Bartholin cyst....HELP? *update 2, pg 3*

[wanaBmummy]

So Ive had a 'swelling' down below that started last weekend and was quite a size anyway. Well over the week its gotten bigger to the point that Thursday it was really uncomfortable all day and quite painful at times, it had also doubled in size. So off i went to the doctors yeasterday morning to be told it is a bartholin cyst.

She sent me off to the hospital to find out how they wanted to deal with it because i'm pregnant. She said usually use aneasthetic (sp?) and cut it and drain in but as i pregnant they might not want to do the whole aneasthetic side of it.

Well i got examined and they are going to try and treat it with antibiotics first. I have to take 2 different tabs 3 times a day for 5 days to hopefully clear it. If it gets bigger or more painful in the meantime then i have to go straight back to the hospital.

Basically it hurts and its big and i can feel it all the time so i was just wondering if anyone has had any experience with one of these and what you found helped? I would do anything right now tbh

Thankyou in advanced xx

 

[JoMama]

I had one when I was pregnant with DD2, it was awful & wouldn't wish it on anyone!
After a night in A&E they said come next day & we'll drain it. But when I went back after being nil by mouth for 12hrs at 16wks pregnant they refused & just gave me antibiotics!
I did some googling myself & a lot of people recommend sitting in warm salt water to bathe it & help reduce the inflammation/pain. It worked for a bit, but eventually one night it just burst (sorry tmi!) which wasn't pleasant. But the relief afterwards was great.

Sorry I can't help much more then that, hope the anti b's kick in soon & it heals up quickly for you
Xx

 

[wanaBmummy]

Thankyou the doctor at the hospital said if it doesn't get better or gets worse to ring them on the direct number he gave me which at this rate i will be. I've taken 2 paracetamol because i had to (didn't want to) and all its done is take the edge off. It's deffinatly worse than yeasterday. I'll give it tomorrow and see from there. I'll have taken 3/5 days of tabs then.

I've been sitting on a hot water bottle and having warm showers to try and help xx

 

[JoMama]

Sorry to hear you're in discomfort It'll get worse before it gets better, so think of it as a good sign. Don't feel bad about the paracetamol, I know it's not nice having to take pain relief but our bodies are far too busy growing little people to worry about curing other things as quickly as they normally would!
Keep up with the hot water bottle & just wear loose fitting clothing for a bit too. If poss try to have some "free time" without undies as well might help.

Xx

 

[wanaBmummy]

Thanks for your advice and i will do ...hopefully i'm turning a corner. Can i just ask...in terms of it bursting (and i know this is going to be a tmi) I can't actually see anything there that would burst. As in its all normal skin and just looks like i've had golf ball put under it. So will my normal skin just like split at somepoint for it to burst iykwim? I just don't see how it is atm how it will burst xx

 

[JoMama]

Yeah pretty much. It won't come to a head like you'd expect a spot to, but it will break the skin somehow. I think from memory the warmth from the hot water bottle helped it to burst quicker. It's really not pleasant like I said before, but the relief from the pressure is welcoming!
Just be careful to keep it clean after it does. Being an intimate area it can easily get infected again.
Xx

 

[wanaBmummy]

Ok thankyou for all the info even though its not the best topic lol xx

 

[Tallulah28]

A hot compress will help to bring the infection to the surface - I had something similar to this a while back and it was very uncomfortable. Don't whatever you do be tempted to squeeze it - it'll make you feel very miserable and will make it worse.

You could also try using a few drops of tea tree oil on a hot cloth and see if this helps - tea tree is a natural antiseptic and is great for a wide range of skin complaints.

Hope it goes soon m'dear.

xx

 

[wanaBmummy]

Thankyou x

 

[JoMama]

Us ladies get all the glamourous conditions don't we?! I agree with not trying to force it either.
Glad I could be of some assistance, I spent ages on Dr Google trying to find advice when I had mine. It's actually a lot more common then we realise.
Good luck & feel better soon xx

 

[wanaBmummy]

Well i'm on my 3rd day of antibiotics and its not gotten any smaller and is more painfull it only doesn't hurt if i don't move. I'll give it till the end of tomorrow but i can see it being that i have to ring to go back to the hospital to have it sorted. I know i'm going to struggle looking after children like this as your constantly on the go. I've got to be honest i'm feeling a bit sorry for myself today xx

 

[JoMama]

It is awful, you can't sit, you can't lay down & you can't put your legs together hang in there & keep doing all you can to ease the pain. If you feel you need to go back to get it seen too then do it. My hospital refused point blank to do anything for me, but yours sounds much more attentive & caring.
I've heard they can be recurring but it's been 3yrs since I had mine & (touch wood) its not come back.
Its horrible & no one can truly understand the discomfort until they've had a bartholin themselves. As soon as its burst you'll feel a million times better. A bit tender but nothing like you're feeling now.
Really hoping you're not suffering for much longer xx

 

[wanaBmummy]

Thankyou for all you advice and support well we'll soon see when i ring back. i'm really hoping i wont need too but its not looking great atm x

 

[maidelyn]

It wouldn't be medically recommended but when mine won't go down sometimes I lance them with a sterilised needle to let some of the contents out so it's less painful.

 

[JoMama]

You're welcome hun
I know what you mean, it feels never ending & like its never going to go away! But it will.
Think of it as a pain endurance exercise getting ready for giving birth. If you can get through a bartholin, labour & especially the crowning part, will be a breeze!
xx

 

[wanaBmummy]

lol well i'm glad you think so. I said to hubby that it must be some sort of test. My mum had said to me that she would just try and do it her self. If it was smaller or more obvious for where i could do it then maybe but there is just no obvious area where i could look and go 'yeah by there should do the trick' ykwim? x

 

[JoMama]

The thought of doing it myself did cross my mind once or twice but it's like an acrobatic act with mirrors & leg props etc during pregnancy lol. Very briefly considered asking the OH to have a go but I knew he'd of run a mile! The things we think of in desperation eh?
xx

 

[maidelyn]

Yeah luckily I haven't had one pop up since early pregnancy - I wouldn't fancy trying it in a few months time! My vagina already feels like the lost cities of the incas - a mystery to be discovered at some point in the future but not any time soon!!

 

[hapi2bhealthy]

Ugh, hugs for you missy! I have some weirdo skin condition where I get cysts all the time, everywhere, and have had not one but THREE 'down there'! My biggest fear was getting one while preggo as I know exactly how bloody awful and painful and EMBARRASSING they are! I can usually tell where I would get a cyst (I have small, hard masses under my skin that you can't see but I can feel) and I have one on my butt...waitin for THAT one to flare up....

Anyway the ladies have all said the right thing, I found hot compresses work a treat to bring them to the surface, and sitz baths on a VERY regular basis will hopefully encourage it to either burst or go away...I have to admit I dealt with mine myself out of the knowledge that I get them all the freaking time- but wouldn't do that preggo. Good luck hun, feeling your pain, cysts are the bane of my exsistence!

 

[wanaBmummy]

Well I was in that much pain this morning i couldn't walk properly and i've got a good pain thresh hold. So i rang the hospital back, they've had me in and decided that i do need surgery on it so i'm going back at 10.30am tomorrow to have it done tomorrow afternoon.

I was really hoping that it would just turn a corner but its not got any smaller and has only got more painfull. It litterally is the size of a golfball Just looking forward to it being over and done with now! xx