[Cassini]

Good morning everyone,
I had posted around 3 weeks ago about having a supsected UTI as I had cramps, nausea and terrible pain/pressure in my lower abdomen and towards my left side around my back.

I have taken 3 different types of antibiotics since then, had the bladder infection come back negative and just finished round 3 of all the meds yesterday.

Monday night it was so bad I finally gave in and went to ER as the pain was excruciating (and I have a very high pain tolerance) so figured I had to bite the bullet and go. I will be ever so glad I did from now on.

I presented with midgrade fever which I had been dealing with since the beginning and severe pain in my lower abdomen reaching around to my left side and mid back (kidney location)' From poking, prodding and other such misery tests they were baffled and sent me for a CT scan,they were thinking it was perhaps kidney stones, which I did Thursday morning.

I had a call yesterday from my Doc to come in asap to see him, they squeezed me in last thing yesterday. He comes in and is standing there looking at me, semi shocked. He then asks me a few questions about this supposed UII I had been dealing with, had it improved, how was I feeling, how come I ended up in ER?

Either way, this is the new story. I have a "strange, growing mass on the left side" , possibly on my kidney (likely) or my ovary (unlikely as this was checked only a couple of months ago.) I was sent for more blood work straight away, urinalysis and my doc is going to have a consult with the radiologist Monday morning to see what the two of them think.He said I should leave my calendar empty next week if poss as there will be a barrage of more tests, CT, ultrasounds and whatever else they want to do.

He sent me home with Oxycodone (controlled substance here) for the pain and basically said rest, lay around, heating pad on if needed, taking pain meds when needed.

As I sit here typing this I am still in shock, still in pain and wondering what the **** more do I need right now in my life? I of course am trying to convince myself this is not real, that the pain I feel is over rated and that all will be good. I do have to stick with the all will be good theory or the likelihood of this much waiting and wondering will all just take it's toll on me and I can not be weak at this time.

Perhaps a second scan will show nothing and I will just be ok. That would work for me in my life right now seeing xmas is coming and there is much to do for preparations. I will throw myself into that for mental relief if I can drag my sorry *** off the couch long enough to get things done.

Sorry about the pity me attitude of this,that is not what I am going for at all, it is more of a vent than anything else... it is always easier to put to pen/type some thoughts rather than talking about them too much.

One of my friends who I ran into last night while getting 'scripts is coming over today to hang out this morning and all I can think about is my house is in utter chaos as I haven't been up to doing much around it other than making sure son is fed and not trying to sneak my spot on the couch!

Going to get the kitchen cleaned up at least before she gets here!

Cass

[Jan B]

Cass,

The good thing is, you are getting the attention and help you need now. Answers will be coming -- your waiting, pain, wondering, can soon be turned into ACTION to get you better!

I agree, timing is pretty awful, but getting yourself well should take top priority, and that's just the way it is!

Whoa - that drug you got! Whew - I only took it once, and hope I don't need it again. It seems waaay stronger than hydrocodone. Hope it can relax those rushing thoughts you are probably having. I hope the visit with your friend helps. I doubt the condition of your house is that important at all.

Sending you good luck,

[Cassini]

Thanks so much Jan,

Hearing encouraging words certainly does make things easier. I have a small family here (in real life land) but know the support will come.

I am indeed happy to have my fellow DFers to help out too!

ps, while you wrote this I got the kitchen done, at least
Cass

[davef]

Cass,

Sorry to hear you are going through this, but as Jan says it's good that you took action, now they medical guys will do their tests and then take action. You know we are here for you.

As for the house, to hel1 with it. My wife has a friend who always says:

"If you want to see me, call anytime
if you want to see the house, make an appointment"

I think that's a great attitude.

We will keep you in our thoughts and prayers, please keep us informed,

[Kanga]

You poor thing, how awful to have been in pain for so long with no answers, at least your medical team is now working on it and that should be some comfort to you.

[mell1682]

I hope you get better really soon! I had something similar happen and I was unaware that I had a UTI. I ended up in the ER with a fever and initial thoughts were about appendicitis but ruled out due to the location which was right around my kidneys on my side, hard to explain where exactly. There were going to give me a common antibiotic for it and as they were discharging me my temperature shot up to 104 and my breathing was erratic. They decided to send me back for a CT scan and discovered that there was an abscess on my kidney and I was kept for a couple of days so they could figure out what to put me on. I was lucky cuz they figured it out but not before they tried out a few things. I'm glad your doctors are looking at it and figuring it out. I hope you feel better.

[Cassini]

Just a quick Thank You to all that responded. It is Sunday morning and I actually slept 6 hours before waking up to the pain. In that respect I feel like a million bucks!

