My experience with Bartholin Cyst, Gland removal, what helped me etc.

Hello there!

I'm a 22 year old women. My struggles with this cyst started in April 2020. I wanted to share my experience and tips with you guys. I'm also getting my gland removed in two weeks, so I'll update this after my surgery.

English isn't my first language, so I apologize beforehand if anything isn't correct 😃

Also if someone just wants my tips, they are at the end of my post. But of course I'm happy about everyone who decides to read my story and if you want to, you can share yours too!

First of all I want to share my story:

When I first noticed that something wasn't right, I felt something like an itch between my legs. After looking I saw a small lump on my inner labia. I freaked a bit out and booked an appointment with my gyn. Last time I saw her before that was when I was 13, so I didn't go there for a long time.

She looked at it and saw the small swelling but didn't know what it was. She said I should keep an eye on it and if it keeps getting bigger I should go to the hospital bc she can't help me. Only thing she said it was maybe just a swollen lymph note. (Looking back at it maybe she couldn't diagnose it bc my cyst was in an odd position and not where you expect it).

After that appointment I wasn't really happy bc I still didn't know what was going on. So i booked an appointment with another gyn to get a second opinion.

The second doctor didn't know what it was either. But at least she made a throughout examination. She made an ultrasonic and told me there's a liquid inside the lump. She thought maybe it was water and gave me an ointment that could help. She also said if it doesn't go away in a month I should come again.

Of course it didn't go away and after 3 weeks I was already back bc it kept getting bigger.

The doctor then sent me to the hospital to get a tissue sample, to make sure it isn't cancer.

So in the hospital they took a bit tissue and while cutting it open they discovered that there was slimy stuff coming out. Somehow still no one came up with the idea that it's a bartholin cyst.

A few days later they called me that it's not a tumor and harmless.

Thats when it started going downhill. Within 3 weeks the cyst grew extremly big. Like chicken egg size. It wasn't painful per se, but uncomfortable. I went back to my gyn, which send me right to the hospital again.

This time there were another doctor at the hospital. She decided to cut it open, drain it and stitch it back together right away. I got 8 syringes with local anesthesia bc it was so big and she wanted to make sure i feel nothing. and damn it was sooooo painful. But at least I didn't feel her cutting it open and stitching it back together again.

That healing phase was really painful, I had trouble sitting and walking for a few days but I really hoped it was over with that thing.

After like a month, I felt a swelling in that area again and I tried to convince myself it was just scar tissue. But nope, it grew bigger and bigger again. I was crying a lot at that time.

So again back to hospital and they decided to cut it open again, but this time with general anesthetic. So I got an appointment a week later.

I was a bit terrified bc it would be my first operation and also my first time under general anesthetic.

Tbh the operation went pretty well from a pain standpoint. I had very little pain in the healing phase compared to the first time they cut it open.

The worst part about that operation was that it took them around 1,5h to 2h, because it wasn't only 1 cyst but 3 or 4 at the same time. And she wanted to make sure she got every last bit of the cysts. Because the operation was bigger than planned they decided I needed to stay in the hospital for the night, the risk of rebleeding was pretty high. Horrible for me. As a smoker I was already having withdrawal symptoms and crying when I got that massage. But of course I survived and went home the next day.

So as I already stated the healing phase was really good after that operation. After like 4 days I was able to walk almost normally and when I went back to the hospital a week later to get my strings pulled I was already feeling pretty normal again.

Then the absolute worst thing happened. Two months after my surgery, it started swelling AGAIN. This time the swelling "moved" a bit. It wasn't the exact same place but still on my left side.

Heartbroken and feeling miserable that this thing is there again I went back to the hospital. She looked at it and was shocked it was back. But because of Corona and also because my skin is already really thin there she didn't want to cut it open again. I left with the agreement that we'll leave it be for the time. And if I get an operation, not before January 2021. I was okay with it bc the swelling wasn't that big at that time and didn't hurt.

But oh was I wrong. The swelling got bigger pretty fast, I was in awful pain. My labia felt like it was burning and I was lying in bed crying, because I knew I wouldn't get treatment until at least January.

Then it happened, it broke open on it's own for the first time. Probably bc my skin there is now way thinner. I was so relieved, it was an instant pain relief.

So this thing that it got bigger and broke open happened like 7 times between November 2020 and now (February 2021).

Everytime the cyst got bigger it was an awful pain, I just lied in bed and begged for it to brake open.

In January this year I went back to my gyn and she agreed that this can't go on and I need another operation. But because of the Corona situation in my country we decided I make an appointment in the hospital for February.

So this appointment was yesterday. I had the same doctor who did the operation on me. She decided right away that it would be best to get gland removed. We talked about it and we think that if we will do something like marsupilation, it'd still come back.

I'm kinda happy that she decided to remove the gland but also terrified, because I read a lot of stories where people experienced extreme pain afterwards. But if this it what will help me to get rid of those cysts once and for all I'll do it.

My biggest fear about that operation in two weeks is, as funny as it is, that it is already decided that I will at least spent one night in the hospital. And I'm afraid of the fact that it might be possible that I can't smoke there. That I'm in too much pain to walk outside and smoke. I know this is dumb and my health is more important. But I remember in what a bad mood I was after the last operation and how irritable.

Also she told me she probably wants to put a drainage in the wound, so the possibility of getting a hematoma is reduced and to see how much rebleeding I have. That also makes me fear the operation a bit.

If someone read this far and also had their glands removed I'd like to hear your experience with it! When where you able to walk a bit? How was going to the toilet?

So now for my tips on treating the bartholin cyst (mostly from the time I tried to get it to break open faster):

• Take sitzbaths! One of the most common tips. I did them sometimes with epsom salt, sometimes with stuff called Tannolact (idk if this stuff just exists here or not), sometimes with chamomile and sometimes just hot water. On the days I was in really much pain I did them 4-5 times for like 20 minutes. I don't know if they actually helped that it broke open faster but at least it helped me with the pain for a bit.

• Massaging the swollen area. This was something I started doing every day. Even on days where I wasn't in pain. Especially on the days where I felt it was slowly starting to fill up again I massaged it for like 20 minutes a day and also denied myself masturbation for a few days. Sometimes the swelling went down a bit again. The last time a few days ago when my cyst started hurting and getting really big I put the swollen lump between my fingers and squeezed for a few minutes. And suddenly I feel my fingers getting slimy and what can I say? It broke open on, without blood. The stuff just came out.

• Salt water pads. So this was a tip i read in a German forum. You put like 3 spoons of salt in a water glass. Get face pads, soak them in the water and then put them around the swollen area. I did this when I was not in the mood to take another sitz bath again. Like with the sitz baths i can't tell if it made the process to break it open faster but it's worth a try.

• Honey. I also read this tip on the internet. I was sceptical, but since at that point I was ready to try anything I put honey on my lump. And I really think it helped. The swelling went down the next day. I reapplied the honey a few times in the evening. But while it helped, I found this method to be extremly messy. It's sticky and you need to wash it off everytime.

• My last tip would me to wear as little underwear as possible. Of course if I have to go outside in jeans I put underwear on, but whenever I was home I put on wide clothes and no underwear. Especially when the cyst was swollen I found underwear extremly uncomfortable.

I think thats it for my tips. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask! Those cysts are one of the worst things that can happen to you in my opinion. But it always helped me to read other womens experiences.

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