Look like? I would assume it looks like a regular cyst, but you would never be able to see it without an ultrasound of the ovaries! I've had them and they look like little masses on the ultrasound. They can get so big that they destroy your ovaries, that's for sure. If you suspect you have POS you should definitely go to your doctor, they can be quite painful!
Angeleyes is right. You cannot actually see an ovarian cyst yourself. You have to see it on some sort of scan like an ultrasound. On an ultrasound a fluid filled cyst looks like a big black ball because the sound waves are able to go through it. If the cyst has any solid components in it, they will appear as grey or white. There are many types of cysts and they each look different on the ultrasound. Radiologists and gynecologists are trained to identify these things based on their look. As to their size, they can grow to be quite huge as we have plenty of room in there (keep in mind that we can grow an entire baby in our uterus).
You should also know that ALL women grow small cysts on their ovaries every month. These contain our eggs and about two weeks after the start of your period, the largest of these cysts breaks open and releases an egg into the fallopian tube. Then the shell that is left over remains for a while and gives off a hormone to help prepare your uterus for conception (progesterone). If the shell closes up and fills with liquid, a cyst can result. Both the egg filled cysts (called follicular cysts) and the shell cysts (called corpus luteum cysts) will go away by themselves in a few cycles. This is why doctors often watch cysts to see if they go away by themselves.
Sometimes cysts are not normal cysts and they keep growing and must be removed. Angeleyes is correct in saying that they can get so large that they destroy the ovary. I, for instance, have recently had a 9 cm cyst removed with surgery. They took my left ovary with the cyst (as well as my fallopian tube). An ovary is about the size of a walnut and an ovarian cyst can grow to even about 20 cms before the woman begins to feel any discomfort (like pressing on her bladder or colon).
Angeleyes is right. You cannot actually see an ovarian cyst yourself. You have to see it on some sort of scan like an ultrasound. On an ultrasound a fluid filled cyst looks like a big black ball because the sound waves are able to go through it. If the cyst has any solid components in it, they will appear as grey or white. There are many types of cysts and they each look different on the ultrasound. Radiologists and gynecologists are trained to identify these things based on their look. As to their size, they can grow to be quite huge as we have plenty of room in there (keep in mind that we can grow an entire baby in our uterus).
You should also know that ALL women grow small cysts on their ovaries every month. These contain our eggs and about two weeks after the start of your period, the largest of these cysts breaks open and releases an egg into the fallopian tube. Then the shell that is left over remains for a while and gives off a hormone to help prepare your uterus for conception (progesterone). If the shell closes up and fills with liquid, a cyst can result. Both the egg filled cysts (called follicular cysts) and the shell cysts (called corpus luteum cysts) will go away by themselves in a few cycles. This is why doctors often watch cysts to see if they go away by themselves.
Sometimes cysts are not normal cysts and they keep growing and must be removed. Angeleyes is correct in saying that they can get so large that they destroy the ovary. I, for instance, have recently had a 9 cm cyst removed with surgery. They took my left ovary with the cyst (as well as my fallopian tube). An ovary is about the size of a walnut and an ovarian cyst can grow to even about 20 cms before the woman begins to feel any discomfort (like pressing on her bladder or colon).
Hope this information helps.
Best,
Estria
Estria, this is great information... much of it I didn't know and am glad I stopped by this thread again. Thank you for sharing!
