- Date:
- August 30, 2004
Story
Hey all,
I guess I’m a veteran at this. I’ve had Pilonidal cyst removal 3
times, and might be working on my 4th! I had my first removal on
Sept 15, 2002. Second on April 18, 2003, this was 4 days after my
15th birthday (I’m now 16). I just got done with my 3rd surgery on
August 6, 2004. The reason I might have to have the 4th one so close
to my most recent removal is b/c I’m not healing well at all. None
of the recurrences are the doctors fault in my case, by body just
doesn’t know that it needs to stop. I’m not posting this to scare
anyone, but to let you newbie’s know that it CAN (but in most cases
doesn’t) come BACK! I also wrote this so I could find out if anyone
else has gone throw 4 or more removals. If anyone has questions, or
wishes to talk to me, email me at Debater_gurl@yahoo.com ~Kayla~
- Date:
- August 25, 2004
Story
Hi everyone, My name is Alan and I am a 17 year old male from NY.
I am actually writing this the morning of my surgery (About 12:25
AM) for a pilonidal cyst. I will be have an open wound excision
under general anesthesia. I have had this cyst for about a year now
and hopefully the surgery will go smoothly and cure me of this pain
in the butt. I was very sad to see that this site would be down
later today...i was hoping to post the aftermath of my surgery but i
cant i guess until Saturday. If anyone wants to know how everything
went before I post another entry on Saturday you can always email me
at f22hawk@yahoo.com. I have been curious/worried about what will
happen during the surgery and i would gladly answer any questions
anyone has... Wish my luck at 1:00 PM today! ~Alan
- Date:
- August 25, 2004
Story
Hi all,
Sorry it's me again... I wanted to put my email address up on my
story just in case anyone wanted to talk about it; i'd love it if
someone would talk to me about it... i dont know anyone with this
disease.
my story is the reallyyyy long one august 25th just before this
(unless someone put up a story already and it got squashed before
mine and this little post)
my email address is:
goddess23@optusnet.com.au
thanks again,
- Kathy.
- Date:
- August 25, 2004
Story
To my fellow sufferers,
Hi, i thought i might just post my drama with polonidal sinus up
here and let you all know what i've gone through. I know this is a
really long post but if you can stick with it and read it, you might
get some ideas and stuff for yourself esp if you're going through
similar drama.
anyway,i'm a 24 year old female in australia and i first got
diagnosed with this ugly bum disease beginning of 2003. as with all
of you, it started with a little pimple at the top of my bum crack
but inside, under my skin. i thought i was going crazy at first but
finally realised it needed to be checked out one day (despite all my
embarrassment of showing my ass off to the doctor) when my boyfriend
cheekily slapped my bum right on the pimple! Ohhhh the pain!!
My mum had it about 15 years ago and i vaguely remember all the
pain she went through with it so i was really reluctant to see my
local doctor. well, the doc confirmed my worst suspicions when he
said that i had a polonidal sinus and that i probably needed to have
an operation on it. he informed me that disease thing usually occurs
with europeans, particularly with hairy men but told me that he
didnt think i was hairy enough for it so it could be caused by
something else. well he referred me to a colon and rectal surgeon
and he said that it might be simply a matter of cutting it slightly
with a scalpel and hope that the infection will leak out. So, in
went an injection into the pimple to "numb" it... apparantly it was
numb but ohhh the pain when he cut it!! blood and puss splurted all
over him and all over my clothes... errr...
A couple of weeks after that little episode, nothing was
happening so the surgeon scheduled an op to chop the thing out. it
came out in november and i had an average sized hole, similar to the
average sized pictures posted on this website. i stayed in hopsital
for a few days and then had a nurse come to my house for the next 2
months to dress the hole and pack it. once she stopped coming, my
mum continued with the dressing. as clean as i tried to keep it,
with two showers a day and all the packing and saline solution going
into it, i was "blessed" with an inflection! ohhh the pain!!
Back to the surgeon i went, and in march of this year, 2004, i
had another op. he put a little drain in the cavity area and sewed
it in there. he hoped that the infection would just leak out. a lot
of it did leak out during the month or so it stayed in there but not
enough. i went through so many pads during this yukky time and
always felt dirty and sticky down there so i had about 3 showers a
day to try to get through the day. and after all this, u'll never
guess what! yep, another infection!! ohhh the pain!!
Back i went to the surgeon AGAIN and he told me that he suspected
that the infection had gotten even bigger and had "shot" to the
side, my right side. a sinus had actually appeared on that side and
he actually told me that this is actually quite rare and has only
ever heard of this happening once before. there were a few options
he told me about and this came after talking to a few other surgeons
in his field: cutting it open some more and chopping it out again.
he decided not to cut the thing open again but to shove two drains
in there this time, one in the middle, and one on the right side. so
back into hospital again i went in may of this year. i got out a
couple of days before my birthday and had a lovely bday in bed at
home not able to move much. but guess what... yep, you guessed it...
another infection... the thing wouldn't go away... ohhh the pain!!
The surgeon finally sat me and my mum down and said that it seems
he had "missed" a tract (or root thingy in there) during the initial
operation in november!! my mum was furious... i was simply over it
and had no energy to argue how he could've "missed" it. in a quite
embarrassed tone, he told us that he would prefer us to see another
surgeon and referred us to someone else, another colon and rectal
surgeon i think he was but some professor dude so i crossed my
fingers and hoped for the best. the professor told me that this is
definitely very rare (for it to shoot out to the side) and that he
would rather me see a plastic surgeon because of the deformity that
will come up if he was just to cut it out. there was heaps to be cut
out apparantly and he didnt want me to have an ugly ass.
so off i went to the recommended plastic surgeon who said he
himself has successfully done this in the past but also once it
wasnt so successful. he described the operationSSS that i would need
to have; at least 3 ops and possibly a month in hospital. the first
op would be to remove it fully and any tracts that were there, the
second op would be a skin graft with the new skin lining the inside
of the removed section, a third op to sew it together. he said that
it is not usual for the first skin graft to take hold usually so i
may need to have a few skin grafts. the best way to avoid so many
skin grafts is not to move much and to "be patient". he also said
that he is thinking of using A VAcUUM PUMP with some FOAM stuff to
speed up the healing process before the first skin graft. apparantly
this is some new technology and it speeds it up immensely. he also
said he wouldnt mind doing some blue dye thing in there before the
op to see the number of tracts in there. anyway, i agreed to the
operations by him, mainly because he seemed very genuine and honest
with me. i really felt as though this doctor was going to perform
miracles on me.
later that day, he gave me a call and said he spoke to the blue
dye guy and he didnt think that it would be the best thing to do.
rather, the doc mentioned doing a MRI scan. I agreed, and did that a
couple of days later. as painful as that was (only because i had to
lie on my back which is something i havent done in about 18 months
now!), it showed him exactly where the tracts were and where he
needed to chop.
i deferred my uni course and prepared mentally for the
operations. a couple of weeks later, i went into hospital for the
first of my next series of operations. this was in august. i
remember having a shock when i first saw the cut and how much he had
chopped out. i was feeling fine however and able to get around
although there was some discomfort. the most painful time tho was
each day when they had to pack it. you see, i detest pain killers, i
do actually think they're a placebo (altho sometimes i do succumb to
them just to feel better). most of the days i used laughing gas,
something that women in labour use so they dont think of the pain.
