I just had Marsupialization done 1 week ago and I went for my follow-up and the doc told me that he believes the hole is trying to close and not drain all the way. So he told we to take a couple baths a day for a couple weeks and try to work the drainage out. He said if that doesnt work then to make an appt and he will something else. i just want this gone. what should i do

i also had my marsupialization just under a week ago. the stitches are really starting to itch and slightly burn. i'm worried that the surgery didn't do the trick, because i had hardly ANY bleeding or discharge afterwards, and i still see some swelling (that is - it still doesn't look like the unaffected side). i am sure some of the swelling is a side effect from the incision, but is this normal? did anyone who had a marsupialization see the affected side go back down to normal size within the first week? i'm worried that the same thing is happening with me - the hole is not staying open enough to allow drainage, and there is still a fluid back up. god, i really hope i didn't go through this surgery for nothing.

I've had an asymptomatic bartholin cyst for literally years. My OB/Gyn always told me that as long as it wasn't causing me any pain I didn't have to worry about it. It was growing larger and larger though and was starting to cause me some discomfort during sex because of the shear size of it!

Well last weekend it suddenly started to hurt pretty constantly. By Sunday night I was in some serious pain and decided to call the Dr. on Monday morning. Monday my OB/Gyn said for me to come right in. I was fully expecting her to tell me to try sitz baths... but they decided to go with word catherization. The procedure itself wasn't overly painful, just the couple of sticks from the lidocain. I was even OK the rest of Monday. Tuesday morning though, I couldn't get out of bed. Wednesday was a little better, but I was still in a great deal of pain, and having to take the codean they gave me every 5 hours like clockwork. Especially painful was peeing. OH GOSH! It was like being stabbed by a thousand hot pokers. (I called the Nurse at my Dr.'s office, she suggested I keep a waterbottle by the toilet and pour it over myself as I went... it dilutes the urine and makes it MUCH more tolerable... GREAT plan for you ladies who are having the same problem there)

I was able to go back to work Thursday and Friday but was still in an unbelievable amount of pain. So terribly uncomfortable, not being able to sit properly, or walk properly. It felt like the catheter was tearing at me! So Friday after work I went home and took a look with a mirror and it looked like the catheter was 85% of the way out (no wonder it hurt so bad!) I called the answering service at my Dr.s Who called the dr on call. She told me to just take it out if I could (YIKES! Can I bill my insurance company for that? ) I went back to the bathroom and the thing popped right out with the first thought of a tug. I was granted IMMEDIATE relief! My boyfriend and parents both said that I seemed like a new woman.

Now the problem is... I know that thing is supposed to be in for weeks. Mine was in for just 5 days. I'm terrorfied that this thing will come back and I'll have to go through the whole thing again.

For ladies who have had a catheter essentially fall out, did yours come back? How long did it take to heal to the point that you could resume.. ahem... relations? (My boyfriend has been a SAINT through this whole thing! We're going on vacation in a couple of weeks though and it would be terrible to have to stay away from eachother in our tropical paradise)

Keep strong ladies!

well, well, well--I am not alone! It's great to read these emotional entries from all of you. I've felt so different and "dirty" for years now because no one knew what a bartholin gland was. But, we all have them and the "lucky" few of us get to deal with a cyst or abcess from these damn glands. My story is a long and tiring one. I've dealt with a bartholin gland cyst for 7 years now off and on. It would get abcessed about every year and would love to annoy me while I was out of the country on vacation, or a 4 day backpacking trip, or honeymoon. It's sooooo fun to try to squeeze your inflammed cyst while in the woods or in your honeymoon suite! I can't think of anything else more enticing. My cyst was different than most because it grew internally toward my butt, not outward into my vagina. So, it looked like nothing, but felt like EVERYTHING. It was also the size of a golf ball. Most Gyn's I saw (count them didn't even think it was a bartholin gland cyst, but a couple of them, thank god, knew what it was and helped me as much as they could. Many lances and drainages later, I ran out of patience. It was taking over my life. My vacations were a constant concern, my husband's understanding was appreciated, but still isolated me and made me embarrased. What was my problem? So, I was finally recommended to see a GYn that dared to take the whole cyst and gland out for me. I had surgery on June 12th and it sucked, but the hope for a bartholin cyst free future was worth the pain. Recovery took a while. I went back to work about 2 1/2 weeks later. Unfortunately, now, August 6th, I'm having some puss coming from my incision. So, I"m on some IV antibiotics and trying to control whatever is going on. Who knows? my doc says "we're almost there" , but I'm soooooo ready to move on and feel normal again. I guess I traded an enlarged cyst for an IV hanging out of my arm. As hard and frustrating as it all sounds, IT WAS STILL WORTH IT. If and when I beat this infection, I look forward to a bartholin cyst free life. It was part of the risk I guess. I would love some feedback from someone on this post that has had the excision as well. Any infection afterwards? We will rise above.......

