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I am sure someone here must have experience with these...we are all so worldly

I had a ultrasound that showed the cyst is larger than a grapefruit and has pushed the ovary over so it is sitting in front of my uterus now. I assume that realignment is because the cyst is so large?

Anyway, GYN suggested we wait 2 cycles and repeat the sonogram to see what changed (if anything).

I am at the 2 month mark and go next week.

Options will be to do nothing/wait&see (and hope it doesn't twist or burst) or remove it.

I have been doing the "wait & see" method and feel like I am a walking timebomb. I had a bad one years ago that put me in the hospital.

I know there is a chance it could just disolve on its own but the dr said given the size of it, that is a long shot.

Anyone went through this where it did not burst or disolve and you had to have surgery?

Thanks in advance!

(Yes, I have PCOS)

[This message edited by EvenKeel at 9:51 AM, April 11th (Thursday)]

I am probably the worst case ever but will give my $0.02. I had been having heavy periods for awhile. Pain during my first day or so that was pretty excruciating.

So fast forward to October 2010. I went on vacation to visit family out of state. A day after I got there I started feeling sick, kind of like the flu. Two days later still sick I went to the hospital. The doctor told me it was the flu sent me back to hotel with some anti nausea meds. Fast forward two days and I can't get out of bed to even use the bathroom. So off to another hospital. Long story short, the cyst had ruptured into my abdomen and I ended up on a ventilator for 3 days and in the hospital for 12.

My advice...get it out and get it out now. I had no idea it had ruptured(that month my period was actually normal). If I had waited even an hour or so more I wouldn't be here today. Yes it is surgery but if they had done it earlier I wouldn't have been left with an open wound(it took 3 and a half months to close up) due to infection and a huge ugly scar down my middle. Oh and I have no belly button now.

Wow - your post perplexes me....well, what I was lead to understand at least.

She made it sound like if it burst, it would be painful but not dangerous? Clearly not so given your situation.

She was more concerned about it twisting due to the size of it. She said it could cut off blood flow and take me to my knees.

When they found it two months ago, my opinions were surgery or wait&see. I asked what her medical opinion was and she said 'wait&see' since my symptoms were not severe. She was perplexed as to why wasn't having mega symptoms but said that was a good thing.

I am anxious to see the U/S next week. I had a lot of pain last month during my cycle but it wasnt like cramps. It was more like a intense pain with waves of nausea. I thought (?) that meant that maybe it was disolving.

Thanks so much for sharing erh. What an awful ordeal for you. My post must make your belly hurt with sympathy pains.

If it's still the same size, I would probably opt for surgery. (((EvenKeel)))

Hi EK,

I had them many years ago, had them surgically removed. One of mine was pretty large, but not as large as a grapefruit!

I had an open procedure with a big incision, but that was long ago. Nowadays, they can probably get that laparoscopically, which I would think I would probably get it done due to the size. So sorry you are going through this. Take care.

E.

Wow - your post perplexes me....well, what I was lead to understand at least.

She made it sound like if it burst, it would be painful but not dangerous? Clearly not so given your situation.

After it happened of course people asked me about it. Turns out several other people had had one burst and have to have surgery also(though not as dangerous as mine.) As I said I am probably the worst case, but I wouldn't take any chances if it were me.

They can do it laproscopically usually(mine of course was too bad) and it is pretty quick and not alot of recovery time.

I had one that was more like a golf ball size, hemmorrhagic, and it burst. It was pretty painful at the time for a short while, then just left me shaky and nauseated for awhile longer, but I went to sleep for the night and in the morning I actually felt much much better because the pressure was largely relieved. I did have some spotting after that and was sore and a little crampy for a day or two. I think it burst because I had sex against doctor's orders. I had an ultrasound to check up on it a week or so later and it was gone.

I hope yours resolves quietly!

