I've been suffering pain in the womb/ovary area for a few months, it's a general aching pain/soreness with stabs of sharp pain, although the sharp pain has been getting more frequent, along with pain at the top of my thighs, to the point where I was in excruciating pain the other day and literally couldn't move because even leaning forward was causing me pure agony. I'd been putting off going to the GP for a while but this made me realise I had to get an appointment.
The GP did a quick pelvic examination and said he would refer me for a pelvic ultrasound. I asked him how long I would have to wait for the appointment, and he said 'two weeks, three at the most'.
Received my referral letter in the post this morning, asking me to call up to arrange the appointment. The receptionist immediately told me they had a very long waiting list and asked if I'd be willing to travel to a clinic a bit further away to get an appointment sooner, to which I said yes, as I'm obviously in pain and worried about what is causing the pain. Anyway, my appointment isn't till nearly the end of JUNE, so in 3 months time as opposed to the maximum 3 weeks time my GP told me.
I've been researching my symptoms, which I know isn't always the wisest, and 'ovarian cyst' seems to be coming up a lot, along with a few other womb/ovary problems. I'm very concerned that whatever might be causing the problem could get more severe within the 3 months I have to wait for an ultrasound. I've looked it up and I understand that sometimes ovarian cysts can be cancerous, although it is rare among my age group (I'm 21), but I'm still very worried that if it is cancerous, surely it could get a lot worse within 3 months?
I'm honestly surprised the waiting times are so long for a diagnostic examination, I knew the waiting times were bad for operations, but I wasn't expecting this. Surely if the waiting times are so long this could be very detrimental to the health of some patients, for example those who turn out to have cancer, when early treatment is very important?
Can anyone tell me if they have experienced similar, in terms of waiting times, or of symptoms? Those of you who have been for ultrasounds, is 3 months a normal waiting time, or am I right to be surprised? Has anyone ended up going for a private scan instead?
Also, in the 3 months that I have to wait, if there anything that will help to control my pain? My GP advised me paracetamol, hot water bottle, and drinking lots of water, all of which I've been doing anyway, but have you got any other tips? For someone who is used to leading a very active life, this pain is really interfering with it.
Any advice, information, similar experiences, or reassurance would be appreciated