yes! tell him your family history and tell him you want a blood test for ovarian cancer.. There is one they can give you becausae I had it. I can't think of the name of it.. you might want to do a search for blood test for ovarian cancer on the net and then and ask him about it.. I don't think you have it. but with you family history you should be tested. And it will make you feel better too.

i also want to know if anyone has delt with endometreosis

i haven't had endometriosis but there was a time that i thought i might because i had symptoms like you. i had really painful periods and heavy bleeding that would last 7 or 8 days and my cycles were long and irregular. i mentioned it to the doctor one time and they just waved it off and said take naproxen, it's normal and just your bad luck that you have heavy periods. i was having regular pap smears and internal exams and eventually went on birth control which helped. it turned out that i had a huge ovarian cyst that had grown over a long period of time. i had to have it removed when i was 22 weeks pregnant which put my baby in danger. the doctors i saw never found it for some reason, maybe because they weren't really looking. they only found it when i went for my 20 week ultrasound, otherwise i might still have it today, and was in danger all that time of it rupturing. i think you really need to be assertive about these things because a lot of doctors will brush off your concerns too easily. the doctor isn't there to be your friend but to take care of your health so don't be afraid to demand that they get to the bottom of what's causing your problems. i think they just get used to hearing women say they have bad cramps and think that they can hand you a pill and dismiss you. don't let them do that. they are healthcare professionals and not pill pushers. if your doc doesn't listen then see someone else. don't be afraid to demand proper care from your doctor. if it helps, write it all down so that if the doctor isn't listening you can hand it to them so they know you are serious. good luck.

You are the patient and that means you are in charge. You can ask for more tests. The blood test Mel is talking about is the CA-125 and it screens a woman's blood for a high level of a certain protein that women have when they have advance tumors. However, it has a high false-positive rate, so when you go to the doctor, tell him you want a transvaginal ultrasound. It can't be just an abdominopelvic, it has to be
transvaginal. This way they can get an x-ray of what is going on up in there.

I have bloating, back pain, pelvic and abdominal pain, and painful menstrual cramps. I have ovarian cysts and it's also possible that you have that or endometriosis. Try not to stress yourself out and jump to conclusions because I learned that hard way that can make a doctor write you off as a hypochondriac.

My advice: Go to the ER. They cannot deny you treatment because you don't have insurance. Demand that they find out what is going on. I literally went to several different doctors before I could get an ultrasound performed. It got to the point where I purposely would act hysterical and insist that whatever they gave me did not work and the pain was persisting and getting worse, just to get them to perform the tests because I knew something was wrong with my left ovary. If you have to, make them sign a statement saying you absolutely do not have cancer or any other serious aliments.

I don't think any of you are crazy I am 23 soon to be 24 in July, my problems started back when I was 12 and had just started my period alot like your symptoms. The bad back pain, pelvic pain , bleeding through all my cloths uncontrolibly, and its been like this for years and ladies I'm hear to tell you just cause the blood tests come back ok don't really mean every thing is ok...
I was diagnosed with cirvical cacer 4 1/2 years ago, i also have ovarian cists, and endometriosis.
I have a little girl who just turned two her name is Kenadee she is my angel and the only one I will ever have I am the last in my family to have a historectomy, but Im' having one done next month and at the age of 23 so never say never some times when you say its nothing it's really something...

I have both PCOS and Endometriosis, and hmh005 what you're describing sounds exactly what I went through before I learned to manage the problem with diet changes. I didn't have normal periods for about eight years before I finally decided to go to the doctor. I was in so much pain (pelvic & lower back) that I wanted to die. It hurt to sit down, but not so much to stand as long as I wasn't walking around. Sex was impossible. First thing I did was cut caffeine and chocolate out of my diet. Sounds terrible, but it helped so much just with that little thing. They're stimulants that only aggravate the condition.

Im 25 and in two wks 12 feb 2009 im going to have surgery to havce endometriosis lasered out, it is a painful condition and if you think you have it go to doctor and tell Him/Her!

This is something I feel you should definitly pursue. I began having strange symptoms at the age of 16 and still continuing to progress and worsen now at age of 19. These symptoms include in order:
-chest pain left side
-chest pain low left ribs
-loss of breath completely during exercise
-decreased energy
-extreme lethargicness/fatigue
-feeling slightly nauscious
-having to pee frequently and many times throughout the day
-feeling full quickly even if still feeling hungry
-bowl habits loose and unpredictable all of the time
-severe menstrual cramping (began period at age 11, starting cramping age 1
-cycle becomes irregular
-stomach bloating and fullness worsens

I danced for 14 years, always have been on the skinnier side - genetic and due to exercise i suppose, doctors assumed these were due to eating disorders, or even pulled muscles

The fact is that these symptoms are often overlooked and need to be tested and payed cloes attention to whether for a peice of mind or to get a proper diagnosis

About 6 months ago I had an ultrasound that found I did have endometriosis but this was entirely overlooked by both my mom and doctor, after meeting someone who went through a similar experience a while back, found she had actual masses of cysts growing that became a hormonal problem which caused these symptoms. Seeing an Endocrinologist or gynocologist and informing them of your symptoms will help you reach a precise diagnosis - both of which I am finally on the path of doing thanks to this person that I met.

I have had many family members as well that have died, or come close to with colon cancer, ovarian cancer, and lung cancer. This family history can be frightening and need to be taken seriously.

Please look further into the situation, your life is much more important than the money, I hope that my own current experience can help motivate you to take yours more seriously, your friend is trying to help you!

Wish you luck - from someone who truely understands.

Ok ladies. I am reading all these posts and near to tears. And it's not menopausal. I recently had surgery (last week as a matter of fact - August 11th) for the removal of a large ovarian (left) cystic mass. Large, yes. When the final pathology report came in this mass weighed in at 13.4 lbs. I am 53 and can say I had periods for years that were pretty much stable. I rarely had problems with heavy bleeding, you could count on the time my periods would arrive and length of time for most of my life. The only thing I really struggled with especially through the peri menopausal period and menopause was some bladder issues, I was more tired than normal (but doctors will always quickly tell you, that you're getting older..part of the aging process) and weight gain. Occasionally I had digestive issues w/respect to gas immediately after eating certain things. I thought I had leaky gut syndrome. However, if Doctors run the usual battery of tests and don't see anything out of the ordinary and I never had a hot flash or night sweat during menopause, they fluff it off as "the aging process". Here you are, some very young and you're getting the run around, I suspect due to the costs of some of these tests. I found a good urologist first which led me to ask him for a referral to a good gynecologist. I explained all to him and asked him for a CA125 test. He also ordered an ultrasound. I will always thank Dr. Desai /Athens Ga for his diligence. We found a large ovarian cystic mass. He had me into a gynecological surgeon within 10 days after our original meeting. I marched in with my test results and this surgeon sat me down for an hour long consultation. We did the preop and the surgery within 3 weeks after meeting. He preferred to schedule because he had other consultants waiting should he need them during that time. It was not cancer and albeit they had to remove all the ovaries, uterus etc., and they did find endometrial tissue as part of this mass, I hope to be free of any more bladder/kidney issues etc. This thing can mask itself as other things...Dr. Freeman of Lawrenceville, Ga was wonderful and dilgent, taking 5 hrs to get in there to find and treat anything else he found along the way. I have been blessed and frankly, when you find a good Dr. who specializes in this area, you will feel blessed too. Good luck.