Symptoms:

Ovarian cysts often cause no symptoms. When symptoms occur, they are typically pain or a late period.

An ovarian cyst is more likely to cause pain if it:

• Becomes large
• Bleeds
• Breaks open
• Is bumped during sexual intercourse
• Is twisted or causes twisting (torsion) of the Fallopian tube

Symptoms of ovarian cysts can include:

• Bloating or swelling in the abdomen
• Pain during bowel movements
• Pain in the pelvis shortly before or after beginning a menstrual period
• Pain with intercourse or pelvic pain during movement
• Pelvic pain -- constant, dull aching
• Sudden and severe pelvic pain, often with nausea and vomiting, may be a sign of torsion or twisting of the ovary on its blood supply, or rupture of a cyst with internal bleeding

Changes in menstrual periods are not common with follicular cysts, and are more common with corpus luteum cysts. Spotting or bleeding may occur with some cysts.

Signs and tests:

Your health care provider may discover a cyst during a physical exam, or when you have an ultrasound test for another reason.

Ultrasound is done on many patients to diagnose a cyst. Your doctor may want to check you again in 4 - 6 weeks to make sure it is gone.

Other imaging tests that may be done when needed include:

• CT scan
• Doppler flow studies
• MRI

Your health care provider may be able to feel the ovarian cyst during a pelvic exam.

The doctor may order the following blood tests:

• Ca-125 test, to look for possible cancer in women who have reached menopause or who have an abnormal ultrasound
• Hormone levels (such as LH, FSH, estradiol, and testosterone)
• Serum HCG (pregnancy test)