I have some gel to apply 30 mins before the procedure but you are supposed to cover the area (once the gel has been applied) with a plastic dressing. I don't have such a thing and it will move around anyway .... Would be great to hear from anyone who has any tips! I thought of putting cling film around a normal dressing and holding it there with my pants on?
View 3 RepliesHas anyone here had a vulva biopsy ?
If so, how was the healing process? and did it leave a scar?
I got one last week, its a hole, Gyn didnt put stitches since stitches make you itchy ( and thats the main reason why i got the biopsy done due to Itching)
I'm going to have a biopsy done in few weeks time. I was advised by the dermatologist to get some metope (sp?) gel and apply it 1/2 hour before the procedure. However, I look at the instructions and you have to put an air tight covering over the area once you've applied the gel - something like cling film I think. But how will that work on my fanjo?
View 5 RepliesI'm a 20 year old male. A little over a week ago, the top of my penis reddened, became painful to touch and swelled up. A few days later the pain dissipated and there isn't as much redness, however the swelling remained. After some research, I came to the conclusion that this was caused by balanitis. The following day, I noticed pinkish spots/rashes on the inside of my thighs near my scrotum. I did some more research and discovered that this was caused by a yeast infection, particularly candida. I read that it's not unusual to have both as both were most likely caused by yeast.
I'm going to purchase Canesten as I've read that it's a good OTC solution (I'm in the UK, I found a lot that were US based but I couldn't get my hands on them). I was just wondering if this would work for both the yeast infection and the balanitis? If so, how would I apply it to my penis? It's very swollen therefore very tight, and it physically pains me to retract - I can't even expose the head fully. Would it have to be applied to the penis itself, or will I find a solution if I were to apply it to the outer foreskin?
I've had this nasty gout episode for four days now and I am reading conflicting information, perhaps a few of you with some experience can help. First, is it better to apply heat, cold or both? Second, will walking around and staying active even through the pain make it worse, better or stay the same? Third, is there any prescription out there that works without any nasty side effects? And lastly, knowing that I have gout, is it really necessary to see a doctor?
View 6 RepliesI was diagnosed with vulvar vestibulitis, a condition where the nerves in my vulval area are hypersensitive and cause swelling and itching upon the slightest disturbance (i.e. tight clothing, vibration from car rides, etc.). This was about 8 months ago, and my OBGYN prescribed me amitriptyline (25 mg)/ night and lexapro (10 mg)/day to calm these nerves over time. Can I have a drink or 2 with this condition? I really want to but am afraid that it will make my vestibulitis worse. Anyone else out there with vestibulitis who is facing or has faced this problem?
View 1 RepliesI am postmenopausal, 56 years old and had a hysterectomy at 42. In the past 12 months I have had all sorts of problems with Vulvar skin, burning, tightness you name it and I am terribly uncomfortable. I often feel like something is stuck. I have been to a Gym and don't have any sign of prolapse etc. but do have signs of "old Lichen Sclerosus" but I don't have typical white patches, itch but he absorption of labia minora. I am using some Ovestin now but perhaps not enough?
View 1 RepliesI'm 15 and right now I'm cry my eyes out. For about a year, I've had a hardish, moveable, painless lump under my left labia majora. I am not sexually active and suffer with anxiety so I'm freaking out in case I have vulvar cancer. I have no symptoms, nothing is out of the usual, I'm just really scared. Also there seems to be some kind of painful lymph node on the top of my inner thigh, near my vagina, which swells up when I'm sick, it's quite painful but goes down and only seems to come when I have an infection.
View 3 RepliesI have just been diagnosed with LP vulvar, it has also affected my breasts and small patches on my torso. I've had it for a long time and just didn't know what it was, with flare ups that come and go- everywhere but the vulva, which has been rather constant and suddenly got worse about a month ago. Been in agony with the vulvar part for the past week because taking antibiotics for an ear infection meant severe thrush also got thrown into the mix.
The doctor said it was unusual for someone of my age to suffer from lichen planus (I'm 26), so I have to go to a dermatologist for their review. I'm also an IBS sufferer, I noticed on a lot of other posts that many people that mentioned LP/LS also have IBS.
