Ovarian Cysts

I have a history of ovarian cysts and they are usually on my left but sometimes both and thy're usually never painless. I have such horrible pain with them and I don't want to go in and have them checked because they don't do anything. I've been thinking of just having my left ovary taken out but I'm scared that if I do what if my right ovary doesn't provide enogh eggs to become pregnant in the future? Also how many days are you usually in the hospital recovering and at home?

[Annekathryn Goodman, M.D.]

Hi There,

Before you start planning on surgery, you really should undergo an evaluation to understand why you have pain. The pelvic area is a complex region. Many organs live there: bladder, uterus, fallopian tubes, ovaries, rectum, nerves, bones, hip joints.

Pain can be complex. The first thing to do is to keep a pain diary and track your pain with activity, periods, diet, sex, bowel movements, voiding.

It may be that it is ovarina pain related to something like enodmetriosis
or it could be that you have had an old infection and have pain from a fallopian tube that is blocked
or you could have something like interstitial cystitis and are having bladde pain and so on.

Go see your doctor after you have kept a pain diary. You need a good pelvic exam, urine specimen to check for infection, cervical cultures to check for sexually transmitted diseases, a pap smear, a rectal exam.

best wishes