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first cyst and scared
by ec82, Nov 05, 2009 10:27AM
i just got my diagnosis on tuesday, that i have a "pretty big" cyst on my right ovary from an ultrasound result. i didn't know what to ask my doctor about, at the time, and was just in shock. so i didn't get to ask what kind of cyst it seemed to be-- solid, fluid-filled, or a mix of both? or if it has irregular borders? yesterday, when i got my blood drawn (presumably the ca-125 test), i also picked up my MRI referral form for next week, and saw the size as "9 cm" and "ovarian mass." no mention of ascites or anything else?!
now i'm dreading finding out, wondering if i should call my doctor and ask what kind of cyst it was? would a cyst of my size immediately warrant checking with an MRI, or was it because my cyst might have seemed solid or partly solid? if my cyst were to have been fluid-filled, would a doc usually do a watch-and-wait method instead of doing an MRI? half of me wants to know more about the ultrasound findings and the other half doesn't want to know. my symptoms for the past few months have been bloating in lower abdomen, gassiness, constipation, frequent urination, and frequent, white vaginal discharge. i'm worried about my last symptom-- do women with benign cysts sometimes have weird discharge, too? and if i had ascites my entire stomach would be bulging/distended-- not just my lower abdomen which never has been flat but is a bit more "speed bump" in appearance than it has used to be, this year.
now i'm dreading finding out, wondering if i should call my doctor and ask what kind of cyst it was? would a cyst of my size immediately warrant checking with an MRI, or was it because my cyst might have seemed solid or partly solid? if my cyst were to have been fluid-filled, would a doc usually do a watch-and-wait method instead of doing an MRI? half of me wants to know more about the ultrasound findings and the other half doesn't want to know. my symptoms for the past few months have been bloating in lower abdomen, gassiness, constipation, frequent urination, and frequent, white vaginal discharge. i'm worried about my last symptom-- do women with benign cysts sometimes have weird discharge, too? and if i had ascites my entire stomach would be bulging/distended-- not just my lower abdomen which never has been flat but is a bit more "speed bump" in appearance than it has used to be, this year.
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9 cm is big no matter what type it is. Usually surgery gets recommend based on size alone but they also like to know more about its structure, too. You have plenty of the classic cyst symptoms and those alone should make you want to have it removed. So far it just sounds like the doctor wants more information to make the best decision on your behalf.
Are you in the US or another country? We see different diagnostic habits from doctors of different specialties and doctors from different countries.
I know you are afraid to know more, but you are entitled to that information. It's your body and at some point you may be involved in the decision process on what to do next, once your doctor makes some kind of recommendation.
and yes, i did have a US atop the stomach and a transvaginal one, too. i'm really paranoid that since i had a fair bit of gas/constipation that day (embarrassing) and they had a hard time looking things over, like, what if they missed something else?
i'm just terrified because i didn't know much about ovarian cysts and after hearing from my doc that it was "big" and seeing the size on my MRI referral form, i started becoming more worried!! i don't know the structure or if it's solid, fluid, or complex(? mix of two?) .... it's a decision between "mentally prepping" myself for the worst instead of having it hit me or if not knowing and ignoring it to get through my work and daily activities up until the MRI will make it better? i just feel so stupid for having been a smoker for that long, and that it's made my chances of having a ...bad cyst...even worse. i don't have fatigue or nausea , but just the weird discharge and the GI and stool/urinary problems. but since you said that those were classic symptoms, i do feel a bit better at work where i am now ....
Anyway, Just wanted to say you are not alone with your symptoms.
initially, i was more worried about the prospect of having surgery, but the next day, i realized i had to worry more about the type of cyst inside me.
*****i have an update: i was a weepy mess waiting for my doc to call me back this morning and i have finally talked to her.
she said that mine was a complex 9 cm cyst (argh, not the fluid-filled) with some "calcification" and no blood flow. that the radiologist thought it was a dermoid. and that it will have to come out (here we go, surgery) . and that i have ANOTHER ("bilateral cysts") one on my left ovary :( but that it's way smaller than this 9 cm one she is concerned about.
but from reading the other posts on this forum, i had some reassurance that still, a lot of complex ones can be benign. she also said that there wasn't any sign of "blood flow" or hypervascularity. i guess that's good news ...that the thing inside of me isn't feeding on my blood (?) that would be a warning sign of a possibly-cancerous cyst. i really hope my U/S was easy to read or that they were pretty sure about it not showing any blood flow or anything indicating possible cancer? she said
they'd try for the minimally-invasive surgery but i'm assuming that the MRI will help them make the final decision?
now i'm wondering if a laparoscopy could be done for both dermoids, because i don't want to be worried about the small one on my left ovary growing or anything, in the future. or if i might need the bigger surgery? i just hope that the MRI results don't differ significantly from the results of my U/S??