Vesna,
If you read the standard thyroid information, there are no certain links between ovarian cysts and Graves. However, there is some debate about this. One physician who runs a national infertility clinic says that he believes someday Graves and Hashimotos will be categorized as part of an endocrine autoimmunity. Remember, ovaries are part of the endocrine system. When I went to the Mayo Clinic, the endocrinologist I saw there said that he prefers NOT to distinguish between Graves and Hashimotos: they are both a range within thyroid autoimmune disease — an autoimmune dysfunction that acts primarily upon the endocrine system. My endo here said that all aspects of the endocrine system are probably affected by the thyroid but we’re just beginning to explore all of these connections.
In the alternative literature, there’s a more much explicit connection between ovarian cysts and thyroid problems and most pracitioners believe that benign ovarian cysts are directly linked to over/underactive thyroid.
If you search the BB, you’ll find lots of women with cysts. I had one while hyperthyroid, first time in my life. As for treating it, most ovarian cysts are benign but because the risk of ovarian cancer always exists, follow your physician’s advice and monitor it closely. My cyst ruptured and I didn’t have an infection — lucky. One thing you can do while working with your doctor is to apply ginger and castor oil compresses to the ovary. This is supposed to help the cysts resolve on their own. For me, it also eased the pain and I did this after the cyst ruptured to help things move along. However, I checked with my doctor about it and you should do the same. Mary