I'm 29 and have had ovarian cysts off and on for awhile now despite being on the pill. They also think I have endometriosis but I guess the only way to diagnose is through surgery. Over the past few weeks I've experienced intense pain in my lower right pelvic area. They thought it was my appendix at first. I spent 5 days in the hospital. A CT scan showed a 2cm cyst on left ovary and 10mm follicle/cyst on the right ovary. They also saw fluid in my pelvic area and that's what they determined was causing the pain.

I'm in Vermont right now but my permanent home is in California. I saw a gyn here in Vermont and she said she'd do lap surgery to drain the cysts and remove any endo. I've since decided to fly home and have this taken care of in CA. The doctor I'm seeing talked with my primary care doc and he said that he wouldn't do surgery so soon. There are other methods he would try first - one of them being Lupron which I said no to.

Ok, so after all that my question is - do you think that a lap is a good route to go? I've been in so much pain lately that I'd like this taken care of asap. But if it's not the best way to go I'm willing to try other things.....as long as they help SOON! THanks for your help!

Lizzy

Hi,
I was offered BC pills which made me worst off. And I also had a bad reaction to the BC pills. I finally had a Lap and a myomectomy to have them removed. And I found out I had Endo unfortunately. If you think you have Endo. I would go for the Lap. It is the only way to dx Endo. And then the doctors can treat it. And also remove the cysts. The sooner you treat Endo the better. Good luck to you :)

Thanks for your reply. I just bought a plane ticket to head back to CA on Wednesday. I should see the gyn doctor on Thurs or Friday. My primary doc is awesome and she has talked things over with this guy so I'll be able to get in on last minute notice. We'll see. Anyone else have experience with ovarian cysts and possible endo? How long did it take to get some treatment that worked? THanks,

Liz

Hi
I had a Lap done just under a year ago do to ovarian cysts and severe pelvic pain. It is good to get done. It is easire for the docs to dx what is going on. I had PCOS, Severe case of Pelvic Congestion syndrome and Adenomyosis(Internal Endo).
If you have Endo outside of the uteris they can burn it off, and remove any cysts. My ovaries were covered in blood from some massive cysts rupturing the day before my surgery.
From what I understand Lupron can help. If it is Endo outside the uteris...my Endo was inside the uteris so Lupron was not the right choice for me.
I know that there are other woman on this board who has been on Lupron, Depo, you should ask them what they feel about that.

The actual lap procedure is a piece of cake. The only bad part is if they make you do a bowel prep (in case they find bowel problems or injure your bowels (very rare occurance!)), but you do all of that at home and that usually consists of drinking a solution that acts like a laxative. Anyway, they give you medication to relax you and you feel like you couldn't care less what they're going to do to you. ;) They usually start an IV to keep you hydrated, and before you know it you will be done.

In my opinion, a lap is a minor procedure and can be very useful diagnostically. You'll probably feel better emotionally after it's done, too, because it will give you some answers to your problems and pain. Good luck and keep us posted!

Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm feeling better about asking for the lap. In some cases it just seems like the quickest and most effective route to go. I guess insurance companies may feel differently because of the cost. Like I mentioned in another post I just can't stay on pain medication forever (Ultram and Percocet) so I'm going to beg that they do the lap and get rid of this stuff!