I'm a 24 year old woman and generally healthy but about 2 weeks ago I noticed a medium to large sized lump near my vaginal opening sort of under/behind the tissue of my labia minora. Based on some googling, the feeling (soft, not tender) and placement of it seem to suggest a bartholins gland cyst. It doesn't have a head or any drainage, no apparent signs of infection, and feels to be pretty deep under the surface. It is not painful but it is uncomfortable as well as upsetting because it seemingly appeared so suddenly and is what I would consider to be fairly big, maybe like an inch across. In the past I've had ingrown hairs and small pimple-like cysts in my bikini area that have all cleared up on their own and this is definitely not that. I made an appointment with the gynecologist right away but they can't get me in any sooner than the end of this month, which is still weeks away. I've been using warm compresses and baths to maybe help encourage it to clear up but it hasn't gotten any better nor any worse.
NSFW but I also feel like I probably shouldn't have penetrative sex for a while in case it exacerbates the problem so I explained to my boyfriend of a few years what's going on. I also told him that even though I'm normally very confident sexually, and I know he's always been nothing but accepting and supportive, I felt embarrassed and worried that something so unsexy would make him think less of me. He has been so sweet and kind about it, reassuring me that he's here for me, that nothing like this would ever make him less attracted to me and he understands that I might need to take a break from sex for a while. I love that man so much. However, I've always been the one with a higher libido in our relationship so in that regard I think it's harder on me than him. For me, expressing myself sexually/physically is one of the primary ways I feel able to show love and connect to my partner and having that sort of taken away right now feels very crippling and upsetting.
I also have a bit of health anxiety and a fear of medical procedures (like those involving needles/scalpels specifically) that although not severe is still causing me to feel pretty stressed out. Of course I scared myself even worse by reading all about it online and seeing some of the potential treatment options which seem scary and invasive. I've never had any sort of gynecological health issue before and I feel so embarrassed and freaked out. I've literally only gone to the gynecologist once for a routine checkup (my health insurance has been spotty at best for my whole adult life plus I just moved states) and now I might have to have a potentially painful procedure done in such a sensitive area with a new doctor I've never met. Plus, the idea of going at least a month but maybe even multiple months without sex when we are normally intimate multiple times a week is so depressing to me.
Can anyone tell me about their experience with something like this?
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