I've been given Trimovate but, so far, the only thing that stops the itching long enough for me to get to sleep is Vagisil, which I'm worried will cause problems long-term even though it brings temporary relief.
I'm dreading going back to work tomorrow and don't know when/whether I'll get my sex life back with my amazing boyfriend. Feeling really rubbish
Having agonised about what to do for over a year now I have finally decided. Nothing. Well, not quite nothing but what is termed ‘watchful waiting’. My PSA has steadily increased over the past two years from 5.4 to 7.4 and in September my GP referred me to a urologist. The urologist, who arrived very late to the surgery, did a quick DRE then said that he would refer me for a biopsy. I wanted to discuss the options, including MRI as I didn’t want to undergo an invasive procedure without proper discussion. Also, I had read that in a test conducted on 223 biopsy-naïve men that biopsy was no better at detecting PCa than MRI. The link to the study is here - [URL....]
We found that mpMRI/MRGB reduces the detection of low-risk PCa and reduces the number of men requiring biopsy while improving the overall rate of detection of intermediate/high-risk PCa.
Unsure how to proceed I asked my GP to refer me to a private urologist with the hope of being able to discuss the alternatives.
In the meantime I did some extensive research and discovered two further studies which concluded that for low grade PCa (PSA<10) the outcome for watchful waiting was no worse in terms of morbidity that invasive treatment and the outcome in terms of quality of life was much better. Both studies were conducted over at least 10 years by reputable agencies. One, conducted by the New England Journal of medicine is here [URL] ... . The other can be found by searching 'PIVOT'. Also, a number of well-known doctors have published articles in favour of doing nothing – Dr Mark Porter in The Times and Dr Sarah Jarvis in this very website, not to mention other articles in The Daily Mail, Telegraph and Independent. I got to thinking that if invasive treatments did not improve my outcome, what was the point of a biopsy?
I finally got to see a private urologist who discussed the options and, although he was marginally in favour of a biopsy, did not object to my proposal. So now I am going to monitor my PSA and I will reassess the situation if/when my PSA goes into double digits. I have since gone on a no-dairy and low red meat diet and my latest PSA (Dec14) was down marginally to 7.2 – still high but moving in the right direction. I appreciate that this course of (in)action is not for everyone and not knowing is frustrating at times, but for me at least, I feel it is the best current option.
I am 56 years of age and my father, who is still very well had an RP for PCa about 15 years ago. All DREs have reported ‘enlarged but benign-feeling’.
I had this benign smooth small-ish bump on my nose for around two years, then around october time last year my nose got very dry and it kind of scraped/came off. It bled a little but it didn't seem to be full of blood, maybe just a clear fluid. It never bothered me up until it came off. I was really happy because i thought it had gone. But then it started to come back. it came back even WORSE! it got very red, formed an uneven texture and still hasn't disappeared and we are in March. I have been to a doctor, who prescribed me acne medication, which just irritated it. Then i visited a dermatologist who told me i could have a shave biopsy. Its not cancerous which is good. But i am very very self concious about it. It is not a raised red , uneven bump on my nose. If you apply pressure it will stay down for 5 seconds until it comes back again.
I have been weighing up whether i want to go ahead and have a shave biopsy, i am worried about it scarring badly. It isn't very big, it is about 4mm/5mm, but it still is very obvious ( especially to me ). How long do shave biopsies take to heal? could it come back after the biopsy? and how long after the shave biopsy would i have to wait before wearing makeup?
I am a 21 year old female college student. About a month and a half ago, I noticed a large lump in my throat that moved up and down when I swallowed. Slightly concerned, I made an appointment at my university health center, where they drew blood and my thyroid levels came back normal (I have no hyper or hypothyroid symptoms anyway.) After visiting my primary doctor, I had an ultrasound done that showed a 2.5cm nodule on my isthmus (midline thyroid) with 2 tiny (mm sized) on either side which aren't palpable or visible and I didn't realize I had. The report also said there is increased vascularity, or blood flow, to the area which my endo said could be cancerous or it could just be because the nodule is large with extra blood flow to the area. I have my biopsy scheduled for next week to determine what type of nodule the 2.5 cm one is (benign or malignant.)
