Ovarian Cysts and Their Possible Symptoms
I have had ovarian cysts before in my 55ish years but none like the ones I just had this last couple of months during my menopause. As you are aware, I have been in menopause for 4 years, 2 months, 19 days. How do I know the exact day and time, down to between 3 and 5 pm that evening on October 14, 2018? My body is my temple. My hair, zits, freckles, innards, we are all on a first name basis.
So, when my three cysts arrived, I just knew something was wrong. Now that they are almost gone (the left one decided to hang around a bit longer than the 2 right ones), there were some symptoms that some of you may experience as well.
The first symptom was water smelled like fish. Boiled, microwaved, and hot water from the tap all smelled. We run all through a filter but that does nothing for smells. Living in Hawaii, OK, maybe there could be a smell, but my hubby could pick up nothing. It started about the time my cysts arrived and I just noticed it gone when the 2 right cysts went away. Not a hint of fishy smell and I can enjoy my tea again!
It’s FM baby!
The second symptom: My upper tummy was bloated. I could ALWAYS suck that part in, but she was having none of that. It was different than gas and almost felt like a burning sensation. But, thinking it could be digestive issues, I cut out a lot of food, stuck to juice, homemade banana bread, and veggies; no meat at all for a few days, yet there was no change. Deep down, I knew it wasn’t my stomach.
The other symptoms include nausea, sever lower back and neck pain. The ovarian cysts exaggerated all the pain I normally have.
Feeling absolutely horrible one night around 7pm, I drove myself to urgent care to have them check my tummy, but all was normal there, so I had my primary doctor schedule an ultrasound while I waited for an appointment with a gynecologist. Of course, it had to be the girly parts.
***The lesson here is that if you must wait for a gynecologist appointment, you can ask to have the ultrasound done prior to the doctor visit. That way you can simply get the results at your appointment.***
My ultrasound showed three Ovarian cysts. On the left ovary we had an eleven millimeter one, and on the right ovary, another eleven millimeter and a three millimeter.
From the day I felt something wrong until the day I was officially diagnosed had been about four weeks total because the very first week, I just blew off the symptoms.
Aside from removing the ovaries, there is really nothing anyone can do for liquid filled cysts, the best kind to get because they are rarely cancerous, except leave them alone. I did threaten my ovaries with surgery, stimulate them with an orgasm a day and tried to feed my tummy right because getting backed up is not an option.
But eating made them hurt more so I stopped. That didn’t last so I ate lighter, added more pineapple, drank more water.
For the back pain I went to a chiropractor and since my body needed stimulation and I just couldn’t bear to exercise, I went to a masseuse every week for three weeks and got ninety-minute massages.
Twice, in the last two weeks, I started crying for no good reason whatsoever while enduring a significant amount of pain on both sides of my lower stomach. Cysts were a bursting. Yea for me. (I use the word burst because that is what it bloody feels like). You do have to worry about the fluid that escapes but see a doctor if the pain increases after a cyst burst. There does seems to be residual pain after a burst, and my hope is that we can tell the difference.
The left one is still hanging around, unsure of what name I should give it. Thoughts?