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try to drain a cyst myself??

post #1 of 22
Thread Starter 
This may sound really stupid, but I had a chiro tell me I could do this myself before, and since I cant find a doctor who will do it, I am prepared to consider to try do it myself.

I want to put a needle in my gangleon cyst and hopefully it will drain.

Anyone ever done this before?

It hurts so bad right now, my entire arm is numb. And this happens about once a month. I cant open the dishwasher, I couldnt squeeze hairgel, I cant unbuckle my dd;s carseat. Its really awful.

So its good and inflamed which should make it easier to find.
post #2 of 22
Why won't a doctor do it?

I wouldn't want to do it myself....OUCH, but if you do, be careful. I'd worry about infection!
post #3 of 22
Thread Starter 
Originally Posted by KMK_Mama View Post
Why won't a doctor do it?

I dont know why! The doctor told me he wouldnt do it. I even told him how badly it hurts, and he just said "no."

I dont have the money to go doctor shopping at the moment to find someone who will.

I think all you have to do is poke it a couple of times with a needle. It does sound painful, but I have a high pain tolerance.

I wonder how a pin prick would get infected if I dressed it properly. Cuts dont get infected that easily, I havent ever had an infection before????

Guess I can let the doctor deal with the infection. I am so mad, because I would rather not self treat. This is the country we live in where medical care is so expensive we cant even afford to go to the doc for stuff like this. :
post #4 of 22
Thread Starter 
Mabye I can go to the ER to have it done. ???

I wonder if arnica will take the swelling down. (Right now)
post #5 of 22
I wouldn't do it - they usually fill right back up, which is why most won't drain them. It's a cyst with walls made of synovial lining around tendons - not a good idea to poke around in! If done improperly you could do far worse damage than a treatable infection- you could potentially lose function of your hand.

Call your doc and ask for help - what else can/should you do? Some orthopedists will drain them for temporary relief.
post #6 of 22
Thread Starter 

Thanks for the info.

I read that 75% of them go away when drained.
post #7 of 22
As I understand it, these are also called 'Bible thumpers' since in the olden days, the treatment was to smack the ganglian cyst with the largest book in the house, usually the Bible and it would burst inside the skin.

They are hereditary. My youngest son has one on his right hand and complains that it interferes with his basketball free shots. He developed it after age twelve when he went to school; he was homeschooled before.

As I understand it, removing it surgically involves removing not just the usually clear 'gel' inside the cyst, but also the pocket itself which is wedged in the tissues. Yes, it can impair the use of that hand also since that stuff is pretty complicated in there. The price I was quoted for surgery would be for cosmetic surgery and it was $7,500.00, in all, pre-op to post-op care and follow up.

And it usually grows back in time anyway.

My chiro told my son to drink more fluids more frequently since it is related to lack of fluids and circulation. He told me the same about my bursitis. Maybe he is just into drinking more fluids.

FTR, my bursitis took three years to clear up, and I am still in the healing/recovery stages.
post #8 of 22
Thread Starter 
its the "bible thumper" thing....but that can cause it to get worse.

I have had this since i was about 12...I just used to think I had a sprained wrist all the time. Its been effecting me for 14 years...I just wish it would go away! Its my right hand so makes it hard to function when its inflamed.
post #9 of 22
I had 2 removed last year, by a hand surgeon. They used to call they Gideon's cysts because you could smash it with a bible. Lol
post #10 of 22
I have one on the back of my hand. The few times I've accidentally slammed it into a doorframe (usually while carrying heavy boxes of books), it came back within a week. And OH MY GOD, did it hurt. It ached and ached worse than it does when it's inflamed. The cyst recurred before the soreness went away. Feeling mine, it feels hard. I don't think a needle would go in easily. Besides, hands are delicate critters.

My GP told me that the old timey way of getting rid of them was smacking them with a bible. He said some recur, some do not. He told me that if it bothers me, he'd refer me to an orthopoedist. If your insurance requires referrals (or if your local orthopoedic surgery office requires a physician referral), ask your doctor to refer you for a consult.
post #11 of 22
I had one on my left wrist surgically removed when I was a teenager, and one on my right wrist that went away after a bike accident when my wristwatch was ripped off my wrist. Both were on the inside of my wrists. Neither one recurred.

If I really wanted to get rid of one myself, I'd be more inclined to do the book thing than to poke it, because I'd be too afraid of infection. Still, it would be tricky to break it without breaking your wrist or otherwise doing damage that could leave you worse off than you were before. I hated mine, they were painful and I thought they looked awful. I hope I don't ever get another one.
post #12 of 22
OMG, all these posts about this are scaring me. I just figured out today (stangely enough only about an hour before finding this post), that I probably have one too. I've never had one before, and neither has anyone in my family. It looks almost exactly like the picture in the wikopedia that the pp posted, but not quite as large.

Everyone is making it sound like I'm just stuck with this. It didn't hurt when it first showed up, but it's really starting to bother me now whenever I use my hand or wrist.

I definately wouldn't smack it with a book, and trying to drain it myself also sounds scary.

I'm going to see a chiropractor on Thursday, maybe they will have some more natural approaches to take??
post #13 of 22
Thread Starter 
My chiro didnt have any advice for me. Mine is totally fine, and then one day it gets inflamed and is really painful, and then goes back down and is fine again. It sucks, but apparently lots of people have them and they cause no problems.

Too much typing. Thats what does it most of the time. :
post #14 of 22
Ok, even though I just said it would be too scary for me, I did go ahead and try to put a needle in mine. I burned the needle first to kill any germs. It just wouldn't go in. That sucker is hard. Now I have 3 little bloody points where I tried. And I pushed fairly hard. I am used to using a needle when needed to get slivers out, so I'm not a big baby about sticking a needle in myself, but it just wouldn't go in.

So I guess it's not a good idea to try.

I was just a little desperate.
post #15 of 22
Thread Starter 
they are apparently REALLY hard.
post #16 of 22
I would clean it with rubbing alcohol and cut it open. do you have a rozor blade on hand? I avod Dr's do I am all for doing it myself.....
post #17 of 22
When I was in my teens I had one and was taken to an old time doctor (he had to be like 70 but he had been the familly doc since my mom was a kid) and he layed my wrist out and droped a medical text on it - yup bible thumpers. Then he put a tensor on my wrist to keep the tendons held together for a week, I could take it off to shower and had to put it back on fairly tight. A gangion cyst grows up between a split in the two tendons if they get seperated. By bursting it and wraping my wrist he drained it and pulled the tendons back together untill they had time to heal. It never came back!
post #18 of 22
I've only heard of orthopedic surgeons who do this because of the nerves that run near the area. Since you are already having trouble with the nerves (the numbness) I would be rather reluctant to do it.

Besides, a true cyst shouldn't be drained. The entire capsule needs to be removed so it doesn't return.
post #19 of 22
Originally Posted by KMK_Mama View Post
Why won't a doctor do it?

Because it needs to be done under either general anesthesia or a block. Can't be done under local.
post #20 of 22
Originally Posted by transformed View Post

(Right now)
they won't do it because it needs to be done under either general anesthesia or a block. Can't be done under local.

And yes, having this seen at the ER will sooooooo help the high medical costs in this country.

Let's just run to the ER for everything. Then everyone can sit there longer and it is more expensive than a regular office visit. Good plan.

Do you realize that the E in ER stands for "Emergency"? Where is the emergency in this?
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