Ovarian Cysts

[every_mothers_lover]

I have been told that an ovarian cyst is usually the reason for a period or something like that.

I have a friend that has one that hasnt gone away and was told that she will probably need an operation.

what are some side effects of Ovarian Cysts, and also the effects of after having operations to remove them.

 

[SweetErika]

Ovarian cysts are very common, and usually women don't know they have them because they are asymptomatic. They generally form when the woman ovulates, but can occur without ovulation (e.g. when the woman is on the pill). Apart from maybe being more likely to rupture during menstruation, I don't know what they could have to do with periods.

Sometimes the cysts get very large and start causing pain or other problems, or there is concern about the likely effect of them rupturing (e.g. severe, prolonged pain) or what they consist of. That's when surgery is often suggested. From what I understand, it's usually done laparoscopically and isn't too major.

I had surgery for a ruptured ovarian cyst that was misdiagnosed as appendicitis in 1998. Having a small amount of blood (about 1/2 cup) in my abdomen was enough to produce the severe pain, nausea, inability to move well and blood results that usually accompany an appendix that's on the verge of rupturing. Due to the incompetence of small town doctors, they had to do a more major surgery instead of the smaller laparoscopic procedure, so I can't comment on how the latter feels.

Your friend should research ovarian cysts (google it) and seek a second or third opinion from a gynecologist, if she's concerned at all. If she doesn't have a computer, let her use yours or print out some good info for her. That'd be a much smarter course of action than relying on you to pass on info from random people on the internetS.

 

[albertaboy]

My wife had one removed 20 years ago, she went to the Doc before we tried getting pregnant, he found it the size of a tennis ball on a Wednesday and it was gone by Friday. Due to the size he was concerned it was malignant, evrything turned out OK.

 

[PublicAffection]

I have an issue with ovarian cysts - one side effect of having them build up over time is that they can completely block off the fallopian tube which makes it more difficult to get pregnant (they can keep the egg from passing through the tube into the uterus), and when you do get pregnant causes a greater chance that the egg will attach & grow into the fallopian tube which can be a very dangerous situation.

 

[pplwatching]

It may have been a typo, but just in case it's not, the cysts don't cause the period. They can be one reason why it won't stop the way it usually does with her normal cycle.

I don't know your friend's situation or how big her cysts are, but like Erika IMHO a second opinion is always a good idea prior to choosing surgery. Your friend's doctor may have already done all of this, but the first thing our Md wanted to rule out was thyroid problems, because that gland can cause side effects like ovarian cysts. Her medical opinion was that sometimes fixing thyroid problems caused the cysts to shrink.

The doctor's other option was that hormonal birth control in strong doses could be a first approach, used to essentially starve the cyst and shrink it. We are most likely done having kids, and one option was to fix the problem surgically and sterilize my wife at the same time (leaving the ovaries intact). Either way she wanted to do a Hysteroscopy first, just to rule out other problems and one was scheduled for next week.

Things didn't exactly go according to plan, however. My wife is going through this right now. She was having longer than normal periods with less and less time between them. An ultrasound led to the cyst diagnosis. At the time of her last appointment her period appeared to have been ending.

In the last two months she had 2 week periods two weeks apart. Last month it lasted almost three weeks and then started again two days after the OBGYN appointment and the cramping and bleeding were much worse. Her OBGYN referred us to the ER because she has been losing so much blood for such a long time, the Dr was worried about anemia. At that point my wife was basically hemorrhaging. They gave her massive doses of hormonal BC to try to stop the bleeding and sent us home.

The bleeding did not stop, so she was scheduled for a DNC two days ago. The surgeon removed a large polyp and a couple of smaller ones from inside of her uterus. The bleeding has finally stopped. So, while she does have a cyst there are a lot of women who have them and in our case it wasn't the immediate problem.

The DNC was Monday so we'll just have to wait and see. The polyps would have been found during the hysteroscopy. There is a chance that the cysts may still turn out to be a problem or need to be dealt with. Time will tell.

I wish your friend good luck.

 

[SweetErika]

PPlwatching, have you gone to a doc who's very knowledgeable about PCOS, such as someone who specializes in reproductive endocrinology? A lot of your wife's symptoms sound suspiciously like PCOS to me.

I managed my cysts/PCOS with monophasic birth control pills (the lowest dose was all my body could handle and DID control the cysts) and Metformin for several years. I came off of the BC in 2003 because I sensed my body needed a break, and have stuck with just the 2000mg of Metformin daily ever since. That, along with diet and natural supplements, has done a fair job of controlling the disease. I still get cysts, but my cycle and periods are fairly regular and light, I'm ovulating and I've been able to get pregnant easily (I miscarried, but that was likely a result of not being on enough thyroid meds).