the nurses always mentioned morphine but i tried it once and felt
crap afterwards for hours and it didnt alleviate the pain a bit. you
see, i suffer from panic attacks (so ive been told by many!) and
have a tendancy to abuse people who have rough hands and make the
time even more painful! so laughing gas was probably necessary for
me even tho i laughed and cried at the same time.
anyway after a few days of this, the doc decided it was time for
the vacuum pump. it was quite similar to the packing, just black
foam instead with a tube stuck to it on one end and the other end
attached to a vacuum pump. the pump stayed on for a few days, i cant
really remember how many exactly but each day new foam was put in.
bit by bit though, i was getting more stiff, i felt very restricted
by the pump and wasnt able to turn much.
finally, it was time for the skin graft. the surgeon took the
last foam under anaesthetic and did the graft. the donor site was my
leg and when i woke up, i remember freaking out about the leg. it
was burning, felt like i was in a fire. there was a lot of skin
missing and it upset me a fair bit. my bum felt ok, not much pain,
just my leg hurt a lot. i remembered the doctors words during the
consultation with him that the graft takes better hold if i dont
move much and try to be patient. so i didnt move, i hardly moved. i
was adament that i would not get another graft... i couldnt stand
looking at my leg...
anyway, my neck got severe cramps and my back got sore, i used a
lot of heat packs during this time but stuck in there. the doctor
saw me every day, except on sundays. he even came in on saturdays in
casual saturday clothes to make sure everything was ok.
i went under anaesthetic another time possibly for another skin
graft and for him to undress the thing (so i wouldnt go thru the
same pain as before). he came early the next day at 7.30 to tell me
that he was so suprised that the graft had taken such good hold and
that there was no need for another. only two little finger nails
hadnt taken hold apparantly. he said that he considered closing it
up but didnt have the heart to: he wanted to make sure that over the
next 6 months that no infections or new tracts appear. i was very
excited; there was a glimmer of hope!
i was in hospital for two weeks in total. i am now at home and
have been for 2 weeks. i wasnt able to walk properly for the first
week at home and used crutches. i am walking fine now and can sit
up. ive started going out a bit here and there and am able to do
more and more each day. i see him each week and he is very happy
with my progress. my leg looks ok now, still quite pink but its
obvious the skin is healing well. apparantly there will be no scar
there, just some discolouring, a little whiter than my normal skin.
the nurse has been coming every day to pack my wound and puts some
cream that the doctor ordered on the bits that the graft didnt take
hold. those little bits hurt a lot though. thank god for the graft,
if it wasnt there the whole thing would be very painful.
i am sure that there will be no problems or more dramas in the
next 6 months. he will close it up and it should be the end of all
this drama. for all of those people that have read this far, thanks
for taking the time to listen to my story. i feel like its a
gruesome story straight out of the soapie days of our lives. i'm
pretty sure that not many people would have had to have gone through
as many operations as what i have had, i've lost count (6 or7?) but
i can tell you that there is definitely light at the end of the
tunnel.
i must admit though, i am realllyyy glad that i did NOT find this
website BEFORE the first operation or i would have been absolutely
terrified and dont think i couldve gone through with it. i wouldve
had a million panic attacks. if however, any of you have read this
BEFORE your first operation/s, PLEASE insist on a MRI scan!!! DO AS
MANY TESTS AS POSSIBLE TO FIND OUT EXACTLY WHERE THE TRACTS ARE!! i
dont think i wouldve gone thru all of this drama if the first
surgeon did a MRI. also, ask about the vacuum pump, if you're on
private health insurance i think its better for this cos i think
vacuum pump is quite expensive.
i hope what ive written has been of some help to at least one
person out there. i honestly wouldnt wish this bum disease thing on
my worst enemy. actually... i saw a photo on this website of a
little baby BORN with this thing!! i wanted to cry for the bub, i
felt so bad...
Anyway, best of luck to all my fellow sufferers. i know i have
talked heaps about pain, but honestly, if i can get thru this,
anyone can, trust me. plus i think its worth it, no one should have
to live with this thing.
p.s. whoever created this site, is the best because i have
realised i am not the only person in the world with such an
embarrassing problem.
p.s.s. this whole drama has been such a pain in the bum! no pun
intended :)
anyway i better get my ass up and stop sitting on it, need to lie
down.
- Date:
- August 25, 2004
Story
Long term story
I didn't know I had a pilonidal cyst until the summer I graduated
from high school in 1968. It was a major infection and took 2 weeks
to subside. My doctor told me what I had but didn't tell me what I
was about to experience. I started college in the fall and the cyst
was in constant pain and draining most of the time - I was running a
low fever constantly - by December it was excruciating. I had an
closed excision during Christmas break and was in the hospital for 2
days. It healed in just a couple of weeks and I was pretty much
trouble free for four years.
Shortly after I graduated in 1972 it started to flair back up
although not as bad as it had been. However, it continued to get
worse until I had a major infection in 1982. At that time I had a
open excision which took about 10 weeks to heal (still a two day
hopital stay).
I have been pretty much trouble free since then. The scar tissue
still gets sore if I slouch in a chair to long and it sometimes will
crack and has gotten a surface infection but it has not developed a
cyst with a sinus now for 22 years.
My dad and my brother have a sinus but neither has had an
infection. My son was born with a sinus and had a small infection
but it seems to have cleared up with a simple lancing and he uses a
hair removal creme every few weeks. My vote is on congenital problem
but who knows (His 5 month old son does not appear to have a sinus).
This is a annoying and painful affliction but you can live with
it. Hope your longterm solution is as successful as mine has been.
- Date:
- August 25, 2004
Story
hi, i am 20 yrs old, and i just recently got my first pilonidal
cyst. I started to feel like i had a bruse on my tailbone, and i got
my boyfriend to look at the spot b/c i didnt know what it was, and
he didnt see anything. A few days later the pain got worse, i
couldn't walk or even get off the couch. I didn't understand what
was going on, i thought back to see if i hit anything with my butt
to see if i got a bruse from that or something else..As the day went
on i couldnt do anything, then my boyfriends mother, told me that i
might have a boil or cyst, so i started to put warm compresses on my
butt with some drawing save, it made it feel a little better til
this past monday i couldnt take it anymore, i went to my doctor. He
pulled apart my cheeks and starting pushing really hard, which made
me scream and cry. he had said that i had a "pilonidal Cyst" and
that he will get as much as he can out, so he knumbed it and started
to push.. That was the worse pain i ever felt in my life. I never
want to go through that pain again. He said that i will have to get
the rest of it surgeically removed, which i am somewhat afraid off
b/c i heard that is very painful. I never surgery before, and i dont
know what to expect. So can someone please tell me what to expect?
email is tracage16@yahoo.com Thanks Tracy
- Date:
- August 25, 2004
Story
Hi there,
A story from Europe, where people and thus problems are the same,
but solutions appear to be different. I am a 24 year old Dutch male
Ph.D.-student, sitting all day long at my desk. A probable cause
there!
