<p>Have had a surgery…it has come back! Anyone here has any advice? Thanks!!</p>
<p>I didn’t go this route for various reasons but my Dr suggested BCPs would help.</p>
<p>Alternative treatments that can reduce symptoms (however not cure) include: Antioxidant supplements, and herbs, such as blue cohosh, dandelion, milk thistle, wild yam, and bee pollen.</p>
<p>There is research that suggests that women who eat more meat and cheese products develop more ovarian cysts than women who consume less. From this you could choose to include more fruits and vegetables, or follow a vegetarian diet until the cysts shrink or dissolve.</p>
<p>Thanks Blue, I have tried the BCP’s. It was only a temp solution. Will try the herbs and do a detox of fruits/veg.</p>
<p>My mom had surgery for ovarian cysts three years ago and it recently came back…the doctor calls it fiberoid? Anyway, I’ve heard of people who had to undergo the same surgery 3+ times because it keeps coming back. Luckily, it’s an innocent tumor…the doc also suggested my mom to resist coffee.</p>
<p>EDIT: maybe fiberoid and ovarian cysts are two different things…are they?</p>
<p>^Yup they are different. Cysts usually grown on ovaries and fibroids are formed inside the uterus and sometimes on outer wall too. Its a messy situation.</p>
<p>My sister says a Chinese herbalist took care of her ovarian cyst, would be worth a try.</p>
<p>I had an ( undiagnosed- despite being the size of a grapefruit) ovarian cyst about 30 years ago.
The dr gave my a Hysterosalpingography, which found that I have an uterine malformation & found the cyst, although the cyst then disappeared and never returned.</p>
<p>I would try anything else before that however.</p>
<p>I was going to say menopause. But then I realized my problem was fibroids, not ovarian cysts.</p>
<p>I have known many people who use natural/herbals for most everything. They can be just as effective as ‘regular drugs’ in many cases. If you are taking any Rx or OTC med, finding a very good nutritionalist, and possibly an herbalist would be a good idea. Herbs, supplements, etc. are powerful but are not regulated by the FDA. Understanding them, how much to take, what to combine, etc. is very important.</p>
<p>I hope you find some relief very, very soon.</p>
<p>Mom, sister, self have had these all through life, with and without BCP’s, and despite diet. I never tried Chinese herbs, possibly because when my cysts were at their height (they still recur now and then) I was also trying to conceive, and would never (therefore) have used cohosh, which can cause miscarriage.</p>
<p>I have had a huge variety of types of ovarian cysts, excluding polcystic ovarian disease. Childbirth reduced their intensity, pain, frequency, but when they were at their height they often mimicked acute appendicitis, not to mention interfering with fertility. Once my OB-GYN literally couldn’t locate my uterus on palpation: that’s how large the cyst was and how much it had displaced my uterus.</p>
<p>Clearly, this is a family “curse.” However, so far my daughters haven’t complained. Mine, though, did not go ballistic until my early-to-mid 20’s, so there’s still time for them.</p>
<p>Once my OB-GYN literally couldn’t locate my uterus on palpation: that’s how large the cyst was and how much it had displaced my uterus. </p>
<p>OWWWWW! :(</p>
<p>Mine was long before I had kids- it had me going to the doc quite a bit because I had symptoms of pregnancy ( nausea, distended belly, erratic/abnormal periods etc- plus when it twisted- intense pain), but they didn’t find it & then said I should go to a psychiatrist. :rolleyes: Which I did actually, but then got a recommendation for a new ob-gyn.</p>
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<p>What prompted me to become interested in medicine was that – until the forementioned OB-GYN, who was unique in my experience, of not dismissing women whose complaints he hadn’t yet encountered (i.e., a true scientist) – doctors had not been particularly helpful. I became intensely interested in medicine and located a book written by two female medical professionals, but written for lay women (and men) & specifically addressed the phrase “It’s all in your head, deary.” (By that phrase, in the book.) A large section in this thick book delved deeply into all the categories of ovarian cysts, and precisely their symptoms. That validated that it was not my imagination (particularly because the pain sometimes paralyzed me), and I was able to narrow, and eliminate, information, for my OB-GYN.</p>
<p>EK, his exact words were, when searching for my uterus, “Where did you put it?” :D</p>
<p>If you have a cyst that does not go away, be sure to get a trans-vaginal ultrasound, and a series of CA-125 tests (blood test). A single CA125 won’t do it, you need repeated tests to see if the level is going up.</p>
<p>A cyst that does not go away, with an elevated or rising CA125, is a possible symptom of ovarian cancer. </p>
<p>A history of cysts puts you at elevated risk for ovarian cancer.</p>
<p>This isn’t a disease you want to ignore. In it’s earliest stages (1 & 2) it is more than 80% curable. Unfortunately, less than 1/4 of ovarian cancers are caught this early. By the time you get to stage 3 or 4, survival drops well below 50%.</p>
<p>I went for the tests last year and the cyst was there, blood work was clear. The doctor suggested we watch it and with stuff happening at home I did not pay much attention to it, hoping pre-menopause will set in and the lower hormone levels will help. The cyst was small.</p>
<p>Have been lifting weights at the gym and wondering whether the pain stems from that. Has brought the whole flashback to mind. Don’t really want to go through another surgery!! :(</p>