Having a Laparoscopy on Dec 1

[Fizzy777]

Hi,
I just joined after finding this site through google. What a great place!

I'm 45 and have never had children. I've always had very regular periods, but had some spotting 2 weeks early back in August. I was also feeling ill and had a lot of mucous build up in my throat. These things are probably unrelated. It turns out I had a UTI but that didn't explain the spotting. My doctor sent me for a pelvic and transvaginal ultrasound to see if it was just menopause kicking in early. They found some small "normal" cysts on my right ovary, and a 5.5cm cystic mass on my left. Follow-up ultrasounds showed no change.

Last month I was referred to a gynocologist who has scheduled me for surgery Dec 1. She said this whole thing will likely be more of a nuisance than anything else for me, and the risks are less than 1% that it would be CA. I'm still really nervous because my mom died of colon cancer 10 years ago and I've read that makes me a higher risk for Ov Ca. She said she will remove the cystic structure and hopefully leave the ovary (but that may have to go as well), and it should all be able to be done with laprascopic surgery. They will biopsy while they're doing it.

I've never had any type of surgery before and I've been having panic attacks over this (which is very unusual for me). I'm scared about what they might find... but I'm also scared about how I'll feel afterwards. I should be home the same day (if everything is ok) but I keep thinking, what if I have to go back to the hospital? Our emergency room waits here (Toronto) are usually about 5+ hours (probably more these days with the H1N1). If I know exactly how I'll feel after, I won't panic and rush to the hospital... so I'm here trying to find out exactly what I might feel after this type of surgery, will there be bleeding, etc. ... what is normal? I also have lower back problems, so I'm worried about lying down afterwards and not being able to get back up, or not being able to rest. I have difficulty lying on my back for prolonged periods of time.

And yes... I'm a REALLY BIG WIMP!

Thanks :)

[Fizzy777]

I'm glad to hear you're recovering so well and quickly! I'm fortunate to work at home... although I have told my clients that I wont be working for at least a week (maybe 2).

I hope that my recovery goes as well as yours is going! I've got my pre-op assessment on Friday, if I can make it there without an anxiety attack!

[Fizzy777]

I just got the results of another transvaginal ultrasound and my cystic structure has grown a bit. Here I was hoping it had shrunk or disappeared :(

The last ultrasound was done in September and the structure was about 6.4cm x 5.5cm x 4.4. The ultrasound I had last week shows 7.1 x 6.2 x 4.8. To me, it doesn't seem like it's grown too much I guess in the last 1.5 months. What do you think? My surgery is Dec 1 and I'm really in panic mode as the date gets closer.

Thanks :)

[paracelsus51]

Wow, aren't those scans fun? I had a CT scan first to find the what was wrong and then a month later a trans-vaginal ultrasound. The cyst got bigger. I think the hormone pills feed it. Mine was only 3.2 cm and was intolerable. They didn't give me the three dimensional measurements. I go in tomorrow afternoon for my post-op and stitch removal. I will also get to see my pictures. I have them take pictures so I can see what went on. I also get an op report. I am a bit of a control freak that way. I don't want to be conscious for any part of it, but I want to know what happened while I was out.

I know you want to freak out at the thought of the unknown, but try to think about what exactly how the cysts are affecting you and don't make or break on the fear. For me, I have spent the last several months sleeping flat on my back because I couldn't lay on either side. I would have pains in my side, back, hips and abdomen. I would have back spasms from sleeping on my back, which would wake me up at night, so I wasn't getting enough sleep. After visiting the doctor and being palpated, my side would just HURT for a couple days. I could barely carry anything. Forget working out. When he told me the cyst didn't shrink and that we needed to go in and cut it out. I told him no and that I'd like to try the pills for another month to see what happened. The next morning I could hardly walk into work I hurt so much and made the call. The night I had surgery I slept on my side and was fine. As I said, it just amazes me how much something so small would cause such annoyance.

Are you having any symptoms? What problems are you having? Even if you aren't having much, if the cyst bursts, then you are in for days of massive pain, nausea and cramping. The whole cyst thing seems to be a no win situation. I've googled for everything cyst and really haven't found anything. That is unless you want to buy a book that tells you to eat no meat, drink lots of water and green tea and the cysts will disappear like magic.

[Fizzy777]

Hi! Yup those scans are so much fun :(  When I had my first one, the woman asked my age and I said 45. Then she asked if I was a virgin (they can't do the internal scan here if you are). I thought geez, do I look that bad today?!?! LOL  I guess it's not so much the size of the cyst as the location, if you were in so much pain! Are you feeling a lot better now? I mean is all the pain you were feeling before all gone?

