Please Help - I am in Pain

[JustDucky923]

I have been searching here and on dozens of other medical sites and I cannot find anything. I really hope someone here can help me.

My pain is in my left groin/leg. I have had this pain on and off for over 7 years. A doctor told me that it may be scar tissue on my femoral nerve. At first he thought it could be ovarian pain, but when I pointed to the exact spot of the pain he said that is the femoral nerve. (He also told me to take ibuprofen and just live with it.) I now take 4 200 mg ibuprofen every four hours every single day.

I had an ovarian cyst removed from my left ovary in 1985. The pain is unbearably intense. It comes in clusters - sharp, intense, burning pain that last from 2- 10 seconds. These pains will come every 30 - 90 seconds for a time and then gradually the time between them will get longer and they will get less intense. They almost always come a week or so before my period. Sometimes I will have a cluster for a day or so and then not another one for anywhere between 3 weeks and 2 years. However the pain is so intense that I live in almost constant fear that it's about to strike. It started today, about 5 hours ago and I would give anything if I could find out what is causing this and what I could do to stop it.

[YankeeBeckham]

Hi Justducky,
I'm sorry to hear you're in so much pain. Quite frankly, pain sucks.
I don't know what is causing your pain, but if you're not happy with the way your doctor is treating the problem (or not treating the problem, in your case) maybe its time to consider getting another opinion. Did you see your primary care physician about your pain? Have you talked to a gynecologist about it? If not, that might be a next step.
Long term ibuprofen use is linked to gastrointestinal problems and ulcers, so please be careful with your medication in that regard. If nothing else, talking to your doctor about pain management techniques might be in order. 1200 mg is the absolute highest recommended dose per day, but it is not intended at that dose on a day to day bases.
Best of luck and keep us posted! I hope you get some answers!

[Dr. Joshua]

Definitely book an appointment with your gynecologist and present this problem. You are taking a lot of ibuprofen daily - while ibuprofen is safe during short-term use, prolonged use of high doses can cause gastrointestinal problems as Yankeebeckham mentioned, and may even cause irreversible kidney damage. You should not be taking more than 2400 mg daily (3x800mg) even during short term use.

[eyepoetress]

My friend was having this really intense pain in the groin area and her gyno told her it may be a hernia and to wear a belt. That didn't do anything. It just got worse and worse. Sometimes it would be okay and then, she'd go to sit down or something and she'd yell out cuz it was so sudden and severe. Finally she got to another doctor and they did several different types of imagings and her problem is her hip. The ball is just about gone. She's awaiting hip replacement surgery right now. But it took almost a year for them to treat her seriously.