Cyst + fibroids - Looking for information

Hi everyone! I am 48 years old, no children and 5 days ago my doctor informed me that a cyst the size of a baby’s head is sitting on my left ovary. I agreed to have the cystectomy done. She also recommends a full hysterectomy which threw me for a loop as I was not expecting that! I have had fibroid issues every couple of years and due to the history of this she brought it up but said it was my choice. I have had 2 D&C procedures done in the past and I have heard so many pros and cons about hysterectomies and just wanting to gather as much knowledge as I can before making the right decision for my body! This was a highly recommended support group that I have stumbled upon and am so grateful to be a part of. Any bit of information to help me gain insight would be very much appreciated! Thank you so much!

I was also faced with an option for hysterectomy due to several fibroids that were causing problems. I cancelled surgery the first time and then a half year later I felt ready to go ahead with it after doing some research and letting it sink in. I haven't looked back and it's 1 year ago.
Take as long as you need to do all the research, get second opinions and more options. Don't make any hasty decisions. Good Luck!

Thank you so much for your kind words and sharing your experience!

Nancy 13 , take your time decide . Fibroids are usually not an emergency unless causing bleeding issues . My aunt is 70 and she says she just kept them as they never bothered her . Now mine do bother me but it depends on the location and size . Every doctor I went to in the beginning said hysterectomy. First thing out there mouth . Even when I only had one small one . Causing zero issues . Found it by accident . Take your time , don’t let them scare you into something. However at your age I don’t know how large your fibroid is but they continue to grow . You could just keep a close eye on things . Mine grew at 53 years old . I was shocked . Thought they would stop growing at some point but wasn’t the case for me . Good luck dear .

Hi! This site is amazing & helped me decide to go thru with my hysterectomy in Aug 2019.

I was 44 & never had kids. My periods were always regular (every 28 days) with no cramping, but I diid have pms/pmdd. At 40, my periods started to be somewhat irregular & the cramps became pretty bad. I adapted to the pain, but went to see a hormone doctor for an opinion winter of 2019. A scan showed a large fruit-sized fibroid & due to my age & my mom having ovarian cancer at 32, I decided to have partial hysterctomy.

My hormone doc is not a surgeon, so she gave me 2 options for Gyns that do surgeries & I went with one at Duke as he specialized in larascopic surgery. However, new research came out at that time informing fibroid removal shldn't be done larascopic due to potential of fibroid breaking up & spreading cancer if cancerous. So, I pushed the surgery off until one day I cld no longer hike due to pain.

Day of surgery I was to keep one ovary & my cervix. However, when they made incisions for larascopic surgery, my organs were not where they thought. The fibroid had pushed all my organs against my left back by my bowels & everything was attached to each other due to endometriosis. So, they had to do old-fashioned hysterectomy & removed everything. Surgeon said I was a big surprise to everyone in operating room & that he had no idea how I had been walking. I had 1 large fibroid, 1 small one, cysts all over my inside gal parts, & bad endometriosis.

I healed pretty decent. I take .75 estogen patch due to age, being a petite caucasian & due to all the benefits of estrogen. My scars are still healing a little (almost gone) & my tummy is still a little numb when I push on it.

My advice...get in the best shape you can before surgery, buy some good feather pillows (to hold against your stomach when you get out of bed 1st cple weeks), make your house as post-surgery friendly as possible - especially if you don't have anyone to help you, & don't lift stuff after for like 6 weeks as it can cause little tears that will start healing process over in those spots.

Best wishes - Cynde

Hi Nancy13,
If your fibroid isn't causing you issues, don't feel rushed to make a decision. I'm in my mid-50's, never had children, and had lived with my baby's-head size fibroid (plus a few smaller ones) since late 40's. I had no pain nor bleeding. The hope was that I go into menopause and the fibroid will stop growing or even shrink. Unfortunately for me, I had to start taking HRT recently for my menopause symptoms, which I think made my fibroid grow. In the end I had TLH this year as the fibroid was causing kidney/ureter issues, but by then I was ready for the surgery. On the other hand, my friend, who is the same age and has had, since her 40's, an even larger fibroid than me, managed to buy time by doing a UAE (uterine artery embolization) and was able to wait out until the fibroid got smaller when she went into menopause. Hope this helps.

Hi Nancy13
I had 12+ fibroids and an ovarian cyst removed on 22.12.20. I am 53 and did a lot of research beforehand (I had plenty of time as I was waiting two and a half years) I had a laparoscopic assisted vaginal hysterectomy with everything removed and was in hospital two nights. I have healed well and am delighted to be on this side of the op now. I am on an hrt patch and feeling more like myself each week- please ask me anything- if I can answer any questions to help I will :-) take care -monkeytoes

I also had cysts the size of baby's heads. I am so sorry that you are experiencing this as well.

My total hysterectomy with bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy definitely helped me and cured my cyst problem. If you do go ahead with the operation, just remember that everyone heals at their own pace and to give yourself grace! (I learned that, so I wanted to pass that on to you. <3) Thinking of you and wishing you well!

Thank you so much for sharing your story Cynde! My story seems very similar to yours so I appreciate you sharing. I am eating healthy and doing mostly walking because when I try to exercise, I can feel the pressure on my tummy so hopefully a healthier diet and walking will help with my recovery.

Thank you so much for sharing and giving me advice! Did you have any issues with hormone imbalance after your surgery or weight gain? Any typical menopause symptoms from the after effects of the surgery?