I don't think I've had any real symptoms from the cysts. I had the first scan just so the doc could see if my uterus was shedding (in case I was in early menopause so she could get me some hormone pills). She wasn't even going to bother,... I had one irregular period and that was it, but I was feeling ill (turned out to be a UTI). I do remember one night in June and one in July when I was in agony, grabbing my stomach around the area where my cysts are (before I knew they were there), but I thought it was just something I ate (a HUGE spinach salad) or really really bad gas! It went away so I never thought about it again. Now I guess I can have spinach again! :)

Now I'm having symptoms that are likely anxiety I guess. I can feel a little discomfort where the cysts are (not pain though), but that's it. Other than that, I'm having breathing problems (anxiety?) nausea (anxiety?) knee pain (probably unrelated). I've had lower back problems for 20 years due to a car accident, so that's probably not related, and it hasn't been to bad lately. One thing that has changed is (sorry) bowel movements. For the last 10 years I've probably had 2 normal BMs a year (usually very liquidy) (sorry again). Had a colonoscopy. Everything was fine and they said I probably had IBS. The last 2 weeks I've been normal! I don't know if it's because of the cysts or if it's because I've stopped drinking coffee. Coffee seems to affect my breathing (anxiety again?).

The biggest way the cysts are affecting me is they are making me freak out and panic. I'm afraid to leave the house in case I have a panic attack. I wish the surgery was tomorrow!!! Only 1.5 weeks to go!

Eat no meat? Noooooooooo... I need my burgers! I guess I'll stick with the surgery lol  

When I'm honest with myself, I know I'm just panicing over all this for nothing, but I guess part of it is because of what I went through with my mom. 10 years ago she had colon cancer which they thought radiation would get rid of. Instead she was rushed to the hospital with peritonitis after her last treatment and passed away there a month later. I have this fear of going into the hospital and never coming home. I know it's silly, but I can't seem to shake the fear.

I think it's cool that you get the see the pictures! Are you posting them online? lol... it sure would liven up facebook a bit :)

Good luck with the post-op and getting your stitches out tomorrow! :)

Fizzy

[Fizzy777]

I'm back with a question...

I've been feeling nauseous and more tired than usual, and I'm not sure if this is a symptom of the cysts or anxiety. Can my complex cysts cause nausea? I'm hoping so because then I can feel normal again after they're removed. I don't see nausea in the symptom list though. I feel worse after eating and have to eat slowly or my breathing gets difficult (which my GP says is anxiety). I dont have pain... my cysts are sort of telling me they're there, but it's not painful. I'm having upper back pain but figure this is anxiety. Arggghhh I wish I knew which symptoms belonged to which condition! :)

[paracelsus51]

Yep, I guess they can cause heartburn too, which is bad, since I all ready have GERD. I also found after my hysterectomy that my diarrhea pretty much went away. I have other GI issues. I've inherited every single problem I could from my mom's side of the family. Probiotics work well for me in helping reduce symptoms. Any twisting or movement or being poked could set off pain from the cysts.

Not that I am an expert, and hopefully after this I will have no more issues. They can cause no end of symptoms. The symptoms are quite diverse. Basically you won't know for sure what symptoms the cysts are causing until they are gone.

I got my stitches out. That was unpleasant, kind of stung. It was a whiny thing over in a couple minutes. They didn't have my pictures. They promised they would get them for me. I will call back in a week or so to remind them. It's better if the doctor can point out what you are looking at, so maybe he will make notes.

I guess I had adhesions. I had a total abdominal hysterectomy four years ago and a lapband put in this summer. So, my right side healed really well and my left side not so much. The cyst formed probably because the ovary was stuck and it couldn't pop. They cleaned up all they could without starting a bunch of internal bleeding. Right after surgery I felt so much better.

Really with all the scans and tests, they still can't tell what's really going on until they go in and look. Try to not think of this as the same as your mom. You are going in for something that should be simple and improve your life. As surgeries go, it's not bad at all. If you are having panic attacks, you might think about getting something from the doctor to take in the short term. I had to wait a month for my surgery date. I wish I had done it earlier for all the relief I've gotten. I just so wanted those pills to work. This will be good for you in the end. The stress of waiting is much worse than the recovery part. Just remember don't be afraid to ask questions or repeat questions.