Chronic Bartholin Abscess and Cysts - My Experience
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After roughly 5 years of experience with these beasts I opted to have my gland removed. I feel as though I've been through hell and back and almost feel a sense of obligation to share my story to those who may be going through the same thing. I know I wanted to know everything about them, so the least I can do is contribute my knowledge of the topic.
*I am NOT a medical professional and I am not dishing out medical advice, just sharing an experience*
I got my first abscess towards the end of my senior year of college. I'm now 27. I had the abscess drained by OB and it did not reappear until several years later. And guess when it decided to return? My honeymoon. My honeymoon was completely ruined. We were in the Dominican Republic and I noticed it starting to swell up the morning after we arrived. By that afternoon I was already starting to feel sluggish and almost like I had the flu. By the third day I was in bed with a 102 degree fever. I was too embarrassed and nervous to see an actual doctor in the Dominican so we went to the resort clinic and I faked a sinus infection knowing they would give me antibiotics. The antibiotics did not help (cephalexin) and I still had several days until I could get a flight back to the states. I writhed in pain for days, I didn't sleep for 3 days straight. I made a half-assed attempt at popping it WITH A NEEDLE. That is what desperation will do to you! The pain was so bad I had to stop and LAY DOWN IN THE AIRPORT when we were trying to get home. Do you know how disgusting and humiliating it is to lay down on the ground in an airport? I refused to get help until we got home. There is just something about getting cut open by someone you don't know in an unfamiliar place that is just unsettling...I cried for the entire day during the course of our 2 flights home. My husband rushed me to the ER as soon as we landed. The doctor lanced the abscess and gave me a word catheter. I felt amazing afterwards. It hurt to sit, but I could work from home and within a week I was back to normal. Story should end there with a happy ending, right?
Wrong.
Fast forward to a few months later and it's back. I tried the sitz baths, but it did not change. When it got big enough and I started to feel that awful flu-ish feeling, I saw my OB GYN who once again lanced it and inserted a catheter. Went home, did my sitz baths, back to normal in a week...
Fast foward another two months and I feel another one coming on. Once again, I got the catheter. Except this time my OB stated she made a larger incision than before. It hurt extremely bad this time. I cried at the pharmacy waiting for my pain meds and cephalexin. I almost couldn't make the drive home. That night, I got chills and noticed I was bleeding way more than normal. I also developed another high fever. By that time I was a veteran with the word catheter so I knew something was wrong. Me and my husband called local hospitals trying to figure out how to classify "too much blood loss". I toughed it out and tried to sleep through the night. I was sure it was infected and that it was bleeding too much. 3 days of bleeding with chills and fever, puss burst through the catheter, almost as if it had re-burst again after it was lanced. It was a horrible, horrible experience.
Later that winter it came back once again...like clockwork, I swear. This time I had a marsupilaization. The procedure seemed almost TOO good to be true. I felt way better afterwards than when I had the catheters. We even went out to eat that night! This blissful feeling lasted for 3 whole months! I know it seems odd, but when my husband and I were intimate after the incision healed and the stitches dissolved, it was better than it was before this whole mess started!
Too good to be true, you say? You are correct.
Here we are...summertime, a little over a year after my honeymoon disaster. On a holiday weekend I felt it coming back. I went and saw my OB and she said she would lance and insert a catheter. At that point, I finally took control of what I thought should be done and declined the catheter. I requested a lancing instead because at that point - I already know it will come back, so why go through the extra pain of the catheter? She lances it, it got infected (despite the antibiotics) and re-burst again a few days later. Same fever, same pain, no sleeping, etc. I cried once again, but this time not just because it hurt, but because I felt broken. I felt like it had officially taken over my life.
Before I left my OB's office the day I got it lanced again, we talked about a more permanent solution. I mentioned removing the gland entirely (because like you people, I troll the internet looking for all possible solutions to this thing) and she shrugged her shoulders and gave me an uneasy look suggesting that removing the gland was not something she would advise.
The fact that she wouldn't even hear it out made me feel a bit less comfortable with her even though she had been my OB for 14 years! I once again took to google and searched for the BEST gynecological surgeon in my area. I settled on one and set an appointment for a second opinion. My visit with her was borderline inspiring. She was so confident, she expained that I was considered an ideal candidate for the surgery and even went so far as to draw pictures of the actual procedure for me. It sounds weird, I know, but it helped. She sent me on my way and said to call back when I was ready. I called back two months later when I just barely felt another abscess coming on and she put me on the surgery calendar. I met with her the night before and even sat down with the anesthesiologist to get a very clear picture of how everything the next day would run. The surgery went great. I'm 3 weeks post-op and feeling really well. There is still a little pain, but definitely no bleeding. I'm used to healing really quickly so I keep expecting it to not hurt at all, but that is just unrealistic considering a gland was removed from my body.
