Ovarian cyst

[inmybelly]

I'm 6w1d and have a 5x6cm cyst on my ovary. They're just monitoring it for now.

Would be really interested to hear about your experiences of ovarian cysts during pregnancy.

[Huffpot]

I had one about that size that was found while I was pregnant with DS1 at the 12 week scan. It was monitored through the pregnancy and grew but they said they would check it again after he was born. We weren't as careful as we could have been and fell pregnant with DS2 when DS1 was 2 months old. I found out when they did a blood test for the cyst and it came back with pregnancy hormones! The cyst had also grown and nearly doubled so the surgeon and gynaecologist gave us 5 minutes to make a choice. Have surgery to remove it and risk losing the baby or brain damage due to the anaesthetic or leave it and risk it rupturing and possibly losing the baby and me due to increased blood flow while pregnant.
It was hard but we had the surgery (laproscopic) & DS2 is now 3 and perfect. Was worried every twinge through the pregnancy was losing him though so was stressful.
The cyst grew back again although was smaller and caused pain again so when DS2 was about 18 months they operated again and took the cyst and most of my ovary too.
I am now pregnant again so the missing bit of ovary hasn't affected fertility.
Good luck!

[inmybelly]

Cheers for that huffpot. It's incredible that despite after removing part of your ovary you still got pregnant!

Very reassuring to hear there was no harm done during your surgery.

I really hope I don't have to make that decision. This is my first pregnancy, so to remove the cyst +/- ovary and risk losing or harming the baby all at the same time...

What's the harm in leaving it in there till full term? I've read on some sites that very large cysts can get in the way of delivery. In which case, maybe a CSection would be an option?

(Here I go, speculating once more!!)

[lyns31]

Not personal experience but 32 years ago my mum had an ovary removed whilst pregnant with me due to a cyst. Pretty sure it's not had an affect but my brothers would hasten to disagree. I have a younger brother too so my mum managed to get pregnant again with one ovary. Medicine's moved on a bit too since then :)

[ItsSpringBaby]

Is it a Corpus Luteum Cyst? I had one in two of my pregnancies on the side I ovulated from. They were found due to early pregnancy scans, and both were gone by 12 weeks.

[alita7]

Do your cysts cause pain and if so what's it like?

[Huffpot]

With the first pregnancy they were just monitoring it but decided to remove it when they did as it was growing.
The reason they wanted to remove it was when they are laege there is the chance they will twist and rupture which is exceptionally painful and dangerous. the gynaecologist described it to my DP as worse than being kicked in the balls which made him turn a funny colour lol. Apparently if it had ruptured during the pregnancy in the later stages removal would have been extremely dangerous due to the increased amount of blood flowing in the stomach area and haemorrging (spelt that completely wrong! )
The funny thing is I must have had the cyst from the time I was around 12 years old as had had terrible pains in my ribs on the cyst side to the extent of chest xrays. Once it was removed the pain disappeared which was lovely. I asked the gynaecologist and he said they can cause referred pain.
Hopefully they will just monitor it through the pregnancy and make a decision regarding surgery after (which is what would have happened to us other than DS2 coming along)

[lovessummer]

I had a dermoid cyst while I was pregnant with my dt's. Weirdly noone spotted it on any of the many, many scans I had due to having twins. It was 10cm! We only found out because it twisted 3 times the day before I was due to have my section. It was total agony! Got rushed in and they took the babies out, found the cyst, took that out and took my ovary out at the same time (didn't find out my ovary had gone till much later by chance! But re: fertility apparently the remaining one compensates). Guess I was lucky it didn't rupture sooner. The last few weeks of pregnancy were soo uncomfortable though, which at the time I thought was due to having twins, but in hindsight think could have been a foot kicking the cyst!
Hope you're getting good medical advice as it must be a worrying time for you

[AlwaysDancing1234]