Monday Aug 2: I expercienced some pain in sitting and inspected
the source. I found a small bump there, with a small hole next to
it. It worried me. Friday Aug 6: I went to my doctor and told him
what I saw and felt. Without looking at my behind, he told me that
it probably was a 'Sinus pilonidalis' but he would just take a look
for confirmation. He made an appointment for a specialist to see me.
Monday Aug 9: At the hospital, with the specialist. He confirmed the
diagnose my doctor made and booked an OR. The pain had gone away
dureing the last few days. Friday Aug 13: Surgery at 9 o'clock in
the morning. A deep sleep and a bit of pain afterwards. At 4 o'clock
in the afternoon I could home. The wound was clean, so the surgeons
closed it. Two painkillers prior to the operation (total 1 mg
Paracetamol). Afterwards I never needed any. Saturday Aug 14: I lied
won all day. Sunday Aug 15: I lied down all day. Aug 16-18: Walking,
sitting and lying around, watching some TV. Aug 19: Back to work.
Aug 20: Able to ride a bike Aug 22: Able to ride a car to the
hostipal where stitches were removed. Aug 26: The wound is still a
bit moist at the top 5 mm (quarter inch) but the lower 4,5 cm (1,5
inch) is dry and closed. Some itching.... I have taken up my normal
life 24 days after the daignosis. So for all of you who have to go
through surgery: It does not have to be a big problem.
B. Penders (Netherlands; b.penders@zw.unimaas.nl)
- Date:
- August 23, 2004
Story
I had my first pilonidal cyst over a year ago, but only had it
removed last week. The lump popped up at the very top right of my
uh.. "natal cleft" I believe is the medical term (ie crack) when I
was doing revision for exams, so I put it down to sitting on a hard
chair for too long. I was quite embarrased and too scared to tell my
mum, and it went away after a couple of days anyway. It didn't
discharge, the swelling just stopped hurting and then disappeared as
quickly as it had appeared. This happened again the next month and
seemed to recurr on a pretty much monthly basis, always the same
pattern. I thought as it was correcting itself it couldn't be
anything major.
A few months later I moved to uni and the next time it happened I
went to the doctor as I just wanted to know what it was. She said it
was to do with an ingrowing hair and mentioned some medical term
which I didn't quite catch but now I think it was pilonidal cyst.
She referred me to a surgeon but by the time the appointment came
the swelling had gone, and besides I didn't want surgery so far from
home.
For ages after that it was OK with only a couple of minor flare
ups. Then about 10 days ago, on a Thursday, it came back, luckily
while I was at home on my summer break. I knew from about the second
morning of having it that this time it was different. By the Sunday
I could hardly walk so my mum took me to an out of hours doctors
surgery place where the doctor said it was infected and gave me some
antibiotics, but they had no effect. So I did my research here and
found out about bringing the abscess to a head with heat, and by the
Tuesday it seemed to be coming along nicely.
I went to the doctor on the Tuesday morning and she immediately
referred me to the hospital where I managed to have the op done the
same day. It was a general anaesthetic job and I spent the night in
hospital but I was out the next day. I'm still having the district
nurse round every day to change my dressing but they say it's
healing really well.
Living with a pilonidal cyst (and with its removal) wasn't nice
but my overnight stay in hospital on a ward with people who were
having proper major surgery on tumours and bowel problems made me
realise that there are definately many infinitely worse things that
can happen. As painful and embarrasing as this condition is, it's
important to keep it in perspective.
- Date:
- August 18, 2004
Story
Hi my name is Casey and
after living with my Pilonidal Cyst since September I finally had it
removed. Just to let you know a little about myself, I am a 25 year
old male and had never been sick or anything in my life. I work as a
commercial fishing boat captain in Alaska. I have endured and seen a
lot in my career, and to think that something that I thought was a
bug bite at first turned into some of the worst pain in my life is
crazy. I had just returned home in September to Washington from
being up in Alaska for 5 months when I first noticed a small lump
around the area of my tail bone. It didnt hurt at first but as weeks
passed and it didnt go away it began to ache. Being the tough guy
that I thought I was I put it off thinking that it would go away,
but it didnt. I finally decided to go to the doctor and see what it
was. By this time it felt like I was growing a tail. This lump felt
like the size of half a golf ball. After waiting in the DR.'s
waiting room for a hour and a half I finally got into see him. It
took the doctor about three seconds to look at it and tell me it was
a Brown Ricluse spider bite. He gave me a perscrription and I went
on my way. After I took all the pille he perscribed the mass in my
back burst open and began to drain. It was kind of embarassing. I
had to cover it with band aids all the time and my t-shirts liiked
like I was shot in the back every time I would take them off.
Needless to say the medicine didnt work and the thing never went
away. It was in Early December when I decided to try another Doctor.
This time it only took the doctor about two minutes to tell me I had
a Pilonidal Cyst. I was referred to a surgeon and it was decided
that it needed to be cut out. The draw back was the doctor wanted to
be paid $700 up front. Althogh I have insurance, It isnt the best
and my deductible had to be filled before they paid 70%. I didnt
want to shell out that much money at first. But here we are today.
Almost a year after I first noticed the lump I paid the money and
got my cyst cut out a week ago. I went with the open style of
surgery, where they leave the wound open. Yeah it hurts like hell
but the cyst is gone. It is a pain in the ASS(literally) but I have
to change out the bandage quite often. Hopefully in about 8 to 10
weeks I will be back to normal. I am glad I got it taken care of and
recommend that you dont wait as long as I did to have it done. With
proper care I think I will be able to head back up north to do a
little halibut fishing. Take Care...
- Date:
- August 18, 2004
Story
I just had a baby on
August 2nd. One week later, I found it hard to sit down and was
having pain and pressure by my butt crack. I figured my tailbone had
been bruised during childbirth, and let it go for one week until the
pain was unbearable. I finally went to the hospital on Monday the
16th and was told I have a pilonoidal cyst. They drained it and
packed it and I will slowly have the packing removed over the next
week. The doctor in the emergency room referred me to a surgeon but
she said a lot of people don't have the surgery done because it is
so painful. I am 24 years old and as far as I know this is the first
flare-up I have had, at least the first one that has required
medical attention. I am debating whether or not I should have the
surgery, so if anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear
them. You can also contact me by e-mail-malaynie7@hotmail.com.
Thanks, Melanie
- Date:
- August 16, 2004
Story
I am a 19-year-old college
student who has had a pilonidal cyst for a few years. Well, my mom
found out and suggested that I go to a surgeon about it. She took me
to a plastic surgeon, but he referred me to a Colon & Rectal
Surgeon. He talked my problem over with me, and confirmed that I had
the cyst for a long time. He said that I would need to have an
operstion to have it removed. I was pretty nervous, but I got tired
of putting tissue back there. I wanted to live a normal life, not
being conscious of having a stain on the back of my pants. I had the
procedure done on June 15th, and it was not too bad. I did not feel
the pain until the third night. I woke up crying, and my my mother
and brother had to give me some Oxycotin (the strong pain medicine).