I'm not going to tell anyone on here to go out and do the surgery. It is up to you.
Below is what did not work for me.
Sitz baths
Tea tree oil
Epsom salts
Silicia
Serrapeptase
Probiotics (these are good for you anyway)
Drawing salves
Massaging the area
Steam/warm compresses
Ice packs
Antibiotics
Calamine lotion
The Bartholin Cyst Miracle e-book
Here is a little procedure cheat-sheet for those who may be unfamiliar:
Lancing - the area is numbed with a topical anesthetic, again with local anesthetic and a small incision is made into the abscess/cyst to allow the built up puss to drain. **soooo gross**
Word Catheter - incision is made similiar to the above, except a small tube with a balloon on the end is inserted into the hole. This allows the hole to remain open and encourages the cyst to continue to drain. My first doctor said the catheter should stay in place for a few days. The internet told me 4 weeks. My second doctor that performed my excision also said it should have stayed in for at least a few weeks.
Marsupilization - incision is made per the above and instead stitched open to allow the hole to remain open. From what I've heard, this has been a permanent solution for some! Not for me, but I definitely preferred it over the catheter.
Gland Excision - exactly that. The entire gland is removed. Recovery time is around 6 weeks, pain is mild, I was also warned that disfigurement is a possibility, but that was not the case for me. Yes, I've looked at it.
It may be too early to tell if my surgery has a good prognosis, however, my doctor did say she was able to remove almost all of the gland. It is important to know that the gland is so small and the area is so vascular, that it can sometimes be difficult for the surgeon to remove the entire mechanism. Understanding how much was removed will help you better figure out your chance for reccurrence.
Well friends, I wish everyone on here the best of luck with this awful condition. It blows my mind that this disorder doesn't get a whole lot of attention considering how life altering it really can be. I leave you with just a few of my mantras for battling this crap: you are not alone, you are not broken, and you are not crazy. Do your research, don't be afraid to get second opinions and do what you feel is best for your body and your well being.
12 likes, 230 replies
Hduxkka megan38992
Posted
All you need is q-tips or cotton swabs, and a mirror. (I use the magnifying mirror it's easier to see) Sit on the toilet, place the mirror in front of your vagina so you can see. Find your bartholin duct/opening... Using your index and middle finger spread the labia - I don't know if it's the same for everyone but my bartholin opening is just right beside my clitoris. It's a very small hole. Position the q-tip/swab on the swollen gland then press to squeeze the puss out. Keep doing it until the gland is empty. The relief ahhhh if I had known this procedure 8 years ago (I discovered it by accident -(tried everything out of desperation) omg all those suffering from pain and not being able to walk and sit. Please try these steps please I'm swear by this.
maria34013 megan38992
Posted
I just wrote you but I actually have another question if you don't mind... I'm doing all the sitz baths etc and have had that cust for about two years now. It never got infected. If I continue doing sitz baths and other natural treatments and let's say hypothetically that it bursts (I doubt it will because it seems to be pretty deep in there to be honest) but let's say it does burst. What then? Do I need to go to the doctor? Do I continue sitz baths and pray a cyst doesn't form again? Will a new cust immediately start forming? Basically I have been doing sitz bath hoping this thing can disappear aka burst, but what happens then?
Thank you so much, and congratulations to you and your husband on your baby!!! I hope all is well.
Maria
megan38992 maria34013
Posted
I would still go to the doctor even if it burst on it's own just in case you have an infection. Everyone is different, so I can't say for sure if another cyst would develop immediately.
Thank you for the congratulations! Baby will be here any day now
-Megan
maria34013 megan38992
Posted
Thank you so much for replying so fast! I haven't slept all night thinking about this cyst and all the "what ifs". I'm going to Greece soon and hopefully nothing happens while I'm there... Do you mind sharing your dr's name in NYC? In the past 9 months I had two surgeries for my sinuses, one septoplasty and one surgery for an ovarian cyst, I am so afraid to start the battholin cyst nightmare and would prefer to go to a good competent doctor... Thank you!!!
megan38992 maria34013
Posted
You're welcome. I actually had my surgery in Texas. Did you still want the doctor's information?