Yesterday afternoon I had a trippy time with some most vivid bizarro land dreams (thanks to the Oxy) so far I have managed to keep the nightmares at bay, thinking happy thoughts before nodding off last night.

It sure is nice to have my DF friends to yapp with about this as well as my real life friends and family. Word spread around them yesterday with calls coming in like crazy. It sure eases the burden of being so scared when people start to rally around you.

So thanks again for my cyber friends as well as all those here. (which I stressed to them for calling and asking if they can help out at all) I guess when they mean help I should be asking for some help to sort the house out??!!

Will keep you posted on my busy week coming up,
Helen

[andypoo]

Just read your post this morning and wanted to get on board as one of the people on this forum who is praying for you to get well. It sounds like you have many friends and family members who care about you a lot. You must be a very caring and loving person yourself. Best to you!

[Cassini]

UPDATE:
My doctor had a consult with the radiologist on Monday and they have agreed that this lump is on my ovary. It is approx 7.5cm across, about 4cm wide and 5 cm thick.

I have been put on yet another antibiotic, had 3 different blood works done up since then and have an ultrasound on Monday coming up (Dec1st), I will then meet my new OB/GYN that day who is planning a Laparoscopic surgery early next week.

I am glad they are approaching this in an aggressive and timely manner but in the same breath I am feeling rather nervous about this whole thing. ****, I am more than nervous I am terrified. Of course the C word has been tossed around a bit but until they get in there, I am NOT considering that, to me it is just a benign little cyst that will be better off out than in. Oh who am I fooling, yes I have considered the outcome more than once, I have been having nightmares (could be the Oxy meds, too) every day and my sleep time has shrunk to a few hours a night.

I know I should not worry about this...everyone keeps telling me this. I really don't want to be feeling this upset by it

So for now, that is it. I will continue to try not to worry, keep my spirits up as they say.

One good thing about this is even with the continual fever I am managing to keep my numbers good, averaging around 6.2 (112) and managing also to force some food into me to keep them there.

Thanks again for all your support,
Helen

[Psycho Penguin]

I'll be praying for you, Cass. I have no "advice", I just wanted to let you know I read and will be hoping for the best.

[davef]

Cass,

I'm not going to tell you not to worry because I know it's just not that simple, I think all you can try to do is stay busy to keep your mind occupied and when you do think about it remember that the Doctors are treating this aggressively and not taking a wait and see approach and that by the end of next week all you will need to worry about is preparing for Christmas because the Doctors will have it all sorted out for you.

I think it's great that you can write about how you are feeling, as they saw a problem shared is a problem halved, keep sharing with us and remember we are here for you.

And very well done on keeping your numbers in check, that's fantastic work - just keep eating and stay hydrated.

Thanks for keeping us updated, let us know how Monday goes.

[yannah]

You are doing great! I for one, admire you. You will soon know what to do to treat it and you can move on from there. The waiting must be hard.

[alicat61]

Dear Cass,
I just read this thread and sorry I didn't read it earlier. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
I can understand how scarey it is for you. I wish I was there to hold your hand through all of this.
we are all there in spirit with you.

[Caravaggio]

My 2 cents' worth. Try not to worry. Not easy to do, but that's the best advice I can give.

Last year, my gynecologist found a growth in my ovary which caused pain and massive bleeding and suggested surgery. I sought second and third opinions. I worried myself silly, but in the end you just have to trust that your health providers will provide. I live in a country where many foreigners don't trust the medical system (not helped by news of people in ambulances being rejected by hospitals and dying along the way, or surgically removing the wrong body parts!), so I was really worried. But in the end, the growth was removed; I was cleared of cancer; and I'm no longer in pain.

Of course, after the successful surgery, I was diagnosed with T-2.

I hope things turn out for the best for you.

[Cassini]

Monday Update:
Well today was my ultrasound and visit with OB/wan:

The test itself was excruciating as I am still in a lot of pain but the outcome had some excellent news. It appears that the cyst (not really sure of the right name for it, doc didn't use one either) appears to have burst (which explains the pain) and is receding. It has lost 2.5cm in size in just under a month and he was feeling it is looking good.

So for now my fears are certainly put to rest as had it been the C word, they do not get smaller, ever. They just keep growing until dealt with. I am still in a massive amount of pain and not being able to do much but once again, this looks like it might just be another reminder that this "taking care of yourself" thing is correct and that it is about time I am working on it.

I do have another appointment with OB/wan in two weeks where is he going to do a couple of biopsies of the area in general and send them off for lab work.

I thank you all who included me in their prayers and/or well wishes as I think all the positive energy sure helped this out a lot.

Will keep you posted in a couple of weeks when things are dealt with again,

Thanks again, everyone, cyber love from across the miles,

Cass