altoviola, i had a word catheter inserted, and it didn't work for me. i, like you, was in AWFUL pain for three days after. couldn't stand, sit, or walk without discomfort, i could only lie in bed. on the third day i went in, and the doc removed it for me. it was immediate relief! i was able to function normally right afterwards. i had sex maybe a week or so later and it was fine. the second time we tried it we got a little, er, ambitious, and it hurt quite a bit. after that though, sex was fine again...but the cyst was still there. i had to go back for a marsupialization. that went really well, but it's been less than two weeks and i think most of my stitches have come out by now. remains to be seen if it will be a success.

Bartholin Buster, I had my excision on july 24th. So you started seeing pus after a month and a half?? Wow.. what did the doctor say? is the excision area sealed up by now?

My doctor told me that its going to take me another month to heal up completely, that would make it 2 months healing time.. Which sucks! I was originally told 3 weeks and I'd be fine, I'm at 4 weeks now and theres still stitches and weird puss. He also made two excisions in me, since the infection was so deep in me that they had to go through another area. Originally he told me he would cut me on the inside to avoid cosmetic scars and a 'better sex life'.. well now I have a huge cut on the inside, and on the outside, which looks ugly as hell.

i have suffered from recurring cysts, incredibly painful for years. at first they occured infrequently but over the last 18 months they became more and more frequent - every 3 months or so. i kept track and from the time i noticed the cyst until it actually ruptured on its own was about 85 hours. 85 hours of the most intense pain i have ever experienced. it is debilitating and i have missed many days of work unable to even get out of bed. i was always told that the surgical removal could only occur while the cyst was in 'full bloom' so timing was always an issue. with only an 85 hour window of opportunity it is nearly impossible to get into the dr office and schedule a procedure before the cyst ruptures on its own. the last one i had July '09 progressed very slowly for some reason and on July 27 i had the gland removed as an outpatient procedure in my local hospital. 3-1/2 weeks later and i am still slowly recovering. according to my dr i did not have alot of bleeding during the surgery (good thing because my hemoglobin was down to 8.3 since i am als suffering from simple hyperplasia - excessive bleeding and am anemic). i did however develop a hematoma immediately after the surgery and the entire left side of my vagina/labia was bruised, bloody and swollen beyond recognition. my dr never discussed the recuperation after surgery so i went to work the next day. 2 days later however i could not get out of bed for the pain and missed 2 days of work. as far as the hematoma all i can do is wait for the blood to drain and/or be reabsorbed into my body. i have a follow up visit 09/03 but am concerned about a couple things. i have alot of numbness around my vagina, still have a hard lump at the incision site and some loose flaps of skin around my clitoris that i believe were not ever meant to be cut. has anyone else experienced any of these post op symptoms ? although the pain and inconvenienec on the cysts was unimagineable i am now wondering if i did the right thing by having the surgery. my boyfriend has been extremely supportive but we all know how sex is effected by this issue and i am afraid that the surgery has just moved the problem from one area to another.

