Recovery Day #5 and #6

Well I didn't write anything yesterday and I'm just getting around to writing today's entry at 10:30pm. Welll, let me see what can I say? Yesterday went well - I was able to work the entire day. I remembered to bring my butt pillow to work and that was nice. I finally had to meet with the people who had been asking to see me, so that was rough. Overall, at the end of the time, I was feeling fine.

then there was today ....

So today was the day that I was suppose to start taking the pill that would clear up the yeast infection that I got as a result of the antibiotics. Thank goodness for this little pink pill. So, I take the pill this morning and go on my merry way to work this morning. Well, when I arrive at work I immediately start feeling dizzy, light-headed, nauseated... all of the side effects of the pill that I had taken were occuring. I could not even manage to stay at work even half a day before I decided that it would be best for me to go home. Now, I think that perhaps I should have eaten something with the pill, but I didn't and that may explain the pain that I was feeling... I don't know.

So I came home early and immediately took a piping hot Sitz bath. In fact, my husband heated me some water on the stove just so that it would be hot enough. My last few Sitz baths felt warm, so we wanted to make sure that this one would be hot....IT WAS HOT! It felt great. So I feel better now, but I'm probably not gong in to work tomorrow. By the looks of things, I probably shouldn't have gone in to work so soon after the procedure. I should have given my body a few extra days. Oh well, live and learn.

Tomorrow will be a new day.

Recovery Day #4

Today is my first day back to work since I had the procedure done. When I get to the office, before I actually make it to my desk, I am stopped by my boss and co-worker (two of the few people who know why I was out).... They ask me about the details of the experience and well...I told them all of the gory details. I recount the whole ordeal for them, their eyes squint, they breathe deeply, and grab their crotches, as I lead them through every excrutiating moment. They are physically responding as though they have literally gone through the same pain. They are incredibly sympathetic and they also have horror stories to share with me about a daughter or a friend - stories related to ovaries, bumps, and cysts. You name it, we talk about it. So actually the first 1 hour of my day I spend sharing this experience with them and hearing them tell me how pitiful I look and how sorry they feel for poor me. They all give me the "Poor girl" look when they see me sliding slowly around the office ..I can't walk too fast or else, you guessed it...PAIN!

I notice pretty early on that this will be an uncomfortable day. I forget my butt cushion pillow at home and, of course, the bottom of my office chair is like a board of sand paper. ARGGHH!! There are piles of files, papers, telephone messages, and emails all over my desk that I need to respond to. I start feeling overwhelmed. Even still, I dig in and I'm able to accomplish quite a bit before I leave for the day. I do good though, I take it easy all day. I don't meet with any appointments though several people are waiting to see me. No way am I going to sit and listen to other people's problems when I have a much more pressing problem of my own.

You know, I leave work early today - I have a dental appointment. From one office chair to another. The dentist said my teeth are in good shape...at least something is going right in my life. So, it's 4pm and I'm back in bed relaxing. My husband isn't home...I hope he's at the grocery store getting us dinner because I'm starving. Oh, come to think of it, it's time for me to take my LAST antibiotic pill!!!

Today, coincidentally, guess what I got in the mail? You'll never guess. I received a note from the she-devil gynecologist who did the surgery. Let me tell you verbatim what the card says "Thank you for giving us the opportunity to provide your obstetric and gynecologic needs. We look forward to serving you in the future. We are delighted to have you as a patient".

I should send a reply that says: "No, I insist let me thank you for providing me with the most excrutiatingly painful experience of a lifetime. Thank you for poking and proding me until I started crying hysterically and freaked my husband out. Thank you for terrorizing my vagina and being part of the life-altering decision that we've made to NEVER have children. "

I'm so glad it's over... at least until I go back to have the Word Catheter removed.

Recovery Day #3

Today I woke up feeling pretty good. I had one of my Sitz baths and headed to the doctor's office at 9:30am so that she could check me out. Good news.. I should be able to return to work tomorrow. Well, I guess that's good news...I kinda got use to hanging out at home and being waited on hand and foot :). I know my husband's excited that he gets his life back.

