I'm 25 yrs old and have had to deal with my cyst repeatedly over the course of the last 2 years. I am not sexually active and fortunately have only had to be lanced 3 times. My cyst shows up monthly, usually right before my cycle and goes away shortly thereafter, unless it becomes an abcess ... These last six months it has really become unbearable where the pain is considered so much so that i'm not able to work, i've decided to have the marsupilization done. My gyn is still working on scheduling but can anyone whose had the procedure give any insight into what recovery is like?? I'd appreciate it.

SDvirgil-I have never had the marsupialization procedure done, however I have had 3excisions of bartholin cyst - once on the left and twice on the right- at different times. I know the recovery time for me with both of those surgeries was less than a week. Infact, I was able to walk the next day, although sitting and walking more than a few minutes was uncomfortable. Having to go potty was probably the hardest part for obvious reasons. I have also had the pleasure of having a word cathedar placed up in there with my last cyst, which came out in my sleep the following day! To be honest, that thing was more painful than the surgery and the recovery was more difficult due to the constant draining with the new opening. I am not sure if this helps but I hope it does.

Unfortunately, I now have two more cysts, one on each side. The one on the right is so large that i have to move it out of the way to wipe when i pee and, not to be graphic, it blocks the vaginal opening and that can't be a good thing. The one on the left continually changes from big to small but my gyno said she could definately feel some fluid in there but can't do anything until they both become red and swollen!! YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!!! I have an appointment with a new gyno tomorrow and am going to ask about having the whole gland removed on both sides. PLEASE!!!! If anyone can give me some info on having the actual gland, not just the cyst, removed I would be forever greatful. Walking around with two lumps between my legs is the most unnatural feeling and I am not about to wait any longer for them to get red and swollen just so I can go in and have yet another expensive sugery to remove them, just for them to come back! PLEASE HELP! Either reply to this message or message me personally or how ever they have you do it on here, i'm new! Thanks!

Hi. My name is Tiffany. I have to say I might actually be the youngest person on here. Im 16 years old and I have been living this nightmare for 7 months. When I was 15 years old I got my first Bartholin's Cyst in July 2006. I didnt know what it was. I just thought my left "lip" down there was just a little swollen. No biggie. But I was in for a very rude awakening. It was just a little uncomfortable to sit regularly and walk long distances. But it's crazy how in just one night the pain can rise [on a scale of 1-10] from a 3 to like a 27. I thought I had an std. I thought I was going to die. I didnt know what to do. The next day I went to the emergency room and they lanced it. Almost immediately after the infection comes out, there is immediate relief. I thought that was the last time ...

Since my first one in July, I have had three more. The first one was lanced with a word catheter put in [which came out the next day in a sitz bath]. The second time I had a marsupialization. I honestly thought that was the last time I was going to get it. Well it wasnt. Exactly a month later in January of this year I got another one. This one burts on its own. The last one I had was just last week. I went to the ER again and right when they were about to go in and lance it, it burst.

Im speaking out because I know there are other girls my age who are going through this but are scared to ask questions. Just because you aren't over the age of 18 YOU STILL HAVE A VOICE !!! Dont be scared because God will bring you through this time of pain.

Well the next procedure I plan to have is to get the gland removed all together. My Gyn doesnt want to do it. But he's a guy. He doesn't have any idea what the pain of having a Bartholin's cyst is like. All the women who are going through this, KEEP YOUR HEAD UP AND DONT TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER. Do what you must. I love all of you ....

Tiffany <333

well, this is the first page ive been on where other women have been suffering through the same problems ive had with my gland.

im 22 now but have had my bartholins gland become infected twice a year every year since i was 17. i wanted to know someones thoughts on having surgery to have the glands removed bc it is getting expensive to have it constantly drained. two months ago, i had to pay $356 just to have it drained and realized yesterday that it is now back again and is infected again. i wish i was so lucky as to have it swell and then go away on its own, but that has never happened.

ive never had surgery or broken, sprained, or injured any part of my body so im pretty scared about possibly going this route. anyones suggestions or comments would be helpful, thanks.

I have had the second occurrence of a lump in 10 years. The first time, it went away quickly with warm baths. This time, it enlarged and became infected and was drained in the ER. Now, after 10 days on Augmentim, I cannot feel a thing, but my doctor wants to do a marsupilization of the cyst next Wed. This is costly and difficult for me because I am a full-time caregiver for my mom, who has Alzheimer's. After reading some of these entries, I'm beginning to think I won't have the surgery. Sounds like several people had recurring problems, even after marsupilization, which, as I understand it, is not a removal but an opening of the gland so it supposedly won't become blocked again. I'm also afraid of pain after surgery, as I have to move my mom, turn her and pretty much lift dead weight from chair to bed. I don't know what to do. Anyone have any ideas?

to see so many women go through what i am going through is touching i have felt so alone and felt disfigured by this. i am 24 years old and until i had my second child two years ago have never had a cyst. mine always get infected and when i got it drained the smell is awful i got so embarrassed. even though my doctor tells me that is how the infected ones smell. i actually had a nurse look at me in horror on my first one. i cried so much after. thank you guys for coming forward with your stories. i have gotten six more since my first one and because of the trauma of the first one i have not gone back to the doctors but went through the pain until they decided to pop and drain on their own. i would not recommend that to anyone( talk about pain) . there were days where i just didnt want to go on. i have no insurance and no job my husband works and we live pay check to pay check. i don't want to add on more bills. It's seems that even surgery won't guarantee no recurrence i just dont know what to do.

i can def. feel the pain that is going around here, especially about the smell.

im not one that embarrasses easily but when i had it drained a few weeks ago the GYN asked the nurse to crack open the door so that some of the smell could escape from the room cuz this poor nurse was pregnant and having to look at and smell something that i myself equate to the smell of a rotting corpse (sorrie for being so graphic).

