Bartholin Gland Excision- hopeful but terrified
Posted , 5 users are following.
Im a pretty frequent poster on these forums, i find it has really helped me through the last ten months of searching for answers, to be able to feel less alone!
I have had a constantly swollen vulva (i guess not massively because i was frequently told by specialists that im in the 'normal' range ... but it is abnormal for me), an angry looking rash, occasional skin peeling, stabbing pain, and an occasional itch.
I used to be really active, loved going for walks, and i taught dance class after work. This condition has reduced me to sitting on the couch taking codeine for the pain.. admittedly the pain has gotten a little better after each course of augmentin. but swelling, rash and itch still there.
I saw a specialist who finally found something! A deep abscess, and im having the gland taken out next Monday.
Im so terrified, because what if this doesnt fix it, and what if i dont get my life back again? Im trying to be positive, and i know there is a good chance this is it... but i just cant believe i have had a bartholin abscess for ten months and only one specialist was able to find it!
0 likes, 20 replies
Mobay1 cj350
Edited
Hi I find myself in the same situation as you. I first noticed an itch at the bottom of my vulva in April 2019 my Gp said it was follictulitis and gave an antibiotic cream. Then in October 2019 I had this intense pain in my vulva but each Doctor I saw said it looks normal. After having a MRI it showed a cyst but again Doctors were dismissive about it and tried for months to convince me I have nerve pain. As the months went on the pain became unbearable. Im in the UK and went to see a few private gynecologists in the hope of help none would believe me despite the MRI. Then one of them worried me and said I have a complex fistula and sent me to see a colon surgeon and another MRI. I finally met a Gynecologist on monday who could feel it and she now has me on a three month waiting list for gland removal. like you I have been living on pain meds and antibiotics for months. lost weight due to stress and literally having a nervous breakdown. The pain is immense 24/7 even causing leg pain. I hope your operation goes well. I cant wait to get on that operating table.
cj350 Mobay1
Posted
Im so glad you have found someone who will operate! It makes me so angry to think so many doctors are just happy to send us on our way without trying to fix the problem..
My operation is Monday, ill report back after.
Mobay1 cj350
Posted
I hope your surgery went well x
cj350 Mobay1
Posted
Thankyou 😃.
The surgeon said he was happy with how it went, and that there was lots of scar tissue around the gland, so is good it came out!
The amount of pain and discomfort is something i was not prepared for (i should have been when you consider where it is).
im on day 4 now, and have noticed the pain is a little better today, and swelling has reduced mildly. I have to be so careful going to the toilet though, i think i split my stitches this morning from straining. Constipation is a lovely side effect from the general anaesthetic.
The things we have to go through!
Mobay1 cj350
Posted
hey
glad to here it went well. My MRI shows scar tissue. I am having surgery next week fingers crossed it is a BC and not a fistula. Did they remove your gland or just the cyst.
cj350 Mobay1
Posted
Interesting! My gynae didnt mention a fistula... he took the whole gland out 😃
i was thinking the scar tissue might be because its been in there and inflamed for ten months! surely thats going to do some damage.
let me know what happens with yours, ill keep doing updates here as they happen
Mobay1 cj350
Posted
how long were you in hospital and did he remove the scar tissue.
cj350 Mobay1
Posted
just overnight. Yeah he did.
i dont know how some women have this done and then go home- im too much of a baby to have done that!
Mobay1 cj350
Posted
how is your recovery going. I am in surgery in the morning and sooooooo cant wait to get this thing out.
cj350 Mobay1
Posted
Its getting there... its going to be a slow recovery i think. I saw the surgeon yesterday and hes given me some augmentin in case of infection because the pain hasnt been too great. Im up and walking around the house now which is good!
Wishing you all the best for your surgery
amandaf1985 cj350
Posted
do u have burning wen u pee now? i had the surgery done on the 17th and now it burns so bad wen i pee where they took it out.
cj350 amandaf1985
Edited
i had burning to pee when the cyst was there! but it does hurt to pee after surgery too. i imagine because of the area that was operated on... its all connected i think!
