Bartholin Cyst-recurrence After Sex (Page 1)

Anyone? Any home remedies???
Please help!

hi i have recently got some cysts.
the main home remedys given from research are sitz baths and a hot cloth put onto them. i have tried the steam from an old kettle. seems disgusting but if it gets rid of it then i will let you know but im so annoyed i am trying everything. i got an old kettle with a small amount of water in it. i opened the lid and put the kettle on the floor in my bedroom. i let it boil and the steam come out while i was stood over it. it made my pours open and sweat so hopefully my cysts will reduce from the heat and by opening the pours. i will let all know if this works.

Hi there I posted here back in Oct after my second BC or BA Its came back again last week. After the third time I was able to rid the BC the same day as I knew the symptoms. I simply took a sitz bath using Epson Salt. After the bath I rubbed a few drops of pure essential oils directly on the BC. Use Lavender, Tea Tree, & Chamomile. After a few hours the BC burst on its on & you may squeeze out the access liquid, but make sure you use gloves or ensure your hands are very clean. Painless & easy! I refuse to go to the Doctors after reading countless forums. Good Luck Hope this helps someone if so please respond. Cheers!

Thanks so much LLL!
I just found this forum after my cyst has flared up for the second time.... and after reading loads of posts here, I found yours the most helpful and comforting! I prefer to use natural remedies where possible too, as I think your body responds better to that which it understands... and I am now using hot baths and essential oils, and hoping for some improvement!

I had my first flare-up - where the cyst became an access - a few months ago, and it was horrendous. I did go to my doctors in the end, when it was so huge and painful that I could barely walk and was in constant pain. I saw the nurse practitioner there (I am in the UK), and she got the female doctor in for a second opinion.
They were both very shocked by the size of my cyst/abcess, and said it was the worst they'd ever seen! / It had grown from a small swelling about marble-size to something the size of a tennis ball all round (I wish I was exaggerating)!...

They decided to give me very strong antibiotics, and I started them straight away. They did say if it didn't help, I'd need surgical intervention. And I would've done whatever it took, at that stage... but having read all of the horror stories I've now seen, I am So glad I didn't have to go down that route!
Later that same night, while just on the beginning of the course of tablets, I found that the access burst on its own after I had been to the toilet.... I think the pressure had pushed it to breaking point! ;oP (sorry for the details! We all know this isn't a nice thing at all!)

The immediate sense of pain-loss and relief was HUGE!!!.... I couldn't believe it.
I sat and very carefully eased the fluid out over about an hour or so, using cotton wool pads etc, and it was such a blessed relief. I was worried that it shouldn't real have done this on its own, and worried about counter-infection etc... But when I spoke to the GP next day (at their request) she said that that was the best possible thing, and just shows that "nature always has a way."
I think that's probably important for us to remember!

The lump continued to go down, and I carried on taking the antibiotics for over a week. I don't think it ever fully went away; perhaps it stayed as a tiny cyst for all the months since... I've certainly noticed occasionally that the lump is still there, and is different to how it would feel on the other side.

But just this last few days it has flared up again, with it yesterday becoming painful and much more swollen. I guess it's an access again... I don't really know why, but I do think a lot of things can aggravate them once you're prone to them -
sex, self-pleasure (I read that somewhere else on this forum, and I do think it's true for me too!), perhaps any number of things... I was interested to read someone saying that flying on planes makes them flare up too! And I can totally see that.

But this time, I'm trying to avoid the doctors & tablets etc if I can... I'd rather not take antibiotics too often, as I know they deplete your immune system for a while; so, this time I am going for the hot-baths / hot compress / essential oil treatment, and I will report back on my results! ;oD

Just wanted to say thanks to you and everyone else on here for posting about such a very personal and very distressing condition, and to reassure everyone that it Does go away, & if it comes back, we can keep on beating it! I would possibly consider having the gland removal if it carries on affecting my life for years to come.... But, for now, a nice long relaxing bath (or 3) every day sounds like a much better idea to me! )

Good luck girls! x

I have had 5 cysts altogether the 1st and last were operated on to remove them but with the others as soon as you feel the tell tale lump and /or if sexually active you notice that you remain dry during sex, you must get antibiotics the earlier you get on medication the less likely you will require an operation and/or it will go down without getting too painful to assist in recovery hot baths do alleviate the pain and sometimes can cause /help the cyst to burst. Surgery is supposed to prevent recurrence but it doesnt always work. I have had a procedure to leave an opening this time in the hope that this helps to stop recurrence. You must avoid sexual arousal as soon as you get the lump as this causes growth as it is this gland that is blocked that produces a womans sexual fluid. Hope this helps

I am on my 3rd cyst. The first one started in june of this year, had one in july and have one now. I saw it when it first came up but I took a few sitz baths and it went away. Today after having sex I noticed that it was enlarged and painful. I was told the second time that I may need surgery but after doing a little research I have noticed that the surgery is not as helpful as it may seem. Most forums I have read have always said that the cyst recurs or that they have pain during sex, or there sex life has went down dramatically. I really don't want the surgery but I need to know if there is something that will help them not come as frequently. If you had any good advice or anything please let me know. I am a 20 year old, sex addicted female who doesn't want to go through this process of surgery and recovery from for no reason but to have it come back. I feel your pain....

