Bartholin cyst marsupialization experience
Sharing my story here as a resource for other women who have to experience Bartholin’s cysts. Having that fucker was such a nightmare, and I’m hoping mine is over for good!
So for context, I’m in my mid 20s and all my life for as long as I can remember I’ve had an enlarged Bartholin gland on the left side of my vagina. I never knew what it was until this summer, it started enlarging to an uncomfortable size.
I quickly discovered it was a cyst. It even had a pustule head - it was crazy. For weeks it would not go away. I did sitz baths with Epsom salt, baking soda, apple cider vinegar you name it. It would only reduce inflammation mildly, but the cyst itself never really let up.
It’s first flare up was May 2023. This past July 2023, while ovulating, it flared up bad AGAIN. This time to the size of a golf ball. Luckily I was in no pain, but it looked and felt so uncomfortable for me.
I was DESPERATE to get rid of this fucking thing, so I scheduled an appointment with my gyno, who told me I did not have an abscess (not infected or full of puss), just a blockage (gland backed up and couldn’t expel the discharge basically), and encouraged me to massage it in warm water.
I scheduled a drainage a week later in case the massaging didn’t work. And well, you guessed it; it didn’t work. The cyst was the same size, NO budging.
I had my procedure done this Monday. I originally thought we were just doing a drainage, but my gyno said those aren’t really effective and that he wanted to marsupialize it. This made me anxious bc I read online the hole is permanent, but st the same time, I knew the recurrence after marsup. Is WAY lower, so I said fuck it, just get rid of the damn thing.
I was TERRIFIED. I read so many horror stories of cyst drainages online- people said the numbing injection would hurt crazy, the drainage would hurt but offer relief, and that the healing would be difficult.
This was so not my experience at all! He numbed me topically and the injections felt like a tiny little pinch. I felt NO cutting at all, no pain whatsoever. I could only feel the surrounded area being pressed and tugged on.
When he drained the cyst, it was FUCKIN crazy. SO much fluid came out. Completely clear. A little blood. It was soooo much. I can tell the gyno wasn’t even expecting thst much, since according to him my cyst wasn’t even as big as he’d seen.
Then he stitched me up and as soon as he left the room I sobbed tears of joy. I was so fucking relieved to have that fucker drained. It was such a nuisance and a discomfort for MONTHS.
I’m day 3 on healing and it’s literal cake. I’m in no pain at all. I can’t jump or sit hard on things otherwise that might hurt a little, but the actual area that got cut is barely even sore, it’s crazy lol. It heals so fast.
There’s still some residual inflammation- I can tell upon inspecting the area. The skin is a tad loose where the cyst used to be, but I hear that it retracts over time.
The hole is definitely noticeable, but only if you REALLY pry in there.
Words can’t explain the relief I have to not have this cyst anymore. If you are struggling with one or many recurring ones, don’t let people online scare you. My procedure was genuinely so quick and painless and my vagina looks literally brand new, like nothing ever happened.
Only setback I’ve noticed so far is that I still have a lump on the side where my cyst was— not super sure what it is!
2 week UPDATE: there was just some post procedure swelling. It was honestly looking like I had another cyst/ lopsided/swollen and freaking me out but I’ve given it some time and the swelling is much better now. Like down 90% and doesn’t look like a cyst at all. I’ve felt no pain these 2 weeks, just a little discomfort from the stitch inside of me poking me sometimes. I had maybe 1-2 days where peeing would burn the cut a little but nothing super painful. Im exactly on day 14 now and I’m starting to get the slightly prickly/itchy feeling from the incision healing. I’ll update again at week 4!
1 year update: what a journey it’s been!!!! I’ll lead with this: my cyst has NOT come back! And thank GOD. That’s the biggest most important win of all. But there have been some hiccups.
- healing was definitely not linear. You can see some of my replies below, but basically I definitely encountered a good amount of swelling at the 1/2 month and 3/4 month marks. But no pain :)
- even after noticeable swelling went away, I felt the teeniest bit different on the side I got operated on. Looked normal, felt normal, lubricated normal…. Just FELT a little bit more swollen than before the surgery, especially when I’d ovulate or wipe too hard after peeing. Never any pain, just like - hey, that’s a little different. And a litttttle uncomfortable. But never pain.
- at exactly the 1 year mark, started having sex again (didn’t wait, just happened to be when I started hooking up with someone), and the side I got operated on definitely had… an experience. I was able to have sex without pain, but I think having sex whilst not being the most lubricated irritated it and gave me some kind of tiny infection at the incision site. So then sex following that did cause me some pain, but nothing terrible. Lasted 3 days, got a little swollen, and then magically went away the day I went to the gyno to discuss it. I thought the cyst had come back but it hadn’t. I guess the area just got a little tender?
- now at 1 year 1 month post op, everything feels amazing. The most healed it’s felt this whole time. No tiny amounts of swelling, no subtle difference in how it feels, no irritation (at all) during sex. I think it just takes your body some time to adjust to the change in the area, and then it just becomes as it was again. There’s literally no way anyone could tell I got operated on. Men I’ve slept with haven’t noticed a damn thing. And yes I’m still getting super wet! In case any of you were wondering 😂
If bartholin cysts are an issue for you, let alone a recurrent issue, I would highly highly recommend getting it marsupialized. Everyone has a totally different procedure + post procedure experience, but I can say that for me, the procedure was a lot easier than I thought it would be. And the healing process, while not linear, wasn’t too bad physically. Definitely nothing compared to actually having a cyst - which is a nightmare. The toughest part is the mental stuff - not worrying or catastrophizing, and trusting your body will heal okay even when things feel a little different than before :)