- Date:
- December 31, 2004
Story
I am a 18 year old female. My cyst first came in October of 2003
and I had it drained after being in extreme pain and finally
realizing what it was that just suddenly "appeared" near my
tailbone. It came back on the second day of my spring break in
Mexico. Of course, there was nothing I could do but take the pain.
It bursted open within a week, from where my scar was from getting
it drained, after getting my luggage back home. I spend ten minutes
in the airport bathroom letting the nasty puss drain out of my
bottom. The next few weeks I spent time soaking in the bathtub with
Epsom salt and warm water. It came back for the third time again in
October, but I went to the Dr. right when I felt it coming back. He
gave me antibiotics, it didn't get any bigger and went away on its
own. I am going in to get it surgically removed on Jan. 3, 2005. I
am scared for how long it is going to take to get me back on my feet
again, and the ability to at least sit through classes. I thought it
was weird that they are doing the surgery when the cyst is not even
inflamed. I hope they dont have to dig too deep to find it!? I will
let you know how the surgery goes! Good luck to everyone going
through this...just do what you have to do, once the pressure is
gone, you feel much better!! I would say that if it comes once, it
will come again, so make that appointment to get it removed so you
dont have to keep experiece such pain! Feel free to email me,
Spunky4686@aol.com
- Date:
- December 31, 2004
Story
Hello fellow pc sufferers. I developed this for the first time 10
yrs ago, got it lanced and recovered within 2 wks. A month ago it
recurred with a vengeance.I had surgery, under general anaesthetic
three weeks ago to drain away the infection. At the moment the 7.5cm
wound is being dressed and packed daily, I don't know how much
longer this will go on but it is a pain in the you know
where-literally!! Thanks to this website for giving me information
the doctors didn't. Hopefully will be having excision in the New
Year sometime and never have to go through this PAIN again! Good
luck to everyone suffering,take the painkillers if given!!!
- Date:
- December 29, 2004
Story
I am a 30 year old female dealing with a second pilonidal cyst.
Yay!!! For those debating the surgery, I highly recommend it. I had
my first cyst removed by a general surgeon, and it wasn't a bad
procedure at all. I had a local anethestic and some lovely
tranquilizers, and my recovery was surprisingly quick. I was walking
around in just a few days and, despite having to clean and pack the
wound daily, was pretty much back to normal in a week. I was
blissfully cyst-free for several years, but a new one has recently
started to flare about and inch or so lower than the first. I
experience a moderate flare-up about once a month, which I believe
might be hormonally induced. I plan to have a second surgery in the
near future...and hope this is the last one. I've also been
afflicted with cystic acne (treated with accutane) and cysts on my
thighs and underarms. Apparently, I am prone to this sort of thing.
Lucky me! ~sister cystic
- Date:
- December 28, 2004
Story
Hello...Im a 21 year old female living with a PC for almost 7
years. It first came up after I took a spill down the stairs. I
thought I had just bruised the tailbone and was a little suprpised
when I noticed that it bled. Eventually the pain and the bleeding
went away and I thought I was fine...WRONG. I had another flare up
about 4 years later that landed me in the hospital with a raging
infection. I had recently fallen down some stairs (again) and the
doctors in the ER misdiagnosed my condition as a broken tailbone.
(go figure) Finally my gyno diagnosed it as a pilonidal cyst and
said that if i ever had another flare up I would prob have to have
it removed. From reading the stories here Im a little apprehensive
about having the cyst excised, but I realize that it might be my
only option as I recently have had another flare up. Even though Im
a little nervous about surgery i realize that 8 weeks of discomfort
is nothing compared to the pilonidal hell I've been through the past
couple of years. Thanks for this great website--it has the best info
I've found anywhere.
- Date:
- December 28, 2004
Story
hello, i'm from england and am currently living in japan. when i
was in england i noticed a lump in the cleft and so went to the
doctor, she took a look and called it,'an infection under the skin,
quite common, nothing to worry about' and sent me on my way. i had
no idea what it was and she gave little to no clue to inform me.
it's now been about four years, i occasionally get flair ups, when i
do i use 'QUINIDERM' a strong acne cream to calm it (obviously check
with doctor, i haven't but it seems to work for me). anyway i've
finally decided to go and see the doctor tomoorrow, i also praying
that the doctor is up to date on this. this site has helped me, i
could've done with a bit more direction on what it might look like
after the operation if i choose one...... cheers everybody.
