Ovarian Dermoid Cyst - Very Painful!!

Hi Rene

Welcome! I joined this forum a few weeks ago and have found it invaluable for advice.

I'm a similar age to you and last week had my cyst removed via general anaesthetic & a c section style incision. To be honest I'm finding the recovery after the op the most difficult! Going to sleep is wonderful and I thank modern medicine everyday!! The fact that you've had 4 c sections already will be plain sailing for you as you know what to expect afterwards.

Look after yourself & try not to worry

Hi Freddie I'm glad your op went well & just as well you cancelled your holiday by the sounds of it.

Welcome to Rene too, this forum is really useful.

I think I'm fully recovered from my op now so took about 2.5 weeks to feel my old self. I didn't have a c-sec so faster recovery.

Unfortunately I have had facial surgery in the meantime to remove a lump from my cheek so it's set me back a bit last week but now I've had my face stitches out I feel better.

Just as my cysectomy stitches fell out I got 5 more the same day!!

Only local anesthetic this time though.

Rene I found GA was fine, it was just coming round that I had really bad shivering that lasted ages, no one seemed bothered by it though! I had the same thing after having a baby recently (with no GA of course) but I guess it may be the adrenalin?

Glad you're all healing well.

Hey Rene,

Yes, I too find this forum exceptionally helpful- especially when we find out the news about this stuff and what needs to be done. I am now starting to realize that most people do pretty much freak out when it comes to the concept of going under GA. I know I did!! But what is so neat about it is that you're awake, then you're asleep, and then you're awake again as if nothing even happened or no time passed by. I love this about GA. So, there is absolutely no concept of time. I promise And I was so thankful AFTER surgery as even when I FIRST opened my eyes I could feel this mass was gone. The pain was totally manageable due to pain meds and I just remember waking up in the recovery room feeling such incredible relief that it was done. You will too, just like the rest of us, I promise you that!

(And thanks for the input on the stubborn swelling above the c-section cut- It will be a month for me on 11/16 and it is still there but now I have a bit more hope it will go down!)

Send us questions or updates anytime.

All the best, Elizabeth

Hello Ladies, I just wanted to thank you all so much for sharing your stories and helpful tips. The internet has been pretty scary up to finding this forum. I was diagnosed with PCOS a couple years ago and only now found out it was an 11cm dermoid causing all my problems. Last week I came home with an intense burning feeling on my left ovary, the pain was so unbareable I couldn't keep anything down and ended up heading to the hospital a few hours later. After some torturous sonograms they found a softball sized dermoid twisted around my ovary. Before I knew it they were prepping me for surgery and telling me they might have to remove my left ovary in order to save the other one and my chances for children. After the surgery they told me the dermoid had killed my ovary(in the pictures it was black) so they removed it and the left tube along with the dermoid in a c section cut. Im on day 6 of recovery the pillow is my best friend and Im so relieved the burning is gone and my doc says Im doing very well. Im very worried about the chance of getting another dermoid, does anyone know of anything that might reduce the chance?. Im only 25 and my husband and I have been trying to have children for over 2 years and now my doctor says I need to hurry before I lose my chance.

Thank you,

Cris

If the cyst is larger than 5 cm in diameter, is more of an ovarian tumor, generally require surgery; if accompanied by progressive increase of dysmenorrhea and dyspareunia, pelvic tenderness nodules, endometriosis should be considered (ie chocolate cysts). Under specific circumstances, to take a different treatment.

Hi all, I am awaiting for a scan to see if I have an ovarian cyst. It all started about 2 weeks ago when I had really bad lower pelvic/ stomach/back/pains and a high temperature. Had a water/swab test done both clear doctor didn't seem concerned but went back a further twice as was still in a lot of pain. He has finally ordered a scan but god knows how long this will take and I am getting really worried about the pain. I have had terrible back pain that runs into my thighs and legs, had light bleeding for 10 days and my breasts seem sore - no lumps or bumps and definitely not pregnant. I did have a functional cyst many years ago but cant remember it being this painful or lasting this long. Does it sound like a cyst.

