Ovarian Cysts + Back Pain?

I've never had any problems before, and never been diagnosed with cysts, but for the past three days my lower back (really my sacrum) has been aching. Stretching doesn't help, nothing does! I suspect a heating pad might, but I haven't tried that yet. It's bad enough that it keeps me from sleeping.
I don't know what it is. Isn't it odd?

emily I have had cysts sence high school and when they flair up i do get lower back pain and sometime even sick to my stomach. I have learned to live with the hotpad and a lot of pain pills when they flair. Its been 16 years now that I have been dealing with them. You learn to get along wit them and it does get eiser. Good luck I hope you get feeling better soon.

Dear Emily,

I have similar problems. I don't have endometriosis, but I do have very painful ovulation due to the cysts that have formed and never released eggs. Yes this is also accompanied by back pain. The kicker for me is that I'm trying to get pregnant again and any inflammation reducing drugs DO have a negative effect on your releasing of the eggs. So all these years I've been taking ibuprofen for this and it is actually making it worse. So I decided to not take anything at all.

You may or may not be mid-cycle when your back hurts. My back hurts twice a month for about 4 days. This is during ovulation, and during my period. And then of course it hurts when I use it wrong!! You may want to visit a chiropractor, or other type of specialist (holistic, herbal, zoneologist) whatever you do, keep on trying to be comfortable and ask LOTS AND LOTS of questions. Think about your future and how your condition and treatments could effect your life later. Not just pain free now. There are a lot of side effects that dr's don't readily talk about, or even KNOW. Get one that is willing to study it out. You don't have the same resources as he does, and starting here is a great place for you! Lots of people, with lots of different experiences and results.

Don't give up! And leave the pain killers in the cabinet!
~V.

I have an ovarian cyst and am going for a consultation for surgery tomorrow. I have experienced back pain, when doing lots of bending or lifting (laundry etc) I haven't had it at night. Mine is mixed tissue and the size of a fist... I had ultrasound and MRI showing a great blood supply and can't define the ovary from the cyst. If the pain is excruciating... it may be growing, hemorrhaging as mine did. I'd see a doc. Good luck to you.

Hi Emily!

In resonse to your back pain relating to cysts. I believe it's possible. I'm a yoga teacher with PCOS, so I sometimes have cysts too. I can recommend some books with back exercises that alleviate the pain: Healing Back Pain the Natural Way by Art Brownstein, M.D. and Seven Steps to a Pain Free Life by Robin McKenzie (this one includes neck pain issues as well.) Chiropractic care can alleviate the pain quickly, but you will most likely need to commit to going frequently at first and ongoing to maintain. Physical therapy can help you learn exercises to do at home to keep things under control. Finally, look at your diet. To quote Seinfeld, "when the train comes into the station and doesn't go anywhere," it can cause back bain. The colon goes along the lower back, so keep things moving is my advice. If you want to learn yoga poses that help relieve back pain, I teach a Gentle Class on Thursday nights at 7:30 p.m. at Yoga Elements in Old Town Louisville. (Yogaelements.net.) Feel better!

I unfortunately have the same exact problems! And yes, my back hurts too, mostly at night. It is almost like being in labour again, usually a week or two at a time! I have found out that mine have been hurting so bad because they have been very large and rupturing every month! Go to your doctor when you are having the pain and ask about an ultrasound, that's how they have been seeing mine.

I have an IUD currently to help with the endometriosis pain (which was doing the trick and I wasn't having any periods either), but then I started getting cysts every month. So my Dr. put me on birth control pills as well, for 3 months (an IUD doesn't have estrogen which stops the cysts from forming). So far so good. After 3 months she says I shouldn't need the pills and hopefully my body will stop making such large cysts!

So go to your OB/GYN and talk to him/her about it. You shouldn't be in that much pain, even with endometriosis, there are a lot of options out there! Good luck!