Hi
i'm searching for other solutions as well.
I know I wont' hvae the marsup surgery but I just read another post from someone who had the gland removed altogether...I think it was the gland.
And since then has had no problems.

I'm onmy 5th reoccurrence and I want to cry.

Hey, poor you! I had my cyst for 3 years. It was not painful but was increasing after having sex. My doctor has removed the gland because in many cases after Word Catheter and Marsup procedure the cyst comes back. Now 6 months later I have a left side cyst and this one hurts. NHS has a procedure to start with Catheter and then if it is not effective - marsup. Only after that they agree to remove it all together. But private gyn does things differently. I have already taken a course of antibiotics. The abscess has reduced in size and is not painful any longer. But I will still remove the gland to avoid reoccurrence in the future. Few of my friends have done the same (after suffering 5 or 6 times). I hope I will never have to think about this again!Good luck

I have been told by two gyns that you can not actually have the gland 'removed,' because of the way it sits in the body (like you can't have your sinus cavities removed), but they can do such a radical window operation, creating such a large opening, that the gland is in effect 'destroyed.'

I have had my gland removed and also researched it on the web. It is possible to remove it.
http://www.atlasofpelvicsurgery.com/1Vulva andIntroitus/5bartholinsglandexcision/chap 1sec5.html
this website shows you the removal process. Opening it up so that it can't retain fluid is not always effective.

Help :( my daughter is only 12 years old and has suffered for the last 10 days after two misdiagnosed visits to her pediatrican and a er visit were she was seen by 7 dr's before someone finally figured out what was wrong. She has been on very powerful pain meds and antibiotics. Yet she is still in pain, can only sit for short periods and walks like a penquin still.

Should this still be painfull? Everything I have read, the discomfort is mild after it ruptures.

I have not seen one case of a child having this she is not sexually active and has not started her cycles yet.

I am at a lose as to what to do for her another dr? She is so shy that it is so difficult for her to even be seen for this.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Are you going to a skin dr he might be able to burn them off but they would probably grow right back as you really need to get to the root of the cysts and you should find out why you keep getting them so they will not continue. You should talk to your dr about them returning as generally all he does is drain them, do you do your sitz bath a few times a day.

Good luck!

[quote="bridgett38"]help :( my daughter is only 12 years old and has suffered for the last 10 days after two misdiagnosed visits to her pediatrican and a er visit were she was seen by 7 dr's before someone finally figured out what was wrong. She has been on very powerful pain meds and antibiotics. Yet she is still in pain, can only sit for short periods and walks like a penquin still.


Should this still be painfull? Everything I have read, the discomfort is mild after it ruptures.


I have not seen one case of a child having this she is not sexually active and has not started her cycles yet.

I am at a lose as to what to do for her another dr? She is so shy that it is so difficult for her to even be seen for this.


Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

-----i feel your daughters pain. I have had them 4 times since june of last year and my last one was just this past february. If her doctor drains them make sure that they get the core of the cyst out. It is a small hard ball that blocks the flow of the gland and causes the cyst. She can check after about a week after they drain it and if she feels a small pea size lump or ball she needs to go back because it hasn't healed it will only take a small amount of time to come back. But no matter what they give her (antibiotics, meds, etc.) nothing will alleviate the pain for good except to have it drained because the skin stretching is what causes the pain. Tell your daughter to take warm baths before she goes to sleep and as much as she can throughout the day because it will help some and definitely no cold compresses. Warm or as hot as she can stand it. This last one I had was about the size of a golf ball and I went to an older doctor who put a word catheter in the cyst. He made me keep it in for 3 weeks and it didn't hurt when he took it out. When I checked myself later that day and compared one side to the other I could tell that the catheter had healed my cyst the way it was supposed to. It left a small hole but it will close up over time. If you or she wants to know anything or have any questions that I may be able to help with please let me know, it helped a lot for me to talk to other people who have been there and if she decides to go through with putting a word catheter in definitely talk to me. The doctor that put mine is put it in the middle and I was uncomfortable because I couldn't tuck the end of it inside me and it just dangled. The older and more experienced doctor told me if it happens again to make sure they put it in near the bottom and make the incision from the inside so that it may be tucked in for more comfortableness. Hope this helps u.

