Cysts

I woke up this morning feeling very tired. We all know emotions can be tiring! Once I was awake and in a grove I had work to do. I needed to read up on ovarian cysts. My nickname is "researcher" partly because that it what I do for a living but also because that is what I do with life. I research everything!!! Sometimes it is good, other times not so good. I can drive myself insane at times. So today I told myself that I would just speand alittle time reading about cysts and then I wouldn't worry anymore.

So it was time for some detective work. Ovarian cysts are small fluid-filled sacs that develop in a woman's ovaries. Most cysts are harmless.... I stopped there and took a deep breath. That was a good first sentence :-) There are varying types of cysts and it looks like what I have are corpus luteum cysts. This type of "functional" ovarian cyst occurs after an egg has been released from a follicle. After this happens, the follicle becomes what is known as a corpus luteum. If a pregnancy doesn't occur, the corpus luteum usually breaks down and disappears. It may, however, fill with fluid or blood and persist on the ovary. Usually, this cyst is found on only one side and produces no symptoms. A good last sentence too :-)

I read a few more articles and realized that this happens quite often after ovulation treatment. However, it isn't something that is mentioned during the treatment. As I cotinue on this journey I realize there are SO many things that people are unaware of. There is so much more education that could be done. However, I know that I am in the "minority" and most people don't have problems conceiving. But, there are alot of us who do have problems and I know that I feel more comfortable and not as scared when I understand what is going on. Education is so important to me!

Anyway, so these cysts usually collapse and shrivel up by the end of the month, but occasionally (up to 30 percent of the time) they hang around for another month or so before resolving on their own. Since a cyst was shown on my ultrasound our treatment had to be delayed. Reason: These leftover cysts can diminish the effectiveness of fertility treatment and may lead to painful ovarian enlargement or torsion (twisting of the ovary that can result in loss of ovarian function). First, the treatment itself is expensive so of course I'm only going to do it when all is right and I don't want to do anything to jeopordize my ovaries! So as I said yesterday - we are on hold this cycle.

Now of course that does't mean nothing :-) We'll still "practice" and hope for the best this month. At the same time I'll be praying that my body is absorbing the cyst and should we not be pregnant next month that we'll be able to start another cycle.

I'm ready to be a mom!