"It's a heavily guarded fort surrounding the pelvis splenetic ganglion!"

August 2, 2007 12:22 PM

How ought I deal with a ganglion cyst until I can get to the doctor? Problem: it's not on my wrist.

I have what I'm pretty sure is a ganglion cyst on my left hip; it's on the front of my pelvis between the iliac crest and the groin. It is protruding slightly, though by touch you can tell that it is connected to the joint, so I'm pretty sure it is not subsebaceous. It's also not terribly surprising, as I have probably overexerted myself biking and walking in the past months. It's a little tender, but isn't inhibiting my movement.

I plan to go to the doctor late next week. In the meantime, is there anything I can do to keep it from getting worse, or help it go away? And what do they do to treat something like that? They gonna cut me? While I imagine many right-wingers would like to smack me in the groin with a bible, I doubt that doctors will employ that method on my cyst.

posted by hermitosis to health (13 comments total)

They'll probably tell you to leave it alone (assuming you've self-diagnosed correctly). Just in my experience, if it doesn't bother you that's the best thing to do anyway. It'll probably pop on it's own (much like a blister, you'll probably bang into something accidentally at just the right angle without even noticing it, given enough time)... Alternatively it could be reabsorbed, again all on it's own.
posted by anaelith at 12:47 PM on August 2, 2007 [1 favorite]

I have one on my foot, and I find that wearing a particular pair of shoes makes it temporarily go away. You might be able to compress it with some sort of, well, compression garment. They are mostly made for the ladies, though.

I looked into getting mine cut out, but apparently they tend to recur, so I'm not bothering. Maybe it's different in non-wrist/foot places, though, and maybe it has a less chance of recurring. OTOH, it might not be a ganglion; mine's only a little tender when I push pretty hard on it, and that goes away when I stop touching it.
posted by cobaltnine at 12:50 PM on August 2, 2007

my wife gets those, on her wrist area, and she just hits them against a wall (after drinking some liquor). painful, but gone. you probably can't hit your pelvis against a wall (or maybe you can, but that's your own personal life).

she went to a doctor and he told her they just go away on their own - reabsorbed into the body.
posted by uaudio at 12:50 PM on August 2, 2007

*gets really drunk, bangs pelvis against wall*

Sorry, what were you saying? Oh yes.

Yeah, this got tender when I started pushing on it to explore what it was. I guess I will make myself leave it alone for a little bit and see what happens.

Should I adjust my excercise regimen or anything though? Currently I bike to work (12 miles round-trip) three days a week and take 3 kung fu classes a week. But I suspect it's either the biking or else just walking around in a constant hurry that has inflamed the joint.

On preview: I guess I should just ask the doctor that.
posted by hermitosis at 1:00 PM on August 2, 2007

Leave it alone and ask your doctor.

I had a ganglion cyst in my left wrist. Treatment with anti-inflammatory drugs did not help. Using a syringe to suck out some of the fluid did not help. Whacking the crap out of it with a medical dictionary did not help. It hurt like hell. The cyst went down for a few months but came back. I allowed it to be hit a second time and decided to never again. I eventually had it removed. To date, it has not come back. It has been 10 years now. The scar is minor and normally covered by my watch.
posted by onhazier at 1:14 PM on August 2, 2007

That is an uncommon area to have a ganglion cyst. It may be an inguinal hernia instead.
posted by ikkyu2 at 1:15 PM on August 2, 2007 [2 favorites]

If I am not misunderstanding your description of the location, I believe I can feel some lymph nodes there on myself (the superficial inguinal lymph nodes?).

If it is a swollen lymph node, you may be able to palpate an unswollen corresponding lymph node on the other side of your body.
posted by jamjam at 2:23 PM on August 2, 2007

I had a lump in my finger that ended up being a giant-celled tumor of the tendon sheath (benign). Doctor said if we'd left it alone, it'd have kept growing... as it was, it was wrapped around the bone. So they might opt to take it out in case it's not a ganglion.
posted by IndigoRain at 2:36 PM on August 2, 2007

My first thought is that it is in an unusual place for a ganglion cyst, but a very usual place for an inguinal hernia. So, seconding ikkyu2.
posted by jennyjenny at 3:52 PM on August 2, 2007

jamjam, I can indeed feel an unswollen corresponding SOMETHING on the other side of my body. A little mound the size of a pencil eraser, as opposed to the other side, which is the size of, say, a chickpea.

A swollen lymph node you say? Okay, then now what?
posted by hermitosis at 4:56 PM on August 2, 2007

Now you go see someone who can look at it, palpate it, and within 5 seconds know what it is and what to do with it. That doesn't happen on the Internet.
posted by ikkyu2 at 5:32 PM on August 2, 2007 [2 favorites]

It's likely either a reactive lymph node (common in the summer if you go around in bare feet) or less likely a hernia. Either way, a physician needs to see it and check it out. Ganglion cysts do not occur there.
posted by docpops at 7:25 AM on August 3, 2007

And seconding all of ikkyu2's input.
posted by docpops at 7:25 AM on August 3, 2007