-Megan
maria34013 megan38992
Posted
cam4243 maria34013
Posted
Maria,
I'm in the same boat as you. I just had my cysts lanced today and walking around with 2 catheters inside. I, too, am leaving for Greece in 2 weeks and am worry that the cysts will flare up as well. My OB said she would give me a prescription for antibiotics before my trip in case I need it. Good luck!
maria34013 cam4243
Posted
Good luck, I really hope all goes smoothly in Greece! Just a suggestion -- maybe already look for hospitals in the area of where you'll be staying JUST in case of an emergency, you'll know where to go versus having to look for one while in pain. Not that I think something will go wrong, but just to be on the safe side. That's what I did, wrote them all down on a paper that I'll keep with me in case I need to get on a cab, I'll have the address handy.
And newsflash -- I just went back from seeing a third gynecologist and she says it's NOT a bartholin cyst!!!! I can't believe this. I saw two doctors before who said I was a bartholin cyst with nothing I can do and now I went for a third opinion because I hate having this without knowing WHEN it will turn into an absess. I'm a singer and spend quite a bit of time on stage and traveling so I was really scared to have an absess while in a foreign place. And now this gynecologist tells me it's a hernia and NOT a cyst. I have been doing sitz baths for a year, taking serrapetase, reading every single article about cysts, using tea tree oil, taking silicea....and hearing from other gynecologists that it is a bartholin cyst and that there is nothing to do. And now, "it looks more like a hernia than a cyst!".
So ladies - please please please get a second opinion because you never know. I'm sorry but it seems like a lot of doctors just have no idea what they are doing. She said she *is pretty sure* it's not a cyst (could still be but if it is it is unlike anything she's ever seen) and I'm going to a surgeon at the end of the month to take a look at it. Unbelievable.
cam4243 maria34013
Posted
I hope everything goes well and your suffering ends soon!
maria34013 cam4243
Posted
Ughhhhhhhhhhhh. I think I'm going to book yet another appointment with a different gyno then. -_-
How are you feeling?
maria34013 cam4243
Posted
Hi cam4243 -- quick question, why did you on think it was a hernia? Mine said that because it only shows when I'm squatting -- standing -- having sex, that's not a cyst. But the other ob I saw said its normal that i can feel it more sometimes and less some other times... What about you? Why do you think she misdiagnosed it as a hernia? Thanks!!
cam4243 maria34013
Posted
Hi Maria34013,
My OB thought that the cyst sat a little high for a BC, meaning it was situated more inward (towards the inside of my vagina) instead of protruding outwards I guess. She was 90% sure that it was a BC but she referred me to a surgeon to rule out the possibility of a hernia. The surgeon took one look and said that it wasn't a hernia and was puzzled why my OB even sent me there. Better safe than sorry I guess!
maria34013 cam4243
Posted
Hi Cam4243,
yeah she said the same about mine too, that it was a little bit high for a BC and also the fact that it would swell up and go down. I just looked at it again and I'm personally 100% sure it's a BC and not a hernia, but I'm going to a different obgyn in 3 days and then the surgeon at the end of the month.
It's been 4 days since you got them lanced -- how are you feeling? I hope you're excited about Greece and that it will all heal smoothly! xoxoxo
meredith10011 maria34013
Posted
Hi Maria,
Just wondering if you ever found a good doctor in NYC? I'm here as well and although I love my current OBGYN, the surgery she performed a few months ago was not successful (cyst removal + wall of gland removal + word cathetor) and my oh-so-wonderful cyst has returned, yet again (though not infected ... just growing every time I am sexually active). Had a second opinion last week from another OBGYN recommended by a friend but the guy was a jerk and had ZERO compassion for my sitation. So I will likely return to my current doctor to have her marsupialize it but thought I'd check to see if you ever found a good, reputable doctor to help you! My parents have two friends that are both retired OBGYNs and when asked about what I should do, both of them said DO NOT get the gland removed. Which is what the rude doctor told me earlier this week as well as my doctor who performed my surgery a few months ago. Hence why I'm opting to do marsupialization instead
Anyway. Just curious about your luck to find a good doctor here in the City
cam4243 megan38992
Posted
Megan and all the ladies,
Thank you for sharing all of your stories and sorry to hear that many of you have suffered for so long. I hope you all will find relief soon.
