Upcoming surgery advice

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Hi! I'm 39 and about to have laparoscopic surgery this Thursday to remove a 7cm (as of 3 weeks ago) cyst on my left ovary and a 2cm cyst on my right. I am also having a benign left breast fibroadenoma removed at the same time. These cysts are causing me discomfort and my CA-125 went from a 33 to a 55 in a couple of weeks. This scares me although I've heard that many things can cause this number to rise.

I would love any great tips for surgery and recovery! I am also interested to hear opinions on whether or not I should encourage the preservation of my lady parts? I am finished having children and part of me just doesn't want to have to go through this again in the future but at the same time I know keeping our hormones for as long as possible is advantageous. They have offered ablation while they are in there. Is this a good option? I do have heavy, long, and painful periods. Thanks ladies for your expertise!

0 likes, 14 replies

14 Replies

  • Posted

    Christiane,

    We were born with all our parts to serve us our entire life. Not just for child bearing.

    Estrogen is produced even post menopause and provides numerous benefits.

    Your uterus once gone no longer contributes to your sexual satisfaction.

    I know it seems like everything is haywire right now but hopefully this tune up gets you back on track with no recurrence.

    The many side effects of a hysterectomy are not pleasant. In turn, the normal post menopause side effects are magnified.

    My sister had ablasion and is thrilled with the results.

    So in the grand scheme of things. Yes preserve your lady parts, assuming they find no complications. Yes, go for ablasion. There are a few days of discomfort the you likely won't notice with everything else going on.

    • Posted

      Thank you so much! This is all good advice and I'm so glad to hear about a good outcome with ablation!

  • Posted

    Hi,

    I'm 24 and I had a laparotomy about 12 says ago to remove a 26cm cyst from (what they thought) was my right ovary. Turns out, it was no longer attached to anything and they were able to remove it with ease and not touch any reproductive organs. Do you have a gyno oncologist surgeon doing your surgery? It's probably too late to request now but I can't recommend them enough. My surgeon removed a massive cyst through a 3 inch incision on my bikini line that is almost healed, I will barely have a scar. Originally they thought they might have to do a much larger vertical incision from my bellybutton to bikini line.

    I've heard both sides regarding keeping or not keeping your organs and it ultimately comes down to a personal decision. Because I'm young, though I do not plan on children, I am happy they were able to keep everything intact - but this surgery set me back financially and I'm hoping they do not reoccur. Unfortunately for me, if I was older, money would be a deciding factor if I were to choose a hysterectomy or not.

    My surgery was a close to keyhole surgery as they could have done, but I've been laid up on the couch - not doing much other than walking to the bathroom or letting the dog out. 12 days in and there is a dull pain but not as much sharp pain. The worst is when I cough or laugh. I'm taking less and less pain medicine. Make sure you still walk around a bit to avoid blood clots. I would give yourself 4 weeks to fully recover.

    Good luck!

    • Posted

      Thanks so much, especially for your honesty about how long it will take to recover. I know everyone is different, but it's good to prepare for a few weeks of rest and then be surprised and grateful if I feel better earlier! I'm glad yours turned out so well. Yes, surgeries are surely expensive even if you have good insurance. When I was getting pre-authorized, I was told how some people can't even afford surgery because their deductibles and/or co-insurance is so high!

  • Posted

    Hi.

    It's good it will be laparoscopic as recovery will be much easier. I had a lsrge bikini cut done that is about 15cm. They wanted to do it open because my cysts looked irregular (though ended up both being dermoids). This was 9 weeks ago now and the cysts were both about 10cm each! I'm only 24 so keeping my ovaries was very important to me, and luckily they were both saved. My gyno said that even when he does hysterectomies he will still save the ovaries because they are so important to the functioning of the female body.