Out of nowhere today, I have a bump the size of a pea, on my right labia. I have no pain and only noticed it when going to the bathroom and then looked. I began to goggle images and symptoms, and I think I have this cyst, I scheduled a dr's appt. My question is, do these cysts just go away or do they all require surgical drainage? I read about warm baths and compresses, will these remedies help with the swelling but the cyst will still stay? If anyone has more info, I would appreciate it.

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I had a third recurrence and this time is was so swollen and painful that I couldn't walk, I could barely stand. Laying on my side was the only way to get at least some relief

i went in and had the word catheter process done. It was okay but now, a month later the gland is slightly enlarged and it stings horribly.

I want this thing out of my life. I can live with just one glad... I have a very healthy relationship that is being affected by this. My wonderful boyfriend is very understanding but I hate to see him worry and to have to stop having any intimacy because i'm afraid the cyst will come back.

How can I tell my doctor that I want this thing removed??

I felt the same way!

I just recovered from a Bartholin cyst. I found the lump about three weeks ago. It remained a lump for about four or five days without hurting, just a tiny bit of itching. Then one day it was swollen and very painful. Webmd said it would go away with hot baths. It continued to grow for nearly another week and got to be the size of a tall, red, painful almond. One day the size wasn't much different, but somehow it seemed like it was getting better. The swelling gradually went down and the lump got smaller. It started itching again as it healed. I still have a tiny lump but it's so small I believe it could be gone tomorrow. Here's what I did to help the healing process.

I took a hot bath 2 or 3 times a day and put 7 drops of lavender and 7 drops of Juniper Berry essential oils in the bath every time. Lavender helps with swelling and healing, and Juniper Berry smells really good with Lavender.

I also put an oil on directly on the cyst several times a day. The oil was 1 ounce vegetable oil, 5 drops Lavender, 5 drops Chamomile (Roman or German), and 5 drops Eucalyptus. I used Roman Chamomile because that's what I had available. This doesn't smell as good as the bath, but Lavender and Chamomile are good for the swelling and Eucalyptus helps heal and disinfect. You could use Tea Tree oil in place of the Eucalyptus but I can't guarantee it will smell any better.

I found it was really irritating to just walk while wearing any type of clothing, and when the cyst was at its largest it was even hard to walk without clothing because it would rub on my leg. I'm cringing just thinking about it. I used a small cotton round that you might use to put astringent on your face. I placed it over the cyst and let the edge stick outside of my underwear (hard to describe). It stopped my clothing from rubbing on the cyst and it just rubbed on the cotton instead. ahh relief! I usually put the oil on right before I put on the cotton round. It served almost as a bandage without having any adhesive in that sensitive area.

One more thing, NO SEXUAL STIMULATION WHILE HEALING. The gland that is blocked produces fluids when aroused. From what I've read, producing more fluids while the cyst is blocking the duct would only make it worse.

I hope my experience can help someone. The worst part about this cyst was the fear. I was afraid to go to the doctor, but worried that I couldn't handle it myself. It was scary and painful, but I got through it. Some of the other posts on this forum about Bartholin cysts really frightened me. My intention is to give you hope instead of fear.

-E

This is my first bartholin cyst and it was a depressing time for me. I noticed a swelling after my honeymoon. I thought it was nothing until a week passed and it was still there. I had no pain just red swelling. I went online to seek more info and it was exactly as I read when I went to the dr. I went into surgery. I was cut and a sac was placed in me for about 12-16 hrs and then was removed.( most painful part of the entire procedure). for four days I was on antibiotics and painkillers but I had no need for it because I had no pain. When bathing I felt like I had stiches as well. A week has passed and I am almost completely healed.I have to revisit the dr. for a checkup and I guess removal of the stiches (and of course knowledge of exactly what was done cuz I don't know if it was catheter or marsup.) I really don't think I can handle another one although I had no pain,no stds, my surgery was expensive and I was depressed and still am .I miss sex and romance with my husband and I am afraid that sex may stimulate another gland . I sympathize with the twelve yr girl. I really hope you get the necessary treatment.

This is my third cyst in less than a year. I have gone through the procedure twice and I am deathly scared to do it again. I noticed swelling this morning, I got so scared I called the dr. right away. Whenever I get them it feels like they grow by the minute. They always come at the worst possible time for me. I have been planning a trip for 3 months now and I am supposed to leave Friday Nov 2nd, today is Monday October 29 and my cyst has come back. My plans will have to be canceled.

I am frightened, the doctor said next time it comes back he wants to remove it surgically, I have heard it is very painful. I'm hoping that since I caught it early it won't be as bad, the last two times I waited a week before going to see a doctor and by then I was in so much pain and the swelling and gotten worse.

