Ovarian cyst, a&e or wait?

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I've had moderate grumbling abdo pain on my left side for 2 months now, which started to radiate into my leg and is causing bloating. I saw my doctor who suspected a cyst and I have a scan on Thursday.

The last 24 hours though it's just getting worse and worse and is giving me really sharp stabbing pains under my ribs on the same side, I rang 111 who gave me an out of hours appointment and the GP said it probably was a cyst and just to wait for my scan and gave me stronger pain killers.

I'm concerned though that something might be happening to the cyst, and don't know whether to ignore the GP's advice and go to a and e if it's no better later. It's getting worse even with the strong painkillers and I'm feeling quite nauseas, but don't want to clog up a and e unnecessarily. Any advice from people with similar symptoms/experiences?

You don't need to do anything for an ovarian cyst.

(Sorry for TMI...) It's just like a spot (zit), but without the ability to manually pop it because it's internal. So like with any similar spot/zit, it becomes painful as it fulls with puss until eventually it cannot hold all the puss inside and pops. Then comes the relief from pain, but up until that point it becomes more and more painful.

So it is just a case of waiting, using painkillers, until it pops and then it will feel better. Assuming it is a cyst, the hospital could not do anything even if you went.

I has an ovarian cyst whilst pregnant. It was incredibly painful but did eventually go away completely and I've not had another since.

Hot water bottles and warm baths may help.

Mine got worse before it got better... was horribly painful so I can understand why you are worried... Im not sure what to advise though. I found ibuprofen took the edge off but it was a very persistent pain.

As an annoying aside... I'm impressed you got a scan so quickly. I had a blood test to rule out cancer and am still waiting for a scan appointment approx 3 months later... I will still go for the scan even though my more severe symptoms have gone as I'm still getting the odd niggles.

I had 18 months of this on and off, once or twice the pain was so bad I considered A&E, but really it had usually eased before I would have been seen. Nothing they could have done anyway apart from scan and confirm it is a cyst.
I had a gynae referall from GP eventually and scan, they never saw my cysts on the scan as they'd burst by that point but I'm sure that's what it was.
They went after I took my Mirena out.

If you go to A&E they may send you to gynae for an assessment, but there won't be anything they can do apart from stronger painkillers. Unless they are concerned it could be an ectopic pregnancy or an infection, it isn't an emergency.

When my ovarian cyst ruptured the pain was worse than being in labour. I hope you feel better soon

Thanks everyone. I'm worried it's torted or ruptured since I have the odd stabbing rib pain/it's been progressively worse for 24 hours but hopefully itll ease soon

Cysts can need interevntion. I had one on my RHS which was discovered during an emergency appendectomy. Subsequent scan revealed it had it larger and the cyst (and ovary) were removed a few months later via keyhole surgery under General anaesthetic.

Tbf most do come and go on their own, but if the pain is really unbearable then I'd go and get it checked out.

It rupturing is good, it's the beginning of it healing and getting better.

There's nothing more the hospital can do than scan you, and you already have that booked it. All the scan will do is say yes it is a cyst or no it isn't. If it is a cyst, you'll just be given pain killers and told to wait it out.

If they twist, it can be an emergency in a hurry. Trust your instincts, you know your own body better than anyone else.

There are different types of ovarian cysts. Some are simple, and yes they will go and don’t need treatment. These are fluid filled sacs.

The type I get are dermoid, made of hair, skin and teeth. (I know, gross). These do need surgery. They won’t go on their own.

How long until your scan?

I had an ovarian cyst. My ovary twisted and it was an A&E job. My DH called me an ambulance against my wishes as I didn't think it was serious enough (at this point in proceedings I was vomiting and on all fours in pain!) I had to have emergency surgery to remove the ovary, as the ovary itself was dead/dying. If the pain doesn't subside with the painkillers or you start vomiting, I'd go to A&E.

The USA seems to take them more seriously and surgical removal is often advised.

Anything ovary related such as cysts or PCOS is often dismissed by GPs. Same with endometriosis. If men suffered these things they would be taken a lot more seriously!

@FATEdestiny, not quite certain what your experience in managing cysts is but you’re not completely right. Some cysts do require surgery (sometimes even urgent surgery). Pus rupturing into the abdomen almost always requires surgery/draining and is not a healing phenomenon (so it’s just as well that’s NOT what most ovarian cysts contain).

I had one a long time ago which twisted and ruptured, filling my abdomen with pus. My ovary and appendix were removed. I was told I would not have survived more than a few hours as I was developing what was then called septicaemia and is now called sepsis. I was quite sure I was dying.
It's alarming to hear of someone being told to wait and see.

Yeah I never got to the point of vomming or crawling with the pain of mine. If it had got to that point I'd have been on my way to A&E no messing. I was more dull ache, occasional stab... flu and pulled muscle/cramp level of pain rather than someone is stabbing me level of pain.

How are you getting on OP?

Oh god! I had a large cyst identified during pregnancy nine years ago - they actually said they were surprised I got pregnant. I had no follow up and don’t think I have any symptoms. Should I push this with gp? Sorry for hijack op and hope you feel better.

I had a cyst that twisted and had to have emergency surgery. By the time I got to that point all the painkillers I was taking weren't touching the pain and I was vomiting.

If the pain continues and painkillers aren't doing anything consider A&E - I was stubborn at first and decided the pain wasn't bad enough but by the middle of the night I needed an ambulance.

Thanks everyone for the advice, I went back to the GP urgent care service and they sent me to the gynae ward. The consultant feels like it’s not torsion as I’m only moderately tender on a vaginal exam but they’ve booked me a scan tomorrow morning.

These cysts are honestly horrible things, I didn’t realise!

Pain still not touched by anything though and shooting down in my leg 😭

Glad you've been checked out again and have got a scan tomorrow. The leg shooting pain is something I had as well... my first symptom I thought I'd pulled a muscle or was having sciatic nerve bother. Hope you can get some sleep. Lots of tea and sympathy. Get a hot water bottle on it and see if that helps at all. X

On the plus side, after my surgery I got morphine and that was definitely the good shit.

Fingers crossed it's just being a bit more painful and hasn't twisted or anything.

Hi op how did your scan go?

I had one that wasn't discovered until the day it ruptured was sent to hospital from gp with suspected appendicitis they then scanned me and saw all the fluid on my pelvis. People saying cysts are fine are wrong when ruptured can cause mega problems and bleeds and twisting is worse. Hope you are ok xx