I too have these cysts but only for the past few years. While they flare up, but they weren't painful (knock on wood), more annoying than anything else. I finally decided to have one drained back in Nov. 2015 and it swelled up again 3-4 months later. I didn't go back to the OB right away because they weren't really bothering me. I went back today because one of them swelled up the size of a large olive. Again, not painful but annoying. The OB lanced (ouch!) them both and now am walking around with 2 catheters....that won't stay put! So here are my questions:
1. does your catheter(s) fall out? And do you insert it back in? The last time I had one, it didn't fall out. But now that I have 2, one keeps falling out. I emailed my OB and am waiting on a response.
2. I was really surprised that many of your doctors were/are so against surgery. This was my 2nd time today, and my OB was like "ok this is your 2nd time, we should really consider surgery b/c they will keep coming back." She also told me that marsupialization isn't effective and the cysts will come back. But now that I've read all of your stories, I am sort of wondering why my DR was so quick to offer surgery while many of you had to practically beg for yours?
3. My OB also told me that it would take about 10 days to recover from the surgery, and possible tissue scarring afterwards. She also mentioned that the vagina may be a bit more "sensitive" afterwards, but she didn't mentioned dryness. Then again, it was just a quick convo while she was lancing the cysts. So maybe the surgeon will go into details? From what I gathered, 10 day recovery is unrealistic? I'm trying to gauge how much time I'd need off from work. When you were recovering and in bed, were you in constant pain or do you think I could work while bedridden?
Many thanks in advance!
Sea_girl_123 cam4243
Posted
Hi cam!
Oh my goodness! 2 catheters! That must not be too comfortable. Hope you get well soon! I heard they can fall out and to just let them be, but see what your doctor says.
My doctor also recommended surgery after my cyst returned after he had removed it. So he, like your doctor, recommended it right away. It makes sense though.,.the gland isnt functioning...it's something that gets worse with time...remove the gland. I wish I had listed to my doctor at the time, but instead I thought he just wanted money so I found another doctor. This doctor performed marsupilizations everytime I got the cyst about every 3 months. Finally, he said I should remove both glands because I was starting to get cysts in both sides! I went ahead with the surgery...it took 2 weeks of healing until I was able to go back to work. Then the cyst came back! I went back to my original doctor who had recommended the surgery to begin with. I felt like I was such an idiot for not listening to him...he had foreseen all of this meaning he had experience. The previous doctor from lack of experience had left parts of my gland! That's why I got the cyst again. So this doctor went back in and removed it completely. Again, about 2 weeks off from work. And when it comes to sensitivity, it's the same. And no dryness as the inside gets pretty wet anyways. Maybe just while entering you will need some lube.
I think some doctors are reluctant to do the surgery bc they don't have experience. I think it's great your doctor said to remove it right away bc that means she's seen this before and knows that no amount of marsupilizations or lances will fix it. She's right that the marsupilizations aren't effective. I wish I had listened to my first doctor from the beginning to cut the suffering time by 2 years. Stick with this one! Don't make the same mistake I did.
Good luck!
megan38992 cam4243
Posted
The catheters were the worst. Mine always fell out and my doctor always warned me in advance that they would. Sounds like your doctor knows that the likelihood of recurrence is really high with these so she opted to just skip to a potentially permanent solution. My original doctor turned it down initially, but the second doctor I went to was all about it. No begging needed. As far as the recovery goes, I was able to work from home for a while, but can't for the life of me remember for how long! The first few days were rough, but I'm pretty sure I wasn't even home for 10 days.
cam4243 megan38992
Posted
Thanks Megan! I hope I heal as fast as you did. As long as I can do some work then I should be okay.
I probably won't have my surgery until the end of August. Will come back and post my experience.
I wish you the best of luck with the baby and congrats!
cam4243 Sea_girl_123
Posted
Thanks Sea girl! My DR got back to me and told me if one fell out (which it did), then not to worry about it. Probably b/c she knows the cysts are gonna come back! I appreciate you sharing your experience and info, so now I know what to expect. Sorry that you had to go through it though!
I'm not planning to have them removed until the end of August, but will come back and let you know how my experience goes!
Sea_girl_123 cam4243
Posted
It's great that we can share our experiences on here bc I didn't know anyone with the same problem and it feels really lonely. Like why have I been chosen to be cursed?! Haha but being on here makes us feel so much better about it doesn't it?
Good luck girl! Let us know how it goes!
maria34013 Sea_girl_123
Posted
Hi Sea girl 123,
how awful that you had to get marsupilizations every 3 months. I'm really glad that you feel much better now, and in the end that's what matters : that you're feeling good. Thanks for sharing your story!