Endometrioma

Hello all, I am 28 and my s/o is 30. On march12 I started cramping pretty bad. I was in cloud nine thinking this was my month. The cramping started a few days after I ovulated. Once it didn't go away I made appt do be seen on april 9. I had a pelvic exam and was scheduled for an ultrasound the following Wednesday. She found a functional cyst on my left ovary and a chocolate cyst on my right. It measured 5 cm. She said there was fluid around my uterus so she believes it is draining which that's what she wants. I am ordered to not lift anything heavy for three weeks. I have another ultrasound scheduled for next Wednesday and I'm going crazy. She did not tell me these types of cysts are linked with endometriosis. I really have no symptoms of endometriosis my period is every 28 days it's very light no need for tampon. I have no symptoms at all. I keep trying to stay or Google but that's not happening has anyone had any experience with these? Oh and I had blood work done to rule out appendicitis and I asked for my hormones checked a d she said they are all normal. We have been ttc for 11 months.

I have endo stage II and endometriomas on both my ovaries (i think around 4 cm or so). My cycles are around 28 days also, sometimes plus or minus 2 days, so pretty regular. But i did have last year 2 months without a period, maybe due to not ovulating (because of the cysts, not sure). Chocolate cysts are usually endometriomas. On the ultrasound the doctor can see if its a normal hormonal (funktional) cysts or not, cause those are kinda filled with a watery liquid while chocolate cysts are filled with thick brown old blood which reminds someone of liquid chocolate sauce. You can have endo without any symptoms or much pain even if it's in higher stages, depending on where the endo parts are attached to. It's different for every woman. I manage my pain with a special diet, i feel much better meanwhile. But before i did have painful periods, the pain extending into my thighs and back, also in between i noticed my cysts as a kind of pressure, sometimes pain in lower back or belly. The only way to truly tell if you do have endo is by getting a lap (minimal surgery with 3 tiny cuts). That you had cramping after ovulation is very possible due to the cysts attached to your ovaries. Hormonal cysts usually disappear with your next period(s) but endometriomas won't and every period adds more blood to it, so most likely they grow in size over a longer period of time and you eventually end up having the surgery anyway. I had exactly this experience. My cysts didn't go away and even got bigger and i was scheduled for a lap and diagnosed with endo. Before that lap i was in pain constantly, hardly could stand up straight. It's better since my operation but the cysts came back. So far they aren't bothering me much. They just interfere with ovulation and getting pregnant.

I have read that if removing the cyst off your ovaries can screw up your egg reserve. I'm so so scared! And I hate waiting to get answers. How long did it take you to recover from the surgery. what kind of diet are you on

I recovered quickly from surgery, you only stay home a week really maybe less if there wasn't much endo to remove, it's really a minimal surgery, they make one small cut on your belly button and 2 small cuts in your lower belly left and right, just so the instruments can fit in. I needed the lap because of pain :-( the cysts had to get out. I don't know how much damage it does to your ovaries but if you do have endo on them, of course they gotta cut out the endo part and with that a part of your ovary and egg reserve is cut out too. But some endo parts are just stick needle size, it's the cysts that's big and maybe is attached to other tissue also to other ovarian tissue. If your cysts don't cause you any problems at the moment, you could wait on the surgery and keep trying to TTC some more months. But i was told that the endo on the ovaries can cause damage to them and the egg reserve as well. The endo parts scar your ovaries too through the repeated healing process after every period! The endo parts behave like your uterus lining, they bleed every period. So it's really 50/50 i would say either way, both (endo and surgery) damages your ovaries.
Oh i forgot to note, sometimes they only cauterize the endo on the ovaries, when they know you still want to get pregnant. I think that's what they did with me. But it doesn't removed the endo properly and cysts most likely come back as the endo is only burned on the surface and not cut out. But with this method you don't really loose any ovarian tissue and eggs. They advice you though to try to get pregnant right after surgery before the cysts come back. Sadly i didn't see my husband for about 3 months after my surgery and i think by the time we tried TTC my cysts came back. So either they just cauterize and give you some time before it comes back to get pregnant or they remove it properly, it won't come back but you might loose more ovarian tissue and eggs. It's really difficult! My egg quality is low too :-( a simple blood test can tell, but it's possible to improve your egg quality, so that's what i'm trying with supplements and diet.

The diet I'm on, is gluten free, sugar free, dairy free, caffeine and red meat free. Yes, difficult i know but once you know what to eat instead it's not that bad. It improved my overall health, i feel less fatigued and less pain. Endo seems to be linked to celiac (gluten sensitive people) and immune system problems.

Last edited by Tina03 on Wed Apr 22, 2015 4:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.

ThAnk you so much! I have an appt next week with my obgyn but I think it's time to go to a fertility doctor.

You are welcome! Ya, go to a fertility doctor and get tests done, just to see how your hormones are and also get your egg quality tested (anti-mullerian hormone testing, i think it's called). If the quality is good, you might don't have to worry about the cysts yet. Good luck! If you like, update me on your process or if you have more questions let me know

Do you have the link to the product?

Hi,
I was exactly the same no pain symptoms at all 95% of the time apart from hip pain. I had a ultrasound and discovered a 'dermoid' cyst on my ovary, which they put the pain down to. Due to its size I had to have open surgery, where they discovered it was a chocolate cyst and I had Stage 4 Endo. I need more surgery due to it having done some damage for so long, and they weren't expecting it the first time round. Looking up the symptoms I only had one and since the chocolate cyst has been taken out, I have no pain and have just found out I'm pregnant, when my surgeon said I might need IVF due to loosing one ovary and Fallopian tube.