Can anyone help this woman who has rupturing ovarian cysts?

When I first had an ovarian cyst rupture, it was so intense, I thought it was the rupturing of my appendix. The pain after that was so intense and to have it linger was depressing and debilitating.
I was shuttled between the gastroenterologist and the gynecologist to run down basically all the abdominal possibilities.
It took a great deal of advocacy on my part and like you, I did not want to go back on birth control, and I was willing to have any and everything taken out just to make the pain stop.
In the end, I found that there was no evidence of a cyst happening when I finally had a laparoscopy that discovered multiple adhesions that correlated to new and different pain that developed in the months after the initial rupture. I.E., pain during urination in my abdomen correlated to an adhesion on my bladder.
What I want to emphasize with you is that no one in all the doctors I saw, gave me a diagnosis. I had to do that myself. What I know is that I have cysts if the functional kind, meaning they don't hang around for a doctor to find after they rupture, but the fluid does and can wreak serious damage if I don't take anti-inflammatory drugs on a regular schedule after an incident. The other big lesson for me is birth control is a must, but my primary care physician was clueless, I had to tell him to prerscribe only the birth control pills that prevent ovulation as that was not what I was prescribed when I finally came to the realization that cysts are a part of my life that need to be managed through birth control. I didn't want to deal with not producing my own hormones without my ovaries.
I do still get cyst ruptures while on my requested treatment. Maybe every 5-6 months. I know what to do now and the pain subsides after about a day (a terrible day mind you).

I TO HAVE A REOCCURRING CYST ON MY LEFT SIDE. I HAVE HAD A CYST REMOVED A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, ALONG WITH ENDOMETRIOSIS. NOW THE CYST HAS COME BACK AND I AM IN ALOT OF PAIN MOST OF THE TIME. I WAS ON BIRTH CONTROL FOR AWHILE, BUT THAT DOES NOT SEEM TO HELP. I AM LOOKING INTO JUST HAVING MY OVERY REMOVED BECAUSE I AM SICK OF DEALING WITH THIS PAIN. I HAVE ALSO BEEN TO MANY DOCTORS AND NONE OF THEM SEEM TO UNDERSTAND. HOPEFULLY MY NEW ONE WILL. I WOULD LIKE TO GET ON WITH MY LIFE INSTEAD OF WORRYING ABOUT THIS PROBLEM ALL THE TIME.

I am having ovarian cysts rupture once a month, this has been going on for the last nine months. Im in my mid twenties and am in good health otherwise. No one can seem to do anything for me except for prescribe me pain killers. This problem came about after my treatment for endometriosis, I was on depo lupron for eight months. Please can anyone help!

I'm so sorry for what you've been through! Five ovarian cysts in two years, with a week or more recovery each time? That's a lot of pain and a lot of down time; I'm sure it's very discouraging when you feel you're not getting any relief at all.

A few questions for you:
-- Do you have regular pelvic exams? Even more often than once a year? Several sites I visited suggested this as part of prevention, helping to find the cysts earlier.
-- Is there a particular reason you don't want to use birth control pills? Meaning, perhaps you are trying to get pregnant or dealing with fertility issues?
-- Can you tell us your age? If you are nearing perimenopause or menopause, there are different answers to some of your questions.
-- Have you asked your doctors about having an ovary taken out?
-- Do you know what kind of cysts you are having?
-- Have you had a history of endometriosis?
-- Do you often have mid-cycle pain, even "feeling" when you ovulate because of a sharp pain in that area?

OK. Let's see what we can find.

Ovarian cysts are formed in different ways. Here's a page from the Mayo Clinic that explains and shows what happens to form the various kinds of cysts:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/ovarian-cysts/DS00129/DSECTION=causes

It sounds as though what you are dealing with are the corpus luteum cysts, which can become large and painful.

Here's a page on treatments, which include the possibilities of laparoscopy to remove small cysts or laparotomy to remove bigger cysts or, sometimes, the entire ovary:

http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/women/reproductive/gynecologic/279.html

Have you had your hormones tested? There can be correlations between repeated ovarian cysts and the levels of the various hormones in a woman's body.

There are risks to having one or both ovaries removed. Here's a Science Daily article on women who had one or both removed, and had a higher incidence of developing dementia or cognitive impairment:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060414002407.htm

However, if you are at high risk for breast or ovarian cancer, removal of the ovaries lowers your odds of getting cancer later:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/13/AR2009011302185.html

Here's a good Q&A on oopherectomy (ovary removal) surgery, including what the surgery and recovery time is like:

http://www.healthgrades.com/procedures/profile/Ovary_Removal_Surgery_(Oophorectomy)

There doesn't seem to be a sure way to prevent ovarian cysts from occuring. As in so many areas of women's medicine, this is a frustrating one. However, the author of a very successful e-book, Mary Parker, outlines things she says you can do to help their recurrence. They are:

-- add plenty of raw veggies to your diet, though not the starchy ones;
-- limit dairy and/or soy products in your diet
-- as much as possible, eat whole, organic or unprocessed foods
-- regular exercise
-- periodic detoxification to rid the body of toxins
-- get checked for cysts as often as possible.

Here's an article talking about her recommendations:

http://www.discoveryarticles.com/articles/146506/1/Ovarian-Cysts-Prevention-HOW-to-Protect-Yourself/Page1.html

I hope some of this information begins to help. Please write back and let us know some more information and we'll see what more we can find for you. Take care, and hang in there. You're not alone!