The most persistent cyst ever...scheduled marsupialization but terrified
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Hi,
For starters I'm new to this website but I'm desperate to find anyone who knows about what I'm going through. I'm 24 years old and my cyst first showed up back in March. I was having pain with using tampons and so I took a look and saw it. It was about the size of a Whopper. I went to my Dr. and she told me it was a Bartholin cyst and recommended Word catheter insertion. I was terrified of getting a Word catheter so she agreed to try incision and drainage first. I went back a few days later and had the cyst drained. This experience was completely painless for me, my Dr. was amazing! It was filled with clear fluid so she wasn't worried about infection.
The cyst went away for about 5 days and then unfortunately came back, so I made the appointment for a Word catheter insertion. But a few days later, the cyst burst and spontaneously drained on its own. (I had taken a long bath that night, and was laying in bed when I realized the cyst was draining). I was so relieved! The Dr. advised me to continue taking baths for a few days and hopefully the cyst wouldn't return.
It of course did, not even a week later. I scheduled another appointment for Word catheter insertion and then of course I got COVID. Within the two weeks I was isolated, the cyst burst again on its own. By the time I was out of isolation and able to go to the Dr. the cyst was so small (it had almost fully drained) she was unable to insert the catheter.
That was about two months ago. Every time I schedule a Word catheter appointment, my cyst bursts a few days before and is not big enough to insert anything. It seriously refills and bursts once a week at this point. I've lost count of how many times it has burst. I don't even take baths anymore—it bursts just with movement (TMI again: seriously, one time it burst as I was getting out of the car). Every time, it leaks clear fluid and a super small amount of blood, stays small for a few days, refills, and then bursts again. It's a torturous cycle. While the cyst is refilled it's extremely painful (feels like I'm sitting on a knife).
So, since my cyst is so persistent and it's impossible to time it correctly to get the Word catheter (I'm at the point that it bursts the same day it refills), my Dr. recommended a marsupialization. I just scheduled it and am obviously terrified. Sidenote, I have severe health anxiety that I've been in therapy for for years so this is basically my worst nightmare. I work from home but am in the process of getting a new job and don't want the recovery to interfere with that. I also have never been sexually active, and now feel like my vagina is going to be ruined before I ever get the chance.
On the other hand, I've been in pain for months at this point and this cyst is ridiculously persistent. I miss having a "normal" vagina. Is this really the best option for me?
If you've read this whole thing, I seriously appreciate you. Any advice at all is welcomed!!
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