Hi Everyone, I am a 45 y.o. Married woman. My saga began 15 years ago when I had my first Bartholin's cyst. Luckily antibiotics made it go away for a long while. In February 2009, I had a uterine polyp removed and developed another cyst ( same side) in May. My doctor prescribed antibiotics but it continued to get worse (size and pain). She had to do an incision and drainage in the clinic. The pain from the needle injections of the lidocaine was almost unbearable, but did provide relief and it went away. Like a bad penny, I felt the area swell up again in mid August. I called my MD who, of course, was on vacation. Her colleague called in antibiotics and 24 hours later, I had low grade fevers, chills, headache, and muscle and joint pain, in addition to 8 of 10 pain! I went to the ER where I was given Norco and then 45 minutes later 2 mg of morphine. I have never liked any type of meds, never mind narcotics. Then the doctors came in with the " good news". They told me it wasn't ready to be drained and it had to get worse before they could do anything. The risk was too high because the cyst/abscess is in such a highly vascular and innervated area. I tried to understand the logic behind feeling terrible, getting doped up, and being told they couldn' t help me. The prescribed more narcotics and another antibiotic and told me to go to the clinic in 2 days where they thought for sure it would be ready to be drained. I went home and now had nausea and vomiting. The pain did go from 8 of 10 to 6 of 10. I suffered until late Thursday when the abscess spontaneously ruptured. I immediately felt some relief of the pain. I called the MD on call who told me to "squeeze" it. I thought she was crazy because I still could barely touch the area. I followed up with my MD the next week. She said the area was still swollen and indurated ( firm from infection) and it could flare up at any time. She recommended removal of the gland and I was in agreement. I had the surgery done Monday Aug 17 with general anesthesia. It went longer than they expected because they had to go deeper than they thought. The local anesthetic wore off at about midnight that night and I was back in excruciating pain. So I had to get up and make a sandwich and take the narcotic. I thought the nausea, vomiting, and pain would never end. I had to take the narcotics for at least 2 more days and then I decreased them because I wanted to eat. Now the pain is a bit worse and I can't sit comfortably. There is now some drainage from the area that is concerning. Will call my MD to see if this is normal or needs treatment. I hope and pray that this will all be over soon or that I will have the strength to continue to deal with it. I will also include all of the women suffering from this in my daily prayers as well. Peace.

I had a word catheter that was stitched but only lasted 2 weeks because it was painful and being forced out as I healed. My doctor removed the catheter. It's been three weeks and I noticed yesterday it is not only swollen again but getting larger than what it was before I had the word catheter inserted. That was extremely painful to go two weeks with the catheter. I'm going to schedule an appt with my doctor to have the gland either removed or inquire about his knowledge of the silver nitrate procedure. Have any of you ever heard of that or had that done? h t t p: / / clinicaltrials.gov / ct2 / show / study / NCT00786461.

This is about all I know about it but it seems promising. This really is depressing! I'm 35 and this is the first time I've had to deal with this. Two things have changed: 1. I sit more due to work which could cause circulation issues and 2. I'm taking wellbutrin and noticed my mucous is much thicker. It may be a culmination of the two.

I had my bartholin's gland excised/removed a little over a year ago. It is acting up again and I'm wondering how this is possible if the gland is supposed to be GONE! Is this common? Does it mean they missed some of the gland? Please help. This surgery was the most traumatizing experience of my life and the only thing that got me through the recovery was the belief that I would never have to deal with it again.

Hi Jadeno,
if you are experiencing any reoccuring symptoms after gland removal that means they missed a bit of tissue and now it is acting up!! Go back to your gyno asap

Just a quick update....I have been recovering since my Bartholin Gland excision on Aug 17th. This has been the most difficult thing I have had to deal with. Luckily my husband has been very supportive. The psychological effect on me has been enormous. I know there are many worse things that could have happened to me but knowing that doesn't make this any easier. I sometimes wonder if I will ever enjoy sex again since I haven't been pain free for several weeks now. Every day there is slight improvement, but it is difficult to endure. This is a club which I didn't ask to join. However, I would like to be in the Bartholin Cyst Survivor Club and sooner, rather than later.

Hello,
I am on my 10th cyst. Every time, I have to have them lanced, and the catheter put in. This is causing me so much stress, and pain. Just the thought of going through it again stresses me out. I have tried and tried to get the doctor to remove the gland, and he keeps giving me the run-around. Im going to get a second opinion with another doctor in about a week. If that doesnt work, I will go to a gynoligical oncologist.

