Oh, that's what my doctor was saying yesterday

Yesterday, when my doctor was telling me about the cysts, she used their medical name, which I had never heard before and didn't understand. I looked it up today, and figured out that she was calling them "corpus luteum" cysts. I thought that this article was nicely written, and it seems to be in line with what my doctor told me.

I've also realized that I've been able to feel the cysts for at least two weeks now. The one on the right side, which is the bigger one, bugs me when I lay on my left side. Conversely, I can feel the left side cyst when I'm laying on my right side, but it isn't as bad. I have ended up sleeping on my back lately as a result.


Corpus Luteum Cyst of Pregnancy

by Marjorie Greenfield, M.D.
reviewed and revised by Marjorie Greenfield, M.D.
Many women go for a routine ultrasound or pelvic examination early in their pregnancy and come away with the surprise finding of an ovarian cyst. Usually, this cyst comes from the corpus luteum. After an egg is released from the ovary, the corpus luteum is responsible for making the hormone progesterone. It is this hormone that prepares the uterus for pregnancy.

A typical corpus luteum is round and fluid-filled and can range in size from less than two centimeters (about an inch) to six centimeters or more. On ultrasound, a fluid-filled (cystic) structure greater than three centimeters is technically classified as an ovarian cyst, even though it may well represent a normal finding.

Ovarian cysts usually don't cause any symptoms. In fact, corpus luteum cysts appear toward the end of the menstrual cycle, last into early pregnancy, and then usually resolve over a period of time without any special treatment.

Complications of ovarian cysts
Occasionally a cyst will rupture, causing several hours of pain, followed by an aching feeling for a few more days. The pain often will be severe enough for a woman to go to the doctor or the emergency room, but the cause of the pain is usually obvious on ultrasound and the symptoms usually have begun to resolve by the time an evaluation is done.

A cyst will in rare instances cause the ovary to twist (ovarian torsion), cutting off its blood supply and resulting in pain and nausea. Ovarian torsion requires surgery to untwist the ovary and remove the cyst. The symptoms of a ruptured cyst or ovarian torsion are not subtle. A woman usually knows there is something terribly wrong and seeks medical care.

How to deal with a cyst
If you have an ovarian cyst with only mild symptoms, rest assured that a significant complication is not likely to occur and you can go about your regular activities. Sometimes a cyst ruptures during sex, so your practitioner might recommend avoiding intercourse until the cyst resolves. Discuss with your practitioner any other activity concerns you might have. And remember: Corpus luteum cysts usually resolve painlessly by the beginning of the second trimester.

(Taken from http://www.drspock.com/article/0,1510,5335,00.html)