abnormal period after cyst removal...

[letyespinoza]

hi, i'm new to this site and am very glad i found it.  i had a 5 cm cyst removed from my right ovary and a 2 cm from my left ovary on jan. 13.  the doctor said he had to remove part of the ovary and the fallopian tube.  after the surgery i had a little spotting for about 1 1/2 week.  very light.  i got rid of that, but right around the 2nd or 3rd of feb. i started what at first seemed like a regular period but it hasn't gone away yet.  i'm sorry i'm going to be so descriptive but i have a lot of blood clots come out and the first two weeks was really really heavy.  the doctor has now prescriped some sort of hormones and it's not that heavy anymore but still won't go away.  is this normal?  has anyone experienced this before?  i'm worried sick.  i appreciate any response.

[Krull1]

Welcome! I don't have any info for you but give the ladies a chance to see your post and they will give you great insight!!
Just hang in there and take care. God Bless!

[MickeyVicki]

As long as you have one functioning ovary, then you should still have something that resembles a normal monthly cycle.  Did your doctor do any tests to determine your hormone levels?  Has bloodwork been done to determine other endocrine levels?

[letyespinoza]

almost a year before my surgery i had some bloodwork done and was told that my estrogen level was way below a menopausic (sorry about the spelling) women.  i was also told after a vaginal ultrasound that i had endometrosis.  all of this by different doctors.  the doctor who did my surgery has not said anything about any of this.  what should i do?  what does my estrogen level being so low mean?  what is endometrosis?

[JGMom]

Endometriosis is when cells like those normally found in your uterine lining are outside of there.  They can respond to monthly fluctuations in hormones just like your uterine lining does.  So when they bleed during your period, it can really hurt since it is not where it is supposed to be.  It isn't atypical to find endometriosis cysts on your ovaries.  You could ask your Dr what the pathology is on the cysts they removed.  They should be able to tell you if they were endometriomas.  Also, you could ask him if he saw other signs of endo when he did the lap.  It can be quite painful (even milder cases - sometimes they are more painful than severe cases) and it can cause abnormal bleeding and clots.  It is difficult to control. Sometimes if the Dr sees it all when doing a lap, they can remove large growths and laser the other smaller implants.  Other therapies that people try are birth control pills (to stop the monthly hormone flux) and putting you into artificial menopause (again to stop the monthly cyclic hormone flux).  A couple other Drs are addressing it more as an autoimmune disease and using immune therapy for it (though what they are using is not light-duty either).   I had endometriosis (and maybe have it again????) and had a cyst on my ovary.  I had bleeding like you describe w/ my periods- though I had not had surgery just weeks before.  After the cyst was removed and the other implants cleaned up, I was finally able to get pregnant and this seemed to have killed it - at least for several years.  I'm not sure what is going on w/ me now - if it is that again or not, so can't speak to recurrence once it seems to be gone.  Some times too it seems like our bodies just have to readjust after being put through the ringer and stress and maybe the heavy bleeding is just that?  Does your Dr think it is unrelated to the surgery?

Also, I was told years ago that I had possible premature ovarian failure b/c of my hormone levels.  But once I got the ovary cyst out, that straightened out and I went on to have normal periods for 12 more years.  NOw once again I am told I am having menopause (w/o symptoms other than missed period???) and  - surprise! - I have another cyst.  So, not sure what to think about that.  My estrogen and testosterone are normal for non-menopausal women, but my FSH and LH are more like someone post-menopausal.  It is all quite confusing.

I just keep asking questions of my Dr and ask for lab and pathology reports and radiology reports so I can try to get answers elsewhere if the Dr doesn't know or what he is telling me doesn't seem right on a gut level.  Good luck!

[letyespinoza]

thank you for your response.  my doctor told me that the bleeding is due to the hormonal levels going back to normal and also because he did take a portion of my right ovary that it is healing.  we'll see.  god bless you all.