Hey Girls,
I had a recurrent Bartholin Cyst about 2 years ago. I remember the pain etc. I was at my gyno every week, had the word catheter each time.
My Dr told me that he was doing the incision everytime in the same place and eventually due to build up of scar tissue the wound would stay open, and it did.
I saw him a week ago, and he gave me the all clear. The opening is very small(a bit bigger than a needle), and he just advised me to keep it clean by draining it once in a while. Got my blood results and no sign of infection. My boyfriend that i have been with for 1.5 years has no idea i even have this problem.
Hope this helps

I feel really hurt and angry for us all that there is not good, true information out there to help us understand and navigate this issue. Like you all I trusted my gynecologist when she said marsupelization would fix it - the cyst wasn't painful at all, but it was the size of a golf ball and not very pretty - and I let her put me under general - the first time in my life, trusting that all would be well. I was terrified of the anesthesia but it was easy as pie - don't let that scare you away. As soon as the stitches started dissolving the incision closed and it swelled up again. I went right back and she did a word catheter in her office - it was easy once the lidocain kicked in, and painless to wear. She took it out after a week and said I should be good to go, but within two weeks it had closed again, was swollen beyond all reasonable means, and on the verge of going septic.
Here is where my story may offer help or an alternative.
A long time friend of mine is the department head of urology at a major hospital here. I talked to him about my experience, and he made an appointment for me with a man he trusted deeply, a guy who is a female pelvic surgeon. The day I went to see this new doctor I was in agony with the cyst, which had abcessed, and he booked me into emergency surgery that night, afraid for my health. I woke to find that because of the size of the cyst, the cavity it left when it was drained, like a deflated balloon, would always be ready to fill back up again. He removed the whole gland, and packed it with about five feet of gauze, and I spent the night in hospital. I was given morphine the next morning for the first changing of the gauze, and my boyfriend unpacked and repacked the incision twice a day for two weeks (yes, i think I'm going to keep him!). I won't lie - that hurt, and I'm now almost four weeks out and it is still twingy and tender. I took ibuprofen every four hours for the first two weeks because it felt like I was being seared with a hot poker, but I don't need pain killers now. It is sort of lumpy still, and I think I must have a lot of scar tissue in there, but my boyfriend says it is very pretty. (Sorry, TMI, but that was the point).
My urologist friend says that this is not surgery for oncologists or gynos - it is for female pelvic surgeons, and he is going to take it to the American College of Gynecologists to make sure they start referring us to the appropriate doctors for the job. Some of your stories are heartbreaking - we need compassion and good, proper care - I feel very fortunate and hope I can share some of the wealth. Hugs to you all.

hi i'm 25yrs and have had 4 cysts in 4 yrs....i'm so sick and fed up of this pain and depression over it. i feel like a "weirdo"....i've only had one operation which was for the 2nd occurance the 1st and 3rd burst on it's own.... i'm now suffering with the fourth and i've just started my new job and if i take sick leave i may lose it....it's such a heavy baggage to go through your life with. i've already lost a job from takin sick leave to deal with it. the pain is excruciating and i'm frustrated. i've been applyin a warm cloth to it for 5 days now for it to rupture on it's own but to no avail.i hate needles and i'm also afraid of losing yet another job....i also have a 3 yr old daughter and no one to take care of her if i was to go for another operation.... can someone plz advise me!!!

This forum is great, the information out there isn't fantastic and its much better to hear about it from people who have been there.
I'm 27 and have never had anything like this happen before, 4 days ago I noticed a bit of pain and some swelling on the right side of my labia, I've been having some trouble with my eyes and have been in and out of hospital this week because of that so I didn't pay too much attention to the swelling.
It rapidly increased in size and pain though, by Wednesday night, 1 day after I had noticed it start I was in agony and the labia was swollen to two or three times its normal size with a large excruciatingly painful lump the size of half a golfball. I spent the whole night unable to sleep or get comfortable in the slightest. Ibuprofen just didn't touch it, I called NHS Direct in tears as I had no idea what was wrong. I struggled to get to the doctors the next day as walking at any speed was impossible, when she was examining it she prodded the abscess and I was almost in tears again it hurt so much. I can honestly say I have never felt pain like it, sitting, standing, walking, lying down. All rendered impossibly painful. I started the antibiotics yesterday and this afternoon I saw that the abscess was starting to rupture, a couple of layers had started to split and I could tell it was only a matter of time before it breached properly... This I am glad to say happened about an hour ago and I can't believe the complete difference in how I feel! Still very swollen and its leaking slowly, I've had to put a towel on to help with the blood and pus, its a little tender and there's pain a little bit but my god, compared to what I have been feeling its incredible! Sounds stupid but although its been less than a week it was getting difficult to remember just how it felt to feel normal. I'm concerned from everything I read that I havent had it drained professionally and can only hope to god it heals properly now and I never go through it again. Reading peoples stories I can see that its fairly common to come back. I won't wait two days again before going to the doctor next time though if it happens!
For everyone suffering I hope you feel better soon, horrible horrible thing and I'm thankful for places like this on the internet that can help by letting you know you aren't the only one x

