Managing Pain from Ovarian Cysts: Causes & Treatment

In order to treat the pain caused by cystic ovaries, you need to know the reason for the cyst formation. Cysts form during a normal menstrual cycle; these are called functional cysts and are either follicle cysts or corpus luteum cysts. Other cysts can stem from polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, cystadenomas, or dermoid cysts. Ovarian cysts can cause pressure and pain in the pelvis, abdomen or lower back. Pain can increase during sexual intercourse or during menstrual bleeding.

Things You'll Need

• Physician
• Possible ultrasound, blood work, birth control pills or surgery, depending on the cause of the ovarian cysts
• Over-the-counter pain relievers

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Instructions

How to Treat Pain of Cystic Ovaries

• 1

  See your physician if you believe you are experiencing pain due to an ovarian cyst. Most cysts are found during a routine examination.

• 2

  In order to determine the cause of the cyst, your doctor might order tests, including an ultrasound to visualize the cyst and blood work to determine if hormone levels are normal.

• 3

  If the cyst is a functional cyst (follicle cysts or corpus luteum cyst), your physician probably will wait to see if the cyst goes away.

• 4

  Take oral contraceptives, under the advice of your physician, to treat functional cysts.

• 5

  Your physician might suggest taking over-the-counter pain relievers such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen to ease the pain from the cyst. He also might suggest decreasing strenuous activity.

• 6

  If the cyst becomes larger, has not gone away after a period of time, or is causing excessive pain, your doctor might recommend surgery. This surgery generally is performed as a laparoscopy or laparotomy.