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.
* 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.
posted by Social Activist at 10:17 AM
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