A huge ovarian cyst was removed from a woman’s abdomen weighing a whopping 50 pounds.
Now, the woman in question, 30-year-old Kayla Rahn from Montgomery, Alabama, is using her experiences to raise awareness in others about being your own advocate when visiting a medical professional.
Several months ago, Rahn began to experience severe shortness of breath and bad abdominal pain.
Rahn worked to lose weight but continued to gain even more, and it reached the point where the discomfort was constant and unceasing and she couldn’t even walk over to her car without being short on breath.
She visited a doctor and was told that the cause was her weight and that she should simply lose weight, even though the complications she was experiencing were so intense.
But it got so bad that strangers began to ask if she was expecting twins, and the pain became overwhelming.
So Rahn’s mother decided to take her straight to the emergency room of Jackson Hospital.
Rahn underwent a few tests, and it was discovered that she had a humongous ovarian cyst – a benign cystic tumor, to be exact, known scientifically as a mucinous cystadenoma.
In itself, these cysts aren’t uncommon, but having one this gigantic was definitely a rarity.
In fact, Dr. Gregory Jones, one of the OB-GYNs who performed the operation on Rahn to remove it, had never seen one of that size before.
Most cysts, which aren’t caused by anything, in particular, resolve themselves and disappear.
But sometimes they grow and continue to be filled with fluid.
The largest most get up to is the approximate size of an orange.
Needless to say, Rahn’s was an abnormality as it had been allowed to grow to this mass.
A large mass in the stomach like this can result in very serious problems, including abdominal compartment syndrome, which happens when the cyst blocks some of the blood flow to the lower half of the body.
This can lead to swelling, bowel and urine issues, and breathing trouble due to the pressure exerted on the diaphragm.
Rahn herself had very bad swelling.
Rahn emerged from the operation to remove the cyst safely and she’s dropped so much weight from it that she can wear clothes she hadn’t been able to fit into prior.
She feels so much better.
According to Dr. Jones, Rahn’s case is a clear reason as to why you should feel comfortable requesting a second opinion when you’re not satisfied with your diagnosis.
And that there’s nothing wrong with trusting your instincts when you think something is not as it seems.
If you have an issue that is not resolving itself and doctors are giving you generic advice – such as recommending weight loss, attributing the problem to stress or disbelieving the amount of pain you are in – don’t be afraid to seek a second opinion.
It can save your life!