It was a painful first month of recovery, but during July, I forgot
it was there. I did not start feeling anymore pain until a couple
weeks ago. I went to the doctor for one of my follow-ups, and he
said that I am recovering pretty well. He packed it today, and now
it is throbbing. I am sure that the pain will get back to normal,
but for anyone who has just recently had surgery, my doctor said
"don't walk on eggshells." He said that I can be active, but not too
active. I am leaving to go back too school tomorrow; and I plan on
just taking it easy. I am a music major, meaning I sit down quite a
bit, but it's better than doing things that can tear some tissue. If
you have a pc, don't be afraid to get it worked on. It is
embarrassing and painful, but it also not something you want to have
on your butt forever. Everything will be fine. If you have any
questions, e-mail me at Shawna033@hotmail.com.
Thanks, TaShawna
- Date:
- August 16, 2004
Story
I first noticed my
pilonidal cyst at age 23 while I was in grad school. I woke up one
morning with a huge bump at the top of my crack and a whole lot of
pressure. Needless to say I didn't go to the doctor and about to
days later the thing opened and it drained, and drained, and
drained. Figuring that it heal itself I still avoided the doctor for
nearly 5 months. Mistake. Went to the doctor and he said I had both
a cyst and sinus and they had to be cut out. He sent me to a surgeon
who was a real nice guy, but how good? . .well who knows. Anyway, I
had surgery and then weekly follow up appointments for nearly 9
months. Every time I went the doctor would break up the healing
tissue, saying he did not want it to bridge, however it also
wouldn't heal. Well sure enough about 6 months later it came back
and I returned to the surgeon and we followed the same procedure,
only this time the weekly follow up appointments lasted for over a
year until I went on vacation and the wound closed. Everything was
great for the next year and a half until low and behold back it
came. So I got myself a new surgeon and had a 3rd surgery in late
June 2004. Eight weeks later and its healing much better than it had
previously. The wound is nearly completely closed and I have a much
better feeling that this time we finally got it.
All the best, Ed - NYC
PS - using tape all the
time can leave your butt gluey and sore. My sister who is a RN, got
me these things called tegederms that I use to cover the gauze
instead of tape. They work great and leave your skin in much better
condition than tape and are great for preventing leakage of the
wound onto your clothes. You can buy then online in various sizes
depending on size of your wound.
- Date:
- August 16, 2004
Story
Dear Suffers,
I am a 19 year old FEMALE
who just had Sugery to remove my piolinal cyst. Me too had never
know what such a thing was. Come to find out my aunt had the same
thing and finally had hers removed. For years I have had a small
hard bump at the top of my buttcrack and never knew what it was. One
day about 1 month ago I felt like i was getting a zit there. It hurt
a little to sit and i thoughht not much about it. Well 2days later ,
it was huge! Red and spongie to the touch. I was almost crying
trying to get in and out of my car and sitting was terrible too. So
at 1:30 in the moring the pain was throbbing just laying on my
stomach. So i went to the ER. I assumed they would give me anti
botics and that would be that. They lanced it, that was the worst
night of my life, believe it , it hurts like hell but the next day
that terrible pain is gone. It iched alot as it healed. I saw a
surgeon immedialty following. He said I had to wait 3 weeks for it
to completly heal before surgery. Never let a surgeon take it out
until it is completly heled over. The sugery was 45 min. and i was
put under, he removed a small cyst and the surrounding
tissue/muscle. He says it will never come back (in that place). Do
not shave that area thats what caused mine, a blocked hair that
started to regrow. I have stiches now and its hard to do much of
anything, but hopefully it will be well worth it .
- Date:
- August 14, 2004
Story
Hello
Most of the stories I have
read here and on other websites relate to Pilonidal Cysts in the
tailbone area. Mine is in a different area - lucky me, so I thought
I would share this with you and I would love to hear from anyone who
has the same or similar problem.
My name is Dee and I'm 35
yrs old. I have had my Pilonidal Cyst in the Pubic / Bikini Line
area for 6 years now. It's always been the size of a pea and
thankfully not gotten any bigger. For the first 2 years it didn't
hurt at all and I assumed it was just an annoying spot that wouldn't
go away. Then after 2 yrs I started to suffer with a lot of pain due
to the cyst swelling caused by the friction and irritation of my
underwear and trousers. My daily routine from then on was putting
ice on the cyst to numb it and then lancing it every few days to
relieve the pressure as well as trying a number of different creams,
drawing ointments, antibiotics, etc.
After putting up with it
for 4 years I'd had enough and decided to go to a plastic surgeon
who removed the cyst with a lazer and my wound was sewn up with
stitches. Three weeks later it got infected and the cyst returned so
I continued with the lancing routine again for another 2 years.
Over the years due to the
cyst internally bursting I have suffered many times with blood
poisoning but I don't think it was too serious because the only
symptom of the blood poisoning was a very tender swore body all over
for one-three days at a time. It's a bit like being bruised so it
would hurt if someone touched me even using a feather light stroke
without applying any pressure. This was happening a bit too often
and I got scared because I recently learned that blood poisoning,
i.e. septicaemia is life threatening so I decided to have the cyst
removed again.
I have just had the cyst
removed 2 days ago by the same surgeon with a knife and had it sewn
up again. I have just had my first look down there and changed the
bandage and it looks good, no leaking or anything the area where
it's stitched up is about 3cm long (double the length of when I had
it done 2 years ago). My wound is quite small compared to most but
believe me it's given me hell over the years.
The surgeon didn't give me
much information about aftercare other than to leave the bandage on
for about 3 days and NO baths and to come back in 10 days to have
the stitches removed. As you can imagine I have many questions about
the aftercare so I just posted the questions on the
www.pilonidal.org Forum in hope someone might have the answers.
Apart from the ongoing
pain each day the other frustrations are: not being able to wear
underwear, not being able to wear short skirts or trousers unless
they are big and baggy, not being able to sit down for too long and
if I do sit down I have to make sure I sit like a man with my legs
wide apart....hence no short skirts for me...hehe. I have also given
up activities that I enjoy like bike riding, diving, running, etc.
but sometimes I get really frustrated and think what the hell so
I'll go for a bike ride or wear my favourite tight jeans and then
spend next few days paying for it.
Thank you for allowing me
to share my story - feel free to email me if you have any helpful
advice: webprint @ onthenet.com.au (remove the spaces before and
after the @ symbol)
Good luck to all who share
this nightmare!
- Date:
- August 14, 2004
Story
I am 22 and had an
operation on my cyst near 20 months ago. It was extreme because I
was bleeding so bad the morning after the surgery that they
cauterized the incision (though I could barely feel it, thanks to
the anesthetics.). I am still not fully healed and wonder each day
when the incision will heal the whole way. Though, my cyst was
unusually large and was left unstitched (which is better in my
opinion). I'm not sure why the rest of the opening is taking so long
to close up...perhaps because it's deeper than the top of the
incision (which is healed). For the most part, things are good, but
I still have drainage from that tiny opening that remains and
sometimes I think the pressure from pooping keeps it from healing
and sometimes causes the blood to start flowing like wine...lol.
