worst case scenario for ovarian cysts is torsion. torsion occurs when the cyst gets so big that it twists the ovary and cuts off the blood flow to the ovary thus killing it. (thanks noddy for the head's up). i have had 4 surgeries now to remove ovarian cysts, and unfortunately i am all too familiar with them.
houzer, the most likely procedure here will be to determine how big the cyst is, if it is simple or complex, and what then next step should be. relax. many women suffer ovarian cysts and never know it. it generally occurs during ovulation when the follicle that releases the egg from the ovary doesn't dissipate as it should. generally speaking, it remains filled with fluid and continues to grow.
simple cysts are formed this way and they generally are very painful due the displacement they cause in the abdomen. the only real threat other than pain is torsion. complex cysts are another story. they can be benign or malignant and need to be removed. more than likely (i think it somewhere along the line of 90% of the time) cysts are simple. if the only symptoms she has is general pain in the lower right or left side depending on the side of the cyst, she probably has a simple cyst.
while these are less threatening, they are not any less painful. they can be excruciating. there are different options one can take with this scenario (i have never had a complex cyst-thank god, so i can only speak for simple cysts). they have some options...
1. they can wait. if the cyst is not that large, they can wait and see if it will dissolve on its own. if she is in a lot of pain, she might want to rethink this one...i waited three months the first time in a haze because i had to take pain killers around the clock to be able to get out of bed-but to each his own-this is the most conservative approach and does work sometimes. many times the cyst dissolves itself or bursts (this hurts like hell because the cyst bleeds into your abdomen causing all kinds of irritation-don't worry though, unless she is a hemopheliac, this won't kill her or probably cause any serious long term effects, although she may feel like it when it happens). either way, the cyst "can" go away on its own (sometimes-i only had one burst, the rest were surgically or procedurally removed).
2. they can drain the cyst-they can do this vaginally or through her back. i had it done twice in a cat scan machine. it was kinda cool that they stuck this huge needle into my back and drained it. this worked short term, i unfortunately had another one in about a year's time.
3. they can remove it surgically. they use a laproscope and generally go in through your belly button. the recovery time is generally pretty short, about 4 days, and they do it outpatient so you go home the same day. now this is the most invasive surgery which i resorted to after trying the first two. they just didn't work for me. i ended up having 3 laproscopies and 1 laprotomy (they opened me up completely across my belly). the laptrotomy was to repair the damage the cysts had done because they were so large and had displaced so many organs for so long (probably not the case with your friend-i had been getting one about every 6 months from the time i was 19 until i had this done at 27).
the good news? all is fine with me other than i get cysts. my ovaries work fine, it doesn't appear that i will have any trouble getting pregnant, and other than a few scars, all is good. your friend may want to talk to her doc about birth control. the purpose of this is medical because the cysts are generally caused by ovulation and some birth control pills stop ovualtion thus theoretically stopping the cysts. it hasn't worked for me, but i am now on my 10th month with no cyst-which i think is a record
if she needs someone to talk to let me know on the thread and i will pm you my email address so she can shoot me an email. this has been a 10 year fight for me, with a cyst about every 6 months. However, i am pushing 10 months now...yippee!!!!
the best thing is to relax, cysts, while extremely painful-i take that back, excruciatingly painful, generally if attended to pose no long term threats given they are simple cysts (which like i said generally 90% are).
the best thing is to support her and understand that the pain can be dehabilitating at times. let me know how the ultrasound goes, because they should be able to tell her how big the cyst is and whether or not it simple or complex. also, she is going to be in a lot of pain after the ultrasound because they manipulate the cyst and that hurts like hell. be good to her and give her lots of support
remember too the worst thing right now is probably the pain. oh how long has she had the pain..you say for a while earlier but how long exactly? that will also help determine if they can wait or if they need to act.
if you need some more answers, feel free to let me know and i will pm you my email address, or if you have AOL you can im using the button at the bottom of the post. good luck, keep me posted, i wish her all the best because i know how painful it can be.
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