ovarian cysts in teenagers

[luvflorida]

DD16 had been complaining of pain in her lower right side for a few days. It seemed to come and go, but she would feel it the most after warming up and stretching before dance classes. In fact, last Friday, I picked her up early from dance class, something she would never have me do unless she was really hurting.

She was okay over the weekend and yesterday, until last night, when it hurt to even walk. My husband and I were concerned that it might be appendicitis, so he took her to the emergency room. They pretty much ruled out appendicitis, (thought the pain was too far up), and said they were going to do an ultrasound to check for ovarian cysts, because they can mimic the symptoms of appendicitis. When the doctor started getting a little more graphic about female issues, my husband decided to call me. He was getting queasy, and figured we should switch places. He also rightly assumed that our daughter would prefer that I come up and relieve him.

Anyway, an ultrasound showed that a cyst on daughter's right ovary had ruptured, and that was why she felt the pain so acutely last night. The doctor said she should start to feel better by today, and that the cyst will probably dissolve on its own. We have a follow-up appointment with her regular doctor in a few weeks.

Has anyone else experienced this with a teenage daughter, or has anyone experienced this as a teen? I guess I never really thought teenagers would have trouble with ovarian cysts.

 

[luvwinnie]

I have endometriosis and my pain started when I was 15. Does she have very painful periods? I had surgery for a huge cyst on one ovary and to remove other endometriosis when I was 21.

 

[Tiggeroo]

ny neice just had a cyst removed. She was in alot of pain and they were finally ready to remove the appendix. Ran another test and said, no. They tried hormone meds first and she was in too much pain so they removed it.

 

[disneymama73]

I had my first ruptured ovarian cyst when I was 12, and then my second when I was 22. I have endo, too, like luvwinnie.

 

[apirateslifeforme]

I also have endometriosis, and when I was 26 I had a melon-sized cyst removed from my left ovary, as well as two small ones from the right. My doctor speculated that, considering the size and the amount of pain I'd always had, it had been there since I was 11 or 12. An ultrasound when I was 19 showed it, but the doctor I had at that time felt it wasn't big enough to treat.

 

[luvflorida]

Does she have very painful periods?

Not really. She very rarely has cramps, but seems to get back pain. Her periods are also light and about six to eight weeks apart.

 

[Pixieshouse]

I also have endo and painful cysts. BC pills seem to help a bit. It also started for me in my teen years. Try to find a dr. that specializes in endo and they seem to have more help for us that have to live with these. I hope someday they find a way to get rid of endo!

 

[Sandy V.]

One of DD's best friends had the same thing happen to her. She was 17 at the time. She was a long-distance runner and hadn't had a period for 3 or 4 months at the time it occurred; which is apparently something that can contribute to the problem or make the cysts develop more frequently (at least that's what her mother told me).

I hope that your daughter feels better soon. Poor kid.

 

[Jpgirl]

Yes-Please pleas keep an eye on her. My dd started having pain at 12. She had a bladder infection-doc didn't even consider doing a pelvic on her (neither did I). This went on for 3 years-off and on intermittent pain and bladder infections. When she was 15 she had a bout of really bad pain and doc said enough-get an ultrasound and an ob/gyn. Nothing really showed up but the ob/gyn was concerned about endo or maybe Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. He scheduled a laproscopy. 2 days before the procedure she was screaming with pain-I called the ob-there was another doc on call that night and she said it's just probably the endometriosis and to continue pain meds and bring her in if she starts running fever. So she makes it through till the procedure. They start paging me 10 minutes after they start-the OB wanted permission to do emergency surgery. Seems she had an ovarian cyst the size of a grapefruit (it was so big it slid around inside so they didn't catch it on the ultrasound) and had wrapped around the ovary and cut of the blood supply-the ovary was lost and the OB was worried about loosing dd to infection or blood loss if the cyst had broken off. Everything turned out well and dd hasn't had any problems since but boy it was scary. So keep an eye on your dd, it can be very life threatening in some cases. Good luck

 

[ZPT1022]

Not really. She very rarely has cramps, but seems to get back pain. Her periods are also light and about six to eight weeks apart.

