Ovarian cysts are fluid filled sacks, which are formed within the ovary. Cysts, which are bigger than two centimeters, are formally diagnosed as ovarian cysts. Many ovarian cysts are functional in nature. That is, they are beginning and rarely ever cause complications. However in some cases, the cysts may develop certain complications. Risks and complications of ovarian cysts depend on the type of cyst and the stage of treatment. Some types of risks complications, which are associated with ovarian cysts, include the following.
1.Ruptured ovarian cyst: This is one the most serious form of complication. Ruptured ovarian cyst can lead to internal bleeding and in some cases it can be very dangerous. Ruptured ovarian cyst can cause hemorrhage, which requires immediate medical attention.
2.Ovarian torsion: Sometimes, there is also twisting of the ovary, which can lead to infertility. Ovarian torsion may disturb blood supply to the ovary as well. This leads to another complication called as ovarian necrosis, which leads inflammation and septic shock
3.Peritonitis: Pertitonitis is the inflammation of the mucus membrane. As this membrane lines the abdomen cavity, it can cause excruciating pain and in some cases the resulting complications can be life threatening.
4.Infertility: Infertility caused by ovarian cysts can be temporary or permanent depending upon the extent of the damage. Hence, women suffering from ovarian cysts and those desirous of starting a family should take ovarian cysts really seriously.
5.Cancer: In rare but significant instances, ovarian cysts may even turn cancerous. The patient will then require the usual cancer treatment along with surgery, where generally both the ovaries are removed.
Besides these serious complications and risks, ovarian cysts also lead to excruciating pain and hormonal imbalance. This can affect the mental and emotional well being of the patient as well. However, conventional medicine very rarely pays attention to the mental and emotional complications that may develop because of ovarian cysts. The treatment options can cause many side effects like loss of fertility, weight gain, and reoccurrence of stronger cysts. Therefore, many women find it difficult to cope with the demands of the conventional treatment, which can worsen an already difficult condition.
Hence, to overcome the risks and complications of ovarian cysts along with the disease, you will need a, more comprehensive and holistic approach. Holistic approach is very effective as it treats the root cause of the condition and not the symptoms. Symptoms are attractive propositions to treat as relief in symptoms give a false sense of security. However, holistic approach shatters this conventional thinking by clearly eliminating the root cause. Therefore, holistic approach can not only treat ovarian cysts, but can also prevent the risks and complications of ovarian cysts in the bargain.
One woman described how she'd had two miscarriages already. The first one was at 21 weeks, the second was at eight weeks. And she found out during her second pregnancy that she had a dermoid cyst on her right ovary. And she writes in that we consulted a doctor that said it wasn't the cause of my miscarriage, and can I still try getting pregnant? It was almost a year passed since I had my second miscarriage, and I'm trying to get pregnant, but what I just observed with myself now is I can't get pregnant as easily now like before, any advice?
First of all, the first advice is she had two miscarriages, miscarriages are extremely common. Twenty percent of all pregnancies miscarry before 12 weeks, it's nature's way of ridding vaginetic products. The miscarriage at 21 weeks was rather unusual. I'm assuming that this was something that was looked into, and probably was not a cause of anything that would repeat itself. The dermoid cyst on her right ovary, well if she knows she had a dermoid cyst on the right ovary, that must have been removed.
We were probably given part of the information because no doctor's going to leave a dermoid cyst. As far as her so-called - her concerns about infertility since that dermoid cyst, pregnancy is not as easy as one thinks. Pregnancy - the average couple who have intercourse the average number of times, which is 2.5 times per week will conceive 90 percent of the time in one year, in two years 95 percent. But you still have ten percent that are not going to conceive in one year. So one year of lack of conception is not an infertility concern in my mind. So my advice is just continue trying, don't worry about the cyst, and hopefully pregnancy number three will be absolutely normal.
Let's see, there was something else here. Oh, there is an increasing number of women - since we mentioned some drugs, we should mention Tamoxifen. Tamoxifen is an anti-breast cancer drug, the most commonly used. Women are often on it five years, very effective. The good news is Tamoxifen works, being an anti-estrogen effect on the breast, it stops the estrogen receptors.
Because breast tumors many times have - they like estrogen. So this particular anti-cancer drug works by blocking estrogen. But it has some good news too, it has a positive estrogen effect on bone and on the heart. And we know that estrogen can be good for bone growth, that's why many women are given estrogens after menopause. And it can be good on bone growth and prevent heart disease. The one problem with women on this particular drug though is that it causes in some cases a slight increase in uterus cancers, because it has the positive estrogen effect on the uterus.
And it can in some cases increase any cysts that are there. But to my knowledge there is no evidence that it can cause ovary cancers. So we have some effects from this powerful anti-breast cancer drug that are positive, no ovary bad effects except it can cause an increased size in the cysts. And these would be managed like any other cysts.
I think one thing here is - one woman writes in and she says is surgery a must for a cyst measuring 20 centimeters? 20 centimeters is huge. Greater than 10 centimeters is huge. The answer is unequivocally 20-centimeter cyst is in risk of torsion, it should be operated upon, no questions asked. And we don't know the age of this woman, but the odds are most likely in her favor because it's a cyst. And the other one here is -
I have one question I think is very good. Is a hysterectomy the best option for an ovary cyst on a 68-year-old woman, any other options? I'm going to answer that because I'm from the school of thought that says if you're going in for a hysterectomy in the menopausal years, I believe those ovaries should come out. Now this is Doctor Christopher Freville's philosophy, many colleagues agree with me, some do not. But the ovary has very little function after menopause. At menopause it doesn't have any except it can serve as a place for bad tumors and bad cysts to grow.
So if for some reason one has to have a hysterectomy at the menopausal time in life, my strong recommendation would be discussed with your doctor should the ovaries come out. Because unfortunately, ovary cancers, which are not really the topic of this discussion, often don't show up and have symptoms until they're somewhat progressed. That's something I wanted to throw in there.
Both Andrew Bailey & Hilary Templeton are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Andrew Bailey has sinced written about articles on various topics from Cardio Training, Disease & illness and Email Marketing. This article is based on the book, "Ovarian Cysts No More" by Mary Parker. Mary is an author, researcher, nutritionist and health consultant who dedicated her life to creating the ultimate holistic ovarian cyst solution guaranteed to permanently cure all. Andrew Bailey's top article generates over 22200 views. to your Favourites.
Hilary Templeton has sinced written about articles on various topics from Video, Womens Health and Beauty Procedure. Hillary Templeton gives advice to women of all types of ovarian cysts on her website. Click here for more information on ruptured ovarian cysts