Everyone out there with pdc's I feel where you're coming from; the
cysts are a lot of pain and care, but I advise you to follow the
advice given here. I have my dad shave out the area of the incision
every few weeks (at first it was kind of humiliating, but now it's
normal, thank God for dad) just to keep the hair out of there and
other than the unhealed portion, I see no signs of recurrence. I
also make sure to wash out the incision area when I shower, as some
funky stuff can creep down there in a mere day! I pray blessings on
you who suffer from this thing and wish the best in your operations
and healings. Take care and God bless.
Tim, PA
- Date:
- August 13, 2004
Story
August 13, 2004
The first time I learned
that I had a pilonidal cyst was in 2000 i was 19. I went to the
doctor for months having it drained and lanced over and over again
in hopes that it would go away. Every time the same thing, numb the
area cut it drain it hope for the best. well it didn't go away so we
scheduled an appointment with a surgeon and had a consultation. well
they decided it was best I get it removed. I had never even heard of
this before and i was completely clueless. I had never known anyone
to have it and I did not know what i was in for. Unfortunately I did
not end up liking my surgeon, he was rough and caused me pain and
was very brief with me. he did not explain things very well.
So I went in for surgery
after about 4-5 months of lancing and draining. The procedure went
well, i had the pain killers put in my IV. I have heard of people
getting epidurals, but I had it in my IV. It was a really wierd
feeling but not bad. (I would think much easier and less painful
than an epidural) The procedure went well and i was in recovery. my
mom took care of me and brought me home i slept for what seemed like
days i was on painkillers and all foggy feeling. when we had to
change the bandage boy were we in for a HUGE surprise. my surgeon
did not explain to us very well what after care would be like, and
what my backside would look like, it was a huge gaping hole in my
back and we were not expecting that. my mom, bless her heart, took
care of me every day, packing and bandaging me and talking me
through the horrilble pain. It took me months to fully recover I had
to wear some sort of bandage for at least 3 months and then
sometimes off and on still after that. I did not fully remember
exactly how much pain this had caused me until about 2 weeks ago
when it came back.
I lasted a good 4 years
until 2 weeks ago I was brought to the emergency room again in
excrutiating pain. I could not sit, stand, walk, lay down, basically
do anything without wincing in extreme pain. They lanced the cyst
again and let it drain. It is just very upsetting to have to be
going through this ordeal all over again. I thought it was over and
done with. They sent me home with packing in it again. I had a visit
to my family doctor and they removed the packing and referred me to
a different surgeon (thank god!). I will probably have to get this
one removed too I don't see why not, it has gotten worse since my
visit and now it is infected and draining that gross pus stuff and
it actually protruding from my back area because it has gotten so
large. It is painful but much less than a week ago when i was in the
ER. they gave me vicodens which helped somewhat but not much. I have
an appt. to see the surgeon and I know i am going to have to take
off work and have my mom and boyfriend help to take care of me. It
is hard to deal with being immobile and not being able to do things
for yourself, but after having it done once i know it is worth it. I
just am not looking forward to the pain and agony of the aftercare
and being out of work. I will let you know after the recovery period
how this one went for me! I can only hope for the best and that
maybe just maybe this time it will be gone for good??!!
This website was sooo
helpful to me. I did not do much research last time i had the cyst.
It is nice to see that there are actually other people out there
with the same problem and that i was not being a huge baby and just
thought i was in alot of pain, after reading other stories i now
know that I was not just a huge baby these things hurt like hell!!!!
For those of you that are dealing with this right now i wish you
good health and take care of yourself!
Nataleigh
- Date:
- August 12, 2004
Story
My name is dan, Im 27, I
got my 1st pilonidal Cyst when I was about 20. At the time I was in
college full time, delivering pizza (sitting alot) and working in a
pizza kitchen. (and I have hair growing pretty much everywhere but
my head :) At first, like every other guy, I thought it was just
from sitting in the hard chairs at school 5 hours a day and didnt go
to the Dr. It never really went away. So finally I went to the
general Dr. He told me it was just an area of infected skin and gave
me an anitbiotic. I took 2 or 3 pills the rest of the day, went to
bed and woke up to the sore bleeding. I drove to my friends house,
when I got outta the car the was another clump of blood and puss. I
didnt know what was wrong. My guess is the antibiotic broke up the
infected area and started to drain. After that it was never as bad
but still bled pretty much all the time. I had to put toilet paper
over the wound pretty much all the time. So finally I went to a
dermatologist who took one look and said it had to be cut out. He
reffered me to a plastic surgeon to perform the surgury. Real nice
guy. I just had a local anestetic. The worst part was he hit bone on
the 2nd round of numbing shots. Surgery took about an hour. he told
me he was going to make sure he got all of it. He closed the wound.
I walked out of the operating room and even to the car. I took some
pain meds which basically helped me sleep. I was slow for a few days
but dont rememeber really being laid up for any real period of time.
At the time I had no job and was between semesters. So I healed up,
got the stitches out, and had no probs for 7 years....Until about 5
weeks ago. I started noticing a ridge halfway down my crack (which I
learned was a sinus, thanx to this site) a couple months ago. It
started to get sore, then I notice a pea sized lump at the very top
of my crack on the right side. In the past 7 years it would
occasially hurt a bit but I think it was from my clothes rubbing or
sittin too long, it would go away within a day. Well this time it
wasnt going a way. I immediatly went to the family Dr. He said it
was small and that anitbiotics could keep it down and that I would
eventually have to have it out but that there wasnt an urgency.
Regardless, I immediately made an appointment to see the surgeon. He
reffered me to a colon and rectal surgeon. The 1st C&RS I saw said
the way he did the surg was a night in the hosptial for pain Mngment
and that I would be laid up for about 10 days total. I sit all day
and I play in a band pretty much every weekend. So I just had to
find a time to be laid up for 10 days. that was about 3 weeks ago.
In order to get a 2nd opinion, I saw another surgeon. (the 1st guy
wasnt very personable). the 2nd Dr...after I waited an hour, comes
in, asks me the stardard questions, puts me on the table (which
makes U stick your butt in the air) and is having me tell him my
story, and then begins to (i found out afterwards)stick a probe up
the sinus!!!! I was like HEY!! didnt warn me, didnt even tell me
what he was doing after I shouted ouch. I have a pretty high pain
tolerance. I thought at 1st he was just pressing it w/ his finger.
After he told me to get up he showed me the prod he stuck up the
sinus. and how far in it went. I was thinkin (well thanx for telling
me you were gonna do that buddy!!), felt like a needle. So both
colon and rectal surgeons I met were not very personable, but I
guess if U looked at asses all day U be an ass too. So he tells me
that he does the open wound surgery and that its the only way for it
to fully heal. Obviously there still isnt a lot known about these
things cause Im gettin conflicting reports. He told me "The problem
w/ pilonidal disease is the cure can be worse than the disease."
