The pain is localized to my lower left quadrant and radiates through to my lower left back. It's a burning pain that seems to be directly related to my constipation troubles. Having a bowel movement or urinating during one of these flares is very painful. Just like old times, I've had two unexplained episodes with fever and abdominal aching. My constipation seems to be getting more frequent, taking longer to resolve and not responding to days worth of laxatives.
The spotting started in June 2015. Since I have no uterus, no ovaries, no tubes and most importantly no cervix, this was concerning. There was a lot going on in our lives this year so I attributed it to stress.
The spotting was typically a transparent brownish color. In September I had a one-time large amount of a syrupy rust brown discharge very similar to an endometrioma that I had years ago. In December I had actual red blood for the first time. I made an appointment immediately! I saw Dr. Naymick who said that all of my tissue looked normal. No obvious reason for the bleeding. He recommended a colonoscopy and an ultrasound.
The ultrasound was interesting. The tech was really confused that I was claiming to have had all of my parts removed since she was seeing a very defined 3 cm structure on my left side that she believed to be an ovary! She stepped out and came back with a doctor. Dr. Neiswender suspected either ovarian remnant syndrome or a peritoneal cyst, but this was most definitely not an entirely missed ovary!
I had a blood test that same day in mi-December 2015. Ovarian remnant syndrome has many symptoms including painful bowel movements and urination. Estrogen level should be less than 30, mine was 303. I saw Dr. Naymick again. He suggested that Dr. Miller is where I should go next. Dejavu anyone? If this ovarian remnant needs to be removed, he's the most qualified to do it!
I saw Dr. Miller today, January 6, 2016. Happy New Year! He isn’t convinced that my high estrogen is an ovarian remnant, there may be leftover estrogen in my body. He’s considering a month or two of Lupron to squash any remaining estrogen and see if it lowers the numbers. On this day, surgery is a last option. I agree!
I had another blood test to see if the estrogen number has changed. He’s glad that I’ve scheduled the colonoscopy because that will show if the constipation is getting worse and more painful because of scar tissue narrowing my colon. I think it's called a stricture. If so, he said that Dr. Nicholson can use a balloon-thing to stretch it out during the colonoscopy. If I have a structure and if the balloon doesn't work, he may consider another colon resection of the damaged area. That's a lot of ifs that I'm not too concerned about right now. IF I need colonf surgery, then Dr. Miller would also remove any remaining endometriosis (hopefully none) and the possible ovarian remnant!
Dr. Miller also wants to rule out any scar tissue on my ureter. If there is scar tissue, it could be causing a backup and enlargement of my kidney. Next week I'll have a CAT scan to look at the kidney and anything else suspicious and a colonoscopy!
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