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What Causes Persistent Back Pain, Vertigo And Cough?
Question: Ok, so I have been sick for going on 6 months. Really crazy symptoms. I have had leg pain, back pain, vertigo, a constant cough, weight gain, etc. I paid top dollar for best neurology workup and no diagnosis, they are confused. Well, I kept having what seemed like UTI symptoms, so finally saw my GYN last week and she said "Hmm you have nodules on ovary to vaginal cuff, lets just get an MRI and see what's going on." Well, because she downplayed it, I thought, what the heck I will look up what is a nodule? And of course the first things to pop up are OVARIAN CANCER DIAGNOSIS. I got worried a little, but then thought, I will just let the DR. do her job. But, since the exam, I have had pain worse in bladder, ovary area that she was pressing on. My question (s) are: Are nodules always cancer? And Why do I suddenly have all this pain after her exam?
Brief Answer:
Nodule is a general term, and there can be causes other than cancer.
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome,
Nodule is more of a descriptive term than a specific thing, and there can be a variety of causes of nodules on the ovaries and in the rest of the pelvis.
Endometriosis which is when pieces of the lining of the uterus (endometrium) get into other places, can be a cause of a nodular feel on the bimanual exam (where the doctor has two fingers in the vagina, and the other hand presses on the outside of the pelvis). This tissue bleeds when you have your period, and can cause a variety of pelvic problems - urinary symptoms, pelvic pain, painful menstruation, pain with deep thrusting on intercourse - depending on the location of the tissue.
Other things that can be felt on a bimanual are uterine fibroids and benign functional ovarian cysts and dermoid cysts.
With the bimanual exam, while a doctor may feel some things that should not be there, it is difficult to really be able to tell what specifically the nodule is that you are feeling.
And if the doctor feels something that should't be there (such as any of the things I mentioned above) then it is good to get a quality imaging study, such as an MRI, to see what it is you have palpated.
Regarding why you suddenly have pain - my guess is that the doctor may have been pressing fairly deeply to try to tell what she was feeling. This can hurt afterwards, and any of the causes I described above can cause pain on being pushed around.
So yes, there are causes other than cancer for nodules, and yes, there is an explainable reason for pain after a vigorous bimanual exam.
Do be sure to follow thru with getting the MRI so that you can clearly see what is going on.
I hope this information helps.
Nodule is a general term, and there can be causes other than cancer.
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome,
Nodule is more of a descriptive term than a specific thing, and there can be a variety of causes of nodules on the ovaries and in the rest of the pelvis.
Endometriosis which is when pieces of the lining of the uterus (endometrium) get into other places, can be a cause of a nodular feel on the bimanual exam (where the doctor has two fingers in the vagina, and the other hand presses on the outside of the pelvis). This tissue bleeds when you have your period, and can cause a variety of pelvic problems - urinary symptoms, pelvic pain, painful menstruation, pain with deep thrusting on intercourse - depending on the location of the tissue.
Other things that can be felt on a bimanual are uterine fibroids and benign functional ovarian cysts and dermoid cysts.
With the bimanual exam, while a doctor may feel some things that should not be there, it is difficult to really be able to tell what specifically the nodule is that you are feeling.
And if the doctor feels something that should't be there (such as any of the things I mentioned above) then it is good to get a quality imaging study, such as an MRI, to see what it is you have palpated.
Regarding why you suddenly have pain - my guess is that the doctor may have been pressing fairly deeply to try to tell what she was feeling. This can hurt afterwards, and any of the causes I described above can cause pain on being pushed around.
So yes, there are causes other than cancer for nodules, and yes, there is an explainable reason for pain after a vigorous bimanual exam.
Do be sure to follow thru with getting the MRI so that you can clearly see what is going on.
I hope this information helps.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Brief Answer:
Vertigo is almost always either neurological (brain) or inner ear in cause.
Detailed Answer:
I am not sure what to say about the vertigo as I assume the neurologist did a thorough work up of both neurological causes and the inner ear. If he/she did not evaluate the inner ear possibility (such as for benign positional paroxysmal vertigo) then I'd suggest seeing an otolaryngologist. You can ask the neurologist if he checked for inner ear causes or if he would recommend seeing an otolarngologist/ENT doctor.
I imagine you have tried this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQR6b7CAiqk
It is for one type of vertigo.
Regarding your other symptoms, it is possible that endometriosis can cause that array of symptoms. Here is some additional information on endometriosis. Note that in rare cases it can involve the lungs (but it is rare). http://www.endometriosisassn.org/endo.html
If you are also having fevers, I would suggest an autoimmune work up - which your family practice or internal medicine doctor can do. This would be a number of blood tests for inflammation and specific disease markers.
Vertigo is almost always either neurological (brain) or inner ear in cause.
Detailed Answer:
I am not sure what to say about the vertigo as I assume the neurologist did a thorough work up of both neurological causes and the inner ear. If he/she did not evaluate the inner ear possibility (such as for benign positional paroxysmal vertigo) then I'd suggest seeing an otolaryngologist. You can ask the neurologist if he checked for inner ear causes or if he would recommend seeing an otolarngologist/ENT doctor.
I imagine you have tried this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQR6b7CAiqk
It is for one type of vertigo.
Regarding your other symptoms, it is possible that endometriosis can cause that array of symptoms. Here is some additional information on endometriosis. Note that in rare cases it can involve the lungs (but it is rare). http://www.endometriosisassn.org/endo.html
If you are also having fevers, I would suggest an autoimmune work up - which your family practice or internal medicine doctor can do. This would be a number of blood tests for inflammation and specific disease markers.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thanks so much for that link. I am going to try that...No one has even given me a suggestion thus far, they just gave me a anti-dizzy medicine, but that just made me tired and didn't help.
Brief Answer:
I hope it helps.
Detailed Answer:
I do hope the vertigo maneuver helps you. And yes, the anti vertigo medicines (such as Antivert) can be sedating and don't always help. I have had vertigo in the past and got no relief from those meds either.
Best regards,
Bonnie Berger-Durnbaugh, MD
I hope it helps.
Detailed Answer:
I do hope the vertigo maneuver helps you. And yes, the anti vertigo medicines (such as Antivert) can be sedating and don't always help. I have had vertigo in the past and got no relief from those meds either.
Best regards,
Bonnie Berger-Durnbaugh, MD
Note: For further follow up on related General & Family Physician Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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