Thank you.

Hi Lynne, your symptoms sound similar to what I had pre op - pain was so bad I first got diagnosed with

Gallstones & renal colic, though ultrasound proved it to be a dermoid cyst. I too had the pain running down

My thighs, back pain, pain under my ribs (hence why they thought I had gallstones), couldn't eat. Are you in the uk? If so I would recommend bugging the ultrasound dept & make sure they know you are available at

Short notice. My scan was pretty quick once the dept had the request - my GP surgery managed to not send it on three occasions...

I haven't commenting on here for a while, had my op in May, but have been reading about everyone's experiences. This is a great place for support & reassurance, unlike some of the other forums I found!

Apologies for odd typing - this foirum & my iPad don't get along

Thanks for the reply Karen. Yes I am in the UK. The funny thing is one day it seems as though it is passing and getting better then the next day it is back worse then ever!! I have been off work for over a week now I feel totally washed out - I am never off work! I thought it might be my kidneys or bladder infection as I have had these in the past and I am type 1 diabetic but all tests came back fine. I have just had all my diabetes bloods done last week which include kidney/liver function tests so I presume this would show up any problems in these areas.

I am 50years old and on HRT so still get periods and usually get itchy sore breasts and hot flashes before period but this has been on going continuously for at least a month now- just before all the pain started.

Another thing that has happened though may not be connected is prior to the pain etc I started feeling breathless which set off really bad panic attacks. I have had ECG etc and all was normal.

To add insult to injury my son has kindly passed his flu like virus on to me!!!

Poor you! I had a similar pattern of pain - would be doubled over for a few days, then that would stop & I would have a bit of dull aching or no pain, then it would be back with a vengeance. My problems only started in

February & I had my op mid May - I had around six work absences between those dates! I was also very exhausted all the time.

It's good you're having an ultrasound to check what's going on - my pretty rubbish GP surgery diagnosed many things - UTI, IBS, "all in my imagination", and never even did a pelvic exam! It was quite a relief to have an ultrasound & discover all the other bits of my abdomen were normal & it was in fact a cyst causing all the trouble!

I will give a follow after I have had my scan which will hopefully be soon. Thanks so much for replying to my post Karen it really makes a difference to be able to share my concerns with somebody.

I feel like death today with this flu virus!!

Let's hope you get your scan soon, & I hope you feel better soon. I found that my immune levels seemed really low when I had all my cyst problems - culminating in a bout of mastitis the week before my op (I wasn't breast feeding or pregnant!).

Hi ladies!

I just have a quick question for everyone who has had their surgery - mine was a laparotomy (bikini "c section" style incision) and it has officially been 32 days since my surgery. I can't believe how fast time flies. Anyways, overall I feel MUCH better since it happened but still feels some pain, soreness, discomfort, etc. and was wondering if that was normal? Also, I was having bad lower back pains (mainly on the right side where the cyst was) and now it is more like a dull ache and on occasion I get some pain to shoot in my left leg, but still the it is waaaaay less than it was before the surgery.

My gut feeling is that it is just aftermath and things are still sorting themselves out with healing etc. but I just wanted to see if anyone else had a similar experience? Or did your pain go right away after surgery?

Any feedback is greatly appreciated!!

Thanks so much

Hi Elizabeth, I had similar sorts of pains for weeks after my op - I did lots of googling & found out this is completely normal! If only my doctors had warned me then I wouldn't have panicked as much. I figured it was just my body healing. It lasted around about two months post op, not all the time, and now all is back to normal.

I had no symptoms or pain before my op but did have stabbing pains where my cyst had been taken out. I thought it was the incision but it was actually next to it so I think it must have been where they cut out my ovary. Only lasted about a week on & off but I too think it would have been nice to have had warnings.

I had no symptoms or pain before my op but did have stabbing pains where my cyst had been taken out. I thought it was the incision but it was actually next to it so I think it must have been where they cut out my ovary. Only lasted about a week on & off but I too think it would have been nice to have had warnings.