Frustrating.

[LadyTsuguri]

Hey everyone, I'm 17 I was diagnosed with PCOS after about the 3rd-4th visit to my OBGYN. They found a cyst after I was complaining of a lot of pelvic pain.

I have a question, because my OBGYN does this every single time I see him and it's really getting annoying. I have a lot of pelvic pain, and when I do I go to the doctor and I get checked and they find more cysts, which I was put on Yasmin back in november to stop the cysts from growing but apparently that isn't helping.

Well, anyways, whenever I talk to my OBGYN, he SWEARS up and down, my pain is not from my cysts it's just pelvic pain. But, my pain only happens when I have the cysts. Has anyone else with PCOS experienced this with their OBGYN's or doctors? Why in the world would he assume my pain isn't from my cysts? A surgeon I saw recently, saw my CT scan and said I had a lot of cysts on my left ovary which has been bothering me the most throughout the whole time I've been having these problems, and one large one on my right one.

I'm just really upset, it'd be nice to know if I wasn't the only one dealing with this. -_-

[sweetsunshine72]

The cysts you get from PCOS aren't "regular" cysts. They are min-cysts that come from eggs that couldn't finish developing properly and will eventually re-absorb back into your body. Typically, they don't cause any pain, although I have heard of women getting ligament pain because their ovaries are bigger (heavier) and that can put some strain on the ligaments that hold them up - it's rare, though. You probably have had these cysts all along - most women don't even realize they have them. Have you been checked for cysts when you did not have the pelvic pain?

Now, the one on the right ovary sounds more like a "regular" cyst, and those are the ones that can cause pain because they can have a pocket of infection in them and can get quite large. Sometimes, they can even twist, which is dangerous as they can twist around the ovary or fallopian tube, strangling it! Even though the mini-cysts from PCOS don't usually cause pain, once in a blue moon they can turn into a large cyst, so that is possibly where the one came from on the right.

If you've only been on the Yasmin since November, it's possible that you might still have some cysts "left over". I think it usually takes about 3 months for them to re-absorb, but I'm not 100% sure on that. A concern I have, though, is that it doesn't sound like your doctor is doing anything else besides giving you BCP for your PCOS, when PCOS is really a metabolic issue that happens to have gyno symptoms. Most good PCOS docs now realize this, and will work on treating the metabolic aspect, as well. Basic treatment starts with a low-GI-type diet and a good amount of exercise (assuming that your pelvic pain is not preventing you from being active - listen to your body on this one). If that is not enough, then many of us will also take Metformin, an insulin re-sensitizer. Met helps resolve the Insulin Resistance that most of us have. Improving the IR reduces excess insulin in the body that wasn't being used properly and that helps normalize the hormone levels and improves our ability to lose weight.

As for the pain - I would keep a diary for the next month or so. Include meds taken (including BCP), a rough idea of the foods you ate, physical activity, any pain and PMS-type symptoms, and any bleeding. If there's anything else you can think of to include, add it in! It is a bit of a pain-in-the-butt, but it might give the doctors more of an idea of what's going on so that they can figure out a way to help you.

Keep asking questions and insisting on answers! With PCOS, we have to be really good at advocating for ourselves because, even though a lot has been learned about it in the last 5 - 10 years, many docs don't keep up on the latest info and try to brush us off.

Hang in there, Hon!!! Don't give up!!! And remember, your Cysters are here for you!!! (((HUG)))