Bartholin cyst?

[emwithme]

I have what appears to be a bartholin cyst (either that or my right labia minora is struggling to swallow a grape and there have been no grapes near my knickers ). At first I thought I had had a wrinkle in my knickers that had irritated things but then I poked it gingerly (and then extracted myself from the ceiling) and am now soaking in the bath.

What should I do with it? Do I need to go to the doctor? Is there a magic poultice or potion that I can slap on my vulva to male it go away (preferably before Thursday night and the work Christmas party...I feel like John Wayne minus the horse when walking)?

[AndNoneForGretchenWieners]

I had one many years ago and had it removed. There is now scarring there and sometimes I wish it hadn't been touched.

[cherrycrumblecustard]

Hot flannel ... And video??

[knaffedoff]

If soaking and bathing alongside squeezing hasn't helped , go to the gp for antibiotics

[emwithme]

It's got bigger since I got out of the bath so I have made an appointment for the GP tomorrow morning (yay for online appointment booking opening at midnight).

[Threesoundslikealot]

My Bartholin's Cyst was excruciating. I saw a GP about it when I was at your stage (at least, I think your stage - painful enough for it to be bothering me but still able to get on with things) and they advocated a wait and see approach. A couple of days later it was so painful I could barely walk and I just about made it back to the GP to plead for a hospital referral to have it lanced. I still remember being almost delirious with pain and laughing at them when they started going on about Choose and Book (the surgery is five minutes from a large hospital) so they referred me straight there. The thing burst in the end before I had the surgery, and it was an enormous relief. I did need heavy duty antibiotics afterwards. I got another one about a month later and that was lanced more in its infancy thank goodness. Anyway, my advice would be to ask for active management rather than wait and see.

[OhWhatFuckeryIsThisNow]

I used to get one n each side(what a lucky girl ) this was in the 80s and getting to the doctor whist they were in flower was hard. They would appear, I'd ring, get one for a week on thurday, they'd burst. I'd finally been seen and referred when I got pregnant and they vanished forever.

[emwithme]

Oh God Fuckery that sounds awful...at least with only one side it can kind of make the other bits move over and take up room. I'm having to wear big trousers today (if I had any MC Hammer pants I'd wear them) because the thought of putting something with a close seam on is making my eyes water.

Even going for a wee hurts so I'm definitely going to push for something more than "wait and see" (I've got quite a high pain threshold - I have Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and dislocate and relocate joints multiple times a day, so I can handle pain - and this is approaching a 6, unless something touches it when it's an 8). I'm due on any time and I can't see how I could manage that with this still there either.

[MollyHuaCha]

I suffered with these twice in my 20s. With one I was only able to walk with my legs wide apart...nice...
I had both treated by minor op in hosp. Take care, you need to avoid infection. If I were you I'd seek advice before Christmas.

[GerardNoWay]

I've suffered with this in the past. Hot bath, as hot as you can stand, and then a squeeze seemed to do the trick - very painful and unpleasant but worth it for the relief from the pain. I am a sporner though so approach these things with glee and may not consider the downsides of doing it this way.

Maybe a trip to the docs before Christmas if poss, so you're not suffering with it over the festive period.

[Threesoundslikealot]

Gerard, you treated yours way earlier in the process I think. By the time they've got as bad as OP's, that's not an option. When I got to hospital and they tried to examine me (GP didn't, just saw the state of my walking!) I couldn't let them near me to even touch it, let alone squeeze it.

[notquitegrownup2]

I used to have them too in my twenties too. I was told eventually that needs a combined antibiotic - augmentin. Some GPs new that, others prescribed amoxicillin but that didn't work, my favourite GP told me, as it is a strep infection - think I have remembered that OK.

I had the minor op in the end, called marsupialisation, just on one side, which helped a lot, then seemed to grow out of them after about 7 years of recurring infections.

HTH

[emwithme]

Gerard am also a sporner so had a monkey-hot bath (so hot it makes you go "oooh oooh ooh" when you stand in it) and tried squeezing but it was having none of it. I was quite disappointed actually.

Have got a doctor's appointment in half an hour. I think if it wasn't Christmas at the weekend, I may have left it a couple of days but it is, so I haven't.

[Sparklingbrook]

I had one for Christmas a few year's ago. I remember sitting on the bus and whincing over every pothole, and trying to walk properly.

Booked a GP appointment, but then it snowed really heavily and I couldn't get there, so booked another, But before that it burst on it's own. The RELIEF.

Good luck

[DoloresVanCartier]

OP video/pics of bursting or lancing or it never happened! Me? A sporner? Noooo

[emwithme]

Doctor confirms bartholin cyst. Two different antibiotics. Work do tomorrow night...Yay

[Ineedanewbody]

I had this and took antibiotics but it turned into an abscess anyway which burst over a weekend so I ended up in A&E. I'm also a sporner so found the whole thing fascinating but bloody painful.

After it burst I went in on the Monday for surgical review and saw a junior doc who said to leave it and it would be fine. It healed ok but always gave me jip. In the end I had it removed 10 years later & wish I'd just pushed for it at the time.

[Ineedanewbody]

How you doing op?

[emwithme]

It's shrinking, fortunately (especially as i came on yesterday). The antibiotics are making me feel pants but DH is being lovely and has done 90% of the Christmas prep.

[MollyHuaCha]

[Ineedanewbody]

That's good to hear, would be horrible to have problems over Christmas. Hopefully the AB's will knock it in the head.