Ovarian Cyst Removal - My Experience

Hey everyone,

Just thought I'd let you know about my experience with my ovarian cyst in case you're worrying about upcoming surgery or symptoms etc.

When I first went to the doctors with prolonged bleeding, I never expected I'd be having to have a laparotomy, they thought I was pregnant due to a lump in my stomach, which to be honest I looked 4/5 months gone!

I had my open surgery on Thursday, which wasn't as bad as expected if you try to remain calm, as stupid as that sounds. My appointment was at 7:30am and I was been taken down to the anesthetic room at 8:30am. I was in theatre a very short amount of time, around 20-30 minutes. I woke up in agonising pain, I didn't know what to anticipate and maybe I can't handle pain that well but I really struggled with the pain. I was in hospital Thursday, Friday and let out Saturday afternoon. During this time I was hooked up to a PCA machine, catheter, had those pressure pads on my legs - the lot. It's hard, you will struggle to sit up, cough, even move in the slightest, believe me.

I'm 19, the cyst absolutely destroyed one of my ovaries which unfortunately had to be removed, it was also the size of a melon - so it was a big deal for my age. My surgeon said you couldn't even make out it was an ovary! They suspect it was a dermoid ovarian cyst so this was expected to some degree.

They cut me from my belly button down - I have 14 staples which will be removed in 10 days. I have to have an injection in my stomach everyday, to prevent blood clots and wear stockings (provided by the hospital) for a week until I'm more mobile for the same reason.

Do not try to brave the pain haha! Anything they offer you, take! It's OK and expected to be in a lot of pain! The PCA machine knocked me quite a bit alongside the anesthetic, I threw up after I ate and struggled to eat anything until Friday night. But people's experience's can differ, I was very glad to be off the PCA machine, I had a lot of paracetamol and was put on paracetamol IV. Whilst at the hospital I mostly slept, but couldn't sleep at night due to a number of factors such as other patients and pain. I was warned about the gas pain you can expect in your back and shoulders, but never anticipated that it would hurt so much. The pain of that and the surgery itself makes the whole situation 10 x worse as you are told to try and be slightly active to help the gas move but I personally felt really fragile and tense. I woke up crying in an immense amount of pain due to my back hurting and had dropped the buzzer to get the staffs attention (just my luck) so had to struggle and get out of bed!

When coming home I made sure to have a pillow for the car journey as you cannot prepare for the bumpy potholes and roads and the impact it has on your tummy. I've had no trouble with stairs, or walking around although I cannot stand straight at the moment.

The cut itself doesn't hurt as much as expected, my pain comes from the sides of the cut, almost like a burning sensation whenever I move in an odd way. I imagine this is from them messing around inside and sorting it all out.

At the end of the day, open surgery is major surgery, and it's not going to be easy for anyone.. I'm 4 days in and struggling a lot. I've been given a 6 week sick note for now but been told to see my GP if I feel as though I'm not ready to return to work after that.

I tried to briefly explain my experience for you all.. if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask as I've just been through it all.

Thanks guys😊

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