So, basically when I went in today, she just wanted to see if all the swelling had gone down and check whether or not there was any redness. I had no redness and no swelling, only soreness...YES!!l Even before she started the examination, she noticed that I physically looked 100% better. I wasn't giving her the evil eye or anything, I was actually smiling. I'm thrilled! Oh yeah, but let me tell you something else interesting happened while I was there:

When the nurse first escorted me to the room, she asked me if it was ok if a male intern came in to watch. I replied an emphatic "No". (I've never been comfortable with male physicians and I definitely didn't want some strange guy looking in my vagina today). The nurse was understanding and left the room to get the doctor. Anyhow, the doctor returns thankfully without the intern and as I said, she checked me out and I got a great report. As we are leaving the room, we literally run into the male intern. This guy is so CREEPY! I mean he is the epitome of the creepy, pedophilic-looking doctor that women are afriad of or at least that I was afraid of. He looks extremely nervous, abnormally pale, sweaty, huge, thick glasses AND he is fiddling around with his fingers in a way that is kind of ...I don't know inappropriate. I am totally grossed out and walk past him quickly. I know, I know. I shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but even my husband said that, as a man, he would be wary of this guy examinining him. Totally creeped me out and confirmed my committment to female doctors.....though some of them can be creepy too:).

Recovery Day 2

Well, I'm still in bed. This codeine makes me feel incredibly tired. I'm not sure if its actually the codeine or the antibiotic. I'm still sore but I think that I'm feeling a little better. Haven't really gotten out of bed today and to make it worse I have severe cramps and we ALL know what that feels like. Of course, that in particular, makes the pain all the more intense. My husband is still being nice to me... doing all the cooking, cleaning, everything. Thank God for him! Nothing much else to say other than I get quite a bit of reading done....there's pretty much nothing else that I can do. I'm sleeping quite a bit of the day so that takes up a chunk of my time too. I spoke to several of my family members today on the phone, that made me feel better. Today is father's day...

Bartholin Word Catheter Recovery - Day 1

Well, I must say that I feel so much better today. I am still sore down there, but overall I'm feeling pretty good. I had to urinate earlier today and I forgot that I needed to be a bit more gentle than usual when wiping, so that irritated it a little...but overall I think I'm coming around. I've been in bed pretty much all day ouside of brushing my teeth, soaking and urinating. I've not had to take as many pain pills so my head is not as droggy as it was yesterday. I'm still on the antibiotic. I just want to feel better and I feel like I'm well on my way to that. The doctor's office called to confirm my Monday follow-up visit. That should be interesting. Overall, I'm feeling good, I don't feel a cyst there but I'm feeling tired mostly. Can't quite walk around like I'd like either. It helps to have the best husband in the world. He's cooked breakfast, lunch and dinner and he's given me a few massages. I feel like I'm annoying him a bit because I call hiim for small things like water, the remote, the telephone.... but if I am annoying him, he doesn't show it. He's so sweet. Hey that's my other tip, find a good man/friend that can take care of you post-procedure.

A Sexist-Racist Medical System - Bartholin Cysts

Hi Ladies,

I'm just going to come right out and say what I know all of us have been thinking. If we were men with cysts and abscesses that occur so commonly, would doctors be so quick to ask us to have part of our penises removed? Of course not! Would the only solution to an abscess be an incredibly invasive procedure that is required sometimes 3-5 times and that puts us out of commission sexually for weeks. No, this would be deemed totally unacceptable for men and what more is that I have the research to back it up. We have to protect our own interests! We have to do the research ourselves and not depend on products (physicians) of this fallible system to dictate what medical procedures we recieve or do not receive.

Case in Point: My doctor wanted to simply lance my abscess and have me leave her office. After researching the procedure for treating a Bartholin cyst, I found that this is the WORST possible procedure because it has the highest rate of reocurrence. I went in to my appointment and insisted that a word catheter be used in order to faciliate proper healing and an alternative passage way so that the gland would not be blocked again. She was impressed that I knew what I was talking about and had no problem doing so. Only time will tell how effective it is, but I feel GREAT knowing that I didn't let her do a half job on me. I know there have to have been many women who went in for this procedure got it lanced and were back within months because of a reocurrence.

Be Empowered: Sure, doctors have the medical degrees but we have the power to know our bodies. We have the responsiblity to know what's going on in our own bodies. We have to be proactive and put our health first. It's difficult because of all the expectations that society for us to bear children, take care of family members and essentially be there for everyone and humbly put ourselves last. We can NOT do this. It is not in our best interest to de-prioritize ourselves though society tells us that good women do exactly that.

Engage in Dialogue - Do not simply allow your physician to do whatever he or she wants without recourse. Ask him/her to explain why they have selected a certain technique, if you are in pain tell the physician that you are sensitive and he/she needs to be mindful of that, remind the physician that you need to know what's going on at all times. Ask to hear all alternative treatments.

Doctors - I must say that it would be easy to say that male doctors simply do not understand that the needs of women. But doing so, would totally undermine the true power of this sexist-racist medical system. THe truth is that female doctors are also trained in the same universities that train male doctors. In fact, some of them are more cruel and indifferent than males are. Please do not have preconceived notions about your physician because of their race or gender, all we know for sure is that doctors don't always have our best interests at heart and we have to be our own ADVOCATES.