I am almost positive that this cyst is left over from the second time. I have no insurance and I went to a clinic, at the time I had two cysts and they could only remove one because I had no anesthesia I wouldn't let the doctor remove the second one. I was screaming and crying in pain. Just thinking about it makes me want to cry. I can still feel the pain of the doctor cutting me.

I hate that I always get them. I wish they would just stop coming. The cyst just appeared out of nowhere, it was literally one day to the next and there it was, and it's been coming back ever since.

I feel everyone's pain in this matter. And my advice is to make sure you have insurance.

i am suffering from this bartholin's cyst for the past 1.5 months.
I have noticed a lump of pea sized for around one year, which was not painful. but once i had my first coitus, it swollen but not much painful, later i dont know how the infection got in... i t swollen still more that my whole labia majora was swoolen fully. and painfull. only then i went to the doctor and she said that it is bartholin's cyst. now i am afraid of its recurence... very much worried. and my huby is much worrid. we cannot stop the intimacy due too...will it make me inactive sexually???
and does this cyst occures only becos of sex? then how come that 12 yr girl had this? and i too had that pea sized cyst for the past one yr, before being sexuall active... plz explain. also suggest what method will be very much accurate in removing the cyst without recuurence...
Thank u

It's my impression that the cyst isn't caused by sex (or at least not in all cases). I've had this problem for years before I became sexually active. I think sex can make the problem worse if you already have a cyst and are trying to heal. I was told that it's not really known what exactly causes it.

I'm not sure which method would be best... I haven't found one for myself yet. Good luck!

Dear lilac12
Thanks for ur reply...i am searching for a good gynaec for this treatment. i do not want it to reoccur. since it is really bothering our relationship.
Dear Doctors,
please suggest me a complete remedy for this, so that the re-occurence for the cyst should not be there... i found that some window treatment in web.. Does this practiced in India, chennai? does this realy helpfull? and how much it costs...please answer...
Thanks in dvance.

Hello!

I thought I was a freak for having this stupid cyst. I've had it for 4 years thinking that it was a swollen lymph node and was freaked out about maybe having HIV. I haven't gotten tested but when I first noticed it, I went to the gyn and he tested me for syphillis. It came back negative. He never really suggested any other STD testing and didn't really give me a clear response as to what are the possible causes of this cyst. Some websites say that it may be caused by some STDs but which ones??? What are the other possible non-STD causes?

The first time I noticed the cyst was about 4 yrs ago a couple of weeks or months after having unprotected sex with a guy I was dating. So imagine the millions of things that came to mind (Herpes, HIV, etc.). Now that I know what it really is I'm back to square one (no clue). It's only gone down a couple of times with antibiotics but it grows again fairly quickly. It's also gone down temporarily a day after rough sex (I apologize for the details). I'm thinking because it pops during sex??? No clue. The cyst doesn't hurt at all but the upper labia hurts sometimes when sitting or after sex. And I'm not trying to be gross at all. I'm just being honest to see if anyone can give me any answers or can relate in some sense.

This is driving me crazy because I'm worried that it might have been caused by an STD or that I might have some other horrible infection. The only clear thing that the gyn told me, "It's caused by an infection." But I also read in some sites that it's not always caused by infections. I do get some reocurrences of yeast infections (sorry for being gross again) but once again, I don't know if it has anything to do with the cyst.

Thank you for reading this! It's awesome that there's a place where women can talk about the horrors of being women. I'm only in my late 20's and I want to live a long healthy life. But sometimes doctors don't seem to have all the answers

Take Care!

Well this is interesting. There's a lot of conflicting information here on what causes the cyst. This is what I have to add: My GYN told me that *nothing* causes the duct to the gland to close up. Not tight underwear or sex or STDs. It just happens in some women. According to her, when a cyst forms the gland can become infected with bacteria and will need to be treated with antibiotics. But not all cysts are infected with bacteria. She never mentioned that the bacterial infection could be caused by an STD. She suggested sist baths and hot compresses. She tried to insert a catheter the last time I had one drained, but she couldn't get it in. Yes, they have ruptured on their own in my experience, but they keep coming back. I'm told there isn't any concern with surgery, but I'm scared. I've heard about scarring and painful recovery--two things I feel very concerned about.

Also, only one person here has mentioned itching. I find it itches too! I wonder why that is.

i keep hearing about girls who suffer of horrible pain while they are operated in order to drain the glands; I've just recovered from my 3rd bartholonitis operation, but I asked for anesthesia, I would never be ale to stand the pain without it..... I also recommend anyone to ask for it; in my case, it wasn't local, I've heard it can;t be done for infected areas, I was injected with something that made me very dizzy and kind of sleepy, and I didn't feel much pain, and even if I did, I can't remember......... always ask for anesthesia !!!