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Septated ovarian cysts along with multiple other pains
I have had irregular periods for a couple of years now, with no apparent cause, along with multiple other symptoms. (I'm only 42). I recently lost a dear friend to ovarian cancer and when I described to her what was happening with me lately, she made me promise to go get checked out. Well, she was right. I had an t/v ultrasound done on 11/1 which showed: "The left ovary is enlarged and appears replaced by multiple cysts, with thick, somewhat irregular intervening septations. The largest cyst measures approx. 2.3 x 1.9 x 2.5" (This is larger than my "normal" right ovary which is 2.0 x 1.4 x 2.0). Naturally, after losing my friend, I was terrified. I have had unexplained GI problems and my GI doctor (who can't find a cause) ran a CT scan on 11/6 which showed a "3.1 x 5.5 cm adnexal cyst" (double the size less than a week later). He seemed "anxious" to get it removed right away. Well, I have been to 2 separate GYNs and they both have told me this is nothing to worry about and both want me to wait 4 weeks to "see what happens." From the research I've seen, its a LOT to worry about and I think this should be removed and biopsied right away! My symptoms include (and are worsening each day) extreme indigestion, nausea (24/7) unexplained upper abdominal pain, lower back pain, pain and numbness in my thighs, lower abdominal pain, no menstruation (although a slight amount of vaginal bleeding).
HELP!!!!
HELP!!!!
Hey you all....
I was reading your comments......about the pains and discomforts.
Is that true about the fast growing cyst tend to be benign......cause I feel like my cyst is growing...I feel alot of discomfort in my lower left quad.....with pain radiating down into my groin..I was laying on my left side with a pillow between my legs....(which I do this every night) because of a bad back......and was not getting any relief.....Do I tell my Dr.? Or will he just think its in my head....I only have till the 19th of Dec.....that is when i am having my surgery...
I am having a lap....he is doin a total.........but now i am thinking of maybe just removing the left ovary.....can they tell when the ovary is removed if it has CA along with a biospy....then do the total while i am still under if the ovary has ca......just a thought......
I was reading your comments......about the pains and discomforts.
Is that true about the fast growing cyst tend to be benign......cause I feel like my cyst is growing...I feel alot of discomfort in my lower left quad.....with pain radiating down into my groin..I was laying on my left side with a pillow between my legs....(which I do this every night) because of a bad back......and was not getting any relief.....Do I tell my Dr.? Or will he just think its in my head....I only have till the 19th of Dec.....that is when i am having my surgery...
I am having a lap....he is doin a total.........but now i am thinking of maybe just removing the left ovary.....can they tell when the ovary is removed if it has CA along with a biospy....then do the total while i am still under if the ovary has ca......just a thought......
Thank you all for your comments. I seems like we are all in the same boat. MickeyVicki, I'm so sorry to hear of the loss of your friend. It a terrible thing to go through....I know. I was with Anne for the last 5 days of her life in the hospital. It was heartwrenching and now, terrifying. Her husband told me to call her gyn oncologist because "he's not going through this again." So....I did. I have an appointment with him on Thursday, but he too thinks because of the apparent fast growth, that I don't have anything to worry about, but he is going to see me anyway. He is a little concerned because of the septations, so we will soon see. I will let you all know how I make out. Good luck to all of you. My thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Karen
Karen
Geez, please excuse my spelling errors or missing letters in that last post! My cat was "helping" me.
I am by no way an expert, by I have been researching a lot! Your symptoms, expecially the vaginal bleeding appear to me, to be something that you wouldn't want to use the "wait and see" approach. I hope that we get some other comments, because I feel that we shouldn't have to deal with this pain or wait and see what happens, we should be allowed to insist to have the cyst removed especially if it is causing daily pain and discomfort. I am finished having children so if it meant having to take my ovary and/or fallopian tube I am okay with that too. I have been having several problems the past year and 1/2 with possible cervical cancer, so I am prepared to have a complete hysterectomy if my next pap is irregular again. I've been through enough procedures and I'm not going to go through more, especially when I know I am not going to have any more children. Uterine cancer runs in my family, all the more reason I want to insist to have the cyst removed! If I were you I would definitely push the issue harder, there is no way to know for sure if it is cancer or not without removing the cyst and testing the tissue. Good luck!
Your post really brings back the memories of this very time last year. So much so that it was just creepy to read it! I was about to turn 42, had the SAME set of symptoms as you, and had lost a friend my own age to ovca about a month before my symptoms really became bad.
If I am reading your post correctly, then your cyst and/or cysts are growing rapidly. That happened to me as well. My cyst was an endometrioma. These cysts, like dermoid cysts, can grow FAST. Fortunately, both cysts are most commonly benign.
Basically, the symptoms for benign and for malignant ovarian masses (whether cyst or tumor) are the same, and the only way to determine if the mass is cancer or not is to surgically inspect it.
My cyst was removed last December, and it was benign. I was told just before my surgery, while discussing my situation with nurses that - in their experiences - the faster growing ovarian cyst tend to be benign. One reason that ovca is such a "silent killer" is that it grow slowly with few symptoms until it has spread all over the abdomen.
Oh, by the way, the irregular menstrual cycles so common at our age are usually due to "perimenopause." It is normal to be abnormal, so to speak.
If I am reading your post correctly, then your cyst and/or cysts are growing rapidly. That happened to me as well. My cyst was an endometrioma. These cysts, like dermoid cysts, can grow FAST. Fortunately, both cysts are most commonly benign.