Bottom line is numerous factors contribute to how we are treated in a medical office: gender, race, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, even religion. All I'm asking is that you be aware of the possible ways that these factors may be impacting you and DON'T TAKE FOR GRANTED THAT YOU ARE RECEIVING THE BEST TREATMENT FOR YOUR ILLNESS. Do your own research.

Bartholin Gland Cyst Websites

Great Bartholin Cyst/Abscess Sites for you!!!

FANTASTIC website messageboards that have stories from women from all over who have had Bartholin cysts/abscesses. Helps you not feel alone in all of this.

www.bartholins.com

http://www.momsview.com/discus/messages/41/44757.html

Medical-like sites - Describes the gland, its function, causes, treatment, symptoms, tests that will be done, medical care.

www.mamashealth.com/women/bar.asp

www.womenshealth.about.com/od/bartholinscysts/

PHOTOS of BARTHOLIN CYST - Not for the faint-hearted

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Bartholin Gland Cyst - Frequently Asked Questions

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What are Bartholin cysts?
Well first the Bartholin glands are two glands both on the lower left and right side of the vagina. In a normal situation, you can not feel them nor can you see them. It is only when they become inflamed/swollen that they become noticable.

Why do they hurt?
Actually, the cysts themselves should not hurt. It is only when the cyst becomes infected (as mine did) that it begins to hurt. At this point, it is no longer called a cyst, but rather a Bartholin Gland Abscess.

Why do I have this?
No worries....The infection of a Bartholin Gland occurs because the gland has become infected by the normal bacteria that is present in the vagina. Unfortunately, any woman can get this cyst or infection, and there really isn't anything specifically that you can do to prevent it. In many ways, it can be described as a case of really good luck versus bad luck. Please do note that in about 2% of Bartholin cysts, the cause is linked to an STD. But by far, this is not the typical scenario. So, don't be embarassed to tell your parents and/or partner.

Did sex cause my cyst?
No, there have been numerous cases where young women who have never been sexually active have developed cysts. Please note that while sex is NOT the cause of these cysts, the woman may actually become more aware of the cysts while having sex due to the pressure that they may feel on the Bartholin gland region. Because some women many realize they actually have the cyst after/during sex, there is a misconception that sex causes it. Please do not be confused - correlation does not equal causation.

How do I get rid of it?
This is the million dollar question and the basis for why I have created this blog. There are essentially four different ways of dealing with a Bartholin cyst:

(1) Lancing - This basically means that you would undergo local anesthesia and a small incision would be made into the cyst/abscess. Reminder an abscess is an infected/painful cyst. Once the cut is made, the liquid inside of the cyst is drained. During the process, the physician has to squeeze the region until all of the pus/blood is gone. The failure rate for this procedure is the highest and it is NOT recommended. Often, women who simply have these things lanced find themselves right back in the same situation in a few months or weeks. This is a quick fix, but it often reoccurs if you use this method.

(2) Word Catheter - If this is your first time having a painful cyst/abscess, doctors highly recommend that you have the procedure done. It is actually identical to the procedure listed above as drainage/lancing, but after the area is drained and cleaned well, the doctor inserts a word cathether that should stay in your vagina for about 4-6 weeks. Realistically, sometimes these things only stay in for a few days. It is considered successful if it stays in for 2 weeks. The catheter creates and keeps open a passage so that the Gland no longer becomes infected so that it can drain properly.

(3) Marsupialization - For women who have numerous occurrences of cysts and abscesses, marsupialization is arguably the most effective solution with a low 10% failure rate. This procedure involves cutting the cyst and stitching part of the cyst wall to the outer skin in order to produce a permanent opening. Oddly, even after this procedure, some women still complain about pain in this region though it doesn't appear to be as excrutiating. (Thanks for the correction!). This is usually not the first line of defense as most doctors try the Word Catheter methold before marsupialization, but it really depends on your symptoms and what the doctor suggests. They have been known to suggest marsupialization as an initial treatment but that is atypical.

(4) Nothing - Yep that's right. If you can bear the pain, if there is pain, you can do absolutely nothing and let it go away on its own. In fact, for many women the cyst remains just that ... a cyst. It does not get infected and comes and goes every few months/years or so and they just ignore it. Even so, there are also some people who have infected cysts (abscesses) that let them "run their course". It's not recommended because in the end the problem of the blocked gland has not been solved although the immediate pain is gone once it has popped. Another danger of letting it pop on its own is that other areas can get infected if the abscess pops and exposes other parts of the vagina to the bacteria and pus that was inside of it. Quite frankly, this doesn'st seem to happen all that often (infections from the pus) and some people prefer to handle these cysts naturally or without interference from a physician - it's totally your decision.

