Editor-in-Chief Katy Sunnassee discovers a lump (‘down there’) so heads off to two health professionals to investigate and find out all about Bartholin’s gland cysts…

Is there such a thing as oversharing? If so, this column may well be it (apols in advance). I’ve been pretty open in discussing my life and health issues here, but this one feels rather more personal and, let’s say, intimate. I did think twice, but then thought, “Other women might be experiencing this too, so if I talk about it, it might help them.” So, here we go…

Back in December, I found a lump. Down there. “A tumour!” was my first thought, or “A prolapse?!” Which type, I wasn’t sure, but something was not right. It was on Christmas Eve that I discovered said lump (Merry Christmas me!), which felt like a grape protruding into the right wall of my vagina near the back. There had been a “heavy” feeling down there for perhaps a few days, I forget now.

I know most people’s first port of call is their GP, but thinking it could be months before I got an appointment, and with it being the holidays, I found a post-natal physio nearby (Tanya Croall, who I can highly recommend: physionatal.co.uk) and booked in for her 90-minute Mummy MOT package. Although it’s been seven years since I gave birth, I figured she could still help.

The Examination

Although I only went to talk about the lump, she still did all her postural assessments and checked to see how I breathed – not enough into my back ribs, it turns out, so pressure is always going down. Then she did an internal exam, not only checking the lump but getting me to engage my pelvic floor by squeezing down onto her blue-gloved finger.

She also got me to cough to see whether my bladder or rectum were in any way prolapsing (turns out I have very strong muscles down there, which is a good thing!).

CYST-A-MATIC!

Her assessment of the lump was that it was probably a Bartholin’s gland cyst. A what now? I’d only ever heard that term once before, on an audiobook by renowned gynaecologist and women’s health advocate Christiane Northrup, circa 2005.

Turns out you have two of these glands (and two Skene’s glands) in your vagina, and they’re what secrete lubrication. Sometimes they get blocked (causes unknown, but I’m convinced by tampon remnant – nice!). One in six women experience them.

Tanya said she couldn’t diagnose, so I’d need to see a doctor. I got on the phone to the local hospital, where I went the following day for yet another blue-gloved exploration (two in one week! Like London buses, I dare say).

Yes, it was/is a Bartholin’s gland cyst, not cancer. That helped me feel better until she said if I wanted it removed privately, i.e. soon, it’d set me back £1.5k – ouch (literally and financially).

Natural Remedies & Husband’s Reaction

So, I’m trying lots of herbs and remedies, both internally and externally, that I found out about on YouTube from Ayurvedic doctors (YouTube can be a good source of info despite what some people say).

My husband, of course, doesn’t understand why I would share all this. He’s the most private person ever (and probably doesn’t like me writing about him here, oops).

But I always think, if it helps someone else know they’re not the only one going through something, then it’s worth it.

I’ll prob write more on Substack about the remedies and progress…

Read Katy’s ‘Katy Perimenopause’ column in each issue of Top Santé, or read past columns here. You can also follow Katy on Substack.