I'm 26 and just had a marsupilation of bartholin cyst si...

I discovered a hard Bartholin's cyst over 2 months ago, how long it had been there is anyones guess, as its not something you find easily when they are small. Anyway, the doctor told me to just leave it as it was small, but a week later it was the size of a golf ball and although not sore I started worrying! I read up on the net about the sitz baths and started doing that every evening. After the baths I could normally feel the cyst reduce in size, but it tended to get big and hard again the next day. I became even more stressed with the prospect of it needing to be lanced or drained...Ouch!!

Now the success story, I will tell it like it is girls!! ...I have not been sexually active for well over a year, however I finally happened to have a bit of naughty time over the weekend. It did the trick! It burst without me even knowing, I only realised afterwards! It was tender for a few days and now completely fine with no sign of re-occourance. Embaressing to say but, I think the 'hard' movements and the angle (from behind) did the trick for me. If this sounds rude to some, sorry! But I am now better, and this website is all about sharing experiences!

Hey . my bartholin cyst occured 2 years ago (age of 18). Unfortunately the cyst do re-appear twice a year. Some people even 5 times a year. I got it drained the first time (very painful..very!! they give you two needles to sleep the area and drain the cyst..however it is worth it. The cyst must be 3days old, tissue very soft, a lot of pressure. Also walking should be impossible as well as for sittin. If the cyst is a size of a golf ball they cannot remove it so I suggest to wait 1-2 days and do a lot of warm baths.) however after the marsupilation you feel relief . My experience was different: after the marsupilation occured, I was on antibiodics and took a lot of warm baths. After 3-4 day the catheter came off and I was runnin in no time

After the marsupilation I had another cyst about 4 months later. This time I decided to let it pop on its on. For some reason, when the cyst pops on its on it takes longer to heal so the next one occured a year and 1 month later. Tomorrow I am going to get it removed (surgery).

p.s. my grandmother had the cyst. And after 5-6 years of sufferin she never had the problem again. So yes, the cyst does eventually get better.

Also I am not sexualy active. However, I take a lot of bath, and one reason it shaving and baths which sometimes bacteria enter.

drink a lot, and if you are in pain I found that honey helped it. Take pills for pain. The popping along takes me 5-6 day *usually when I wake up you can feel wet* . However, if you want to pop it easier, take 3-4 baths every day, try and walk *not rest* and endure the pain. My last one popped within 3 days !

take care!

im 23 and have had surgery on bartholin cyst twice now.

It first occured in october last year and i had no idea what was happening to me. it started off as a small lump-i went to my GP and was given anti-biotics and told it would go away itself. 4 days later i was in a&e with a massive extremely painful lump the size of an orange. i was given morphine for the pain and taken down for emergency surgery that night. The gyne specialist said it should never have got to that size and being in that amount of pain should not have happened-

although i think this was an isolated case- but i do think if anyone has this and believes it is getting worse-go to a specialist as in my experience a GP can only help so much and i have unfortunately had bad experiences with them and this issue. i had the cyst drained, i was in agony afterwards-

I had a very bad experience in the ward after my surgery-i got out of suurgery at about midnight- the nurse spilt water on my bed, didnt come back to change it, i couldnt reach my buzzer to ask for help, in the morning she yanked my catheter out( i wasnt told i had one in), this was very painful, they took me to the shower in the morning-i was very dizzy and could not focus, she left me in the shower alone, kneeling on a chair, which was very slidey after a while she came back and opened the door to the ward as i stood there naked, i felt very unsafe and the quality of care was quite frightening. Its just the thought that there are elderly and vunerable people out there who are being "cared for" in this fashion. i got home the next day. It took me 6 weeks to get back to normal.

Then a couple of months later i returned to my GP as i believed it had came back. i was told it had not. I was getting quite uncomfortable and sex was a no-go as i would be in a lot of pain afterwards.

after a long waiting list i was seen by a gyn specialist who told me straight away it had came back.

I was booked in for surgery a month later.

i was told all went well during my surgery and was let home that night- although i was still very uncomfortable. I noticed when i went to the loo, i would just pat the area afterwards-and i noticed a bright green discharge on the loo paper- i wasnt really sure if this was the drainage or something wrong. but my sergeon had said this could happen-two days later i went to the loo and noticed there was something that should NOT have been there.

