Should I start charging this cyst rent?

August 29, 2011 7:31 PM

How long does a noninfected Bartholin cyst last?

YANAD etc:

I noticed a Bartholin cyst a month ago (after my first time using a Diva Cup, probably unrelated). I've taken hot baths in epsom salts but not with any regularity, and while it is still not painful or getting any bigger (size of a grape, maybe), it is a little disconcerting and not getting much smaller. I'm not willing to go the surgical route to get rid of it if the less invasive and equally effective answer is to just be patient or really commit to the epsom or just ignore it and stop touching it, etc.

Any advice or first-hand experience out there? Thanks!

posted by anonymous to Health & Fitness (6 answers total)

A month is a long time, you've tried the home treatment, it's not working, see your doctor. IMHO, IANYD.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 7:33 PM on August 29, 2011

I had one years ago and the doctor told me that if it wasn't painful it was best to just ignore it. It eventually went away on its own. Not sure how long that took but it might have been longer than a month.
posted by sanitycheck at 8:33 PM on August 29, 2011

I regretted not seeking medical care earlier because the cyst stretched out the surrounding tissue quite alot. The inner labia became noticeably assymetrical and the affected area also interfered slightly with PIV, which subsequently entailed a little move to re-position the extra flap of skin so it didn't get pushed inside. Although the area shrank over time, it never quite recovered its original form. YMMV
posted by carmicha at 8:40 PM on August 29, 2011

I ignored mine for a long time. Sometimes it would drain on it's own. After about a year of it continually being there, I went to my gyno. She lanced it, it drained, it came back again. She lanced it again, it drained, it came back again. Then I had surgery. It's been gone for 3 years now. YMMV but they can be stubborn and you should at least get it lanced (non surgical, my doc did it right in the office). If it comes back after that you should do the surgery.
posted by katypickle at 10:11 PM on August 29, 2011

Mine lasted just long enough to get me really worried, but receded just before the weekend that it would have been awkward, ahem. About a month total, probably.
posted by desuetude at 11:02 PM on August 29, 2011

A grape is pretty big considering the area and the tissue involved. I have one that comes and goes, it's never 100% gone but hasn't been large/painful/interruptus enough for me to risk scar tissue yet. Coincidentally, ... it developed after I started using a divacup.
posted by headnsouth at 4:24 AM on August 30, 2011