New Here. Anyone have ovarian cysts or Endo?

Hi Girls,

I just wanted to start out by introducing myself. I am a LIW 09er in semi-hiding. DH and I had been TTCing for about six months when I found out that I have a cyst on my ovary about the size of an orange that is consistent with Endometriosis. I am going for a lap next month and I am quite nervous. My doctor seems very optimistic that we will be able to conceive after the surgery but from what I have read online it seems there is no way of knowing how bad it is until I have the procedure. She told me to stop looking online because with any disease you tend to read more negative outcomes than positive but I just can't help it.

I was just wondering if anyone here has any experience with the lap procedure or endo? If so, has your pain decreased since having it? Did you modify your diet / go on medication after?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Re: New Here. Anyone have ovarian cysts or Endo?

I do not have any advide about the cyst or endo. but wanted to say welcome!!!!!!!

Re: New Here. Anyone have ovarian cysts or Endo?

No advice... just letting you know I had an ovarian cyst the size of a large plum which ended up rupturing before they could remove it with a lap. My OB at the time told me I was likely prone to them and put me on the pill because of it. She also thought the ovarian cysts might have been the cause of my irregular cycles. We were unexpectedly able to conceive my first cycle off the pill, although it was a very long cycle.

Re: New Here. Anyone have ovarian cysts or Endo?

I have endo and cysts. I had the lap done last year. It is true they do not know how bad it is until you have the surgery. The recovery is not bad. It is not a cure. fm me if you like.

Re: New Here. Anyone have ovarian cysts or Endo?

I have endo and have had 2 laps. The procedure itself is not that bad. I felt completely back to normal by the third day after the lap. My endo grew back 2 years later so I had it redone. I knew it was back because of the pain. I never had any cysts show up on sonos. The only way they knew was by going in. I never went on the lupron depot after because they removed it all and I was ttc. I have had no luck getting pregnant this time around,(first lap got pregnant after but miscarried) but you are more fertile for the first 6 months after. Good luck!!!!

Re: New Here. Anyone have ovarian cysts or Endo?

I had a huge ovarian cyst back in 99. My GYN at the time thought it was cancerous and said it needed to be removed and I could possibly lose an ovary. Long story short it was not cancerous and ended up going away on its own. We had problems conceiving but it had nothing to do with the cyst (MF issues). Good Luck

Re: New Here. Anyone have ovarian cysts or Endo?

I've had cysts on and off throughout the years (they usually come and go). They were never as big as yours though. I never had endo pain but had spotting between cycles. I had a lap and they removed 2 cysts and a blockage adn diagnosed the endo, The spoting went away for a few months. It came back, but went away again so I'm not sure what to make of that .

The lap wasn't too bad. The worst part was the gas. I was pretty much back to normal in about 4 days. Still some soreness and gas, but not bad at all.

So, it's been 6 months and I'm still not pregnant (2ww), but I know several people who got pregnant the cycle after the lap.

Good luck!

Re: New Here. Anyone have ovarian cysts or Endo?

I have a recurrent cyst on my right ovary. I had my first lap done in July of 08, they found moderate endo and my doctor was able to remove the majority of it and the cyst. I had a 2nd lap this past Oct to remove another cyst, found no endo, so thankfully it did not come back. I have another cyst on my right ovary and we decided we are not going to touch it. He believes that it is not the reason for our IF, we really don't have a reason.

The 1st time I had the lap done it took me awhile to feel better, they had to do a lot of scraping in order to remove the endo. This time it was not as bad. I was a little sore but I was able to move around easier.

Good luck!!!

Re: New Here. Anyone have ovarian cysts or Endo?

Thank you girls. Are any of you following any special regimes/taking medication to get pregnant or are you ttc naturally? This is all so new and confusing to me. My doc makes it sounds like we will ttc like normal once I have recovered from the lap but online it tends to imply medical intervention will be needed for us to conceive.

Re: New Here. Anyone have ovarian cysts or Endo?

It depends how aggressive you want to be. I was seeing a RE already so after my lap he said try on your own for 6 months and then come back and we will see whats next. I tried for 6 months, nothing happened so I went back and we moved onto IUIs. I got pregnant with the first one but miscarried, did a few more and then moved onto IVF. Unfortunately I am still not pregnant. I would wait and see what your doctor finds once you do the lap and discuss it with him at your follow-up visit. It really depends on what he finds.

Re: New Here. Anyone have ovarian cysts or Endo?

Posted by pp1107

It depends how aggressive you want to be. I was seeing a RE already so after my lap he said try on your own for 6 months and then come back and we will see whats next. I tried for 6 months, nothing happened so I went back and we moved onto IUIs. I got pregnant with the first one but miscarried, did a few more and then moved onto IVF. Unfortunately I am still not pregnant. I would wait and see what your doctor finds once you do the lap and discuss it with him at your follow-up visit. It really depends on what he finds.

Message edited 3/7/2011 10:04:46 PM.

Re: New Here. Anyone have ovarian cysts or Endo?

Re: New Here. Anyone have ovarian cysts or Endo?

Posted by bringonthebaby

Posted by hopingforbaby

Thank you girls. Are any of you following any special regimes/taking medication to get pregnant or are you ttc naturally? This is all so new and confusing to me. My doc makes it sounds like we will ttc like normal once I have recovered from the lap but online it tends to imply medical intervention will be needed for us to conceive.

