Hey guys,
I have a big lump inside my vagina, I'm having a lot of back and womb pain. My left leg is also swollen. The lump itself is rock hard at the bottom and covered by what feels like a water balloon. I've had a Bartolin's cyst before but this feels nothing like it! I've just gone through the menopause and I haven't had any bleeding, just awful bloating, running to the loo and th awful pain! I've realised I've had this lump for years, I never paid it much notice as I thought it was part off my anatomy it was so hard! I had been having pain after sex and feeling sick but I ve so many other ailments it didn't register (I had a 3cm benign lump removed from my thyroid in Nov). I've booked with my gp for next week but I'm really worried...hoping it will be a cyst or maybe prolapse. Apologies for asking but what did everyone's lump feel like? This feels weird, there's at least 2cm thickness of rock hardness running the whole length of my vaginal wall, then the whole thing is enclosed in a massive watery balloon.
I think sometimes you just need to put yourself first and say no to things you don’t feel up to. Just politely decline and say you don’t feel well enough. I must say I have no problem in doing this!
It’s sad that your wife seems not to appreciate how unwell you are with everything going on, but I think it’s important to be able to say how you feel and be honest that you don’t feel able to go. Don’t be forced into pleasing others at the expense of yourself.
I’ve not done a huge amount today-I was busy doing stuff yesterday, so I tend to be less able to do a lot the following day. So it was feet up with the cat and a nice phone call with a friend for a couple of hours! Busy day tomorrow as my youngest daughter and partner are coming for the weekend so need to get organised!
Sarah xx
I have actually just this minute sat down with a cup of tea with the cat beside me! 
At last, a gynae appointment! You should be examined- so they cannot possibly miss the lump. My original appt with the gp was for post menopausal bleeding, and then I saw the gynaecologist, who couldn’t fail to spot my tumour. To be fair to the gp, she must have seen it too, hence the referral, and there was a lot of blood when she tried to examine me. Even more blood after the gynaecologist did his examination. But things moved quickly after that, which was good.
I hope this starts to give you a proper diagnosis…you’ve waited long enough.
Sarah xx
Hi Jayda
I’m just glad that things are finally moving for you. The waiting for results does seem endless but hopefully your foot lump is nothing of concern, and you’ll get your ent and gynae appt done before Christmas to get them out of the way at least this year!
It honestly does seem like one thing after another once you start with hospitals…my original scans at my first diagnosis picked up my gallstones as an incidental finding but it just got left while my cancer was dealt with. Didn’t bother me till this year when the problems started with that and more appointments and finally surgery.
The gynae asked at my first appointment what I wanted him to do, and I said to do everything he could at that appointment so I didn’t have to wait for another appointment. So I got the physical exam, feet up in the stirrups, then he attempted a hysteroscopy-little camera up there to check my womb, and finally he took some biopsies when he said he could see a “lesion”. That was as much as could be done without a general anaesthetic he said.
He told me to come back in a week for results, even without an appointment he would fit me into his clinic, so he knew I would be getting a cancer diagnosis, though he never said that to me! So I wasn’t unduly worried during that week at all while I was waiting.
You need to know what’s wrong, so just grin and bear it while you get checked. You leave your dignity at the door with all this poking about!
Sarah xx
I had a visible tumour at the time I was diagnosed, yes. He called it a lesion I guess not to scare me, but he definitely thought it was cancer because I had to go back the next week for results, even without an appointment and he told me not to go on holiday.
I had been very unwell for a long time, with terrible pelvic pain-the kind that makes you doubled up and takes your breath away. Should have gone to the dr much sooner, but didn’t, so nothing I can do about that now!
Whoever you see at your appointment should definitely want to do a physical exam and take a look, otherwise there’s not much point in going! Just need to bite the bullet and get it over with to see what’s next. I’ve had more than 5 years of being examined, poked about and operated on, so I just grit my teeth and get it done now.
My father in law is still waiting for a follow up to his surgery after 3.5 months. No pathology results, no scan results, and no help. So disappointing and concerning.
Sarah xx
At least the dr doesn’t think it’s anything sinister with your tonsils- that’s one part of my body I’ve still got, so no experience of going through that particular surgery!
A major issue for us here in our local surgeries is that we are not allowed to discuss more than one issue at an appointment. I’m not sure if it’s the same for you, but it’s very frustrating and means that the gp can never get a complete picture of every symptom you have and join the dots. If you start speaking about a second issue the gp simply cuts you off and says make another appointment for that. But getting an appointment to see someone is virtually impossible. Everything is made so difficult!
But you are making progress with things now when everything was at a standstill before so that’s got to be good!
Sarah xx
