Well, cyst complicated

August 1, 2023 9:19 AM

Have you had a complicated cyst? If so, what was your experience in terms of having one, dealing with one, and hopefully recovering from one?

Ya girl here has a complicated cyst on one of her kidneys--the discovery of which was prompted by blood in the ole urine--and aside from a more extensive scan to make sure it's not cancerous, I don't know what will happen next. Oh, and I have already been booked for a cytology scope in early September (which was booked before I found out it was a cyst).

YANMD, yes, but I hadn't even heard of getting cysts on organs before! And I tend to be very very prone to catastrophic thinking so I don't want get deep into Google because inevitably I will find something that will make me go into panic mode.

So inform me, reassure me, and tell me if you have experienced a cyst like this (doesn't have to be the kidney).

p.s. I was hoping it was a UTI when the blood in pee appeared. It was not.

posted by Kitteh to Health & Fitness (5 answers total)

Best answer: I have a similar cyst on one of my my kidneys, discovered via the same avenue. Once the initial round of testing was complete (ultrasound, CT, cystoscopy), it's been completely benign. Only ongoing treatment is to check it every few years to make sure it hasn't changed character or size.

Initial discovery was around 10 years ago, and I've had it checked by ultrasound twice since.
posted by genrand at 9:32 AM on August 1, 2023

Pancreatic pseudocysts are common and completely benign. Similarly, pancreatic serous cystadenomas are almost always benign.
posted by praemunire at 9:44 AM on August 1, 2023

Best answer: I just got off the diagnostics merry go round with Round Things in another organ, discovered while looking at something completely different. PET scan ruled out malignancy, so we'll see in 6 months if a CT scan shows any changes, but I'm Not To Worry (which was so fun to hear after a month of OMG because the first diagnosis said just "unidentified tumours"). Organs are weird!

But do keep up with recommended diagnostics. A relative had a pancreatic cyst discovered during a routine ultrasound and everyone was like "meh, they happen", but an endoscopic ultrasound biopsy resulted in a "might be cancer in a few years" red flag. They're now less a third of their pancreas, have a clean bill of health and a very impressive scar - much preferable to letting it develop into a poorly treatable cancer. It's nerve-wracking, but worth the peace of mind in the end.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 10:28 AM on August 1, 2023 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I have cysts on my gall bladder which don't seem to be getting bigger after 2 years of scans and so they have me checking in each year to monitor.

Good luck. Sending vibes.
posted by terrapin at 10:42 AM on August 1, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I have a cyst on/near one of my parathyroid glands, which is making the gland overproduce (this, in turn, is taking too much calcium out of my bones and putting it into my bloodstream and urine - I'm told that this is not problematic in the short term, but not good in the long run wrt kidney stones, osteoporosis, etc.).

The imaging tests ruled out cancer pretty easily. But the docs say that my parathyroid won't function normally unless the cyst is removed. So surgery isn't urgent, but it is recommended (and scheduled for a few months from now when the timing is preferable). Removal of the cyst via surgery will, I'm told, entirely solve the problem.

There's an odd part to this story though: the cyst that got me in to see the doc in the first place was large enough to be palpable (I found it by chance). That cyst caused the docs to send me to numerous imaging and blood tests, and those revealed another cyst (also palpable, but smaller). The first cyst, however, recently disappeared(!), to the touch at least. The second one is still there.

What's the takeaway here? Well apparently cysts can be and do many things. Sometimes they're cancer, often they're not. Sometimes they pester our body functions and sometimes they don't. And sometimes they disappear (sorry I can't explain this last phenomenon yet - I have a doc appt. tomorrow to ask WTF?).

Good luck with yours - I know it's nervous-making, I was freaked out at first when they started sending me to all the tests - and/but it may well turn out to be a very manageable thing.
posted by marlys at 1:38 PM on August 1, 2023 [1 favorite]