Bartholin Cyst

Do you have/think you have a Bartholin Cyst? Guess what? Millions of us women get these things and I have created this blog to provide you with information about this painful condition. Below I will provide the following information

* My personal Bartholin Cyst Experience
* My medical procedure
* Frequently Asked Questions
* Great websites for support
* Photo Gallery - photos found online of Bartholin Cysts



MY PERSONAL BARTHOLIN CYST EXPERIENCE
I'm a 26 year old graduate student and several days ago I felt a pea-like bump on the lower left part of my vagina. Two days later it hurt to sit, walk, lay down and pretty much exist. On Wednesday, I visited my physician and after referral to a gynecologist, I found out I had a Bartholin cyst which had become infected and now is called a Bartholin Gland Abscess. Today is Friday and all of this initially began this past Monday. I had a surgical procedure done about 2 hours ago and I want to share this experience with you all.

When I first went to gynecologist on Wednesday, she said that she needed to touch the area in order to confirm that it was indeed a Bartholn Cyst. I stripped from the waist down and scooted down on the table and before I knew it, it felt as though she had put her entire hand in my vagina and was wringing the cyst. The pain was simply put - agonizing and excrutiating. I screamed and she continued proding and probing as the tears fell down my cheek. I had never felt pain like this before and I couldn't believe the "torture" that I was going through. Little did I know that this pain would pale to the pain that I would feel during the actual medical procedure.

The gynecologist scooted back from her chair and said calmly "Yeah, It's a cyst. I want to cut it open, but by the way you're feeling with your sensitivity and all, I don't think you can handle that today". She was certainly right about that. I wanted to literally kick her in the face and wring her neck because I was so upset about how I felt she was mercilessly treating me. I confronted her about what I perceived to be heavy-handedness and she said "I was merely putting pressure on it like this" She proceeded to tap my hand gently. She went on to say "But I bet you felt like I was doing this (she squeezed my hand)". She reassured me that she wasn't being abnormally rough and she also told me that women who get these cysts feel a pain that is unparalleled, but she reinforced the fact that she only touched it. This totally freaked me out because all I could think is if she was only touching it and I felt like I was being stabbed my needles..how the heck is she going to slice this thing open.

So today was the day, for the past two days, I had read blogs and replies by women from all over the world who have written about the procedure .... and here I was stripped from the waist down about to undergo the same thing. Fortunately, I had done my research, I was not simply going to allow her to lance it (because of the high failure rate), I requested that she use a word catheter and extra anesthesia (based on the stories of pain that I had read about online). She agreed to my requests but I must tell you this was still the most painful experience of my life.

MY MEDICAL PROCEDURE
She began by applying anesthesia using a huge q-tip to the area and areas surrounding the cyst. This alone was Painful! All of you know that any type of manipulation of this cystic area will cause tremendous pain and this was no exception. But I breathed deeply and took the pain. I asked that she tell me exactly what she was doing each step of the way. I had already read about the procedure online and I knew exactly what she should have been doing and I wanted to be sure that it sounded correct.

Sparing you the details, the worst part was the anesthetic shots. She said that she typically gives two of these local shots, but I REQUESTED three. They felt like bee stings and like I was being poked by a thick sharp needle. My husband was there with me holding my hand and he has the nail marks all over his hands to prove it. By the time she was ready for the third shot, I had become so numb, I couldn't even feel it (thank God). She then made the incision, a small cut, which I could feel and hear and I felt the stuff leak out everywhere. She then started squeezing the cyst which hurt like heck. She squeezed it very hard at least 30 times - with all the pain I can't even remember it all clearly. I felt the stuff (pus, blood) flow all over my legs to my butt, up on my back. I couldn't wait until it was over. There was one more painful shock before it was over and that was positioning the catheter. This part was also excrutiating, but I beared it knowing that this would significantly decrease the chance that this would ever happen again. She added stitches to keep the word catheter in and then it was over. Interestingly enough, the stitches didn't hurt nearly as much as the draining/squeezing part.

Did I mention that as I was getting ready to leave when all of a sudden I felt my body go faint and begin to fall to the floor. Yep, after the procedure I fainted and had to be carried off to a side room for recovery. The nursing staff was great - they brought me water and took car of me. After about 45 minutes, my head was no longer swimming and was ready to go. My husband stood by me as we walked out and he drove us home.

Right now, 2 hours later I'm glad that it is over. But, I'm also going to keep you all posted on my progress. Some women have reoccurences only a few days afterwards...using the word catheter that shouldn't be the case, but there is ALWAYS the possiblity.