Cyst was gone!

I've put off posting this b/c I didn't know exactly how I felt about the whole thing, but I'm 99% okay w/it, now. Here's the story.

I've been post-menopausal for 3 years and the decision to have this surgery was based on that. I had a small cyst on my right ovary, less than 1 cm, a thickened endometrial lining and possible fibroids (turned out to be a polyp). In a pre-menopausal woman, the choices are different than for a post-men. woman. Ovarian cysts are not functional and can be malignant. And the endometrial lining should be thin, less than 4 cm. Mine was 5.4 cm.

After waiting 60 days another ultra-sound showed the cyst was still there and had gotten a bit bigger. It was only 1 cm, but b/c of being post-men. it was a concern. The lining was still too thick, of course, since I don't get periods.

My gen gyn said I needed a TAH-BSO b/c of the chance of cancer. A CA-125 came back fine. I got 2 more opinions. The 2nd Doc said he would take just the right ovary and he would do a D&C. (An endometrial biopsy couldn't be done b/c of other problems).

The 3rd Doc, a uro-gyn b/c I also had bladder prolapse, agreed w/the 1st Doc that everything should go b/c the cyst was persistant for more than 60 days. While she was fairly sure it wasn't malignant, there was that chance (remember, I'm post-menopausal). She also said that once you have a cyst that persists as mine did, that you have a 90some% chance of having more, any one of which could be malignant. The 1st Doc said that, too. The 2nd one disagreed.

Everything I read on the Internet talked about the dangers of ovarian cysts in post-men. women; although some said they can be watched for 60 days. Well, we watched mine and it was still there.

I should mention that I have tried HRT 3 times since stopping my periods. Each time I bled like crazy until I stopped the hormones. I tried one for 5 wks and bled every single day. This happened even with the hormonal creams. I had already had one D&C b/c the hormones messed up the endometrial lining. So I'm blaming this mess on the hormones.

Okay, so I decide to have the surgery w/ the uro-gyn so I can have the bladder repair at the same time. Now here's the thing - at my pre-op visit I asked for another ultra-sound. This was 3 wks before the surgery and 5 wks had gone by since the last ultra-sound. The Doc said unless I wanted to cancel the surgery there was no point in having another one, so I didn't.

The day before surgery I told my DH and my DF if they get in there and there's no cyst, I'm going to be ticked. Of course, I don't want cancer, but I want this to be necessary.

So, there was no cyst. The Doc didn't go to talk w/my DH and DM who were in the waiting area. The resident came later to my room, but the Doc only talked to me briefly the next day. I felt very uncomfortable talking about this and she seemed uncomfortable, also. She talked more about her daughter's birthday than anything else. She sort of blew the whole thing off by saying that unless we had done an ultra-sound 2 days before surgery, there was no way of knowing the cyst was gone. And when I brought up the subject of more cysts b/c I had had one, she said there was no way of knowing! That's not what she said before the surgery. But she still said the surgery was necessary and she felt better b/c now I don't have to worry about cancer. Did she mean b/c I was at risk or b/c there's nothing in there anymore?

The resident was somewhat more helpful. (I really liked her). She asked me if I was sorry the cyst wasn't there or was I happy I didn't have cancer. Silly question. I did have endo. and adeno, but b/c I'm post-men. they were no longer causing me a problem. They sure did before, though. She told me that without the surgery I would have to have ultra-sounds every 6 mos. to check for cysts and that if I got another one, there was that same risk of cancer. Since I worry alot, did I want to always be worried that something would develop.? Of course not.

What I'm wondering is, is it true that once you have a cyst, you have over 90% chance of having more? Again, being post-men. makes a difference. I was told this before surgery, but now they seem to be unwilling to come right out and say it.

I really do feel this was the best decision for me, but sometimes that doubt sneaks in. And then I think of all the inconvenience for everyone and I hope it wasn't unnecessary. It makes me feel guilty and actually kind of stupid. My DH says not to worry. I did my homework and let's be grateful everything's okay.

I wonder if an ultra-sound should be part of the pre-tests if that was in any way part of the decision-making. At my 6 wk post-op visit I'm going to try and get some straightforward answers from the Doc. I really do like her. She did a fantastic job and is very cautious about my recovery, but she seems evasive about the cyst topic. She did say it was better to take out 20 appendixes that didn't really need to come out, than to miss one that did. I didn't have my appendix out, but I do understand what she was saying.

Sorry this was incredibly long, but I wanted to get the facts out, so hopefully you'll have some ideas. Mostly I'm wondering about the chance of getting more cysts if I hadn't had the surgery. I can't find anything on the Internet about this. And that would make me believe that this was 100% necessary.

Thanks so much.

Sheila,

I can't say that I completely understand your dilema but I can say this...you're much better off not taking chances with your health. It sounds like you like your doctor enough to trust her, then trust her judgement. I'm not a doctor or in the medical field at all. Just another sister. For now, just get the rest that you deserve and concentrate on your recovery.


Tugs

The only thing that bothers me is that I asked for another ultra-sound and was told I didn't need it. Perhaps the cyst would have still been there, but maybe not, since it was gone by surgery.

Would this new info (the cyst being gone) have made me think twice about my surgery? You bet it would. It was the reason I was having the surgery. But I've gotten to the point where I believe God was with me and that's why everything has worked out the way it did.

I was just wondering if anyone else has had this experience. The reverse of waking up to really bad news, so I am gratefull. But I was shocked to learn that the main reason I was having this surgery was gone and no one seems to know how.