Are you suffering from pain — constant or intermittent — in what you think might be one or both of your ovaries? Women who are experiencing pain in their pelvic area should always take their symptoms seriously. Seeing your family doctor or OBGYN is almost always a good idea.
Ovarian pain has a number of potential causes. Before you examine those to see if any of them could apply in your situation, you should remember that pelvic symptoms are often difficult to pinpoint. Your pain might be coming from your ovary or ovaries, but other nearby organs could also be to the source of your discomfort. Your pain may be caused by problems with your uterus, fallopian tubes, and even bowels, kidneys or appendix.
Ovulation Pain
Some women experience pain or discomfort in the pelvic reason on a regular monthly basis. Pain that lasts less than a day, occurs just about half-way through the menstrual cycle, and strikes the left side of the pelvis one month and the right side the next is most likely to be ovulation pain.
Also called Mittelschmerz (from German), ovulation pain is completely benign though slightly irritating. A significant minority of women in their reproductive years experience Mittelschmerz during every cycle.
For women who are trying to conceive, ovulation pain can suddenly become a helpful tool and even a way to save some money. Those with regular ovulation pain don't need to buy ovulation predictor kits to know when they are most likely to get pregnant, after all! For women who do not want to become pregnant, taking the birth control pill or another hormonal contraceptive that prevents ovulation is one way to avoid this pain.
While it's quite safe to self-diagnose your mid-monthly discomfort as ovulation pain, do watch out for other symptoms. It's not ovulation pain if it lasts for a long time and comes at different points in your cycle as well. Women who have additional symptoms like fever, nausea, vomiting, and painful urination can conclude they are dealing with another problem — and they should seek immediate medical assistance.
Ovarian Cysts
Ovarian cysts — fluid-filled sacs within the ovaries — are much more common than you might think, and are especially likely to appear in women of reproductive age. These cysts come in different types, and most are not dangerous. Many ovarian cysts are completely symptomless and disappear on their own before you know you have them. Cyst rupture is what is most likely to lead to pain.
Different types of ovarian cysts include:
- Functional cyst: An accumulation of fluid around the follicle that is created during ovulation. Functional cysts occur when the egg isn't released or the sac around the egg does not dissolve following ovulation.
- Endometrioma: Also called chocolate cysts, these cysts are brown because they are filled with old blood. This type of cyst is caused by endometriosis, a condition we'll come back to a little while later.
- Cystadenoma: Created out of the cells that line the ovaries, these cysts are filled with clear fluid.
- Dermoid cyst: Believe it or not, dermoid cysts are made up of hair, teeth, nails, sweat glands, and sometimes even eyes. They form from egg cells, and are not cancerous.
- Polycystic ovaries: Women who suffer from Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) develop multiple cysts in the ovaries, as the name suggests. The cysts form because the patient's eggs don't mature. We'll come back to PCOS as well.
See Also: Ovarian Cancer: Treatments, Drugs and Risks
Some cysts are more likely to lead to pain than others, and other symptoms to watch out for are abdominal bloating, heavy and irregular periods, nausea sometimes accompanied by vomiting, and the urge to use the bathroom more often. Women with ovarian cysts may feel full after eating only a small amount, and pain during sexual intercourse or bowel movements is another symptom.
Women who recognize these signs should make an appointment with their OBGYN, but pain alone is reason enough to get yourself checked out as well.
Other Conditions That Are 'A Pain In The Ovary'
Ovarian Cancer
Women who are experiencing pain in what they think could be their ovaries are likely to think "I hope it's not cancer" straight away. Ovarian cancer tends to start out silently, giving clues about its existence only during later stages. Recognizing the symptoms and seeking care as soon as you do maximizes the chances of successful treatment.
Besides pain, abdominal bloating, feeling full after eating small amounts, and urinating more frequently or feeling the urge sooner are all potentially symptoms of ovarian cancer. Some women with ovarian cancer experience fatigue, back pain, changes in their menstrual cycle, indigestion, constipation and pain during intercourse.
It is important to realize that these symptoms don't necessarily indicate ovarian cancer. You will notice that cysts can share many of these same symptoms, and benign tumors are another possibility. Women who do have ovarian cancer are likely to find that their pain starts suddenly, after which they also begin to notice some of the other symptoms. Later on, the pain becomes more constant and the other symptoms persist.
Because pelvic symptoms can be vague and general, no woman should panic and convince herself she has ovarian cancer after reading a list of symptoms online. What she should do, however, is to take her symptoms seriously and to see an OBGYN right away.
Endometriosis
Endometriosis is a condition in which the endometrium, the tissue that normally lines the uterus, also grows in other areas of the reproductive system. The endometrium builds up during the first half of the menstrual cycle in preparation for fertilization and pregnancy. When a woman doesn't get pregnant, the endometrium breaks down again and a portion of it is expelled through menstruation.
Endometriosis can affect many parts of the pelvis, including the cervix, fallopian tubes, bladder — and the ovaries. While the uterine lining can easily be expelled through the vagina during menstruation, endometrial tissues in other places get trapped, which leads to scarring. In the ovaries, it can also cause the chocolate cysts we discussed earlier.
Endometriosis can be very painful. Pain during periods and intercourse is frequently seen, but it also simply occurs by itself due to the damage the condition does to the reproductive system.
The condition is also a common cause of infertility, yet another reason not to delay making an appointment with your doctor.
PCOS
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome is a common reproductive disorder that can affect a woman's fertility. PCOS interferes with ovulation, causes multiple cysts in the ovaries, and causes a woman to have high levels of male hormones called androgens in her system. Some of the most common symptoms of PCOS are irregular or absent periods, weight gain, excessive hair growth, acne, and hair thinning on the scalp. Another symptom is infertility, but women who are not trying to conceive won't notice this. PCOS symptoms can be mild to severe, and not every patient has every symptom.
See Also: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease
Pelvic Inflammatory Disease (PID) is an infection of the reproductive system that can lead to extensive damage and chronic pelvic pain. PID is most often caused by untreated sexually transmitted diseases, particularly chlamydia and gonorrhea. It can also develop after childbirth, miscarriage, abortion or other gynecological interventions.
PID can cause pain in the ovaries, but the pain won't typically be limited to the upper reproductive tract because the conditions travels up from the vagina. Other than pain, the symptoms of Pelvic Inflammatory Disease can include fever, nausea and vomiting, fatigue, foul-smelling discharge, diarrhea, painful intercourse, trouble urinating, and irregular menstrual cycles.
Women with pelvic pain are bound to search the internet for possible solutions before they make an appointment with a medical professional in this day and age, and it's quite possible that you're already fed up with the constant call to "see your doctor" throughout this article. In many cases, seeing a doctor in a timely manner will benefit patients enormously. That is definitely true in the case of PID.
Sources & Links
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