anyone w/LUFS? tell me more....

[ScarletBegonias]

i have had a large cyst on my right ovary for 2 months now. i have had a dull ache the whole 2 months. i have pcos and hypothyroidism as well. i was doing some research tonight and it seems as if this cyst may be LUFS. i have all the "symptoms".

we have been ttc for 12 years. 3 m/c and we now have a 14 mo dd. i am nursing and ttc. i am on cd1 today and as i am my own doctor i was considering ordering some letrozole or clomiphene to get the cyst to burst.

babes crying.............any advice or exp?!?!

[tessie]

When you say you are your own dr, do you mean you are a qualified medical dr or you simply choose to medicate yourself?

If it's the latter please DO NOT treat yourself with fertility drugs. You shouldn't take anything without medical supervision, especially having pcos and hypothyroidism.

[ScarletBegonias]

what i mean is......who decides that a medical "professional" is "qualified"? i know my body better than some "professional" who met me 5 minutes ago. i have gone to many specialized docs, told them exactly what my diagnoses was and had them deny me only to do some tests and say "oh, i guess you did know what's happening with your own body":

DUH

i do not go to doctors unless it is a life threatening emergency. they don't know jack S***. i'm not going to waste my whole day and several hundred $ talking to some idiot who can't help me anyway. i've done the research and was asking if anyone with experience with LUFS could share. i have taken fertility drugs before.

if i sound harsh and negative, it's because after many, many years of trusting in docs, i have learned the hard way, they are not worth trusting. no one knows my body and it's delicate cycles better than i. i am the only one qualified to treat myself in this case.

choosing to medicate myself is not a "simple choice" as you put it. it takes many, many hours of research and deep thought to choose to medicate myself. i don't even take aspirin if i have a headache. i use homeopathic remedies, herbs, dietary changes etc etc to treat my conditions. my pcos and hypothyroidism are borderline to begin with and i have learned how to keep them under control for the most part.

from the research i have done, clomiphene or letrozole is used for a few days in the beggining of the cycle to encourage the cyst to "burst" naturally. it is the first line of treatment for this condition. any experience with this?

[tessie]

I'm not suggesting that you don't know your body, but buying drugs over the internet and taking them without a diagnosis or supervision is, quite frankly, a stupid thing to do.

Do you even know what type of cyst you have?

I might be wrong but I though that both letrozole and clomiphene were linked with a risk of developing cysts, not with the treatment of them.

For what it's worth, I've used copious amounts of fertility drugs over the years. I know the risks and I wouldn't medicate myself in this way.

[ScarletBegonias]

well, all signs point to a LUF. the only way a doctor would know is if they did some expensive and/or invasive testing. i don't have insurance or $ to cover these expenses. it can be diagnosed SOMETIMES through ultrasound, but there is no guarantee and i can't afford the out-of-pocket expense. they run several hundred dollars.

although you are correct in your info regarding these 2 drugs sometimes causing cysts, their main function is to stimulate ovulation. this complicated process includes the mature follicle (technically a cyst) "bursting" to release the egg. (i'm sure you know this, it sounds like you are familiar with the process). at a very low dose though, in a woman with LUFS, PCOS it is one of the first lines of treatment to treat the cyst and/or stimulate ovulation. in these conditions, eggs either do not mature fully and the ovary becomes POLYCYSTIC (meaning having many cysts covering the ovary, which can eventually form a hard shell around the ovary) or the egg matures but is not released, sometimes forming a large cyst on the ovary (LUFS). in LUFS, the cyst usually goes away on its own, but in the meantime pain and discomfort can be associated with the cyst. not to mention, you are not actually releasing an egg so there is no chance of conceiving.

progesterone injection is also used as a treatment to remedy follicular cysts, but this is obviously not a viable option. as i have been prescribed clomiphene in the past at a low dose, i am familiar with the dosage that is safe for ME. in this case, i would go at an even LOWER dose than i was prescribed previously.

i was just hoping someone had an experience they could share with LUFS, how it was treated or not etc etc

i would appreciate any personal experience regarding LUFS.

[barose]

I don't have real advice for you, but I am wondering the same thing about myself. I too have not seen a doctor for my PCOS in YEARS. None of the Western medicine I have used in the past worked for me, so I treat myself - mostly nutritionally and with herbs (in moderation). I dont take OTC or Rx medication at all.

I have been having a dull ache on my ovary going on an off for months now as well. An ultrasound (vaginal and pelvic) ordered by my doctor (was my last resort) didn't show anything at all. It was $1000 and thankfully, my insurance picked up most, so I can imagine you being ambilivant about having that done.

I still ovulate late in my cycles, but this is after days and sometimes weeks of temporary LH surges, painful ovaries and a delay of ovulation. Once it finally happens, the pain is gone until my next cycle. Thankfully with charting, I am able to pick up on this. I wonder if that is LUFS.