To be honest, I'm scared of the results. I have always been healthy other than the occasional common cold, so this is something that really took me by surprise.
For those who are going through or have gone through this, what was your experience with the fine needle biopsy like? If your nodule was benign, did you still get it removed just in case? I just turned 21 with a lot of life plans ahead of me and I am scared that due to its increased size, it could be cancer.
My boy, 6 years old, has one supraclavicular lymph node, size 0.5 cm. Is it normal? Should i get it biopsied?
View 1 RepliesHas anyone else been put to sleep for their biopsy? Saw gyno for first time and whilst they said some fusing was present she couldn't say LS for sure as the steroids would be masking all other conditions . She's referred me for urgent biopsy under general so she can do smear too ( last doc who tried couldn't do it ) should I be worried or is this quite normal.
View 7 RepliesIf you have your biopsy come back with suspicious or pre-cancerous cells, should I have a mastectomy?
View 1 RepliesI now have a date for a vulval biopsy as the specialist thinks it may be LS. There is a white patch there - which amazed me because two GPs told me that there were no white patches.
Anyway I need to have this biopsy done mid July - my GP told me that if it does show LS then in all likelihood they would want to remove the white patch (vulval surgery scares me to bits!). He said the steroid creams are not much good and they prefer to take the bit away in the hope that it will remove the risk of cancer developing. I am left wondering a) how painful is that op, has anyone had it done? It will be under a local anaesthetic I think. and b) would LS come back and I need to have it all done again?
Just had a thyroid ultra done..showed a 9.7x7x7 cm nodule adjacent to the left carotid artery (I have lots of cysts which have already been biopsied)..after much discussion we did try to do biopsy, but because I have a short neck, and they were unable to tip my head back enough to do the biopsy without hitting the artery, I was sent home with instructions that I should have another ultra in 6 months..should I be worried, they said its small, but if we can't biopsy it, whats next..I'm off to see my primary doc today..they also asked if I had Hashi's, maybe I should be put on meds to try and shrink the nodule?
View 8 RepliesSo after my discordant biopsy that showed only benign fibrocystic changes, surgeon scheduled me for a lumpectomy! I have never been more scared or confused, and she seemed to dodge all my questions about why I need a lumpectomy. So my question is to the people on this board- what is your lumpectomy experience was and why you need it also, is lumpectomy same as excisional biopsy. I read different things on the internet , and frankly it all doesn't make sense to me.
View 3 RepliesI sometimes have pain down the whole of my leg, especially the outside below the knee. Is there any way of knowing if this is due to the hip or back, as both are dodgy?
I am due for a hip replacement on 9 June and the bit I have been scared stiff of is getting in the skin to start it. I felt I could only cope with a general anaesthetic but could not persuade him to give me anything other than a local.
Over the past year I've had cervical biopsies, polyps removed and cyst drained - all fine. Due to a bout of severe bleeding after no period for a year I'm going in for a Hysteroscopy - no anaesthetic, possible localized anaesthetic. I'm terrified! I'm wondering if anyone could share tips, experiences, advice of this procedure. I don't have children so I'm worried it could be even more painful. Anxiety levels are through the roof. I should have the date of it sometime in the next few days.
View 13 RepliesI'm 12 weeks post TKR and saw my surgeon today. He has suggested (recommended) that I undergo MUA asap as my knee bend isn't what it ought to be. I understand this involves the manual procedure then being put on a machine overnight in hospital then intensive physio. My concern is that of course my surgeon cannot guarantee if it will improve things or to what extent it will if it does. He has also said it will cause pain but can't say how much and how long for. I've done well over the last 12 weeks in other ways. The wound has healed well, I can fully straighten the new knee, I have been driving for six weeks and I can walk for at least an hour with virtually no pain in my new knee. I just wondered if anyone has undergone this MUA procedure and if so, what was it like? I'm in two minds whether I should do it or persevere a little longer with more physio.
View 20 Replies