Hi Emily,
I work closely with women's reproductive health and see a lot of women with ovarian cysts. I am a Clinical Herbalist and practice a form of massage called Mayan Abdominal Massage. This combination of traditional healing techniques can ease the discomfort of the cysts, and treat the imbalance of hormones in your body that is creating the cysts in the first place. Ovarian cysts can cause pain throughout the pelvic bowl, the low back, and even into the legs. Each woman is different, but, if you were to look at the anatomy of the uterus and ovaries, you will see that the ovaries are typically nestled behind the uterus or to the sides (assuming the fallopian tubes are not twisted). The swelling and inflammation from the cysts can cause residual pain to any number of areas in the pelvis.
If you want more information on natural and safe therapies to heal your body please don't hesitate to call. ###-###-#### L. Golub, Clinical Herbalist.

I am actually just about to go to the doctor to begin checking into whether I have endometriosis. We had a lot of difficulty conceiving our second child, and I have some symptoms that point to endometriosis. I have been having chronic lower back pain, and it is different than anything I've ever felt before - doesn't seem to be muscular or a pinched nerve or anything. I was researching online recently and lower back pain is very common with endometriosis.

I have ovarian cycsts, I have a lot of health problems because of them. my back hurts on a daily basses, what i find helps, is meditation were i lay on a hard surface for just about fifteen min. a day a listen to some soft music. the other symtams i have has been hair on my face and i have alot of fertility problems. I also am prone to kidney infections and have developed a weight problem, which has led to border line type two diabetes, all this from my cysts. I also do not have normal menstration. I have seen lots of doctors they can help some, just remember you are not alone, and never stop trying to make it better.

Sounds like something I had a little while back. With the cyst I had, I couldn't even handle a spectulum, I nearly jumped off the table. Intercourse was also very painful.
Finally the cyst popped and it didn't hurt for awhile.
There are 2 ligaments that hold your uterus up at the inside lower back and these become sore with endometriosis.
As women, we sure have alot of complexities/women-problems, but you're not alone.....

I haven't had ovarian cysts, but I have endometriosis. The endo causes lower back pain all the time. It gets worse as my implants grow, and when I have them removed, it improves for a while. The back pain tends to flare up as I get tired, and the day wears on. Lifting the kids can make it hurt worse sometimes too. I use a heating pad, stretching, rest and ibuprofen. Sometimes they help a lot, sometimes just a little.

I have had cysts and I usually don't get back pain. Usually have pain on my sides. I have had a cyst busrt and it almost made me pass out from the pain. Good thing I was near a wall, leaned back and slid my way to the floor.
Might want to see if you can call your dr. and ask if this is normal.
Hope this helps

This may have nothing to do with it, but sometimes random information turns out to be useful. I've had back pain since I was about 16. It has changed over the years, has produced pain in my pelvis, chest, shoulders and other random places. My doc tried to tell me that I was having back labor during my second birthing, but it was sciatica. My last round of pelvic pain was a pinched nerve in my back; my chest pain that feels like someone hit me, pinched nerve. I go to a chiropracter whenever it COULD be related (which is often) and many times that helps. And, yes, you can see a chiropracter when you're pregnant. (In case anyone is wondering.) Good luck!

Totally could be a result of either. If it is keeping you from a good nights rest you might keep a pain reducer/antiinflamitory on your nightstand and when you start to toss and turn take one. It sucks to be keep up all night from low back pain.

However if you have had a UTI recently it could be caused from a kidney infection also. A 7-10 day treatment of antibiotics may not clear a kidney infection up.

Emily,
I have been studying nutrition and natural health for many years. One of the things I have learned is estrogen dominance. It is a disease that is totally curable without surgery. You have to get rid of all extra estrogen in your body that you don't make. Here are some things to avoid. All beef that is not organic or free range. Farmers shoot up the cows and bulls with estrogen to make them fat. They get more money the heavier the animal. Don't take artificial hormones. If you have to be on birth control you will need to counteract the estrogen with progesterin. YOu can find a natural progesterin in a jar. Wild yam cream will help balance your hormones. If you use it like you need it, your endometreosis will go away naturally. Sometimes it takes several months. Your ability to conceive will increase also.
You can order Wild Yam cream on the ____@____.com product you need is called Resolve. Please look up all other information on estrogen dominance. You will be so happy if you do.

go have the Dr. check your appendix.... I thought I was having a flare up of my cyst too, but it was appendicitis... run don't walk to your dr

I have polyovarian and cycts. Sometimes it makes my back just scream. Lay on a heating pad or soak in a hot tub for a while it will work wonders. Also I use some Tiger Balm on my back. It just relax's the muscles that are so tight because you are hurting.

