I’ve been having some “woman” issues lately. Like the past month or so. Actually, it’s been a bit longer than that, but things sort of took a nose dive in the last month in a more noticeable, “uh oh, guess I better go talk to the doc” kind of way.
No one was sure Aunt Flow would even come back after chemo (which threw me into a sort of menopause). But last August it did.
I’ve always had a pretty healthy cycle. It normally comes right on time. But when it came back it was a bit heavier than what it had been. And then around December/January my PMS started kicking in a bit more fiercely and earlier than normal.
Then the periods started coming more. Like every 3 1/2 to 4 weeks instead of 4 1/2 to 5. Then in May it was supposed to come on May 13. Or around there. Nothing.
I had some symptoms, fully expected it, but it never showed. A month passed and still nothing. But, again, I was starting to get symptoms, along with some wicked pains. I chalked that up to my period being late and making up for lost time.
We went to St. Louis to see friends 4th of July weekend and I thought I might die. The drive there wasn’t bad. I was doing so-so. But as the night wore on I felt the pain growing and growing until all I could think was, “This is it! It’s of course going to strike now, when we’re on vacation trying to have fun.”
But…nothing.
And that first night as we drove back to our hotel from our friend’s house I had to pull over and let Wayne drive. I was doubled over and was seriously considering a trip to the ER.
But a few Advil and sleep made things more bearable for the morning. I then popped more Advil because we were headed to Six Flags with our friends and their kids and no way was I going to rain on their parade.
I made it through okay, but I knew something was wrong. I was having too much pain, and a very weird smell (sorry, maybe that’s TMI but it’s part of my symptoms).
I took a pregnancy test because my 3 month oncologist checkup was this past Tuesday. They always have to x-ray me and I knew they’d need to know if there was a bun in my oven. The test was negative.
I mentioned my period problems to my onc nonetheless. They told me I better schedule with my primary.
I luckily got in the next day. They had me pee in a cup and confirmed, nope, not prego, but there was another cause for concern: there was some blood in my urine.
Say what? So what does that indicate?
It could be a cyst, a fibroid tumor, maybe even my kidneys. However, I should be in more pain if it was kidney related. Oh, yeah, and there’s always the possibility I could have another hitchhiker. They took some blood and scheduled a vaginal ultrasound for the next day. (Which was yesterday.)
Lovely.
Hearing the C word of course flipped me out. Especially since my aunt is dying of a female cancer. But Wayne surprised me and went to my ultrasound appointment with me. It really helped because otherwise I would’ve been freaking myself out in the waiting room. Instead, he was there distracting me with funny commentaries about stories on Today.
But here’s the part where “here we go again…” comes in:
Test was yesterday. The radiologist should have gotten them to my doctor by yesterday afternoon. But if they did they never called to tell me.
And of course my doctor’s office closes early on Fridays, so they never called this morning with results either. I tried them at 11:40 (thinking they closed at noon). Wrong. They close at 11:30. ARGH!
So now I have to wait all weekend.
Wonderful. That’s a lot like last time. Except I’m not in near as much pain and it’s not Christmastime.
Hopefully it’s something easier than another hitchhiker. But you better believe I am NOT ready to check out of this world yet. Bring it. I’ve got more fight left in me!
Related Items:
Tags: health