I would take her to an OBGYN or preferably a fertility specialist. I know it seems odd to take a teen to a fertility specialist but they have more knowledge of OBGYN disorders. I see one for my Polycystic Ovarian syndrome and endometriosis. The back pain can be indicative of many things-could be as simple as a tilted uterus (I have one and had back labor for both labors, and also feel all period pain in my back) or PCOS or endo. I think it's worth having it all checked out and getting her an answer. The ruptured cysts are so painful, it would be nice to minimize that happening again. Good luck!

 

[Tinks]

Just want to throw this in the mix to make you even more Around that age I began to have "mittleschmerz," or ovulation pain. It was so bad that I had an ultrasound, too. I still get it, once a month, limp around for a day or two and then I'm back to normal. She may be experiencing this.

 

[daughter_of_amid_chaos]

almost every women gets ovarian cysts during ovulation and most of them dissolve away but some rupture. Its actually normal from what I hear.
I had one my freshman year.

 

[golfgal]

I had a cyst rupture when I was going into my freshman year in college. It was NOT fun. It took a day or so to feel better but I did. Keep an eye on her to see if she has more pain, her skin looks grayish or she gets really tired=could be signs of complications.

 

[luvflorida]

I had a cyst rupture when I was going into my freshman year in college. It was NOT fun. It took a day or so to feel better but I did. Keep an eye on her to see if she has more pain, her skin looks grayish or she gets really tired=could be signs of complications.

She still isn't feeling well, but is much better than last night. I went out this morning and picked up The Devil Wears Prada and we spent the afternoon on the couch watching it. Her dance competition team is dancing in a Toys For Tots charity benefit this evening, and she doesn't want to miss it.

I'm going to take her, but if she doesn't seem well enough to dance, I'm going to talk to the director and have her excused.

 

[minkydog]

I had ovarian cysts on & off from my teens on. They are painful, but most of the time they dissolve with no trouble. If they rupture, it can be very painful and can cause some scarring. I had one 5yrs ago that grew to be about 6" across before they discovered it. I was in my 40's and my GYN about died when he saw it--he was sure it was cancer! Thankfully, it was just a cyst. I lost the whole ovary on that one. I'm just glad i was done having babies because it would have definitely been a concern.

 

[DznyFan]

My 16 y.o. suffers from ovarian cysts - and it all began with the identical symptoms you described. We visited my OB/GYN and after much discussion, we opted to treat her hormonally with a low-dose BC pill. So far, so good! I agree that a trip to the OB/GYN is probably in order. He won't necessarily do a pelvic on her - mine didn't.

 

[Lizzy2]

I had a hemmoraghic ovarian cyst in October and it dissolved and went away on its own. It was painful for awhile though. Evidently, ovarian cysts are very common and most of the time you don't even know you have them. Keep an eye on her cycles and pain levels and follow the Doc's advice. She'll be fine. Poor baby. I know it hurts.

 

[Hedy]

to both of you. I'd second the suggestion of a GYN visit, and maybe consider/investigate hormonal birth control-depending on both of your comfort with that idea, of course.

 

[daisyduck123]

Has anyone else experienced this with a teenage daughter, or has anyone experienced this as a teen? I guess I never really thought teenagers would have trouble with ovarian cysts.

I had a friend whose DD9 had an ovarian cyst. She couldn't believe it!! This was about 20 years ago. Modern medicine might be different now, but back then, they told my friend that her DD would never be able to go on birth control pills when she was older, due to this happening.

 

[luvflorida]

Thanks so much for all the info! It sounds like a lot of teens have had issues with cysts. DD has a follow-up appointment in two weeks with her regular doctor, and hopefully, everything will look okay by then. My worry now is that this could happen again.