I had one last summer that was about lemon sized. It lasted about 2-3 months and they tracked it via ultrasound because they weren't 100% sure it was fluid filled. It ended up bursting and I was fine. Honestly, it didn't hurt when it burst. It did hurt while I had it doing things like sit-ups, bending over, sometimes the car seat belt, etc.

So, they do resolve on their own sometimes with no other issues.

From FP doc:

That sucker is not going to go away on its own. Sorry. Eventually it will need to come out. You can choose to do it on your own timeline or wait for it to become a real problem.

Dr. PJ4

Thanks everyone!

I read online medical sites until my eyes went crossed....just left me puzzled. Imagine that

My Gyn was able to dig out/dust off my records from 1998 and we found out this is the same ovary that had the issue back then. She also seen that no one did a follow-up U/S back then to make sure the cyst was gone when my pain subsided. She then pulled out my pregnancy U/S to see if she could see that ovary in any of the films to see if there has been an issue the entire time and no one seen it?

Weird.

Only way they found it this time was she though my uterus was enlarged and ordered the U/S. Turns out she was feeling the cyst pressing on the uterus.

I get the weirdest stuff from grapefruit cysts to Cat Scratch Fever.

Thanks everyone for sharing - it really helps me decide!

ummm....I'm struggled with cysts too. The first was grapefruit sized and had to be surgically removed when I was 28. I couldn't sit down, it hurt so much! It destroyed my right ovary.

Then, miraculously, I was able to finally have my two kids. I bled a long time after my 2nd was born, at 4 months post-partum, finally did an ultrasound, and the remaining ovary had a baseball sized endometrial cyst on it. 3 days later I had a complete hysterectomy.

Best thing ever. The surgeries sucked, don't get me wrong, but at least no more ovary issues! I had/have PCOS too.

Veteran here. A survivor. Had large ovarian cyst, doctor let it go too long and it ruptured which caused my ovary to become greatly infected and IT enlarged. It had to be removed, I was in bad pain. While removing the ovary, the surgeon accidentally cut my ureter tube and it took six surgeries to get a plastic tube to hold and work. Nightmare. Get a second opinion about removing the cyst now.

I struggled through lots of pain due to cysts on both my ovaries. Meds weren't helping, so I opted for surgery. On one side, they had to remove the whole ovary. On the other, they were able to remove just the cysts and preserve the ovary, so I still have a chance for a girl if I find a good man

Butterfly girl, it can be done. My daughter was born after I lost an ovary.

I asked if she would have to remove the ovary - she said "it depends". That sometimes the cyst takes over the ovary and snuffs it out.

I do not want more children so if that is the case, it is ok.

Thanks again to everyone for sharing. I go in for the U/S this Friday but I feel a lot better about my options now that I heard your stories.

Me too, Butterfly girl! I lost my rt ovary at 28. At 33 I had my first child, 2nd at 35. I also had to have my fallopian tubes opened several times due to scars from the surgeries, but I DID eventually have two healthy kids.

I had a large cyst on an ovary, my obgyn said it was the size of a Texas grapefruit.

I had it and the ovary removed.

My OBGYN said when they get that big, they don't usually just go on their own.

I had ovarian cysts. 3x I had horrible pain, cramping and after the fact the doctor attributed it to them bursting. Each incident about 6 months apart.

In Chinese Medicine cysts are about Dampness in the body. I got serious about eliminating foods I was sensitive to especially dairy and I never had another incident again. U/S revealed cysts, but they were in different places for each test so I didn't do surgery.

If I had one the size of a grapefruit I would probably do surgery.

If you can keep your ovaries, or at least one, keep it because even if you don't want kids they help with hormonal balance. Removing ovaries is female castration and requires hormone replacement for life to stay in balance, and it's not always so easy to stay in balance with artificial hormones. So keep at least one if at all possible. Doctors can be kind of cavalier about ovaries. They would never say to a man, one of your testicles has a growth so we might as well take both of them out if you don't want kids.