To ask about your ovarian cysts?!

[Dinkytinky]

Sorry I know I should post this in health but needs must!
I know I have a small (2.5cm) one on my right ovary-was told 18 months ago after vaginal scan, told not to worry as would probably go away.
Anyway, I've started needing to urinate every 45 mins and my lower abdomen is bloated like I'm a few weeks pg. Also my periods (which are usually military with their timings) have started coming early and lasting 7 days and very painful cramps around ov time.
Do you think I should go back to doc to ask for gynae appt? Does anyone have experience withthis?
I'm very worried it could be affecting my fertility (have had 2 mc'd in 17 months :(

thanks very much anyone!

no experience but you ought to go back to GP straight away; describe symptoms as you have posted

Have you got PCOS? That could be why you were having miscarriages. PCOS suffers have a higher rate due to low progesterone. Being put on Metformin and using progesterone creams could help stop the miscarriages. IT does affect fertility. So best to get help now.

Do go to GP. The frequent urination and bloating was something I experienced in the days preceding a twisting movement of my cyst that meant it became extremely painful and I had to have emergency surgery.

Go to gp, demand / get referral. My cyst burst, that's like having a ruptured appendix, risk of peritonitis. I ended up having emergency surgery, which lasted about 4 hours, and c-section-like scar. They basically had to hose down my insides with antibiotics to prevent infection.
Sorry to be alarmist, but cysts can be quite dangerous, but much less so if they are removed in a non-emergency situation.

Eleison - same here, I ignored my symptoms thinking they were down to something else until I got, what I thought was, a water infection with a temperature. After a course of antibiotics went back to the docs and he sent me straight to hospital. Turned out my cyst had grown to the size of a large watermelon and was twisting, dragging my ovary and tube along with it. Had it whipped out about 8 hours later and lost tube and ovary at same time.

Has dd and ds a few years later though, despite the lowered fertility and being in my mid-thirties too. I would definitely push to get it checked out, they estimated mine had been growing for 6 years so they don't always disappear.

Soory about your mc's Dinkytinky

That sounds exactly like what happened to me. Watermelon! Mine was only 'grapefruit' . As my GP said when I told her about it years afterwards, 'Why is it always fruit!?'

Please do be reassured, though, OP. I was only nine when I lost an ovary due to this cyst, but the other ovary kicked in and did the work of two. I conceived twice without any difficulty. And perhaps doc will say all is well, anyway -- but do go and get this checked.

Blimey Eleison, aged 9! You poor thing, it's a serious operation and thats very young, a grapefruit is quite large for a 9 year old .

Just for info, I didn't lose my ovary or tube or anything else during my operation. Had two dc without any probs.

Thanks very much everyone- will get an appointment for Monday. I love how they alwaaats describe them as fruit- last year I got told grape!
Urgh toilet has broken too, not good for urgent weeing!

It was apples and melons for me- and very serious as it turned out- so please do go to the specialist!

You must go to the docs. A scan is the only way to know what is going on in there (though not always enough to know the whole story).

I has symptoms like yours (frequent urination, slight swelling, plus some referred pain in my toe, which turned out to be caused by a 10cm dermoid cyst. Those are solid and full of hair and skin cells and tissue, rather than fluid like the cysts you get when ovulating.

I tell you this because fluid-filled cysts can be identified on a scan, but dermoids look solid in a scan so they can't tell how serious they are without laparoscopy. I found it very scary to be scanned and then told that they couldn't be sure it was a cyst, but ultimately it was quite easily dealt with. I had the laparoscopy and they removed the ovary and cyst by keyhole surgery, though I had been told to expect a regular abdominal incision.

Like Eleison says, the other ovary kicks in if you end up with only one, and an ovary taken over by a large cyst is probably not functioning anyway.

I also have fibroids (which can be seen in a scan), and bleeding can be associated with those.

You must be scanned -- I've found my GP very sympathetic to the fact that if you need a scan, you need a scan, and they will usually send you pretty quickly if you have a history of this kind of thing and have symptoms which cannot be addressed in any other way.

Very sorry to hear about your MCs, and good luck. While my situation was in progress it was very scary, but the outcome was a relief in the end.

First time gp ignored me for 9 months resulting in me seeing a cancer specialist (as they thought I had weeks to live) fortuntalty it turned out to be a watermelon sized cyst on one ovary what had welded to my pelvis and womb caused by endometriosis. (and that was the good news!) I also had tiny cysts on the other ovary. One tube and ovary removed. A few years later I was told another orange sized cyst had appeared. This one looked like a hotel apparantly on scan. (lots of little alleyways or somthing)I as told I may need a hysterectomy. I was 27. Again after the op it was a simple cyst. This was after a cat scan. The main thing is it often appears worse than it is and probably is a simple cyst. From what you describe it seems like it could be endometriosis. (sometimes refered to as a chocolate cyst.)

LilQueenie just reminded me -- GP also brushed off my symptoms the first time. When I went back six months later she did an internal exam, and that made it clear to her that I had a lump. I was at the hospital a couple of days later.