(as a side note, my gland helped ensure that the only time i ever wanted to be a GYN, was quickly cut short by the smell of it)

well the way i feel about it is that they can have my gland cuz as far as im concerned, its only my right one and i can do just fine with the one that i have remaining.

I'VE HAD MARSUPIALIZATION. IT DIDN'T WORK FOR ME. HOWEVER APRIL 27, 2007 ... I GOT THE WHOLE GLAND REMOVED. I'M HAPPY TO SAY I HAVEN'T HAD ANY PROBLEMS WITH IT SINCE. IM HAPPY AND MY LIFE IS BACK TOGETHER. IF ANY OF YOU WOMEN HAVE ANY QUESTIONS TO ASK ABOUT HOW THE SURGERY WENT [BEFORE AND AFTER] JUST POST THEM IN A REPLY AND I'LL BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO ANSWER THEM =]

Tiffany: I am so glad you finally got relief! I have read and reread your story over and over and am just overwhelmed by all you have been through. Unfortunately, we are faced with going to male doctors at times. And it does feel like there is a lack of compassion regarding our pain. No man can possibly relate to a woman's pain! If you are up to it and have the time, please let me know how your post surgery recovery time went. I'm sure alot of us would be very grateful to know how much time you had to take off work or household chores. I lift my mom daily and anything strenuous might be a problem during recovery. Were you pretty much on bedrest for a day or two? Did you have a lot of swelling and pain at the surgery site? How did you convince a doctor to remove the gland? I have Kaiser HMO and no one has suggested gland removal. I'm sure it will tak many many costly visits and enduring other procedures before this HMO would approve gland removal surgery.

Bless you, dear, for all you've been through and your compassion at such a young age.

Thank you. Thank you so much. I appreciate the love very much. My surgery went good. The problem with removing the bartholin's gland is it is a very bloody procedure. That is a good reason why a doctor won't suggest it. Mine didn't go like that. When i woke up from the surgery i was a little sluggish. I just felt the need to throw up but that came from 11 hours of fasting and the fluids they gave me. I was sore that day [which was a friday]. I was sore the next day. However, by sunday [with a lot of praying and some strong doses of ibuprofen] i had little pain. By monday i was back in school. By the next friday i was back at work. I wouldn't suggest lifting any weight for maybe a week or so only because the area [down there] may not be ready for pressure. But here i am a month and a couple weeks later back to normal. Everything is normal again and im very happy ....

Also regarding your gyn, you suggest removing the gland. Technically, the docter can't tell you no. Especially if you have had numerous problems with your bartholin's gland becoming infected. When i had my last cyst, my gyn suggested marsupialization. I told him "no, i want this damn gland outta my body." and i said it just like that. Because the pain we go through is noooo joke; and they dont realize how much it effects our lives.

Once again thank you, hyacinth, for the love. I really appreciate it.



Sorryyy. One more thing before i go. Regarding those women who feel embarrassed by the odor. I just have to say one thing. The feeling they get smelling it does not even measure to the pain you have while having an infected cyst. You betta go back to those doctors and get your stuff straight because that's their job to help you. Not to comment and snicker about how bad [dead white blood cells] smell. Okay?

Hello,
I've been through this painful conditon. When they first stared they were always on the left side, after many trips to drain it, they finally removed the whole gland, then pray tell they started on the right side, well knowing the pain they bring we went ahead and remove that whole gland also. For me the only answer is to remove the gland itself, I haven't had a problem since. The surgery is no worse than the cyst itself, the most painful was when they removed the packing inside, one of my was so deep and infected that I had to stay overnight in the hospital, it was scheduled as same day surgery, but that didn't work out.

Lots of luck to you,
Lisa

Hello,
I've been through this painful conditon. When they first stared they were always on the left side, after many trips to drain it, they finally removed the whole gland, then pray tell they started on the right side, well knowing the pain they bring we went ahead and remove that whole gland also. For me the only answer is to remove the gland itself, I haven't had a problem since. The surgery is no worse than the cyst itself, the most painful was when they removed the packing inside, one of my was so deep and infected that I had to stay overnight in the hospital, it was scheduled as same day surgery, but that didn't work out.