Mobay1 cj350
Posted
OMG! like you I was not prepared for the pain afterwards. So I was booked for surgery at 12pm under spinal but due to anxiety lots of tears they took me at 9am they even held my hand and wiped my tears. Everywhere just feels swollen numb put painful if that makes sense, from front to bottom to legs. And I have had every form of pain relief. I think healing may be a ruff ride. There was a 3cm fluid filled deep cyst with surrounding soft tissue thickening which was removed as well as the gland and duct. Think you & I were very unlucky to have a first cyst located so deep causing so much pain and we are both Blessed to have found a gynecologist who could feel it and was prepared to remove it.
Take care x
cj350 Mobay1
Posted
The pain is a shock isnt it! The surgeon said to me he isnt surprised at the pain given how deep the cyst was. I am guessing you are probably the same!
Hang in there, it gets a bit better. I have found a panadeine and nurofen together help!
im a week out and the swelling has gone down a lot already
xx
Mobay1 cj350
Posted
hi how is your recovery going?
im on day 6 and finding it brutal to be honest. still very swollen cant sit at all and have chronic pain in my lower buttock and slight pain in my hip and constipation from pain meds makes everything worse.
I feel like I still have a cyst and the pain has been magnified.
After 10 months of pain from a blind cyst I was not expecting to feel the way I do now. please tell me things get better.
cj350 Mobay1
Posted
Hi!
Your message makes me feel so much better. I was thinking that the cyst being taken out would reduce all symptoms. But the surgery almost amplifies them all! I still have swelling, it hurts to go to the bathroom, and my clitoris is still swollen. however the swelling and pain have gotten a little better. I have been inhaling nurofen and i think thats helped!
I have been in and out of tears the last week thinking, what if this surgery doesnt fix any of my symptoms. Which is crazy, i think just because i have been through so much in the last ten months (like you) its hard to imagine getting better.
But when you think about it, the cyst was deep, so a lot of tissue had to be cut into there, and stitched up. so it makes sense everything is still swollen.
I had the constipation thing too, i had to go to the GP and get prescription laxatives (the powder in water one). that sorted everything out
Mobay1 cj350
Posted
Hi,
Yes tears & anxiety!
your right about the cysts being deep, my OH also reminded me yesterday that there was a gland removed and stress also heightens the pain sensors.
Im still trying to figure out how this happened to me at 43, or why is was not visible or did not burst like other women! You are the only other person I know who suffered for so long and struggled to find a gyne to take you seriously. My cyst was picked up on a MRI in December 2019 but gyne said its too small cant be causing me so much pain and they tried to convince me i had nerve pain. I saw 7 gynes in total (3) private between November to May. Finally I asked my Gp to refer me to a different hospital, seen examined by the 8th gyne & booked for surgery in less than 2 weeks.
I have been signed off work for 4 weeks, 3 weeks left to recover.
Which part of the world are you in im UK. Please update me on your progress.
cj350 Mobay1
Posted
Im 31, and im convinced this happened from a yeast infection!
I had the worst rash with this cyst too! and i kept being told i have chronic thrush and or nerve pain and then finally was told i had psychological pain! i saw 7 specialists too! The whole thing is such a joke.
I reckon if its a deep cyst that gets infected it can be painful, and im 100% mine turned into an abcess. when it was taken out it was thin walled and partially collapsed (because it has burst inside me sometime during the last ten months) no wonder i have been feeling so nauseous all the time and unwell in addition to the pain.
it is nice knowing there are others who have a deep cyst! i think im lucky i found this gynae... he didnt need to do a scan, he could feel it in the first examination with me.
Im an australian living in new zealand. ive seen 6 specialists in nz and one in sydney. the one who picked it up is in Auckland!
Mobay1 cj350
Posted
hi
how are you.