Which by reading some stories I can see that to true. Both surgeons
say that it looks like the 1st surgeon didnt do what he was supposed
to and that he left the sinus, I dont rememebr if the sinus was
there the whole time or not. I dont usually feel or look back there
very often. The 2nd Dr said the sinus is the root of all of it. That
the bacteria getsin through there. i dont rememeber having a a sinus
last time. There is a picture on this site of the very young baby w/
a sinus opening that is exactly where mine is and looks identical. I
also have a bubble where the original one was in the usual position
to the left of my cleft. That bubble has since filled w/ hard tissue
in the past 2 weeks. So I think now I have to go have it lanced and
drained before i can have the closed wound surgury. I can't afford
to have it left open and be laid up for 3-5 weeks. It really really
sucks. After 7 years of no probs...BANG!! back where I was 7 years
ago. I cant lay on my back, I cant sit on the couch long. Im am
worried about it bursting. It takes 2+ weeks to get an appoinment w/
these guys, and I want this thing out. My advice to anyone dealing
w/ this for the 1st time; DONT WAIT, go to your Dr or straight to
the surgeon if U can, use a Colon and rectal surgeon and not a
plastic surgeon, and get it removed ASAP. The sooner you do, the
sooner you can get on your w/ life; when U go to the Dr. ALWAYS ask
what he is going to do once your on the table. I am scheduled for
surgury sept 21, but I will only go forward w/ it if I can have the
closed wound. I may need to have it drained and then reschedule.
Feel free to emial me w/ questions. Muzicman76@aol.com Thanx for
this site, I thought I was a freak!! :)
- Date:
- August 11, 2004
Story
I can’t recall exactly
when I first noticed a cyst above my cleft… I think my girlfriend
noticed it first. As is usual, I ignored it for a long time.
Fortunately for me I had no pain, sinuses or drainage. Lord I guess
I was lucky. (It still seems hard to name it the same as there were
none of the usual symptoms except for the raised bump at the top and
to the right of my butt crack.)
Anyway, I finally decided
(after a year or two) that I wanted it removed and decided to see a
doctor. I figured it was a sebaceous cyst or something simple/benign
and could be sliced right off in the doctor’s office. I made an
appointment to see a GP/family doctor. He took a look at it, was
surprised it didn’t hurt and told me it felt warm. He said he would
refer me to “surgery.” I asked if they could do it that day. Not a
chance, I had to make an appointment to come back for consultation.
Man, I thought that was nuts – come back in a week and still no
cutting.
When I finally walked in
to the surgeon’s office the next week the nurse used a word I had
never heard before… she asked, “You’re here for a polinidal cyst?” I
said I had no idea, but cyst sounded right. The surgeon came in and
told a joke that I didn’t understand because I did not know what I
had been diagnosed with, but he did. He said “The nurses tell me you
have a hairy butt.” I almost fell off the examining table. He was a
nice guy.
Both doctors poked it and
seemed surprised that it didn’t hurt and that I had no pain or
discharge. He said he wanted to remove it. I said great, that is
what I am here for. I still had no idea what this thing was…
Then I went back to work
and started reading and researching on the internet. Boy did I get
scared. I had made an appointment for surgery the next week and by
the days before I was nervous about the recovery/healing, etc. I
called the doc’s office. He told me to relax and that my situation
was about as good as you could hope for – it looked very small,
contained and he didn’t feel an open/wide incision was needed. He
would cut it out and close it. He did say there was a better chance
of recurrence in that case, but given my situation and the much
faster healing time this was his recommendation. I was ready to go
with the more invasive route, but I just needed someone to talk to,
as I had not prepared myself for the stuff I found in my research.
Yikes! My heart goes out to all that have suffered – and seem to
have done so more than I certainly did.
Due to a condition called
Malignant Hyperthermia, the doc decided a hospital room was best,
not his office. The anesthesiologist was happy to meet someone with
my condition and had prepared fairly well. He offered to do an
epidural but I declined – asking instead for lidocane and some sort
of analgesic/opiate/sedation. The surgeon agreed and showed him my
cyst and they agreed that a spinal/epidural was not really called
for.
The worst part of the
ordeal was getting the IV put in before-hand – I almost passed out.
The poor nurse had to listen to me muttering and cursing under my
breath as she inserted the damned needle. Another nurse saw my white
face and ran over to drop the bed down – man I was clammy and white!
I am a big baby.
I was finally wheeled into
the OR. They stuck a thermometer in my mouth and ran some oxygen in
my nose (both due to the MH condition) and then shaved the butt
area. The anest. told me I might feel burning in the arm when he
injected something into the IV – I waited for it, but never
happened. I felt really light headed/good shortly after than and he
asked how I felt. I said something stupid, and I have since thought
of a few witty things to say, but the chance was lost. I think I was
awake but daydreaming the whole time, but I suspect I slept for a
good portion of it. I was conscious of some poking and prodding on
my butt, but no pain. I “woke up” at some point and then shortly
after was asked how I was doing. They must have stopped the sedative
drip/whatever it was just before I woke up.
My butt was bandaged and I
was sent to recovery room – there was a great deal of discussion
about how long I should be in the recovery room – due to the MH. I
just wanted out! I was sent home about 4 and a half hours after the
surgery was done. Again, note: I was stitched up – it was a closed
wound due to the fortunate chance of a contained cyst with no
apparent sinuses, etc.
I bled through the stuff
and apparently it dripped down my crack and I soiled my pants and
boxers on the way home. Now I know what half of the world has to go
through. My female friend called me a wussy and introduced me to
“spray and wash.” I was able to take the padding/gauze off after 24
hours, but still left the butterfly tape and sutures in. I showered
the next day and felt fine. There was hardly any pain – mostly none,
but sometimes a dull ache. I was given vicodin, but didn’t really
need it. I took it to sleep. I was worried about pooping, but that
was a non event for me. I just make sure to shower every time
afterwards.
It has been about 6 days
and I went to see the doc yesterday. He said it is healing nicely. I
didn’t ask enough questions. I am itching to get back on my bike to
ride but he says to wait another week. (I suspect for the stitches)
I have two things that look like bruises, then the wound that is
taped over. He said I didn’t have to come back and the cyst was well
contained and he was happy with how it went.
Man, I am happy to
(hopefully) have this done with. I pray that I have no recurrence
and I certainly am thankful that I didn’t experience what seems to
be the more usual symptoms. Again, I thank you all for your stories
and wish you all the best – especially those of you that have
suffered with what is about the most embarrassing thing I can think
of. I was lucky enough to have a mild case and am quite thankful!
Thanks to April for taking
me to the hospital and back and taking care of me for the two days I
was out of commission. You’re a trooper!
Take care, tim
- Date:
- August 10, 2004
Story
Hello everyone, My name is
alex and i recently had a cyst form three weeks ago. I'm 18 years
old. I was in extreme pain for 3 days. It slowly got worse every day
until one sunday morning 3:30AM to be exact, i could not sleep it
hurt so bad. i couldn't lay down walk sit it just throbbed in pain
right above my cleft(butt crack).i though i had a broken bone but
when i arrived at the er they told me what it was and they had to
lance it. That was the worst 30 minutes of my life. The numbing
medicine they injected didn't even do much when they cut my skin
over teh cyst to drain it. Anyhow, i then went to see a specialist
they reffered me to and he said that i should wait and see if it
will come back before we discuss thing like surgery. So i just
packes my wound and let it drain which was very anoying because
every day 3 times a day i had to change the gause which smelled
horrible. i assumed i would probably never get it again and the
doctor on my last visit said he wouldn't have to see me again. one
week later it has come back and now i have to see him ;ater this
week. from reading this site i'am sure i will have to have surgery
and i'm going to go with the excision and open healing since i want
the best chance of never getting this god forsaken pain in the ass
again. the thing i'm mad at the most is i might have to miss the
first semmester of college becuase of the healing process. Anyways i
want to just say this is the best site ever, i learned more about
this diseas than i have anything else in my life and it made me more
confidant and eased my mind of not knowing what was wrong with me.