It was like a piece of thick plastic string hanging out of me-i touched it and felt that it was quite far inside me and felt VERY painful- i didnt have a clue what was going on- i was very upset at this time as i wasnt sleeping very well because of the discomfort so my emotions were very heightened- i was staying with my mum while i recovered so she called nhhs24 as she didnt know what it could be either. I was told to go over to a&e and the doctor there called up to the gyne who said it must be a bit of gauze left in from my op. The doctor then told me she would have to pull it out.

This was very painful-the doctor said it should never have been there-we didnt know how long it was so it was just a case of yanking at it until it ended- i felt like a very UN comical clowns sleeve. i have just had enough of being poked and prodded and yanked down there. This happened last week and i am in recovery now. it is quite reassuring to know that other people have gone through the same thing. It is a horrible horrible thing which i had never heard of before i had it. I wish we knew how to prevent it so there could be some sort of awareness about this. i feel for anyone who has been through this.

i would be interested to know if anyone has any tips for soothing the discomfort during recovery?

and if you know if there are any ways to try and prevent it from returning ever again??

I must admit that after reading all these discussions and people sharing their experiences about the bartholin's cyst/abcess, I was scared to say the least.

I'm 22. i'd had the cyst for about a year- I guess I just kept hoping it'd go away. It wasnt painful, but it grew over time and every gyne I went to was surprised at the size of it. they all advised marsupialization. five days ago, I had the procedure done. i had no pain, soon as the anesthesia wore off a few minutes later, I was already dressed and moving about. i was put on antibiotics for 5 days, was given a couple of mild analgesics but I havent needed them at all. i am praying for no recurrences but so far, no discomfort whatsoever!!!!

so whoever's reading this, be encouraged. take heart. this isnt a lifetime curse and it doesnt have to go completely wrong!

cheers!

Hi, I just wanted to write as i also had an abcess repeatedly over 3-4 years and used to search the internet desperate for help. It had been lanced, id taken load of antibitoics and also had a botch job of a word catheter fitted that fell out a day later because she made the hole to big.

Anyway fter a lot of horror and pain and feeling depressed I finally had a marsupilation. It was quick and

pain free (I was asleep). It only really hurt when i went for a wee straight afterwards as the would was still fresh.

Anyway i stayed at home for 3/4 days and took painkillers, although i only really felt it when sitting or using toilet. After a few days I was 100% fine and in about 4 weeks attempted sex which was also painfree. My boyfriend was scared to hurt me but we just went carefully and everything was fine.

Its now been 2 years and no abcess. HURRAH!

So a success story for you!

I'm 24 and had marsupialization done a week ago. I found a lump, went to my gp then to a gyno then to hospital. It was my first bartholin's cyst and I had no pain, I was just worried about some random lump that shouldn't exist.

The surgery was fine and I was home the next morning (I opted to stay the night in hospital because I wasn't aware I'd be bleeding after the operation) I had a weeks worth of antibiotics and some over the counter pain mediation. I had some discomfort in the first 4 days but after that I'm only being bothered by my stitched which will dissolve in about 4 more weeks. I still have a hard lump but my gyno said everything was healing properly so I'm assuming it will go away over the next week or so...

Over the first week following my surgery I had bleeding and some discharge but I was told all of that was normal.

What I wasn't aware of was the pain I had afterwards was a result of the local anesthetic that is injected which is what causes most of the bruising and swelling in the area. I also found that you aren't really given a lot of information about your recovery or what to expect after the operation. I was told I'd only need 4 days off but I'm having 2 - 4 weeks.

What I'd like to know is how long after the surgery did everyones swelling go away? That way I can see how long I should give it before going back to the doctor for answers.

Hi, I had a op 3rd may. I was told I would have two stitches which would dissolve and feel discomfort for a couple of days. After ten days I went to my GP as I could hardly sit. I was sent back to Carlisle hospital to have the stiches removed, they took five out?? and as I was in so much pain they left the rest. I am still in pain and now have an infection, I am back to my GP 17/5 to hopefully remove the rest of the stitches. I would not recommend surgery. After reading comments it seems to have little success

*UPDATE* It's now been 2 months since my surgery and my swelling is completely gone, the stitches have dissolved and I'm no longer in discomfort. It took about 4 weeks for me to be good to go back to work and drive, sit do anything comfortably. So all I can recommend is a lot of bed rest and taking it easy but as far as my story goes the surgery = success.

I'm updating because I hardly read any happy results and I wanted to share mine so that it doesn't seem like the worst surgery ever.