ovarian cysts

Well - it's been 3 months since my TAH. I have been doing really great in recovery...sometimes I forget that I had surgery. For the last 3+ weeks I have had a couple of instances where I felt some aching in my left groin, and pains in my side an back. Sometimes it was so uncomfortable that I had to use a hot water bottle when I went to bed. My breasts have also been extremely tender for about a month.

After reading some other posts out on this site about ovarian cyst, it sounded like I might have one on my left ovary. So I went to see my GYN today. She ordered an ultrasound and guess what - I have 3 small cysts on my right ovary and a large blood filled one on the left ovary. She wants to wait 6 more weeks and do another ultrasound, unless I start having severe pains. I guess if they are still there when I get re-checked, we'll have to do something more extreme. She said the cysts and the tender breasts were probably due to an estrogen dominance issue.

I am 51 years old, and since I still have not entered menapause I decided to keep my ovaries. When I had my surgery, I told my GYN that if the ovaries looked good to leave them in, but if they looked bad she had my permission to take them out - but I really preferred to keep them. I still think I made the right decision; so many women seem to have problems taking HRT that I hope that the cysts correct themselves. I really don't want to start taking synthetic hormones. Wish me luck

Have any of you had serioius problems from ovarian cysts? What symptoms should I be concerned about (like enough to head to the ER)?

A lot of times cysts will resolve themselves. That is why she is going to do a follow up ultrasound. Some women get them when they ovulate, but they shouldn't last very long. Some only as long as six months. Some less. I hope the next time you get checked they will all be gone. And I think you did make the right decision to keep your ovaries. Good call.

I also have suffered from ovarian cysts,,,,,,I have had them on both sides,they seem to swap up everytime I go back,for another check-up.....So she tells me that we'll wait another 2 or 3 mo. & then do another ultrasound to see where we are....I must say that I really don't notice them until I go to have a check-up,,,but oh boy do they show themselves then,,,,I almost come up off the table with pain,,,,then they ask me if I've had pain with sex,to which I reply no,,,but my lower back has been hurting,,& they'll tell me that's another symptom......They usually keep watch on me,& they are usually gone by the next time or are not big enough to worry about........but they always tell me if the pain gets worse,to call & let them know......So far so good......

I hope this helps in some way........

Hey girl...

I've had cysts for years on and off.... I go through the 3 months of ultrasounds.... every month.... watch them get bigger... then smaller.... the Dr always puts me on BC pills to strink them and it usually works...

I also have mine intact... he did drain a cyst during surgery... but so far I have no pain....

Has he recommended BC pills to reduce them? I know... sounds awfully funny to be on them when we don't have a uterous huh?

Good luck!

Oni

I just had a LAVH about 5 weeks ago and told DR that if the one ovary he was going to keep had *anything* on it to please jsut go a remove it. He didn't, saying it was perfectly healthy. I am having no pain, but going for my 5 week check-up he noticed what he either thought was a hematoma or a cysts. So...back for ultrasound I went. The thing is huge, I saw it today on the screen and now am very worried. DR has surgeries on Mondays but decided to come in to talk with me *before* his surgeries start. Am wondering why the rush-rush deal now since I have no pain. Ahhhh...the joy of waiting! I am hoping instead of surgery, they will put me on pills or *anything* as long as it does not consists of surgery.
Was wondering though...how did it go from *nothing* to something really huge in a matter of a few weeks time?? Am really, really regretting him leaving the ovary in now.

I had cysts off and on in my left ovary for a couple years. My doctor said that the cysts usually go away on their own after several weeks. When I had my hysterectomy last week they took the ovary out because it was full of cysts again.

I have a cyst on right ovary that has not resolved and grew over a couple of weeks. I had pain from about 6 months after my surgery but gyn thought everything was just tight from all the other surgery etc. and he felt it should improve,

No way, it's a strong stitch, pulling pain nearly all the time, has been in agony if I have to straighten up after a crouch position, has given me symptons and pain of kidney infection and am no longer able to sleep lying on right side.

What gets me is that this is still a relatively small cyst compared to some of the sizes I have seen posted here but how it has bothered me! In past 3 months I have felt as if I have constant pmt, sore boobs, weight gain, swollen belly and emotional swings that have driven poor DH mad. Am also having mad body temperatures, hot all the time, my hormone tests came back negative for early menopause but I just radiate heat, day or night and this is a unique experience for me, with low bp I am nearly always the first to get cold!

I am having cyst and ovary removed next month. I started my teacher training after my hyst as my health was so improved and there is no way I can afford to have my studies continually interrupted by a pesky misbehaving ovary! I don't even want to think about my other ovary joining the cyst club!

It is comon to have cysts and not even know it as you do on your right ovary, unfortunately there are some that hurt really bad. The kind that I get the blood filled kind which is what you apparently have as well. Even small ones hurt very bad. They are called hemoragic cysts. I am sure I have one now, but only because I have had them before and know what they feel like. One was removed from my right ovary and I have been suffering from pain on my left ovary but while they did find a cyst on u/s my doctor wasn't convinced that was causing the pain. Then she removed one from my ovary during surgery. Unfortunately that type of cyst doesn't generally go away unless it ruptures, it continues to get bigger and then ruptures or sometimes twists the ovary which is why I needed my right ovary removed. The rupture of a cyst especially one like that is very painful, many think it is more painful than child birth. I personally have never had a natural child birth so I don't know but I have to say there is not a whole lot that is more painful than a cyst rupturing. Once it ruptures though there isn't a whole lot you can do about it. Just grin and bear it (and take lots of pain killers). Birth control pills can sometimes help though, because it is thought that an abundance of estrogen is what causes them so counteracting that with b/c pills often helps a great deal to shrink and even make them go away, but sometimes doesn't work as is the case for me.

Hi Michelle, thanks for that extra info. I didn't have a confirmed dx of endo after my hyst but uterus was enlarged and I had history of very heavy bleeding with clots. I have never tolerated the bc pills so turned down the chance to see if that would shrink cyst.

I do find it scary knowing that this cyst might twist or rupture but hope with only 3 weeks to go I'll make it!

I found another of your posts (ouch, my ovary!) and you have my sympathy for dealing with this when you are still basically in recovery from your hyst. I thought my problems were tightness as I had lots of other repairs done at same time, but symptons settled in that one ovary so was not surprised when scan found the cyst, but at least I had recovered from original surgery.

Hoping you get some answers and actions soon, take care, Linda