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Earlier this year I fell incredibly ill with a ruptured tubo-ovarian cyst in my right ovary. The cyst had become infected, burst and caused my body to go into septic shock. I made a recovery, after having a laparotomy to remove the now useless ovary. I was induced into a coma for six days too to help my body recover as my organs began to fail.

Now, 10 months on, I'm finding myself in constant pain. It's not a stinging pain, it's a very dull, achey pain in my lower abdomen, very much like stomach cramps. I've had these now for over a month and I went to my doctor two weeks ago who said that it may be a result of me coming off of the pill (the reason I came off was because my body was not agreeing with it, I'm not sexually active right now so it's not a concern for me!). I'm feeling incredibly unwell and lethargic, achey and tired constantly. I have headaches, I'm spotting (which, again, my doctor believes is due to coming off of the pill and my hormones returning to normal) and I can feel it in my back. It feels like I'm full. Like right now I am hungry but I feel as if I eat something I will feel uncomfortable.

Now, I can't say I know from experience what it feels like to have a cyst as previously when I had one, I was also going through a termination as I found out I was pregnant but it was unfortunately ectopic. As a result of this, one of the nurses in the A+E told me that he believed the pain I was suffering was "psychological", probably as a result of me going through trauma with the termination. I did genuinely think the pain I was experiencing was a result of the termination as the lady who treated me stated that I would feel uncomfortable cramping for up to 4 weeks, and it was only week 3 when I was rushed to hospital.

Again, I'm also scared that they'll tell me its come back and I need further surgery as I don't want this to go on for the rest of my life. I'm 21. I nearly died this year, I don't want me only option to be that I have to have my entire reproductive system removed in order to live a normal life.

Any advice would be amazing! Thank you!!
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Avatar universal
COMMUNITY LEADER
Sorry for what you have been through. If you do have another cyst, you should not need your ovary removed IF you have a surgeon with good cystectomy (cyst removal) skills. It is a shame that you lost one ovary already especially since keeping only a small piece is usually enough for it to regenerate and produce a normal level of hormones. And you surely should not need your uterus or tubes removed. Unless of course you have cancer but gynecologic cancers (ovarian, endometrial, cervical) are all quite rare if you do not have a predisposition / family history. Ovarian cysts are common and rarely require intervention as they typically go away on their own.

The ovaries are essential for WAY more than having babies. The ovaries produce hormones into a woman's 80's if she has all her parts. These hormones are essential to the health of every cell in the body.

Female organ removal is grossly overused in the U.S. as well as some other countries. So please do your research about the lifelong functions of the female organs and the alarmingly high statistics of unnecessary removal of the female sex organs (hysterectomy, oophorectomy).

Whatever is going on, I hope it is nothing serious. Birth control pills may help to keep cysts from forming.
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Avatar universal
It does sound as though you may have a cyst. The symptoms are spot on. Please try not to worry too much, most cysts do not cause the horrible complications you went through before.  You need an ultrasound to figure out if you have one...or they may do a CT scan because of your history.  Call your doctor and get in as soon as you can. Hope all goes well.
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