For the women...

I have to visit my OBGYN because of a cyst on my ovary, which I had a few months ago as well. I am paranoid that it's going to effect my fertility. I know I am being a little paranoid but it's so important for me to have kids that it's difficult. Has anyone had these or SO's know anything about it? I am on ortho-low and she switched me to yasmine(sp?) because they think I still may be ovulating. I am concerned. I have an ultrasound today to make sure it is a cyst, but it's hard. Any advice? Suggestions? Words of wisdom? Thanks!

[Grog]

Hi Lady,

I had a bunch of cyst about four years ago now.

I had regular follicular cysts (basically bubbles of liquid) which broke from time to time, causing tremendous, acute pain. When it happened - once I was walking in a pair of heeled boots going to work - I had to stop, sit, bend in two, and cry. The pain was unbearable. One of them got fairly big (9cm, or approx 3-4 inches). But I think they are usually benign. They normally occur when women ovulate, and the "bubble" containing the egg doesn't go away as it should. I was like you on the pill (Alesse) and was transferred to a bigger-dose pill (Marvelon).

I also had a smaller (6cm) dermoid cyst. Mine contained hair and nail-like material but they can also grow teeth!!! (I think this makes it funny more than anything.) These are the ones that are more of a problem because they are, I think, more likely to be non-benign. Not that painful, except when I was doing high-impact sports and walking in heels (I walk really fast and the impact made it awful).

I think the guideline is not to touch (surgery) a cyst unless it's bigger than 5cm. There might be something about removing persistent dermoid cysts, too.

In my case, I went to the ER because of awful abdominal pain. Differential diagnosis from the ER residents (all males) was renal calculus or appendicitis. The next morning I was sent in for a sonograph. I asked the (female) attending, "Do you think it could be an ovarian cyst?" and she exploded: "What!! It's not what these guys sent you in for???" She couldn't believe that the guys in the ER hadn't thought about it. It was a huge mass right there on the screen, and I realized I could even feel it from the outside and see the difference on my belly (left side was bigger) with naked eye!!!!!

I was already in touch with a great gynecologist and she set me up with her surgeon-friend who's an extremely careful woman. She was very concerned about my fertility (I was 24 then), she said, so she would do everything to protect my ovaries.

Anyway, I had a laparoscopic operation where they removed the 9cm follicular and the big dermoid. There was another small one (1cm?) in there (can't remember if it was follicular or dermoid) but they left it, and we checked it over the following years. It eventually became nearly impossible to see, and we dropped the subject. I remain mindful of my belly and let them know if I feel something weird, and stay on the stronger pill (to avoid further surgery). The whole thing was a lot more scary than it was dangerous in the end, but it was VERY painful. And they saw no sign of endometriosis, which is also great.

On the other hand, a woman I worked with was rolled into the ER with unbearable pain. She always had painful periods so she maybe hadn't bothered seeing a doctor before. One of her ovaries was seriously damaged by a cyst. But the other one was fine, so she remains positively fertile.

From your message, you don't sound like you have pain, which makes me think that although you want to be careful you shouldn't worry so much. Your new BC pill might make the problem go away by itself... Just make sure you tell your OBGYN in advance before you start to try to conceive. He might want to do a sonograph to make sure there is no cyst to begin with, and perhaps remove it if s/he feels it could be threatening to you or your baby. Also, being pregnant will give you a break from ovulating, which will stop most cysts... BUT I AM NO DOCTOR!!! So see with your OBGYN, obviously.

Good luck. I know how scary this can be. When I had those cysts, it totally changed my relation to my body at the time, it felt awful to feel my body totally out of control. But you'll survive this, no doubt about it, and it probably won't impact your fertility.

I know that my mom had cysts on one ovary, and eventually had that ovary removed -- and that was before me.

[Vishenka69]

One of my friends had a big cyst removed about 4 years ago. Her OB scared her that if she doesn't have kids right away, she might have problems. So they started trying as soon as she felt better and she was pregnant within 6 months. However, neither one of them was really ready for a baby and she had a horrible post partum depression for a little over a year. I really don't think her doctor should have scared her like that. She hasn't had any cysts since then though.

[SuzySunshine]

Cysts on ovaries can mean many things. I am currently undergoing infertility treatments therefore each month I am shot full of more horomones than the human body is supposed to have to make my ovaries produce eggs. That over production causes cysts on a regular basis, most of the time they reabsorb themselves and it isn't anything to be concerned about.

I do have friends that have created them through IF and then had to have them surgically removed, it was fairly non-invasive and took minimal recovery. One of the two has gotten pregnant since then without issue, the other is responding well to IF drugs.

The one thing I have learned through all of this IF stuff is do your own research, don't be afraid to ask your doctor about something you've heard or something you've read. A good doctor will explain why they do or don't want to do something a certain way. Also insist on monitoring, if this cyst is back after a few months there must be a reason if you're taking "normal" BC options.

The short answer is that most cysts are a normal part of being a woman, if you're getting them on a regular basis you probably have more horomones being produced then normal, they should be able to run some blood tests to tell you that. Good luck, chin up!