If you have already been diagnosed with ovarian cysts then you understand what ovary pain is all about. You absolutely dread the start of your period. The knife like pain in your side, the dull ache in your abdomen and lower back that radiates down to your upper thighs. It can be a once in a while thing or an everyday thing.

You're probably eating pain killers like candy. The pain is probably disrupting your ability to focus. You snap at people, work is almost impossible, relationships are at risk and the pain just won't go away.

And why doesn't it? The ultrasounds show what the problem is. Why is the doctor following a "watchful waiting" program instead of getting more aggressive?

Well the answer is, short of surgery, there isn't a real viable treatment for existing cysts. Hormone therapy including birth control pills can prevent additional cysts but they do little to resolve the cyst you already have. In fact, 95% of cysts that are treated with drugs end up being a bigger problem than when first diagnosed.

Watchful waiting is a common approach to treating ovarian cysts as the cysts may in fact disappear on their own after a couple of menstrual cycles. If your ovary pain is acute, and if the ultrasound images are showing suspicious cysts, then surgery, either a laparoscopy or laparotomy, is probably the best option when using a traditional medical approach.

There is however an alternative approach to ovary pain and treatment of ovarian cysts. Many women have turned to a holistic approach to shrink their cysts and end the pain. Holistic medicine focuses on the entire body not just one ailment but curing the root cause of ovarian cysts is one of the benefits of this whole body approach.

While there are no drugs and obviously no surgery involved, there are changes in diet, exercise habits and stress management. Holistic health has to be a way of life. It can not be considered a quick fix although in this instance with ovary pain, the pain can disappear within days and ovarian cysts can be gone for good within two menstrual cycles.

If ovary pain caused by ovarian cysts has been an ongoing health issue for you, you owe it to yourself to discover alternative approaches. Or would you prefer to do nothing other than "watchful waiting"?