Ovarian cyst and lower back and abdomen pain...

[Lynnoakdale]

I was diagnosed with an Ovarian Cyst (1.5cm) about 6 months ago.  The doctor put me on Birth Control in hopes to decrease the size of the cyst and to hopefully thin my uterus lining some because it was very thick.  Over the past few months I have had much pain in my lower back and my monthly cramping has become very intesnse to the point that it is hard to function normally without some strong meds.  The ovary was on my right side and I am due to go back for my second ultrasound the end of this month.  I guess my question is with all this pain I am going thru should I be concerned....or is this normal.  I do not have children and have never been pregnant and I have just turned 32.  I am just confused...if I am not on the pill it is painful when I ovulate when I am on the pill my lower back and right side kill me.  What do I do and what questions should I ask.  The nurse told me that if I didnt go on the pill then they would not do another ultrasound.....WHY?  She sugessted a DNC maybe in the future.  Can someone please shed some light on this for me?

[moxmox]

I was put on the pill after having my cyst removed which grew to 27cm! I had my ovary, cyst, fallopian tube and one and a half feet of bowel removed. When I went for my first scan it was the size of an orange and grew very quickly over the following week or so. I was lucky and recovered quickly from the op. I have had cyst since varying from 1cm to 5cm in size. None of theses have caused me any bother. I feel very lucky as things could of been slot worse! I was warned I could wake up from the op with a  colonstomy bag, thank god that wasn't the case. This was 10yrs ago now, it's certainly something I won't forget.  

[amyloudit]

I am 28 years old and have been dealing with ovarian cysts since I was 15... getting close to half my life now.  While I have had years inbetween each rupture, the last 5 years seem to be getting worse.  I had a 7cm cyst on my left ovary rupture about 5 years ago, at that time when they did the ultrasounds they found a "chocolate" cyst on my right ovary.  They told me (and since I have tlaked to Doctors who have proclaimed this man an idiot) that it is a medical fact that women with ovarian cysts never have more than 2 rupture in their lifetime, this was my third not counting the "chocolate" cyst. I decided not to go through with the surgery he wanted to do because I had talked to other women who went to him for exploratory surgery like he wanted to do with me, and they came out of surgery missing one or both ovaries. I graduated college, and put it behind me, but about 2 weeks ago it has started again. I suspect I have had a couple little ones (1cm is my guess due to the small amount of pain afterward in comparison) rupture, but everytime I go to the OB they tell me they don't see anything or feel anything in the pelvic exam and they just tell me to take Ibuprofen if I feel pain.  2 weeks ago, while sitting in class at my law school I had one rupture on my left side during class.  I went the very next day (1st available appt) to my new OB/GYN and she did an ultra-sound and found a cyst on my right ovary about the size of a small apple she said.  She told me it is a functional cyst and that it is "bleeding into itself" which she said could be painful, but not to worry about it.  She told me just to go get it rescanned in December.  This was all well and good with me because I knew from experience that it would either rupture or shrink up on its own. Now I am worried though because after a few days I was feeling better, no pain for two days straight, figured I was in the clear.  Then all of a sudden last Friday when I got home from classes it happened again, on the left side.  When she did the ultrasound she couldn't even find my left ovary but found something to the left (which really didnt look like anything to me) and said "I think thats your ovary."  I have read horror stories from women whose cyst was so big that they didn't see it all on the ultrasound because it had attached itself to the wall of their abdomens.  I am really scared that this is what happened to me.  In the last two days/three nights I have been having horrific pain in my lower back, one either side at a time, but never both sides.  I was really scared that it could be something wrong with my kidneys, but instinctually convinced myself it was because of the ovary.  I don't know what to do because I've already had Doctors tell me its in my head, that they didn't see anything so there's nothing there.  I'm, unfortunately, an HMO subscriber and don't have choices of doctors to go to.  I go to a large hospital chain where everything's in the computers and they always re-diagnose whatever the previous doctor had done.  They never stray or contradict each other (at least so far in my experience).  I can't study on heavy pain killers, but neither the naproxen nor the ibuprofen are helping with the pain.  I am missing my second day of classes today because of this pain and we're only allowed 4 absenses before being dropped from the class (each class costs about $4000/semester).  The pain in my back seems to be the worst when I'm lying on my side, or walking and radiates straight through my hip joints (which are frequently in pain anyway due to  unrelated issues) and feels like nothing else I've ever felt!  I was seriously starting to think this was all in my head, but now I see many other women with the same pain. What have any of you said to your doctors to get them to realize the severity of this problem and show them that its not just in your heads?

[biochemLady]

Is there any update on your condition?  I am in a very similar situation.  Have been having problems for about 2 years, been told everything like my pain is due to my duodenal ulcer, to it is IBS, to it is just temporary pain from the cyst but over all this time I have consistently had a cyst on my right ovary (and every technique to visualize it, it appears a little larger).  It isn't that big overall though at about 2cm x 2cm.  The frustrating thing for me is that most of my pain is on my left side, especially in my lower back.  It has gotten so bad that I am recently (the last couple weeks) to the point of relying on percocet to get through the day and to sleep at night which I hate because it makes me very constipated which means taking other meds to deal with that.  I should mention I am 35, no children, and I have had colonoscopy due to the fact that there is a family history of colon cancer.  Anyway, I keep having doctors treating me like this is in my head or that I am looking for pain meds which couldn't be further from the truth.  I have only had one surgery in the pelvic area (unless you count colonoscopy and then it is 2) and that surgery was a laparoscopy about 15 years ago so I don't think this is due to that.  I have never had a history of endometriosis or overly painful periods (as far as my pain scale is concerned which I have been told I am pretty tolerant of pain) so I have a hard time believing docs when they suggest that maybe this is due to endometriosis.  Anyway, another gyn appoint. tomorrow and an appt with a specialist to talk about a laparoscopy next week.  I desperately need this pain to end as I have never felt anything like this pain before in my life.  Please update me on what the docs told you and I hope and pray it was all good news!  :)

[EricaMarcum]

You may also have kidney stones they can go from uncomfortable pain, to pain where you need to be sent strait to the er. II get kidney stones alot and what your going through sounds like the same thing to me

[shazy22]

I to have the same problem with lower back pain and it travels down my right leg! Also my lower stomach aches. I have just had a CT scan and it came back with a few cysts on both ovaries (right side has a few more or bigger). The gyno I went to on Friday has put me on the pill for 3 months to try to srink them. I have only been on the pill for 4 days and the pain has gotten way werse and is unbearable. I have had this pain now for alomst 2 years and I am soo over it!!!

[moomanoo]

Can anyone help me with what may be wrong with me?
Continuing on from all my above comments, I have this horrible stitch like pain near my left ovary, and down into my groin. It's worst in the morning before I go to the toilet, but then it's there all day. Everytime I push to go to the toilet, cough or even walk it hurts.
Could this be a cyst, my schiatica coming through to the front, or my IBS (a serious problem with my bowel)?
I am really worried it is something bad, and if it's a cyst, that it could rupture, or if it's a blockage in my bowel, it could rupture (very dangerous).
Does anyone have any suggestions, PLEASE!!!!!!!
I have other problems (one being the month before last, I didn't get my period, and I thought I was pregnant. Pregnancy tests done were negative, and I got my next period, that finished about 4 days ago)
Because of other problems also, I have a gynecologist appointment on Friday, and right before that appointment, I am having a gynecological ultrasound done. I will mention this new problem to her.
I have read though, that it is not common to get a cyst if you are on the contraceptive pill. Does anyone know how true this is? Do my symptoms sound like anyone else's?