- Date:
- August 10, 2004
Story
Hello sick fellas,
I got Pilonidal Cyst
recently and I got it off my back four days ago through surgery.
I've arrived at the hospital around 10 am and I was sent to the room
around 2:30pm. A nurse gave me a blue pill and told me that I was
going to be sleepy in order to stay calm during surgery. During
surgery, the doctor showed me the thing: a grayish, dusgusting mass
with a lot of hairs, and that was really big. My girlfriend is
taking care of me and doing a very good job. I can't sleep too well
since I can't lay on my back and I can't spread my legs too much.
Some stitches broken and the wound is opening even more. I called my
doc and he said that its not a problem, but even so, it worries me a
little. I don't feel pain and I hope to continue this way until get
total recovery.
Well, that's it folks,
I'll be back to tell you more. Any information you need, e-mail me
at david@lideraviacao.com.br.
Regards,
Dave - Brazil
- Date:
- August 10, 2004
Story
Hi! I've had a pilonidal
cyst since I'm 14 years old (I'm now 33). The first time I had it,
it was lanced in the doctor's office (the most intense pain in my
whole life -- not only the lidocaine needles, but when they PUSH the
pus out!!). Since that time, I've had them every few years, and I've
let them burst on their own. However, in the last 2 years, they've
been coming more and more frequently -- like every 6 months or so.
I was diagnosed with Type
2 Diabetes last year, so now I have to take any kind of infection
seriously. I had the surgery in February of 2004 to remove the cyst.
I had it done in the surgeon's office and had a closed incision. He
told me that he took a very conservative approach and if it comes
back, it would have to be done in a hospital and they would have to
go deeper.
Guess what?? 3 weeks ago,
it came back! As soon as I felt that tell-tale tenderness in that
area, I went on Keflex to get rid of it. This time, the antibiotics
did absolutely nothing and it got bigger and bigger. Last week, the
pain was getting too intense so I went to the ER (my surgeon was
"booked"). The ER doctor lanced it (oh God, the pain!). I went to
see my surgeon the next day to have him look at it. He said "they
did a good job, but they didn't make the incision big enough for
proper drainage". He gave me Lidocaine and pushed more out (I can't
take anymore!). He said to come back in three weeks to discuss the
surgery (my appt. is on August 10). He said it would be an open
incision because there is less chance of it coming back. Also, it
would take 2-3 months of recovery.
I can't afford to be out
of work that long and New York State disability only pays $170 per
week for short-term disability (my rent alone is $1,040 per month!).
I figure, if the surgeon can't GUARANTEE that it won't come back
after having an open incision, I should get the closed incision and
take my chances. Any feedback would be appreciated!! my email is
Leighdvm@yahoo.com
- Date:
- August 09, 2004
Story
Hello All,
i am a student studying in
Australia and here is my story. After many years of pain on my
backside i decided to get my pilonidal sinus checked out. Well the
first time about 4 month ago i had it drained, packed with dressing
for a week after. My doctor then told me that there is a risk of
getting it back. And guess what he was right. I had peace for about
2 month and then i had that annoying lump back. I went back and my
doctor referred me to a surgeon. My surgeon had a look at it and
told me it has to be excised under general anastetics. Well i had my
operation 10 days ago. After waking up i was quite in pain, but the
nurses in recovery gave me strong pain killers, whose worked
fantastic. My doctor dropped by and said that it was quite deep and
i also had an abscess. However i was kept overnite in the hospital.
The days after i felt great, of course because i still had
painkillers. About 3 days after my operation i had to see the wound
management nurse, who told me what i can do with the packing.
There is a NEW PRODUCT
called CAVI CARE, which is a paste (i think i couldn't see when she
mixed it)which is filled in your wound and as it gets stiff it feels
like a sponge. (not painful) This product i find excellent because i
can do the packing myself, all i do everyday is before i have a
shower take it out and wash it with tapwater. After my shower, where
i cleaned my wound i put it back in. How easy is that, no pain and
it feels better than the ordinary dressings.
Has anyone experience with
that product?
However i made a terrible
mistake, since i am a uni student i thought i can get right back, i
was sitting for 8 hours straight, and at night i had to suffer,the
worst pain anyone can imagine. Even walking was a real painful
experience, after that i didn't sit anymore for long periods and i
am fine again.
So please do not sit for a
while. Even if you think its possible, sit to a real minimum.
Good luck to everyone.
- Date:
- August 08, 2004
Story
First of all i'd like to
thank the creator of this website. If it wasnt for this website i
would still be feeling sorry for myself for having a medical problem
that i was embarrased of. I literally thought i was the only person
in the world who had this. I was in my early 20's and attending
college. My problems started in 2001 when i noticed what i thought
was a small pimple on my tailbone(turned out later to be a sinus). I
thought it was a pimple and i sqeezed it as hard as i could thinking
it was going to burst. To no avail all that came out was blood. So i
left it alone thinking it would go away by itself...boy was i wrong.
Unlike many other stories that i have read in the forum, many people
have had cysts under the skin. In my case weeks after i had tried to
sqeeze the sinus, it grew into what looked like a peanut on the
outside of the skin near the top of my tailbone. It literally looked
like somebody glued a peanut to my bum. i thought it was a growth
like a mole or somthing and i didnt pay too much attention to
it....well i should of. About two days later it swelled up to about
the size of a large grape. Now it looked like i had a large graped
glued to my bum. It was very ..very.. and i mean very painful. I
went to bed that night and i didint feel the pain anymore. I reached
down and looked at my hand..my hand was covered in blood and a
white/greyish puss. The pain was gone and it burst so i thought it
was over with and it wouldnt bother me again.....wrong. For the next
6 months it would do the same thing over and over again: swell up,
be very painful and drain. It was embarrasing! It was embarrasing to
always find blood and puss in my boxers and pants. It was always
embarrasing to have to worry when i went out in public places if my
cyst would rupture and bleed into my pants. I was tired of it. At
this time i still didnt know what i had. I went to a doctor thinking
he could solve it. I went and he cut the growth off and stitched the
wound. It came back in two weeks and i was hopless. I thought i was
going to live with it forever. I graduated from college and i
decided to have a career in the military. It was during the military
entrance process that i learned of what it was...i told the military
doctor of the growth operation that i had done and i show it to him
and he told me it wasnt a growth and that i had a pilonidal cyst and
i was told i would not be let into the miltary service i was
applying for with a pilonidal cyst. With this information i went
back to my doctor and told him what i had. He knew right away what
to due. My procedure was done in the doctors office and only took
about 20 minutes. My wound was stitched up and i was given
antibiotics and pain killers. Around 6 weeks later I went back to
the military entarnce building and i told them i had the surgery
done and they looked at it to confirm i had it done and they told me
i had to wait 1 YEAR before i could apply into the military........I
was devasted. Apparently people that have certain surgeries have to
wait a certain amount of years before they can get in and a
pilonidal cysectomy was one of those surgeries. But hey life goes on
and i just have to accept it. So here i am writing about how my cyst
has put my carrer on hold for a year. Its been a couple of months
since my second surgery and at least for now everything is going
quite well it has not drained since the second surgery. The scar
does swell and get puffy after i have been sitting down for too long
but from reading the stories....i hear it happens. I just pray this
thing goes away and i never have to deal with it again. I only wish
good luck to the people that are dealing with this and hope they too
rid themselves of this horrible condition/disease.