Be very clear about how much trouble you're having (maybe you will be, but I know I sometimes downplay things and in this situation it's not useful).

Thankyou so much- I'm sorry you all had to go through this.
Should I ask to be sent for a scan if the gp doesn't offer? I really want to have this investigated quickly. Also, are you sent to a gynae place or are all the exams done in the gp?
Also (sorry!) can I request that I'm seen by a lady? I don't really like the idea of man and I get quite panicy and tense up even if it's a lady.

I am not much cop at asking for stuff that isn't offered, so can't help there. If you say that you know you had a cyst and you're worried that it might have developed further because you have this catalogue of problems, I don't see how any GP could not propose it. Do you have a good relationship with your GP?

I had to go to the hospital gynae clinic for my ultrasound scan, which was done by an ultrasound operator (who said nothing about what they could see, just did the technical stuff and made me comfortable), and then went straight on to see a consultant. After they had seen that my lump was solid, I also had some blood taken to test for ovarian cancer markers. Sorry if that sounds really scary, I just thought I should tell you everything that might happen as I felt shocked by this even though it was very unlikely that I had anything so serious.

On the other hand, I once had a scan to just check whether anything had changed, and I didn't see a consultant that time. The same person did the ultrasound and told me what they could see, and they sent a report to my GP who interpreted it with me.

So there are different possible models, and I guess what happens depends on various factors.

As for requesting a woman, do you mean at the GPs? Most practices are used to that. At the hospital the consultant was male. I have no experience over making specific requests at that level, though I guess gynae departments are used to answering questions like that. I just wanted to see someone who knew what was what, and he was really lovely, plus they are very sensitive to the way people are feeling, covering you with a blanket, having a female nurse present, etc.

Get on the road to sorting it out so you can feel better. Sending you good wishes.

Heartsease-thankyou so much for your post, has made me feel alot better about going and I won't panic if they mention cancer tests etc as much now. I have just moved to the area so I have only met gp once for skin problems, it is quite a large practise so hopefully someone there will be able to accomodate me.
I think I'll just ask for a lady for both tests- perhaps they are used to people asking for religious reasons etc.
It's very interesting to hear that the other ovary compensates - I Had no idea thatthis happens!
Can I just ask how long you had symptoms before you needed surgery? Thankyou

Glad you find the details useful rather than worrying. I was only 23 when all this happenned to me and I think my cluelessness really fuelled the scariness. I had thought they would just say -- "Oh, yes, we confirm that it's a cyst, this is what we'll do". I was expecting a sense of resolution at my first appointment, and was surprised and upset when I didn't get it.

Hard to say how long I had symptoms -- probably little niggles had been going on for over a year by the time I had the op, but it started when in my final year at uni and at that age I ignored stuff that I would not ignore now. Once they started investigating I really regretted not acting sooner, hence am encouraging you to get on with it. I never had terrible pain. Lots of people find cysts twist their ovary and the pain comes from that, but that wasn't the case for me. In fact, I think my lack of pain was partly what delayed investigation (my friend had exactly the same kind of cyst and ended up in an ambulance, whereas I really felt mostly fine).

You need to explain your history to your new GP, don't assume it's all on the screen. I also moved area between my op and my later scan (where they found the fibroids), and telling my new GP about what had gone on before really helped her see that I wasn't just fretting.

As for asking to see a woman -- I'm not sure that every hospital would have a female gynae consultant, so my first instinct is to suggest keeping an open mind there. But everyone has their own private reasons for their feelings on that subject so I won't say more than that. Just that it might actually be more complicated than it is to book an appointment with one GP or another.

Big disclaimer -- don't get it in your head that this is what you have. You asked about cysts, and that's what I turned out to have. But self-diagnosis is pretty much always a bad idea, so get down to the doc and let us know how you get on.

Thanks heartsease again! Great advice and brilliant post again, will let you know x

Hope you have made an appointment, DinkyTinky?

Get your GP to refer you to a gynea asap, hopefully your symptoms are benign, however, the sooner proper investigation is carried out, the better.

I think the guidelines inform GPs that unless the cyst is over 4cm diameter then no investigation is required.
I informed my GP of pain in the location of a small cyst(assuming mine had grown) and was referred for a scan.
I think with your symptoms your GP will refer and if they don't, you will need to request one.
Let us know the outcome of your visit

Hi all, I know this conversation finished a little while ago, but I've been experiencing problems recently which I suspect are due to a cyst. I went to the GP today who has referred me for a scan but said that because I'm not in absolute agony (even though I have been) then I'll probably have to wait a couple of weeks. A private gynae scan and appointment would cost around £450 at my local private hospital, or I can get a scan and appointment with another local fertility clinic for around £300. I'm tempted to go private even tho I'm skint (especially after xmas!) but don't know if I'm just being silly and neurotic.

For those of you who've been referred by GPs for scans, did you have to wait long? Is there anything I can do to hurry it along? I'm no longer rolling around in agony, but I do feel worried - severe abdominal pain, bloated, needing to pee frequently, feel like my ovaries are on fire... just in a bit of a pickle, really want to conceive soon too!

Any advice or words of wisdom you can offer?