Facing Ovarian Cyst Surgey: How Will This Impact Fertility?

Over 25 years ago, I got married, and we began trying for a family. It struck me as odd, after so MANY years of trying NOT to get pregnant, that we would be having issues.

Anyway, we were just shy of investigating infertility issues when I found out I was pregnant!! Woo hoo!!

During an ultrasound, they found a cyst on my left ovary. The american docs wanted to do surgery immediately. I said...um...NO! I then switched to german docs (ex was in military, and we were in germany at the time).

Anyway, those docs monitored my pregnancy very carefully. My eldest ended up as an emergency c section as I went into labor before the scheduled c section. He was delivered, they removed my whole left ovary.

The docs felt that my right ovary would take up the ovulation function, but they could not be sure.

I went on to have 6 more kiddos (one set of twins)...so I would say in 'my' case, that right ovary was surely working overtime.

The cyst they removed was the size of a grapefruit. Prior to my first pregnancy, I had no symptoms (and I regularly went to my gyn).

I was concerned about cancer as well...and with a growing baby inside me, there was no way to tell what was going on without it being invasive. I was not going to risk the baby we had struggled for.

I send healing thoughts and prayers to you and your family.

Take care of YOU!

Best!

If we put all the women with actual or suspected ovarian cysts in one room, we'd have a great support network and a zillion different stories. Cancer would be very low on the list. It's the scariest of course, but I have to tell you that I work in the field of immunity boosting and I can't tell you how many people are beating this and also warding it off by using new developments in epigenetics. We have all kinds of women at our conferences talking about PCOS, infertility (primary and secondary), cysts of all types, irregular periods, and much more. I didn't have cysts but I did have laparoscopic surgery and infertility treatments, so I understand your anxiety. I have a friend who had significant infertility and was told she'd never have kids, but lo and behold, she took steps to make that a distant fear (just had her 3rd kid).

From my work in women's health for many years, I can tell you that many women with just one ovary are just as likely to have children. I know it's such a mishmash of organs, cycles, hormones, tubes and chance, but still it happens plenty.

So here are the positives: you've been extremely healthy all along. You've had 3 normal pregnancies. Your doctor doesn't think this is cancer but everything from malpractice insurance to the tiniest percentage possibility prevents him from saying you have no problem. A laparoscopy will give them a grab look of everything that's going on - organ placement and health, blood flow, ovaries and tubes, scar tissue (if any) and cysts or their absence, and much more - you will have much more information that most women ever have. You will be sore for a few days so you need to get enough help to wait on you (and please please please do not skimp on this) but you will have great answers in a few days.

Please spend the weekend with your husband getting a good line-up of help - meals, child care, carpooling, errands, laundry, some trashy novels for you to read, etc.. Do not do it all yourself, do not cook up 3 days worth of meals, do not try to be up out of bed in 12 hours. Let everyone appreciate you and baby you. Take a physical but also an emotional rest.

Good luck. Message me if you want to talk more.

I had a friend who had a similar issue and surgery when she was 22. She had a cyst the size of a grapefruit (why is it always produce, anyway?). She had no trouble getting pregnant at 35 with her one and only kiddo (by choice). So no good science for you, but at least a good outcome story!