Anyway, it's something to look into. As I'm sure you know, these conditions can be hard to pin down, and often occur in groups, so it's often difficult to tell which condition is truly causing which symptom(s) or is the source of the current problems.

You guys have my sympathies, and I hope you're able to get everything in order soon.

 

[pplwatching]

Thanks for your kind thoughts. I am not sure what a PCOS is, but we have an appointment at the OBGYN tomorrow because my wife is having dizzy spells and headaches, which go with the anemia, so I will ask.

 

[an_angels_wings]

PCOS stands for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. I was diagnosed with this when I was 13 and have been on birth control ever since. Many doctors now believe that PCOS is caused by insulin resistance (or something like it) which throws off your body's hormonal levels. I had an elevated testosterone level when first diagnosed, which was treated with Spironolactone. However, since the insulin resistance correlation, I was put on Metformin, but hated the side effects (lots of unpleasant stomach issues). But I am considering going back on it because I have gained a lot of weight over the past several months.

I had a cyst removed when I was 16 that was a little bigger than a tennis ball. They tried to do it laproscopically, but my fallopian tube was wrapped around it so they needed to cut me open. However, I recently had my gall bladder removed laproscopically and it was MUCH nicer than being cut open. There is pain and tenderness on the inside (plus sometimes still some air inside that needs to be displaced), but you recover much more quickly than open surgery.

Anyway, I've more heard of the problem with PCOS of NOT having a period at all ... so your wife's bleeding too much sounds very suspicious to me. I hope that her condition improves and will pray for her health and recovery.

 

[SweetErika]

However, since the insulin resistance correlation, I was put on Metformin, but hated the side effects (lots of unpleasant stomach issues). But I am considering going back on it because I have gained a lot of weight over the past several months.

What dose of metformin did you start on? Did you always take it with good meals? How long were you on it? Did you try Glucophage XR?

Starting on 500mg, or a similar lower dose, with a full meal, then titrating up to 1500-2000mg/day (the gold standard for PCOS is 1000mg twice a day, with breakfast and dinner, but some do 500mg three times a day with meals) minimizes gastrointestinal problems for most people. Glucophage XR is also often a lot better for GI problems, but as far as I know, there isn't a generic equivalent yet, so it can be spendy, depending on your insurance situation.

I started on the XR, then switched to 500mg of Metformin twice a day. I didn't have much of a problem with the transition, provided I took it with a good meal. Then I researched and learned 1000mg twice a day was the gold standard, and my doc agreed we should try that. I went through like 3 weeks of serious stomach pain, nausea and diarrhea, and the weird thing was that I was fine for the first 2-3 weeks after the dose change, so I was really worried I was having a serious reaction.

What I should have done was start with 500mg three times a day and then bump up to 1000 twice daily after a couple of months or something. As it was, I just took a lot of Pepto Bismol and made sure I was taking it with plenty of food and stayed hydrated. The GI problems went away, and now I don't even have to be so careful about taking it with a full meal, though I never do it on an empty stomach.

I lost about 10 pounds in the beginning, but other than that, it's not affected my weight. What it DOES do is not make me gain weight so easily and it makes it a little easier to lose weight if I try. Provided my food intake and exercise are relatively stable, I don't gain. If I eat every couple of hours and exercise more, I can lose. These are things that were very difficult to impossible before.

Anyway, I've more heard of the problem with PCOS of NOT having a period at all ... so your wife's bleeding too much sounds very suspicious to me. I hope that her condition improves and will pray for her health and recovery.

It can cause no periods, long periods, short periods, heavy bleeding, and a number of other things. Most PCOS women have longer cycles or no periods, but off of BC, I've always had a 26-30 day cycle with heavier bleeding. After my last miscarriage, I had a period for like 6 weeks straight, and it was very heavy at times. Up until about 8 months ago, my periods were at least 6 days and very heavy; now they're 3-4 days and pretty light.

The different types, amounts and severity of symptoms is what can make PCOS so hard to diagnose, from what I understand.

 

[an_angels_wings]

What dose of metformin did you start on? Did you always take it with good meals? How long were you on it? Did you try Glucophage XR?

Starting on 500mg, or a similar lower dose, with a full meal, then titrating up to 1500-2000mg/day (the gold standard for PCOS is 1000mg twice a day, with breakfast and dinner, but some do 500mg three times a day with meals) minimizes gastrointestinal problems for most people. Glucophage XR is also often a lot better for GI problems, but as far as I know, there isn't a generic equivalent yet, so it can be spendy, depending on your insurance situation.

