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I am a 26 year old female who is very active and healthy, the only underlying condition I have is Alpha-1 Antitrypsin deficiency. I was exhibiting random spouts of abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting after eating which is why I was referred to receive the ultrasound of the abdomen and they stumbled upon the cyst. Their findings are such, "Redemonstrated is an anechoic lobulated cystic lesion located at the peripheral anterior aspect of the spleen with a few thin internal
septations and no internal vascularity. The cyst now measures 30 x 22 x 19 mm and is not significantly changed in size from the prior exam performed 3 months ago, previously measuring 31 x 22 x 21 mm at that time." They are saying that it is not related to the pain and nausea I was experiencing, but I am now concerned about this, I am supposed to get it looked at every year to make sure that it is not growing. Any other thoughts on this?
Replies to "I am a 26 year old female who is very active and healthy, the only underlying..."
Hi @hs314, I'd like to add my welcome to @leazard's and also invite @michellern into the discussion.
You may also be interested in these discussions:
- Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/alpha-1/
- Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency - just been diagnosed https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/alpha-1-antitrypsin-deficiency-just-been-diagnosed/
I agree to keep asking questions. Has the pain and nausea now subsided or are you still experiencing these symptoms?
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Hi there, thanks for sharing your story. I also have a cyst (well it was 2 and now is 1 apparently). I don’t have the same symptoms as you, but do have pain relating to eating larger meals and sometimes pain for no apparent reason. I also have IBS. The thing I’ve learned from this process so far is that a lot of doctors do not have experience with this as only about 1000 cases have been reported in medical literature (although that number is steadily climbing with increased imaging), so I got a variety of opinions ranging from “it’s normal, just ignore it” to “yes we could remove it surgically, but I suggest monitoring it”. There is also no spleen specialty, so it’s difficult to know who to be referred to. Basically my opinion is if you can live with it, it’s better than not having a spleen. But do watch it because if it grows it can cause more problems and could rupture, which can be fatal. But yours seems small right now, so don’t worry about that. But another possibility is that it’s interfering with the pancreas. So I’d ask your doctor about if/how your pancreas is affected and run bloodwork if they haven’t already. Just don’t be deterred but the “don’t worry about it” attitude if you are convinced it’s related. Explore all possibilities and don’t give up! I suggest joining the Facebook “No spleen” group. I’ve learned a lot there! My other suggestion is to perhaps pursue “alternative” therapies (Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, etc.) while also pursuing traditional Western ones. You never know!