Women often feel they come out on the short end of the reproductive stick, having the periods, the cramps, the PMS, the babies, and the final insult- menopause. But during their reproductive years, a lot of little and sometimes big things can get in the way of normal function for their baby production parts.

One often painful thing, is the ovarian cyst. The two ovaries that each woman is born with, hold all the eggs she will develop in her lifetime. During the reproductive years, an egg matures in one ovary, during every menstrual cycle and is then released to be fertilized or shed with the uterine lining.

Ovarian cysts can form when the maturing sack of the egg does not burst and release it, but continues to grow. These don't get very large and generally disappear in under three months. Occasionally the sac will seal itself after the egg is released, and fluid build-up will form a cyst that eventually dissolves within a few weeks.

Some unlucky women can also form cysts from endometriomas, or tissue that has escaped the uterus and found a home in the abdomen. Cystadenomas form from tissue on the outside of the ovary, and can be very large and painful. There are also dermoid cysts, which with help from cells in the ovary, can form hairs on its surface, as it grows to be a fairly large pain, in more ways than one.

Imagine the surprise, and relief, of a Dallas, Texas woman who in 1994, had a 156 lb. ovarian cyst removed, that constituted half her body weight. Surprising as that is, a woman from Galveston, Texas holds the world record, having parted with a 328 lb. ovarian cyst in 1905. Which of course gives one pause to wonder about the water...or something, in Texas.