I started on the XR, then switched to 500mg of Metformin twice a day. I didn't have much of a problem with the transition, provided I took it with a good meal. Then I researched and learned 1000mg twice a day was the gold standard, and my doc agreed we should try that. I went through like 3 weeks of serious stomach pain, nausea and diarrhea, and the weird thing was that I was fine for the first 2-3 weeks after the dose change, so I was really worried I was having a serious reaction.

What I should have done was start with 500mg three times a day and then bump up to 1000 twice daily after a couple of months or something. As it was, I just took a lot of Pepto Bismol and made sure I was taking it with plenty of food and stayed hydrated. The GI problems went away, and now I don't even have to be so careful about taking it with a full meal, though I never do it on an empty stomach.

I lost about 10 pounds in the beginning, but other than that, it's not affected my weight. What it DOES do is not make me gain weight so easily and it makes it a little easier to lose weight if I try. Provided my food intake and exercise are relatively stable, I don't gain. If I eat every couple of hours and exercise more, I can lose. These are things that were very difficult to impossible before.



It can cause no periods, long periods, short periods, heavy bleeding, and a number of other things. Most PCOS women have longer cycles or no periods, but off of BC, I've always had a 26-30 day cycle with heavier bleeding. After my last miscarriage, I had a period for like 6 weeks straight, and it was very heavy at times. Up until about 8 months ago, my periods were at least 6 days and very heavy; now they're 3-4 days and pretty light.

The different types, amounts and severity of symptoms is what can make PCOS so hard to diagnose, from what I understand.

Wow, I definitely didn't know there were that many more types. I mean, I always knew that PCOS was incredibly varied, but wow. Most of the women I've spoken with always had a lack of period. I can't imagine how it would be to bleed that heavy for that long.

Anyway, to the Metformin. I started off on 500 mg as well. I'm in college still, so a "good meal" isn't necessarily that easy to come by. I'm thinking about starting over again at 500 mg and just titrating up slowly. I think my doctor was titrating me up too quickly and the effects just got yucky. Then I also started anti-depressants and I was very wary of taking so many medications. But if it will stop the weight gain, and when I get back to campus (I'm on Spring Break) and start walking and everything again help me to lose weight, well, then, maybe I am in more need of it than I initially thought.

Whew. So many different kinds of medical issues!

 

[SweetErika]

Wow, I definitely didn't know there were that many more types. I mean, I always knew that PCOS was incredibly varied, but wow. Most of the women I've spoken with always had a lack of period. I can't imagine how it would be to bleed that heavy for that long.

Anyway, to the Metformin. I started off on 500 mg as well. I'm in college still, so a "good meal" isn't necessarily that easy to come by. I'm thinking about starting over again at 500 mg and just titrating up slowly. I think my doctor was titrating me up too quickly and the effects just got yucky. Then I also started anti-depressants and I was very wary of taking so many medications. But if it will stop the weight gain, and when I get back to campus (I'm on Spring Break) and start walking and everything again help me to lose weight, well, then, maybe I am in more need of it than I initially thought.

Whew. So many different kinds of medical issues!

Here's another thought: If they're the regular Metformin pills (not XR), you can buy a pill splitter for a couple of bucks and chop the 500mg pills in half if you start having GI problems or want to increase the dose more slowly. For example, you might take 1/2 a pill with breakfast if it's a light meal, then another half with lunch and maybe a whole one with a fuller dinner.

Talk with your doctor about this of course, but it could be a good solution to work up to your best dose without getting sick. Splitting larger pills can also be a great way to save money on prescriptions (even my insurance company encourages this).

You might take this opportunity (Spring Break) to do some research on PCOS and its treatments. I don't know if you ever want kids, but early treatment can be the difference between having an easier and terrible time getting pregnant. There's still a lot of research to be done, but treating early things like Metformin, as awful as the side effects can be in the beginning, can make a huge difference later on.

http://pcosfaq.com/ is an AWESOME site that lists a lot of the treatments (both traditional and natural) in order of importance, backed up by research, and answers a ton of questions.

 

[an_angels_wings]

Thanks, Erika. In my previous research I've never found that website before. I'll definitely check it out. I've been researching and treating myself (through a doctor, of course, so it was whatever was coming out in the medical research field) since I've been 13 when I was diagnosed. I'm glad at least to hear that treating it early can help prevent problems later on. I definitely want children and that's always been one of my greatest fears with PCOS.

Thanks for the website! I'll check it out.