Discomfort from word catheter hole seven months later...am I alone?
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First some background: I had a word catheter placed for a bartholin abcess back in October of 2017. I only had it in for about four days before my Gyno removed it. I trusted his judgment as he has 40+ years experience. Four months later I had a bit of granulation tissue in the area that was causing some stinging/bleeding/discomfort so I had it removed with silver nitrate. I thought I would heal up normally and have no more discomfort, however that hasn’t been the case.
I’ve since had no reoccurrence of the cyst, but the opening left behind by the word catheter is still visible to me, and sometimes produces a bit of blood and discharge. I went back to my Gyno for the issue in March. Before the exam he told me my symptoms didn’t seem normal given the healing time frame but after taking a look all he said was that it looked good and he couldn’t feel any new cyst growth. He said I may still be having discharge etc. because the hole is still kind of big and should diminish as it shrinks. He didn’t feel the need to use any more silver nitrate.
Here I am, seven months post word catheter placement, and the stupid hole is still bothering me. Sometimes it’s fine but if I walk around too much, sit for too long on a hard surface, wear anything mildly constricting or if my crotch area gets damp, the area gets puffy, sore, itchy, and chafed. Sometimes it’s uncomfortable to sit at all. When I touch the area in the shower I can still feel some scar tissue beneath the surface of the skin which is slowly diminishing. I also have aching in the area which I assume is nerve damage. I can deal with the nerve damage but it’s the irritation of the hole itself that’s driving me crazy.
I can’t find any posts similar to my situation. Not sure how it would be connected but it seems to bother me more right before my period comes. My Gyno brushed that thought off, as well as my questions about pudendal neuralgia, which my GP diagnosed me with before I made it to the Gyno. I don’t want to go back to him because he’s basically thrown his hands up at the matter, like his work is done. I guess he could offer a bit more bedside manor, but really, if it’s not infected, there isn’t granulation tissue, and no cyst regrowth, what else can he do?
Part of me thinks it might have to do with my anatomy. My inner labia lip on the affected side naturally ‘flops’ to the side and kind of covers the hole unless I readjust it. The hole is right where the lip itself creases. My boyfriend looks at it for me sometimes and tells me it’s in a really unfortunate location. I recently had some blood work come back that revealed my vitamin d is very low, which can cause delayed healing/lowered immune system.
Sorry for this long rant, I just have no one to talk to about this and it’s so isolating. I still can’t wear jeans/hardly anything with a seam, so I can’t wear 90% of my wardrobe. My self esteem has really took a hit. Will this ever get better?
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