- Date:
- August 06, 2004
Story
hello! i am 21 years old
female in finland. i`ve got the disease called pilonidal sinus. i`m
pregnant now and i hope that someone who is the same situation or
has been would write to me..i am wery sorry my bad english, hope you
all understand...my email is skorpionio@jippii.fi Eija
- Date:
- August 03, 2004
Story
Well, as most men are
(ignorant of their problems and don't want to worry about them
because they think it will go away) I ended up being one of them. At
first, when I was about 15, I started to notice that I was bleeding
a little bit on my lower back. I didn't think anything about it
because I just thought that I had bumped by back or something
against the counter. After a few weeks, I realized that it wasn't a
cut that I got from hitting something against my back. But being a
guy and wanting to be tough, I just ignored it for the next 3 years.
I am currently 18 and realized after signing up for military
service, that I might want to have this checked out and gotten rid
of for convience (since I continued to bleed every now and then). I
never thought about it that much since it never hurt me or anything.
I would only notice it bleed after I had done physical work or put
pressure on it whenever I worked out. I went to the doctor and I
discovered... It was a PILONIDAL CYST!!! Okay, I said to myself,
what do I need to do. I asked my doctor and he said that he had
performed hundreds of these surguries. So I said, okay, put me to
sleep. So they did, and they had it removed. I asked the doctor the
next week I went there and he said that he took out about 1/4 of a
golf ball of skin and hair underneath were my cyst was. I was
thinking that it was really gross of him to tell me that, but I was
like okay. It has been a month after my surgury and I have had to
delay my entry into military service because I had not said anything
about this sooner. I have to wait almost to months after my leave
date to fully heal because I thought in the beginning that this was
no big deal. Well, guess what, It is and the longer you wait, the
more pain that it can cause you later in life. So if you have ever
wanted advice in your life about this kind of problem, here is
some... Get rid of while you have time to! I have heard of people
getting rid of this while they are about 30 or so and they have had
some much pain before and after getting it removed because they have
had so many complications with their pilonidal cyst. Trust me, it is
a simple operation and the earlier that you get rid of it, the
quicker you can go on with whatever you do best.
- Date:
- August 02, 2004
Story
I have been fight a
pilonidal cyst for six months. I first discover it in January when
it got inflamed and had to go to the hospital to have it lanced and
packed. Besides it being humiliating it was a male who did the work.
He told me it was an abscess and did his job wrote me a script and
told me I shouldn't have anymore trouble. I did, it was back in a
month and I have had it Lanced four times in the past six months. I
went to the hospital yesterday to have it lanced and the scare
tissue has gotten so bad that it felt like I wasn't even given
numbing medicine. It has gotten to the point that when it is
inflamed I can't sit or stand. When I read about pilonidal being,
for the most part, a male problem I was to humiliated to go back to
the doctor for a while. That just caused more problems. About three
months ago when I had to have it lanced for the second time I let it
go until the infection was so bad I passed out just walking up
stairs to my apartment. The doctor said if I would have gone a day
or two more without doing anything the infection would have gotten
in my blood. Now I don't care if I have a scar. I don't care if how
much I don't want a guy to be working on my butt. I don't care I
just want it gone for good.-Erica
- Date:
- August 02, 2004
Story
My experience with
pilonidal has been going on now for eight months,I am waiting for
the operation. It started with an ingrown hair on my bikini line,
which i tried to remove myself. I though I had actually got rid of
the hair. A month later i felt a small lump on my right labia. I
thought it was a boyle that would eventually disapear. The lump got
bigger and Iwent to the doctors,The doc told me that it was an
effected ingrown hair and the antibiotics should disolve the hair
folicle and the infection will go. After 2 weeks of antibiotics the
lump was still there. i went back to the doctor and she told me that
it was a cyst and she would have to refer me to someone else. i
waited for the appointment for a month, and that point the cyst had
almost disapeared. I then cancelled my appointment and forgot about
it. Icontinued to be waxed in the area. The last wax i had must of
flamed it up again, so i went back, I changed doctors and was put on
more antibiotics. once the infection was gone again, the doctor told
me it was pilonidal Sinus. It will have to operated on. For someone
that has never had a stitch or a broken bone, it has shocked me but
reading the infomation on it, has helped me alot. For the past 8
months I have been so many antibiotics that i'm trying to get my
immunity back. What i don't understand is the hair removal while the
wound is healing. In my case that is how the problem started in the
first place. I will never wax again!!When the operation is done I
will write and tell my story of the healing process! - Elizabeth
- Date:
- August 01, 2004
Story
Gday, i am a 40yo male in
Australia. Today I found out I have one of these babies, and until I
started reading in here I was fine lol. Now I am having a VB to
settle the nerves I got it about 4 months ago in the classic
slightly to the left of centre position. Im used to all sorts of
cuts and lumps n bites so I wasnt that concerned. It came and went,
I performed amateur surgery ( a favourite hobby of mine )with great
difficulty, a mirror and a needle from the vet to drain it. I
presumed it was over! Noooooooooo way hose! We settled into a nice 3
week cycle of teasing me by shrinking to the size of a rice grain
then BAM overnight swelling to the size of decent marble. So off to
the doc, a course of antibiotics that only teased me more, and
finally a referral to a specialist. Today he had a quick look and
said righto well get u on the waiting list at the local hospital and
get it out. Aha I says, bit of the old local and a nice day off work
Ill be in that!
Noooooooooooooooooooo he
says. General anaesthetic, Once we start digging never know where
well end up!
Well I cant tell you what
I said to myself, Its a family show. But I can feel it under the
skkin like a pea most times so I hope theres not too much damage.
So thats all I knew till I
started reading this.
I forgot to tell him I
have been having blood in my bowel movements, do they still call em
stools? Geez I got a fright when i looked in the bowl and saw what
looked like the aftermath of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre! It beats
me how the two are connected. How's the blood leaking into my
bowels?
So who knows might be day
surgery or he might end up tunneling like a welsh coal miner.
Wouldn't mind a nice nurse over everyday for packing tho!
Well thanks for listening
to me I feel a bit better Ill keep you posted.
By the way I sit all day
at work and ride a bike a lot. I think this goes back to a really
warm weekend when I was in the saddle for 20 hours and was sitting
all the next week.
Regards
Norm |