The Night Everything Changed: My Unexpected Ovarian Cyst and the Road Ahead

It all started with pain I couldn’t explain, an excruciating, searing kind of pain that woke me up at 2 a.m., two weeks ago, and brought my world to a standstill.

I remember screaming, not just from pain, but from fear. My husband, bless his heart, comforted me the whole time as I clutched my abdomen, unable to find relief in any position. He quickly called an ambulance, and with the guidance of paramedics over the phone, gave me paracetamol in a desperate attempt to ease the agony until help arrived.

It felt like an eternity.

The Silent Culprit

At the hospital, we finally found out what caused the pain: an ovarian cyst, about 10 centimeters in size.

I was shocked. How could something so big grow inside me without me even knowing? It had just been sitting there quietly, until it suddenly burst and turned my night , and life upside down.

The doctors explained that a ruptured cyst can happen for many reasons: sometimes from exercise, sudden movement, or simply because the cyst gets too large. When it bursts, especially a big one like mine, it can cause sudden, sharp pain and even internal bleeding.

They also mentioned something even scarier, ovarian torsion. That’s when a cyst causes the ovary to twist, cutting off its blood supply. It’s extremely painful, often causes nausea or vomiting, and is considered a medical emergency.

Why Surgery Couldn’t Happen Right Away

I thought surgery would happen immediately. But the doctors told me that wasn’t possible.

I was warded for a couple of nights so the doctors could monitor the cyst closely. Once a cyst ruptures, the body needs time to settle down. There’s inflammation, fluid buildup, and sometimes internal bleeding, which makes surgery risky. Rushing in could lead to infection or even damage to nearby organs. They needed to wait until the swelling went down before they could consider removing what was left.

After that, I was sent home with pain relief just paracetamol. That’s it.

It felt strange. After such intense pain, I expected more. But sometimes, the only thing you can do is wait, rest, and let the body begin to heal.

The Hidden Storm Inside Our Bodies

What surprised me most? I had no idea the cyst was even there.

Looking back, I didn’t pay attention to any symptoms - because, quite honestly, there weren’t any obvious ones. I had no pain. No warning signs. The only thing I noticed was occasional bloating, which I easily dismissed. I thought I’d just eaten too much, or blamed it on being in my mid-40s and going through perimenopause. I told myself it was normal. That it would pass. But it didn’t.

Ovarian cysts can grow silently, often without symptoms, or with things so mild, like bloating or cramps, that we brush them off as stress or hormones.

As women, our bodies carry so much. And often, we downplay discomfort. We tell ourselves, “It’s probably nothing,” or “It’ll pass.” But this experience was a wake-up call.

Our bodies are strong, unbelievably strong, but they also deserve to be listened to.

That cyst changed everything. It forced me to pause, to pay attention, to begin the long process of healing, not just physically, but emotionally too. It made me rethink the way I treat my body, not as something to push through pain, but something to protect and care for.

To be continued...

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