Hello jembers, I wrote on your first post as I also have an incidental mass very similar. 
when I had my CA125 test I was told it is very likely for a raised amount even if only a cyst as it can signal other things like pelvic inflammatory. The levels can be in their hundreds just on a period so actually the fact that you went to the docs with some post menopause bleeding might actual explain the higher level.

when is your MRI? I am also awaiting mine, I had to have further bloods taken on wed and awaiting my MRI now. 2-4 weeks. 
more waiting…..

keeping everything crossed for us! 

Hi cloudy1986, thanks so much for checking in with me, it means a lot. I've been given an appointment for 23rd December (Merry Christmas!!) I'm clearly on an urgent 2 week wait due to the nature of my cyst, my age and my blood test results. It's very hard not to fear the worst. I'm trying to remind myself that my situation could be completely benign, but due to my terrible habit of googling, I've convinced myself that it's something terrible! I am genuinely sending as many positive thoughts to both of us as I possibly can. X

Hi all, what a helpful thread this has been, Jembers. I’m currently going through this exact process. I’m 49 yrs, have not yet been through menopause and went for routine bloods with minimal symptoms (bloating, etc.) & the dr checked my CA125 which came back as 63. She then sent me for an abdominal USS and transvaginal scan, which results have shown a 5cm cyst on my left ovary and fibroids. I’m unsure of the type of cyst, however, they are referring me to gynae and for an MRI. My liver, gallbladder and right ovary were clear.

I’m worried sick but it’s so reassuring to hear of your experiences ladies and so good to see this chat is still active! 

Wow you have been through the mill these past years. I’m so glad you actually have a date for your surgery, I feel like that was half the battle just not knowing. Fingers crossed for you they manage to resolve it at the same time as the exploratory surgery. 
please don’t be alarmed even if your bloods come back higher, my gynae said it was very common with a complex cyst so that’s why they didn’t retest. Keep us posted when you know and my most helpful advice is to allow yourself a worry hour once per day if you need it. One hour to Google and look it all up and then the phone goes away until the next day. It really helped focus me into still living life while I was waiting. Good luck, you aren’t alone x 

I feel like you should be proud of this thread, you and the other ladies on here have got me through one of the worst times in my life. I am so appreciative that you started it and kept in touch. 
how you feeling today?x 

Hiya, I'm taking regular doses of paracetamol and trying to remember to get up and move. Getting in and out of bed has been a challenge, but the worst thing for me has been the shoulder tip pain. It's incredibly uncomfortable. I find having a walk round helps. Hopefully it will pass soon. I'm going to have a shower and remove the dressings this afternoon. I'm a bit nervous, but I'll just keep my eye on things and take it from there. It's the belly button I'm most worried about, because that was the one that bled for a while and is the most tender. X

Hi KM123. I think for me, being told my CA125 was raised and being referred for an MRI was what sent me into a panic. I'd had a miniscule amount of post menopausal bleeding, and the next minute I'm being told I've got a large complex cyst that needs further investigation! As I found out later on, that blood test is not an accurate tool on it's own for detecting ovarian cancer and that's why it's not used as a screening test. Ovarian cysts are one of the many things that can cause it to rise. I remember many years ago, I was getting persistent pain in one side of my abdomen, but I was also suffering from a lot of anxiety. I went to my GP and amongst other things, she considered doing the CA125 blood test. She decided against it because she said it can be raised for so many different reasons, it would only worsen my anxiety. Turned out all my symptoms were literally because of the anxiety and nothing else. Sounds like you are being dealt with in a very similar manner to myself and cloudy etc. Take it easy and you'll soon get the answers that you need. X

In hospital did they give you post operative pain relief beyond paracetamol? Because I was hardly allowed paracetamol.

They didn't send me home with anything! I was just given a load of advice notes on what pain relief to use and wound care. It advised that I take paracetamol every four hours and some info about how to avoid DVT!

I had fentanyl in the hospital when I woke up. A lot of it. And then sent home with dihydracodiene. I’m back on the paracetamol now. 

Ah that's good advice, thank you. I'll try it. I have terrible anxiety anyway so googling is probably the worst thing I can do all day my GP did say it can be raised and not be cancer  it can be low and still be cancer so I did wonder what the point of it was lol! I just want the pain gone now, it's been constant for nearly 2 years with all the simple cysts and now it's even worse  which might be on my head knowing there's a complex cyst there.... hope you are all doing well!  

That's a really lovely thing to say cloudy. I was just looking for a bit of reassurance and to see if anyone else had any experience of the same thing. If it hadn't been for you and Lyns coming forward and telling me your stories, I'd have probably just quietly disappeared and continued googling like a maniac! I will be forever grateful to both of you. I'm not too bad at the moment. I've just removed my dressings and had a shower. So far, so good. I'm amazed at how tiny the incisions are, considering what they had to get out. I'm still shuffling around like an old woman, but it's only been a day so far, so I'll try not to complain too much! How about yourself? X

That's a really lovely thing to say cloudy. I was just looking for a bit of reassurance and to see if anyone else had any experience of the same thing. If it hadn't been for you and Lyns coming forward and telling me your stories, I'd have probably just quietly disappeared and continued googling like a maniac! I will be forever grateful to both of you. I'm not too bad at the moment. I've just removed my dressings and had a shower. So far, so good. I'm amazed at how tiny the incisions are, considering what they had to get out. I'm still shuffling around like an old woman, but it's only been a day so far, so I'll try not to complain too much! How about yourself? X