Emily - I also struggle with ovarian cysts from time to time and occasionally there is some associated lower back pain. Other things to be aware of are fever, referred pain under your collarbone and nausea. Those would indicate potentially something else - like appendicitis. If it doesn't ease up in a day or so (or if you have any of those other symptoms) I'd get it checked out. It might have gotten to a size where they might need to remove it. Good luck!

Have you done anything like heavy lifting? Could you be or have miscarried? I have cysts, but the only pain I get is a beyond cramping pain. I have 4 kids and the only time I have had lower back pain is when I've over done it or having the baby. My sister miscarries a lot and she gets the lower back pain while she miscarries.
If nothing else, visit with your OB and see what your Dr. says.

Emily,
I would get it checked. It might not be just a cyst. There mioght be something else going on. Pain is an indication that something is not right. Don't panic but do get it checked.
C. B

Hi Emily, I too have what you have. My symptoms are the same. My back usually starts hurting from the endo around ovulation time but lasts longer. I just try and do things to comfort like hot packs (thermocare work great) and medicine for pain. Hang in there.

Just a thought, but maybe it has nothing to do with your cysts. Could you possibly be having flank pain that would coincide with a kidney infection. You would have lower back pain with that also, sometimes so badly that it hurts to be on your feet for too long. You would probably have other symptoms also such as blood in your urine and pain, frequency, and urgency with urination but not necessarily. Just a thought, I don't know anything about ovarian cysts but sure hope you feel better soon.

Yes. I have similar pain. I am also a DC and I can tell you that it is normal. Hope this helps.

I would get everything checked out by a DR. You might have a tubal pregnancy, or a fertalized egg making it's way threw your tube in preporation for implantation.

I do not have endometrosis, but I was having back pain, cramps in my right tube, and it was especially noticable and painfull when I would lie on my back. I started to run a very small fever and went to the DR. After an ultrasound they told me I had a cyst, and that it was nothing to worry about. 3 weeks later I took a pregnancy test and sure enough, I was pregnant!

This is my first pregnancy, and as the egg was passing threw my tube it streched me out and made it painful for me. Tubal pregnancy runs in my family, which has made me a litle more causious. From what I understand (I could be wrong) but something like endometrosis could raise your chance of having a tubal pregnancy.

I had pain for about.... 3 to 5 weeks? Also watch for spotting and a small fever.

Hope this helps.
K.

Emily,
I had ovarian cysts a little over 20 years ago and it was the worst. I had lower back pain and could not keep anything down, I was good for 2 weeks then it would start all over again. I was in and out of the hosp. every 2 weeks. I had diabetes so they were worried about that as well but that was under control the cysts would explode and that would make me sick. They would give me fluids and nausia meds through a iv then send me home again. It would grow for 2 weeks then I would be sick again. For a little over 2 years I went through this. It took the doctor's 2 years to figure out what was wrong. By the time they figured it all out my insides were a mess. I had my 2 daughters so I had a total hyst. Don't ignore them get to the dr and make them help you. Finally a intern said he had talked about ovarian cysts in class that day and I sounded like that was my problem. I bet he is a great dr now. They were even ready to send me to a shrink they thought I was making myself sick. He listened to me. Take care.

S.

I have endometrosis also, it happened right after I had my son (about 2 1/2years ago). It is very painful, and I too have cysts. I have a cyst the size of a baseball on my left ovary. My lower back will hurt something bad, I have found that hot baths, heating pads, and tylenol help. Intercoarse is also painful during my flair ups, I have talked with my Dr. He has change my birth control pills many times to try to get this under control. I have used almost every type of birth control out there. I have found that Ortho Low, or YAZ works the best for the flair ups. I hope this helps.