I would like to say I have now had 5 cysts on my left labia, three of which they lanced off, then I had the gland removed, only to not be able to get out of bed anyway but to roll out....my husband had to clean the area for me, and said I was black and blue, and my lip looked like a penis!!! I was promised that once I got the glande removed the cysts would never come back....well let me tell you, THEY SURE DO!! not only do I have extreme nerve damage, to the point that when I am able to have any form of intercourse, that it takes 2-3 days before I can do it again, (my husband works away for 24 days at a time and is only home 4 days a month) so we get to be intimate with each other 1 day a month maybe 2 if we are real lucky.now I just got another cyst the day before my first yr anniversary.... HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!! was back in the O.R having yet another cyst removed, so that was in June it is now October and have to go see the Dr. tomorrow cuz I have (IMAGINE ANOTHER CYST) so we will see what they can do about the nerve damage but the constant cysts that I was never supposed to get after I had that glande removed.... as far a lubrication ladies, your other glande will work twice as hard to produce extra lube, if not then use some jelly of some sort. but yes my sex life has be ruined, my vagina looks like hamburger, I have severe pain and discomfort, and I still get the damn cysts

Have you women tried soaking in the bathtub in very warm water?...I had these years ago and this is how I cured them....They would get so sore that I could hardly walk...Sometimes they would bleed and sometimes a thick yellow pus came out...In time they disappeared...I hope this helps...

Caroline

My story:
Got my first B. gland abscess at age 20...still getting them to this day at 33,always on the same side. I've had 2 lovers in my lifetime, had 2 kids with the latter, been tested countless times for STDs (all clear), keep myself very clean, and take all precautions you can think of to avoid these, to no avail. My 1st abscess was lanced by an ER MD and they literally had to hold me down for that due to the pain. I swear I could feel him cutting through me! Since that was such a traumatizing experience, I always avoided going to the MD and tried to puncture them myself or waiting for them to rupture on their own. At one point, I had them so often that the skin became thin enough that I could literally see through it. I have a very high pain tolerance so for me to become incapacitated by this is a HUGE deal. Birthing 2 kids au natural is a walk in the park compared to these things. After the marsupialization, I was lucky to have about a 1 year period of having an absolutely normal "flower" but eventually that came to an end. My MD was dumbfounded as I was the first one that it ever recurred after surgery for him. Since the surgery I've had 1 lanced (passing out from the rapid blood loss) but haven't been back to the MD for the rest (lost count) since they either ruptured on their own or just haven't become infected. As I type this, I have 1 (same side as usual) that's about the size of a golf ball and getting bigger but no pain. BUT...yesterday I had a stinging sensation on the other size (hoped it wasn't another developing) and today noticed a bit of swelling and pain. So I have 1 cyst that's huge but no pain on 1 side, and another cyst on the other side that's tiny but quickly becoming painful. Called my MD, but due to the holidays, the soonest I can get in to see him is Jan 13th. So I had to settle for an appt with the nurse practitioner on Dec 8th, still almost 3 weeks away. I hope it doesn't become much bigger or painful in the meantime(tolerable right now) so I'm doing the sitz baths and compresses to hopefully keep it in check until then.

Lately, I've been seriously contemplating total excision. I've heard stories of deformation and/or pain, but seriously it can't be much more traumatizing emotionally or physically than it is now. I avoid sex with my hubby because of this problem constantly being there, afraid that it'll come back after having sex (and it usually does). Quite honestly, I think he's at the end of his leash with this and it's becoming a real issue in our relationship, even though he's tried for 13 yrs to be understanding and patient. I'm tired of dealing with the fear of it recurring, knowing that it will and it's just a matter of time before the next one pops up. My sex life has gone straight down the tubes and that is a direct result of this problem.

I they can figure out how to help men "keep it up" or re-attach a chopped off penis...they should be able to figure this itsy bitsy gland thing too.