Sames! So grateful. 
my dressings are staying on until tomorrow, my partner and my son are away for the night so I am alone in the house for the first time and just don’t fancy taking them off alone. 
I am still a bit shuffly too but today so much better than yesterday so I am hoping it keeps moving forward in the right direction day on day. Tbh I’m getting a little bored. I hung up the washing today and did some dishes. I’m not a very good patient. Haha x 

How is your recovering going? I’m day 5 recovery now. Completely off painkillers. Managed a 15 min walk/shuffle last night and this morning with the dog. Dressings all off and airing, still have not worn trousers or regular clothes. Had my second shower today which makes me feel better. Still tired but eating and drinking fine and managing the bathroom quite ok. Managing small household chores like the dishes etc. incisions are healing nicely, the one at my belly button is certainly the biggest but even that is about 1cm below it. Still feel like someone has been digging about with a trowel in the pelvis but the gas pain is gone. Getting better each day but I’m getting bored of being at home! Hope you are well on the road to recovery too x  

Glad to hear you're making good progress. I started to feel a lot more comfortable yesterday, as the shoulder tip pain has more or less gone. I haven't needed any painkillers so far today, and although my belly button area is quite tender, it's manageable. I do keep getting colicky, gas pains in that area, but nothing too bad. The bruising is more obvious today and I've got a swollen bulge above my belly button that I'm assuming is normal and will go down in time. I can't say I had a completely flat stomach in the first place, but it's quite noticeable at the moment when I stand side on in the mirror. I'm going for another shower in a minute and will then embark on my first outside walk. I'm getting really restless and, even though I'm a bit slow and tired at the moment, I'm not enjoying sitting around doing nothing. I'm usually out and about all the time, so it's quite annoying not being able to do all my usual stuff. I'm conscious, though, of not doing too much too soon. X

We sound very similar in the not being able to sit around. Even being able to potter about in the garden is difficult as I just want to start weeding or hoovering when I’m indoors. Haha. Are you managing to wear normal clothes and trousers? I am still in my dressing gown at home or my long dress’s when out and about. I am too nervous to put on even underwear incase it rubs on the incisions x 

I've been wearing some baggy jogging bottoms around the house and when I went out for my first walk, I wore a dress. I had been wearing pants that sat below the belly button and then tried some that covered my belly button. I actually think the below belly button ones are more comfortable. Over the top seems to cause too much friction!

Hi, how's it going? Hope you're steadily starting to make progress. I'm feeling much more comfortable now and had an appointment at the GP yesterday to check my wounds are healing ok. I've literally just done my first sneeze since before Friday last week. No idea how I've managed to last until now, because I suffer from hayfever. I thought it would hurt, but it was absolutely fine! I'm off to B&Q to buy a new house plant in a few minutes and then I'll try to get another little walk around this afternoon. I've been thinking about calyxa and hoping she's doing ok. Hope anyone else reading this is doing ok too. X

Yeah, been thinking of you guys recovering and of calyxa. All reading and those with uncertain diagnoses too.

I'm doing okay. Need to sleep more. Shame I can't share a photo because I'd show what a nothing my scar is 4 years down the line even though it's about 6 inches long. I didn't bother with oils and moisturizer and it's still receded fine. Some people swear by biooil.

Hello! Laughing at your sneezing - I have yet to sneeze and also have hay fever. I keep grabbing my nose every time and managing somehow to still not have sneezed! Can’t believe the difference in 1 week although I am still getting frustrated at not being able to walk longer. I’m about 15/20 mins at a very slow pace and then I’m getting sore. Everything I read says after week 1 I should be walking up to 60 mins and I just am not there. I’m back to washing clothes and doing dishes and I drove for 30 mins today for the very first time. I managed but bit uncomfortable. I felt strangely anxious leaving the house after a week! Fine when I’m out. 
my incisions are really healing up well from what I can tell, the glue is drying up and starting to come away. The bruising around my belly button is getting yellow and fading. 
My worst part is injecting myself everyday - I am absolutely looking forward to not doing that anymore. I hate it. The second worst is sleeping on my back, I’m actually getting sore elsewhere on my body because I am not a back sleeper naturally! 
still having internal discomfort, mostly just dull internal feeling like someone was rooting about in there a week ago, sometimes I get the odd sharper pain, getting less and less! 
Are you managing to walk about fine now? What did the GP say about your incisions? X 

I know I wished we could share pics too! I bought silicone scar reduction gel which is the new bio oil! Not allowed to apply it for first 3 weeks though. Today is day 8 of recovery so still a while to go. X

I'm walking pretty well. A bit slower than normal, and I still feel as though I'm not quite standing up as straight as I normally would. My belly button does feel quite tight and tender, but only to be expected. The thing that I don't like is the hard bulge above my belly button. I thought I might have had a very small hernia in that area prior to having the surgery, and I did mention it to my surgeon. She didn't seem bothered or even examine me. Now it seems more noticeable and I'm hoping it's just because the area is still bruised and swollen from being cut into. I know that the inside takes way longer to completely heal than the outside, so I'll just have to hope it settles down in the next month to 6 weeks. The GP was happy with my wounds. I think from the stuff I've read that walking for 30 to 60 minutes is what can be expected at the 2-3 weeks stage. I wouldn't rush anything, just take it at your own pace. I've been managing to sleep on my side with a pillow between my knees. I can now alternate between my back and my side without it taking 10 minutes to do the manoeuvre!! Since going through the menopause, I've been a very restless sleeper and overheat really easily, so being able to change position is quite important. I've been quite active today, but I'm feeling pretty tired now, which is a reminder that I'm still recovering. X