We were told to TTC naturally for 3 months after too. After 3 months, my Dr. put me on Clomid. I decided to go to a RE b/c my insurance wouldn't cover my regular OBGYN for fertility treatments. The RE did IUI, but from what I understand, it doesn't really up my chances b/c DH's SA was totally fine. They actually want me on Femara instead of clomid, but my ins. doesn't cover Femara. Femara kind of treats the endo b/c it doesn't allow it to grow. (this is what my RE tells me and I've seen studies online about it too). Even when I went to the RE, he didn't do the full workup because he felt I would most likely get pregnant within the first 3 med cycles since I had just had the lap 3 months prior. Having endo doesn't necessarily hinder fertility. I'm on my 2nd cycle and waiting for my beta today. (No signs of AF so fingers crossed!)

Good luck with everything!

Re: New Here. Anyone have ovarian cysts or Endo?

Message edited 3/8/2011 8:30:55 AM.

Re: New Here. Anyone have ovarian cysts or Endo?

Re: New Here. Anyone have ovarian cysts or Endo?

Just wanted to add we have only been ttc for 6 months. Dhs SA came back normal, I ovulate regularly, and my hormone levels are good. So hopefully the cyst/endo is the only thing causing me issues.

Re: New Here. Anyone have ovarian cysts or Endo?

Usually, if a couple cannot conceive after a year of trying it is then recommended to see an RE. Don't feel bad for asking, luckily the women on here are great and answer questions based on experience and what they have learned along the way. I feel more comfort getting answers here then searching the net.
Good luck, hopefully the cyst and endo are the cause and you get your BFP!

Re: New Here. Anyone have ovarian cysts or Endo?

hi...i have endo and had a lap a few years ago to remove a cyst about the size of a tennis ball. The surgery was not bad at all. Recovery was much quicker than what i thought. Since then i was on BCP until Aug of last year when we started to TTC.

i am only seeing my regular OB right now but he ran some tests to check my hormone levels and does regular sono's to check for any new cysts (nothing new yet!). All of tests came back normal so for us we are going to TTC on our own for a few more months. If nothing happens then i will go to see a RE.

Re: New Here. Anyone have ovarian cysts or Endo?

Let me preface this by saying: my tests all came back good and my DH SA was great.

I have spotting between O and AF and that is the only "issue." so up until the LAP i was unexplained.


After 9 months of trying on our own and 2 failed clomid iuis, my dr suspected a cyst on my ovary was endometrioma.

He performed the lap about 5 weeks ago. They found a chocoliate cyst (which he drained) and mild-moderate endometriosis, which he lasered off.

As for post-lap, I was exhausted after and needed to lay down for about 24 hours. It is not bad, I was not in pain, just tired.

I did have minor pain from the gas they pump into you. The gas settles in your shoulders. It hurts and until it is gone (3-4 days later) you will have shoulder pain that can be sharp at times. I only felp that pain when standing up. A heating pad helped, as well as laying down.
(buy one if you dont have one.)


As for the incisions, I had the bandaid off in 3 days.

I have 2 incisions in my bikini area. They are tiny and only seen when you are nude.

The belly incision has healed beautifully, only I know that it is there.


Post recovery, my DR suggested that I go on Lupron for 3 months to kill off any endo that he was not able to remove.


Lupron stops your period and causes your estrogen to shut down. Estrogen is what feeds endometriosis. I had my first Lupron injection this morning. It will be 1 of 3 so my baby making machine will be out of commission untl June.

After I finish my Lupron therapy, we will move onto Injectible iuis followed by IVF.

Goiod luck and feel free to FM me with any questions whatsoever.

Message edited 3/8/2011 12:31:25 PM.

Re: New Here. Anyone have ovarian cysts or Endo?

thank you! Sending you tons of
I feel like it is so hard to find reliable information about this online so hearing from you girls has been very helpful. Sometimes I feel like with any type of ailment (fertility or not) the internet always makes it seem like its the end of the world. I definitely have to step away from those sites for a while because otherwise they are going to make me nuts!


I find the same thing. I think its b/c everyone has different levels of endo, cysts/no cysts, psoc with endo or not, etc. So, not everything will pertain to everyone and google can be dangerous and make you nuts. I'm still finding stuff out little by little. There is a lot of info on the baby center endo board too. I mostly just read stuff online then bother my RE with questions about it.

Re: New Here. Anyone have ovarian cysts or Endo?

I have 2 success stories for u. Me, had issues ttc and had lap surgery to remove tube and stage 3 endo, pregnant with dd about 2 months after!

My cousin ttc for years, had exact issue as u and they actually had to cut into her but she was preggo 2 months after. Then ttc for number 2 she got pregnant right away and now has 2! I am going thru ivf this time around as I got pregnant right away for number 2 and lost it end of first tri and haven't been able to get pregnant in over a year!

Re: New Here. Anyone have ovarian cysts or Endo?

Subscribing...

I have always suspected I have endo for several reason and my mom had it as well. At my last few sonograms, I was asked if I had a history of it bc they found a chocolate cyst on my ovary. I told her I was never diagnosed but it has always been suspected. I have had several cases of cysts througout the years but none were too big and they all went away on their own. Also none were diagnosed as the chocolate type...endometriomas. I also have very long periods with tons of spotting...goes on and off for 10 days...this is why I always suspected endo!

Anyway I was TTCing for 5 months and did get pregnant but it is not progressing so looks I like will have a D&C done pretty soon. I need to follow up with my dr. as to what he thinks about the endo. I am thinking it must not be bad if I was able to conceive? I am totally CLUELESS. HELP!

Message edited 3/9/2011 4:21:06 PM.

Re: New Here. Anyone have ovarian cysts or Endo?