The
ovarian cyst syndrome is a disease that is associated
with a woman when she is in the child bearing age. In
other words, if she is ovulating or producing the egg
every month, she can also have the ovarian cyst. However
according to statistics, as many as 18% of all women
even after menopause, can get cysts in their ovaries.
This is quite a surprise because the cysts are usually
caused if there is no pregnancy in a particular cycle,
and if the follicle or the egg does not get dissolved
after ovulation. In menopause, the woman is of course
not ovulating anymore, and so there cannot be a
pregnancy or the egg getting dissolved - but she can
have the cysts still. Why does this happen? This happens
because of the corpus luteum from within the
ovaries.
Why
Do Some Women Have Cysts After
Menopause?
The
blame can be put on the corpus luteum, which is a kind
of cell that you will find within the ovary. The corpus
luteum is responsible for making progestogen and
estrogen that the body needs for maintaining the
endometrium, which is the inner membrane of the uterus.
When a woman reaches menopause, she will stop ovulating
and will not make the eggs any more - in other words,
these functions become dormant. However the corpus
luteum does not become dormant in menopause. And
sometimes they become filled with fluids, and when this
happens, the cyst can grow within the
ovary.
Post
Menopausal Ovarian Cysts May Be Quite
Common
The
fact is, ovarian cysts in post menopausal women have
been noticed for many years now and it has taken the
medical fraternity by surprise. But recent studies have
concluded that this phenomenon may be more common than
what was previously believed.
It
has to be mentioned here that statistics about ovarian
cysts, whether pre-menopausal or post-menopausal may not
be accurate because in many cases there are no symptoms.
This is a problem because if the woman does not notice
any symptoms, she will naturally not seek any treatment
as well. So everything considered, it is extremely
likely that there are many more instances of post
menopausal ovarian cysts than is
reported.
Since
women are not ovulating in menopause, there is no
possibility of a functional cyst at this stage in their
lives. Thus, the chances of a malignant tumor increases
manifold when she has the cyst after menopause. And
often the doctor will prescribe surgery to remove them,
thus complicating the matter even
more.
Post
Menopausal Ovarian Cyst Detection
Once
your doctor suspects that you might have ovarian cysts
after menopause, you will be asked to take the sonogram
test. This test will help the doctor find out whether
the cyst you have is benign, or whether there is a
chance of cancer.
Transvaginal ultrasound exams are also often carried out
because such tests often offer greater details. This
test may however not be very effective if the cyst you
have is rather large.
Often,
the doctor may also recommend the CA-125 blood test.
Interestingly, this test does not give accurate results
for those women who are ovulating. But for women who are
in menopause, the results are accurate. So if your
sonogram and the CA-125 blood test show that the cyst
you have is benign, there is usually nothing to worry
about. But the problem is, often this is not the case.
It is true that in most cases, the cysts are not
cancerous. But it is also true that the chances do
increase after menopause. Thus, you should be careful.
You must never ignore the symptoms of ovarian cysts,
whether you are in menopause or
ovulating.
What
Happens After The Post Menopausal Cyst Is
Detected?
Once
the presence of cyst is confirmed, the doctor would
recommend some therapy or want to remove the growth surgically.
Surgery is often recommended if the cyst is quite large
or if it is complicated. Some hormone therapy
intervention might also be recommended. But you should
know that these measures just work for the short term by
masking the symptoms to provide you temporary
relief.
With
these approaches, the root causes of ovarian cysts
remain within the body and so, even after they go away
with treatment, the cysts often return. You should turn
to holistic remedies because they treat the body as a
whole to identify all the contributing factors. Once
these factors are identified, they are eliminated with
the correct treatment. And once the root causes go away,
the cysts never return.