    As for recovery, yours should be much easier than what I went through! I had a blood vessel not closed off properly during the first surgery and went into septic shock and developed a huge collection of blood in my abdomen, requiring a second surgery! My recovery has been long and slow and I am still getting bloating and jabbing pain. Make sure the nurses show you the correct way to get out of bed afterwards, as you need to roll onto your side and not use your tummy muscles to get up. Coughing/laughing/sneezing hurt a lot! I got a cold a few weeks after surgery and was in agony from all the sneezing/coughing! Take the pain meds for as long as you need.

    Good luck xx

    • Posted

      Thank you for sharing! Oh my, you had an experience! I'm so glad you came through all of that alright! I'm so bloated now I can't imagine it getting worse,Lol! That's good advice about rolling over to get up. I was wondering about that. I would like to use my laptop when I feel better. Is sitting upright doable or would you say laying on your back is the best way to go for awhile?

    • Posted

      I didn't lay flat for about 2 weeks! You need to lay at an angle which is easy in hospital beds but much harder when your in your own bed trying to prop yourself up with pillows! It was about 2 weeks until I could sit at my desk, and even then I would have to have breaks very often to stretch out. I was also dizzy for WEEKS and couldn't really focus on my computer screen! Sorry I don't want to freak you out but just thought I would be honest with my experience. I have very low blood pressure which was probably what caused the dizziness also.

    • Posted

      No apologies necessary. I want the real scoop. I'm not expecting it to be easy, but I know everyone's experience is different. Glad I have lots of pillows for propping up! Your blood pressure definitely could have contributed to the dizziness!

  • Posted

    Why is the 2cm cyst removed or just, because they are in there anyway? Or is it not functional simple, but a complex cyst?

    My daughter's 3cm hemorrhagic cyst was left inside when found during diagnostic laparoscopy even.

    Bigger cysts need to come out so or so, yes.

    But leave as much as you can in your body.

    I know a lady, who had a CA125 of 600u/ml and a benign condition (inflammation of her abdominal wall)

    The quantitative value is only valuable, when used after the operation as a screen to see what it is doing in a series, if it rose 100s.

    Good luck!

     

    • Posted

      Thank makes me feel so much better about the bloodwork, thanks!! As for the small cyst, it was 2cm last they checked so I'm assuming it has grown since then but maybe it's gone!?! They did not say they were removing it, I just assumed they would. She made the comment "we just need to get on there and clean things out".

    • Posted

      Ah good, makes sense.

      Christiane, thanks so much for replying and updating.

      I find it sometimes hard, when one tries to give suggestions and is not responded back

      or

      when months/years ago people asked a question, that actually would be very interesting in outcome since it would give everyone some kind of answer and experience, too, but was never updated and just left as a question. rolleyes

      Thank you so much,

      and all the best for your surgery!!

      (had a 9cm cyst with dermoid, laparsocopic removal - despite getting me up too quickly as soon back to room and walking too fast to bathroom for shower!, was mistaken for other patient, giving some lung compression due to rising up gas and breathing problems for few minutes- was a breeze, bit vibration sensitive, ok, but nothing compared to other gone through health issues and operations.)

  • Posted

    I had a 7cm cyst removed last August. I also had both ovaries and tubes removed while they were in there. I was 50 when I had the surgery and was all done with the ovaries anyway. My doctor remommeded removal of both ovaries and tubes since I was in the beginnings of menopause. I also had a d&c. The surgery was a breeze. I was home by 1:00 in the afternoon watching tv comfortably on the couch. No pain at all (I did take the pain meds as prescribed. The only negative was I was bloated for about a month. Since then I feel wonderful. Swimming a mile 3 times a week. My hair and nails look the best they have every looked and my weight has finally stopped going up and down. I also had an ablation about 8 years ago because of very heavy bleeding. Again no pain, and it was great for me as no more periods! 

    • Posted

      That is fabulous that you've had such a great experience! You mentioned exercising and that's one thing I'm really missing...my gym classes! They say 4 weeks really until I can shake it again in Zumba! LOL!

    • Posted

      I honestly think exercise is a huge factor in feeling so go. I love Zumba also. Can't wait until you can get back to the gym! Keep moving!

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