Ladies: Ever have a Bartholin's Gland cyst? *UPDATE PAGE 3*

[Aimeedyan]

A friend of mine has had several and she has always gotten it lanced. Maybe the drain is dependant upon the size of it?

I thought I had them once until we realized it was a Crohns manifestation located slightly outside of the Bartholin Gland area. I was given the option of draining those each time (I couldn't move due to the pain) but with my medical history, lancing was a risk. So, I waited it out with baths, antibotics, pain pills, crying, gnashing of teeth, and heating pads. I get those fairly often when my disease is flaring.

Any boils/cysts/sores in that area are horrible. I'm so sorry you're dealing with one =(

 

[SeaSpray]

Thanks again to everyone for sharing their experiences.... I just don't know what to do. I'm going to keep hoping that this thing goes away by taking the antibiotics.

Regarding people who mentioned "self surgery"... yikes... I can't imagine that! LOL This cyst isn't exactly in a convenient spot to access, I can't imagine trying to lance this thing myself! LOL And in all honesty, before I had it diagnosed as a Bartholin's Gland cyst, I wasn't sure that it was fluid-filled, I thought it might've been a solid mass because it feels solid.

The doctor had given me information about these cysts, which I just read, and apparently you can develop a cyst in the Bartholin's gland but it doesn't have to necessarily be infected/abcessed. This is what I have; I have the cyst but it's not (yet) abcessed. Some people get the cysts and they're immediately abcessed, and those are the ones that are painful. Some people get just the cyst and it doesn't get to the point of being abcessed.

My big question is, if it doesn't go away by tomorrow at 1pm just by taking the antibiotics, do I want to have a drain put in, in order to avoid it from potentially becoming abcessed.... or do I just wait and not do anything UNLESS it becomes abcessed.

Sorry, I know I keep repeating the same question to myself...I'm just not sure right now which route to go. But I absolutely appreciate everyone sharing their experiences, it definitely will help me decide. (I still would love to hear from someone who had a drain put in, for a month! He also called it a "wick").

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Mind if I ask how big your cyst is? Mine's about the diameter of a quarter, maybe slightly smaller. I'm just wondering whether the size of the cyst has anything to do with whether it will eventually become irritated and abcessed or not.

About the same. I have never had any pain or infection in 5 years. I find it very bizzaro and it runs through my mind..well maybe that isn't what it is. However when I go to the gyno they assure me it is.

 

[SeaSpray]

Well here it is, 18 hours before I'm supposed to have the "procedure" (everything's called a 'procedure' these days. lol)... and I honestly can't tell if this thing has shrunk at all or not. LOL Maybe it's wishful thinking but it does seem *slightly* smaller. LOL

However, I've decided that if it's still there in the morning, then I will have the drain put in, and take it from there. I was talking about this at work today and a few people had a good point; I'm better off dealing with it now before it gets abcessed, than having to deal with it, possibly at a very inconvenient time, and just get it overwith.

Thanks for all the good wishes...I'll update tomorrow at some point. lol

P.S. I wonder if I'll get some decent pain medication for this?? LOL

 

[Jerseylicious]

P.S. I wonder if I'll get some decent pain medication for this?? LOL

I'm gonna tell the doc to slip you a bottle of placebo.

 

[Jerseylicious]

Just kidding, my favorite aunt!

I say get the procedure done and be done with it. That way when you make your way down to our beautiful state next month you won't have to worry about it. I don't think I would care for a lump to be hanging around in my body, wondering if it will infect at any given time. (Esp with our cruise coming up in Oct!!)

 

[Missy Mouse]

If so, can you tell me how it was treated, and what your experience was?? Thanks.

If it is painful they usually drain it. Very rarely will they excise it, and often they just watch it until it becomes painful.

 

[SeaSpray]

I'm gonna tell the doc to slip you a bottle of placebo.

Hey fine...you do that, and when I'm in PAIN tomorrow night, I'll be calling YOU and complaining!! (You know you're the one I wanna bug!)

 

[SeaSpray]

Just kidding, my favorite aunt!

I say get the procedure done and be done with it. That way when you make your way down to our beautiful state next month you won't have to worry about it. I don't think I would care for a lump to be hanging around in my body, wondering if it will infect at any given time. (Esp with our cruise coming up in Oct!!)

Good point...that was basically my deciding factor today. Too many "fun in the sun" plans coming up starting next month to have to be worrying about this stupid cyst!

 

[iggbees]

yes! i thought it was a hernia when i first got it. it freaked me out. i went to one dr who told me it could be a sexually transmitted disease (i hadn't been with anyone at that point). i wanted surgery (marsupialization) because it was so large and uncomfortable and had not gone away for a year. i had the outpatient surgery and knock on wood it hasn't come back yet (that was 2 years ago). i decided not to go for the lancing, because i didn't want it to return. the dr said that was a quick fix for it, but not in the long run.

good luck!

if you have any questions about marsupilization and how it was to get the surgery, pm me. i'll tell you whatever you want to know!

