Bilateral Ovarian Cyst

[santi41]

This is a long story but I will try to make it as short as possible.  I am 41 years old and have been experiencing pain in my left lower to upper side, going through to my back for a little over 5 years.  Throughout this time I have visited several doctors.  Finally in Aug 06 my gyn thought it could be adherences from prior surgery.  She decided that I needed a hysterectomy (leaving my ovaries due to my age).  The pain continued although in lower intensity.  I continued to look to other doctors to find out what was wrong being that the gyn said it had to be something else.  My gastroenterologist ordered a CT of the pelvic abdomen area and it showed that I had a complex cyst in my left ovary.  I also had a bleeding episode that lasted about 2 days.  I went back to my gyn and she ordered an endo vaginal sonogram 7/20/07 which showed that in fact I had the cyst but that it was in resolution.  The gyn ordered a sonogram 9/6/07 to verify the progression  and it states that now I also have some cysts in my right ovary and that from the last test both cyst are larger today.  The cyst measure 4.7x4.0 right and 5.6x5.8 left.  Can this be the cause of my pain?  Will my ovaries need to be removed??  

[Annekathryn Goodman, M.D.]

Hi There,
You should ask your gyn doctor about what she saw at the time of your surgery for the hysterectomy. If you had signs of endometriosis, you may be having pain from cysts of endometriosis.
Sometimes we like to test this possibility by giving lupron to see if the cysts and pain go away. if they do, then removing your ovaries makes sense.
it does sound like your hormone levels are in the menopausal range.

It is also possible that you have some growing tumors on the ovaries which are painful.

I have a suspicion that you may end up needing your ovaries removed.
best wishes

[santi41]

Forgot to add that my testosterone level is .5 and my estrogen is at 4.98.