Lots of luck to you,
Lisa

I'm so glad that I came across this website. I never knew it was so many woman out there w/ the same problem I'm having. Yes, the Bart's cyst is a nightmare. This is my 3rd cyst and I had it lanced also, now I'm going to have the marsupialization later this month. I'm totally scared about the surgery. This is my first surgery and I really don't know how my recovery time will be. I read alot of you all comments and see when some of you all had the Marsupialization the cyst never returned but alot of you all it did return. I just want to whole then to be over with. So, I can have a normal life again. I'm wondering I hope someone can answer this question for me, when you have the whole gland remove are you still able to have a child? I would really appreciate if someone could answer that for me. My surgery is scheduled for June 22 and I'm so scared. Those Bart's cyst are so painful I have to do something.

- Mesha007

SURE YOU CAN HAVE CHILDREN. THE REMOVAL OF THE GLAND ISN'T GOING TO LEAVE ANY EFFECTS LIKE THAT. BY THE TIME YOU FULLY RECOVER IN ABOUT A MONTH OR SO, IT'LL BE LIKE NORMAL. YOUR VAGINA WILL BE LIKE IT WAS BEFORE YOU STARTED HAVING CYSTS. DON'T CITE ME ON THIS THOUGH BECAUSE EVERYBODY DOES HEAL DIFFERENTLY, HOWEVER IM JUST FINE AND EVERYTHING IS GOOD WITH ME IN THAT AREA. ALSO, YEH THE MARSUPIALIZATION DIDN'T WORK FOR ME. ACTUALLY, UNTIL I CAME ACROSS THIS FORUM I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE IN THE WORLD WHO IT DIDN'T WORK FOR. SO YOU MAKE YOUR CHOICE DEPENDING ON HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF IT NOT BEING A SUCCESS. BEST OF LUCK TO YOU.

I am 35 and had the Marsupialization done one week ago today. My Gyn did the procedure in his office because I dont have insurance and it was cheaper this way. Personally I would have prefered to be knocked out instead of just a numbing shot.But since that wasnt an option.It was very painful to go through. I'm not going to lie.
I have never even heard of a Bartholin cyst or gland til I went to the doctor. I had it drained like 6 or 7 times. Kept coming back.Sometimes within a day or 2.
So i switched doctors and he wanted to do this. I am in a little bit of pain from the procedure itself. But this pain is better then the cyst pain I had.
I hope and pray this works and it doenst come back.
Ps. My doctor said these cysts are common. ANd I have read they are common too.

Thanks, for getting back to me. I really appreciate it. I want to have my gland totally removed because I don't want it come back. I'm so tired of having this cyst. I just want it to done and over with. I will talk to my doctors when I go back on the 18th and see if I can have it totally removed.

yeah if this cyst comes back I will ask my doctor just to remove the darn gland.I wont be going through this again. It's such a huge disruption in my life. Granted there are worse things we can go through. But to not even be able to sit down normal because of pain? Which makes me crabby. Not to mention what this does to someone's love life.
Hope it goes well for you!
Evette

SKYIAN ... BARTHOLIN'S GLAND CYSTS AREN'T COMMON. THEY OCCUR IN ABOUT 2% OF WOMEN. OF THAT NUMBER ONLY ABOUT 30% GET THEM RECURRINGLY. WE JUST HAPPEN TO BE THE LUCKY FEW WHO HAD TO FALL INTO THAT VERY SMALL NUMBER. I HOPE THE MARSUPIALIZATION WORKS FOR YOU AND MESHA007 BECAUSE I KNOW HOW IT CAN BE WALKING AND SITTING. I EVEN STOPPED EATING BECAUSE I DIDNT WANT TO USE THE BATHROOM. IM SORRY YOU WOMEN HAD TO GO THROUGH WITH THIS, HOWEVER IN TIME YOUR BODY WILL HEAL AND HOPEFULLY YOU WILL NEVER HAVE TO GO THROUGH WITH THIS PAIN AGAIN. IM PRAYING ....

I'm having my surgery tomorrow morning, I've never had surgery before. I was wondering what type of Anesthesia did you all take for the marsupialization. I'm really nervous. I have a choice between Regional or General anesthesia. I don't know what method I should use. I read about both methods on Webmd and I don't really know. I'm so scared about being totally out of it and at the same time I don't know if I can sit there for 1 hour just waiting for them to finish. I so nervous I don't know which one to choose. I know everybody is different, it would really help me if I had some feedback on what the side effects happen with either one. thanks.

When I had the marzup done I just got that area numbed.Because I did it outpatient at the doctors. If I would have done it at the hospital, I would have opted to be knocked out. I had a bad exp with a spinal.When I had it done with my son I got this painful shock that went from my back all the way to my leg. They tried it twice same result. 3rd time happend again but he finished it anyway. I wouldnt do that again if you paid me. But that was just my exp. My mom didnt do well with hers either.SHe had a non stop headache for months from hers. BUT there are people who have had great experiences with it and no problems.
It has been about 2 weeks or so now that I had my marzup done. It's still a little sore just a little though. The only other problem I have is that my stitches havent disolved like they were supposed to.. So I have to go to the doctors and get them cut out. FUN.
Good Luck with your surgery I am sure it will be fine. Keeping my fingers crossed for a quick and painless procedure for you!
Evette
Evette