Basically, the symptoms for benign and for malignant ovarian masses (whether cyst or tumor) are the same, and the only way to determine if the mass is cancer or not is to surgically inspect it.
My cyst was removed last December, and it was benign. I was told just before my surgery, while discussing my situation with nurses that - in their experiences - the faster growing ovarian cyst tend to be benign. One reason that ovca is such a "silent killer" is that it grow slowly with few symptoms until it has spread all over the abdomen.
Oh, by the way, the irregular menstrual cycles so common at our age are usually due to "perimenopause." It is normal to be abnormal, so to speak.
I am so glad that I am not the only one that feels this way. Today is one of the days that I am feeling the worst so I guess I am really gripping a lot. I am a working, single mother, going to school full-time and can't afford to be sick like this. I am calling my doctor today, to find out if she's received the US results yet. Luckily for me, my gyn is a woman and has had a cyst before that ruptured and she said to me before the cat scan that she would never want me to go through what she went through. She said it was the worst pain she had ever been through in her life. So hopefully she'll be in agreement with me and let me have it removed without having to wait. I'll keep everyone posted.
Connie, I hope my comments to you are ok...I was reading your comments on one of the postings and I noticed that you said you have a 10cm cyst and the doctor is telling you to "wait and see"! I am not telling you this to scare you by no means..Everyone is different...However....On October 12th I went to the ER with abdominal pain long story short found I had a large 10cm cyst on my left ovary (only ovary I've got!!! Had hysterectomy 8 yrs ago) Anyway went to Ob/Gyn next day..And was scheduled for surgery the day after! The cyst was too big to be removed laproscopically, through the belly button, so it needed to be removed through a bikini cut. ANyway, and here's the reason I am writing you...I came home from the hospital and found I couldn't eat anything...I'd take two bites of anything, a darn cracker and I felt full...then I started vomiting. LOTS! To the point of dehydration. Went back to ER they gave me fluids and sent me home...two more days of the same...no eating and lots of vomiting I ended up back in the ER. Finally someone decided to do a few more tests and they found that the cyst, which by the way was 10cm x 20cm, had done alot of other damage to other organs of my body. I ended up in the hospital for another 17 days, only with IV fluids and antibiotics for about 15 of those days and then finally they did another surgery which ended up being a bowel resection. They had to remove 1 foot of my small intestine because of that cyst!! I had to wait because I had just had a major surgery...I'm home now..recovering slowly, but I needed to write to you so you cn make the right decision for yourself and not these doctors. Normally I would not say much...I've had all kinds and sizes when it comes to cysts...I've had them rupture and need emergeny surgery because of the blood loss, I've had numerous ones removed laproscopically and then I'v e had so many of them that we just let run their course and my body absorb them on it's own. But when I hear of someone having a large cyst like this and they want to wait...well it scares me...please, go get a second or third opinion. And please let me know how you make out. I'll keep you n my thoughts...Sandy
Well, your comments are well taken! I am scared just thinking about this whole thing. Why are they telling me to wait? Do these things go away? If not, why wait? Let's get them out!
I know that if you have growth on both ovaries and they turn out to be cancerous , you're not considered Stage 1 anymore. So I wait 3 months, and then find out I'm an advanced stage if it is cancerous??? What's up with that?? Why don't they do a PET scan with ovaries? I'm very confused. Anyway, imagine if it was a man and he had indigestion constantly, had to pee twice every hour ( even in bed), was nauseous, and couldn't have sex. Do you think they'd wait 3 months?? I doubt it and I'm no male basher. I have an appt. with another Dr. on 11/21.
Thanks for your comments, even if they're scarey! I appreciate it.
I know that if you have growth on both ovaries and they turn out to be cancerous , you're not considered Stage 1 anymore. So I wait 3 months, and then find out I'm an advanced stage if it is cancerous??? What's up with that?? Why don't they do a PET scan with ovaries? I'm very confused. Anyway, imagine if it was a man and he had indigestion constantly, had to pee twice every hour ( even in bed), was nauseous, and couldn't have sex. Do you think they'd wait 3 months?? I doubt it and I'm no male basher. I have an appt. with another Dr. on 11/21.
Thanks for your comments, even if they're scarey! I appreciate it.
I had a 10cm cyst in February/March and if you are exp the same pain I did - I would strangle a doctor if they would have said "wait and see"... they scheduled me for the LAP the very next day. They only found it because I called my reg doctor and thought I had a kidney infection - they did a CAT and saw the large cyst. I was sick and in pain. Good Luck - please keep us posted on this.
I have a 10mm cyst and a 3 cm cyst.My regular Dr. and my Gyno say I should just wait 3 mos and take the tests again. I don't really understand that either. I'm postmenopausal (52), have cramping , lower back pain and cannot have sex because it's painful. I have indigestion and gas constantly and the consensus is "no big deal". I could understand if I was a regular hypochondriac maybe they wouldn't take my symptoms seriously but other than my annual exam, this is the first time I've even called my gyno in the last 4 years. Well, we'll certainly see..
I understand...............I have been having abdominal cramping and dull back pains............and my G I doctor said last week all my tests came back normal expect for a small size cyst on my right ovary. I just got back from my GYN today thats acting like it's no big deal, it's too small to cause the pain Im having. But doing the research shows that the symptoms Im having could be related to the cyst.... WHAT'S WRONG WITH THESE DOCTORS !!!!!!????????????
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