Two large ovarian cysts showed up on my early scan, doctor said they were probably there following conception. The cysts were monitored at my 12 week and 20 week scan and totally disappeared on their own by 20 weeks. Very common apparently (but didn't stop me worrying at the time)

[GreenCurlyTeeth]

I too had a cyst during pregnancy 12 years ago. They monitored it closely as it was quite large. At the time I was told that 99% of women have them and it will disappear after giving birth. At my 6 week check I asked my GP about the cyst and she said "It's gone". Obviously I was very confused how she knew this just from looking at me but I trusted that she knew what was going on. Over the following 10 years I suffered with abdo pain on and off and was unable to lie on the floor on my stomach as it caused a lot of pain. Again I asked my GP about my cyst and again I was told it was gone.

2 years ago I woke up in the morning and felt something inside me snap as I stood up. The pain was horrendous and I ended up in a+e. I knew it was the cyst but no-one would believe me as it had been so long since it had first been discovered. In the end I had exploratory surgery that night and yep....you guessed it, they found a cyst the size of a grapefruit on my left ovary (site of the original cyst). It had caused my fallopian tube to twist until all blood supply had stopped. I needed the tube and ovary removed. The surgeon apologised that I had been left all day in such pain and said that had anyone known what had happened he would have operated as soon as I came in.

3 months before this I was prescribed cerazette (mini pill). I mentioned to my GP that on the pack it said you should not take it if you have ovarian cysts and he looked at me like I was mad and said I did not have a cyst!

When I told the hospital that I believe I had this cyst growing in me for 10 years they said it was impossible and it must be a new one. I think it was the original one that had had a growth spurt due to feeding it hormones from taking the pill.

My advice is to insist on a scan after giving birth, and don't be fobbed off with "It's gone" unless they are looking at your ovary on a scan!

Having the cyst during pregnancy caused no trouble at all

[Plateofcrumbs]

Some slightly scary stories here but just to reassure that in my own research on the subject I have not heard of a bad outcome for either mother or baby, including people who have had operations to remove cysts during pregnancy.

2 x 5cm and 1 x 7 cm cysts were found on one of my ovaries at my first scan (and somewhat concerning my other ovary hasn't been located at all!).

I've been told that they will not do anything (operating is really the only option) unless the cause any further problems (eg rupture or twist). They do not seem overly concerned and cysts in general are not at all uncommon in pregnancy and do normally resolve without causing further problems.

With the benefit of hindsight I think I have experienced ruptured cysts twice before I was pregnant. And I can confirm yes it is painful - it felt being shot in the stomach and was in bed for three days. I didn't see a doctor as I thought it was severe period pain at the time!

My consultant has not said anything about rupture being more risky during pregnancy but I will ask at my next appointment.

And although general anaesthetics aren't carried out on a whim during pregnancy, many women have to have them for various reasons and again I have not heard of a bad outcome.

So although it is another thing at the back of my mind to worry about I am not overly concerned - my biggest fear (given one ovary AWOL and another with multiple cysts) is future fertility but will cross that bridge when we come to it

[inmybelly]

Thank you for all the replies. It's good to know it's a pretty common occurrence, and like plate of crumbs says, I've not heard any negative stories regarding the health of the baby.

Plateofcrumbs : My scan was the same, she could only just see my left ovary, she described it as 'poorly visualised' and explained that the cyst may have been obscuring the view. She didn't seem concerned about it though. How far along are you now?

[Plateofcrumbs]

Reassuring that I'm not only one with an AWOL ovary - that might make more sense if it were just hiding!

I'm 21 weeks now. Q Have just realised they should have measured the cysts again at the 20 week scan but it didn't happen (and I was way too preoccupied with how the baby was doing to remember).

No real problems so far. Earlier on I had some mild discomfort in area of cysts but it's been absolutely fine for weeks.

The cysts are definitely an ongoing issue for me - in addition to what I'm now sure were ruptured cysts I'd also had issues with much milder but longer lasting pain in the same area (which doctor thought was IBS)