 

[SeaSpray]

If it is painful they usually drain it. Very rarely will they excise it, and often they just watch it until it becomes painful.

Thanks for the reply The doctor said he'll drain it tomorrow and also put in a drain/wick type of thing... Doesn't sound like a lot of fun...lol...but I really don't want to have to be worrying about this cyst becoming abcessed, so I decided to just have it done tomorrow instead of waiting.

 

[SeaSpray]

yes! i thought it was a hernia when i first got it. it freaked me out. i went to one dr who told me it could be a sexually transmitted disease (i hadn't been with anyone at that point). i wanted surgery (marsupialization) because it was so large and uncomfortable and had not gone away for a year. i had the outpatient surgery and knock on wood it hasn't come back yet (that was 2 years ago). i decided not to go for the lancing, because i didn't want it to return. the dr said that was a quick fix for it, but not in the long run.

good luck!

Thanks for the reply He said that by putting the drain in and leaving it in for a month, it should drain completely and heal from the inside out, to avoid it from filling up again.

 

[iggbees]

Thanks for the reply He said that by putting the drain in and leaving it in for a month, it should drain completely and heal from the inside out, to avoid it from filling up again.

it's like a catheter that they put in i think? a balloon that lets it drain. are you having it done in the dr's office or the hospital?

my cyst was about the size of a walnut. it was horrible. i was so afraid of it abcessing that's why i had it marsupialized.

 

[lucas]

A couple of links with good info, in case you haven't already seen them:

http://familydoctor.org/235.xml

http://www.healthatoz.com/healthato...ealthatoz/Atoz/ency/bartholins_gland_cyst.jsp

 

[Missy Mouse]

Are these recurrent for you? I haven't heard of a doc doing it for a first time cyst unless it was abnormally large or in a tender area. It's probably better for you to have it drained because you don't want that thing getting abscessed. Speaking as a woman who's had an abscess (not THERE specifically, but close), do whatever you can to avoid one. It hurts forever.

 

[SeaSpray]

arg! I had this procedure done on Friday, its now Sunday and I'm still in a great deal of discomfort.

When the doctor lanced the gland, he found it filled with a blood clot, and blood. He was surprised at this because apparently these cysts are filled with fluid or pus (if infected). He cleaned out the gland (I was in a lot of pain during the entire procedure because he gave me a shot with novocaine, but it had to have a DROP of novocaine, and he didnt even wait for it to take effect, he immediately began to slice!!!!)

SO now I have a balloon catheter which is causing me pain with almost every move I make. If I'm in bed flat on my back, or leaning back a bit with a bunch of pillows behind me, then I"m ok. But I can't sit straight up or walk too much, without causing moderate to severe discomfort. I am not calling it "pain" because it's tolerable discomfort but since it's almost continuous (because it's difficult to keep absolutely still all the time), the pain is accumulating and making me crazy here.

I have no idea how long this OK I"M GONNA CALL IT PAIN, is supposed to last, after this kind of procedure! The doctor was pretty vague, but hey, if he thought I wouldn't feel any pain DURING the procedure then I really don't trust his judgement anyway.

I plan on calling his office tomorrow morning, as well as my primary care's office. I trust my primary care physician 100% but this bozo gynecologist who I just met last week, I'm not so sure.

SO anyone have experience with balloon catheters? Just knowing what to expect would help me tremendously!!

thanks for reading this.

 

[need_a_Disney_fix]

Terry, I have not experienced this before but I just want to tell you how bad I feel for you. Hopefully others that have endured this can help you out today. I totally agree that you seek out your primary doc tomorrow.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

I didn't want to post before because I didn't want to scare you more than necessary. I had one years ago when I was pregnant for my first child. My did get infected My was going to be lanced but it broke on its own the night before thanks to tons of hot compresses. TMI I'm sure but it was filled with pus and disgusting. That cyst was so painful and large by the time it broke it still makes me break out in a cold sweat.

Hope that yours will go better since it was lanced and drained. Send much pixie dust your way.

 

[MareQ]

Oh Geez I don't know what to tell you - my pain with my abscess was all "before" - once mine burst - the relief was IMMEDIATE.

Do you have pain meds you can take? Hopefully you'll get some relief soon. How long is the catheter supposed to be in?

 

[meeskamouska]

I am cringing reading all of these!! Mine have always kind of ruptured on thier own...and it hurts like the Dickens....but that only lasts a little bit! Good luck!!!