fun because they involve no caffeine or dairy products

[JBetty]

What about the all important bacon products?

[sums]

i have not read anything about the relationship between bacon products and fibroids!

[nancykind]

i wish i could find a really delicious decaf tea. or an herbal that tastes like black tea. caffeinated black tea... mmmmm... oops. the honey i put in is a lot of sugar too though i try to eat raw honey to at least get something good out of it.

dairy? hmm. wow. the mind reels.

Edited by nancykind, 12 January 2012 - 12:51 AM.

[nancykind]

should give an update. the aleve is helping with the pains, 2 pills last just about 12 hrs in fact. not completely pain free but better. but - i don't think it's one bit smaller.

my neck still hurts. took a flexeril that was 6 years old by mistake last night. it didn't work very well.

so i'm stiiiiillll wai-ting. lalalalahumhumhum, iii'm stiiiillll wait-ing.... (when i hear that song i always picture Feesh playing it for some reason. )

and that's about it!

[Karen]

((soothing boobie vibes))

[nancykind]

thanks.

i'm pretty sad. as much as i want this stupid lump-that-cannot-be-photographed 1000% gone, i didn't really want surgery.... oh well.

[JBetty]

Bummer, but best to be rid of the bastard.


And look on the bright side.

It's almost Vibes Equinox!

[nancykind]

ooooh, hadn't noticed, thanks!!!!

[TEO]

Scars can be sexy.

[Lemireacle]

it's only 1/2 hour or so to the vt line, i'll call you from there.

[KrisNYG]

Good luck Nancy. :heart:

[TEO]

How are you and the girls doing?

[nancykind]

well the one girl is reasonably, not out of the norm, just fine! it's the other one that's grounded!

the other's still lumped and painful.

surgery date = 1/25....

Edited by nancykind, 13 January 2012 - 05:11 PM.

[JBetty]