what is this abdominal pain? is it ovarian cysts?

Question

i'm 24 years old, and always been healthy. starting last summer (2006) i climbed off a bunk bed and thought i felt something pull, and then a few days later was having abdominal pain. well over the months, the pain would come and go with my periods, starting the very first day, lasting 3-4 days after. after about 6 months, the pain was almost constant. i had 3 ultrasounds, and a CT scan done. 2 ultrasounds showed nothing, one said "probable cysts" -- nothing too big obviously. i was put on birth control (necon 1/35) and after about a week, the pain went away. well i took the active pills, and during the week of the inactive, the pain was AWFUL!! the doc. switched so i could take 3 months of active and have a period just 4 times a year, however, if i miss even one pill, the pain is awful for at least 4-5 days. can this be cysts? do they form that fast? this pain feels like TENDER pain, in the lower right side, and hurts when i roll over, sit up, or push on it. anyone experience this?

Answer 1

im a guy with a medical background,,,,,,,,,,, and i was married to a woman with the same symptoms,,,,,,,,,,,,, it could be pollups,,,,,,,,,, or it could be endometreosis,,,,,,,,,, dont do the 3 month pill,,,,,,,,, ur endometrium will thickin,,,,,,,,, and probly wont sluff the way its suppose to,,,,,,,,,,,, ask ur doc about that,,,,,,,,,,,, get a really good pelvic axam,,,,,,,,,,,,, the pain is not normal

Answer 2

In response to sokokl comments, I have been diagnosed with the very same, both Polycystic ovaries, irritable bowel syndrome and endometeris. With every period I get cramps and other symptoms and when my PCOS acts up I too get extremely exhausted to the point where I am working and constantly feel like sleeping at my desk. The doctors gave me hormones to take care of this for a while and put me on the pill. I am currently off the pill though because as with everything else I take for my cramps, after a while my body becomes immune and it no longer works for the pain, the only thing the pill actually did for me was to regularize my period and slightly help with the excessive bleeding. Now, I have found that the best thing to do is to exercise and eat well. It might sound like rubbish but trust me, exercise helps alot.

Forgot to mention that I too did test to find out what my problem was and they never found anything. It was only when my hormones were completely messed up and i went through that tired period that they did another ultrasound and found multiple follicles in my ovaries and realise i had PCOS. Te same would probably happen for you, that they would not find it till it acts up.

Answer 3

I had similar symptoms but I can't say it was started by something pulling.. however, it was constant pain for me for months before I did anything about it. My doctor diagnosed me with endometriosis.... I am on the pill and this took care of the symptoms. You can suggest a laparoscopy from your doctor and see what they can find.

Answer 4

I had the symptoms you did, in particular the pulled muscle feeling that occurred when I tried to change positions for sitting when I sat on a bed in 1996. If that wasn't bad enough I felt like my organs were going to jump right out of my skin and my uterus moved forward.

I had several ultrasounds and a CT Scan that showed nothing. During most of this time I was also pretty much bedridden for a timeframe of 9 months. And even though I did go out as often as I could to other places besides my doctors I had an episode that scared me half to death. This one morning I got up to go out and it was only about 9:30 in the a.m. Well, I got dressed, and fixed my hair. When done I then got in the car. But that wasn't what scared me. What scared me is that when I was in the car I was absolutely exhausted. My body felt like I had done a whole day's activity in a matter of less than an hour. I was completely exhausted.

I had gone to several doctors, one of them who had earlier told me I should see a gynecologist because of the possibility of cysts just like what you are asking. His concern was that of bigger cysts than the ones I had because of a hormone condition called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.

Well, when all this other stuff occurred I noticed some other things like that if I sat on my bed to scratch my toes I couldn't do that. (Yep, took being able to scratch my toes for granted). I also noticed that I couldn't sleep on my side at all (had noticed this years before but didn't give it much thought til all of this started). Every time I tried it would hurt so bad.

At the same time I was also noticing that when I sat for long periods of time and then got up I felt a pain that was a pulling type pain along with the feeling of stickiness. It felt like someone had taken and put plastic to my skin and rubbed it in real good and pulled it away real fast.

Well, I had several doctors tell me it was my IBS (because I was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Aug/Sept of 1996). By later in 1996 around Oct/Nov I had so much pain I had to get to the doctor sooner. The one doctor I saw (the one that later told me to see a gynecologist but didn't because I felt at 25 that was still too young for a woman who had never had sex or been married to go) had diagnosed me with the Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.

When I went back to him again several months later for my follow-up I told him how much I was hurting and what I then noticed (the organs moving and feeling they were going to fall out of me). He just laughed (couldn't help it that this was what I noticed).

Well, by Jan 1997 when I went in for my annual physical with a Physician's Assistant (yep, at this time I was still going to primary care doctor). When she did the pelvic exam I just about jumped off the table. In the Spring I had a CT Scan done which showed my tipped uterus and the cysts but nothing else.

With the help of a friend I found a gynecologist who believed me and took me in to the OR in Aug of 1997 on the 11th day of that month. With another doctor assisting her I found out I had endometriosis.

It's been 10 years since I got that diagnosis and it still acts up every now and then and because of it I have to have its status checked out surgically every so many years.

I'm sorry my story is so long but if you have other questions please feel free to e-mail or IM me off site any time.