- Date:
- December 25, 2004
Story
Hello. I just found out today that I have Pilonidal Cysts, and
had one drained in the ER in UVa medical center. (what a fun way to
spend Christmas, haha) For all you out there nervous about the
surgery, having it drained isn't so bad. The numbing part of it is
definitely the worst, and you feel so much better afterwords that
you don't really care. Only thing is it is still quite sore and
tender so you have to be careful for awhile, but some 500mg
ibuprofen helps a lot. I'm going to have to have the cyst excised
sometime in the futre like many others here, which does make me a
bit nervous from the sound of the surgery. I am very glad to know
that i'm not the only one living with this. I felt so embarassed at
first but knowing it is fairly common is reassuring. Have a happy
holiday season all, and God bless!!!
- Date:
- December 25, 2004
Story
I had a pilonidal cyst when I was 18-didn't know what it was at
first-found out, did the whole sitz bath thing, and it went away.
Recently, due to a more sitting-down job, and more working out at
the gym, it flared up. I've dealt with it so far-went to the doctor
and he said if I wanted it lanced I could get it (I'm in the
military, so it's free) but I didn't want to deal with that, so I
basically take two sitz baths a day, and I use the Melaluca Company
Zap-It acne treatment system. Sounds weird, but it works on healing
and making the cyst leak out and heal like the cup of Christ healed
Indiana Jones father in The Last Crusade-to use an analogy. I read
about someone using it in another site. Pretty much all it is, now
that I have it, is a type of facial wash with tea-tree oil and then
just some kind of astringent. So I've been using that, doing the
baths, and taking it easy. Hopefully it will be gone completely
soon. This site was definitely helpful though. Good luck to
everyone, and it's good to know I'm not the only one with this
rather embarassing plague!
- Date:
- December 23, 2004
Story
Do not be afraid!!!!!!!!!! I am 39 years old, and I have been
living with my Pilonidal Abscess for many years and recently it
continued to flare. I had it lanced at least once a year since 2001.
It would always come back and become more painful. The injection of
the pain killer to numb the area was more painful than the abscess
itself. I had to have two back to back surgeries, one to lance and
relieve the pain and swelling and one a few weeks later to remove
the abscess. My incision was 8cm by 3.0cm. The abscess was 5.5cm by
2.5cm. The operation itself was painless. I was give Versid to help
me forget the operation and a lower spinal to numb my body from the
waist down. After surgery (which took only 20 minutes) I felt
relieved and the pain that followed was minimal. The scary part was
looking into the mirror and seeing an incision that was quite big. I
took it one day at a time and had homecare nursing change the
dressing twice a day and irrigate it with saline. It has been 3
weeks and I have healed to 6cm by 2.4cm. I also consuled with a
certified wound care specialist and she said the wound would take
time to heal but that it was healing just fine. I am off my
antibiotics and have not taken any pain meds since the second week
after the operation. Please take Vitamin C and Zinc to help speed up
the healing. Also, take some protein shake (20mg) each day twice a
day. Also in between take two protein bars 15mg each twice a day.
This will also help speed up the process of healing. I am one to be
chicken of any needles or surgery for anything. However, knock on
wood, I am recovering fine and hope this helps others!!!
- Date:
- December 23, 2004
Story
I am soooo happy to know that my butt and I are not alone. I just
had my cyst drained and packed yesterday and have to go back in two
weeks to discuss options of excizing it. The information I found in
this website has been very helpful and has esed my mind considerably
(especially knowing that I can be put under for the excision).
Having the cyst drained was extremely uncomfortable. The most
painful thing was administering the local anasthesia (I don't think
they gave me enough because I still felt some pain). Although this
wasn't the best experience of my life, it is a necessary evil to
avoid having to deal with walking and sitting like I have a stick up
my but. I will let you know how the excision goes. PILONIDALS
UNITE!!!! :)
- Date:
- December 23, 2004
Story
My name is Alisha, I'm 17 and I recently found out (3 days ago to
be exact) that I had a Pilonidal cyst. When found out I thought I
was the only 1 to have somthing like this. I couldnt sit down, walk
or anything. Today I was just at the doctors, I had it drained and
packed. I have to go back Friday however so I i figured i might as
well look for some more information on whats wrong with me. I had no
idea it was a disease. This same area has hurt in the past but only
for like a day or two, never this long. All in all I'm glad i found
this site. I now know im not the only 1...:-)
- Date:
- December 21, 2004
Story
Hi everyone, I have my consultation for my Pilonidal Cyst
tomorrow and I am VERY scared to find out how I'm going to have to
treat my cyst. My father had one years ago and he had it cut out, so
I'm assuming that I will have the same type of surgery. After
reading all of these stories, I am finding myself to be a nervous
reck! I fear that I will be out of commission for a while. I just
hope that my consultation goes well tomorrow and that all I will
need is for it to be drained. I've already had 3 cysts in my wrists,
one drained and two surgeries so I think I can truck through this!
If anyone has any hopefull advice, please let me know. Thank you.
- Date:
- December 20, 2004
Story
My fifteen yr old daughter has been diagnosed just in the last 2
days w/ this pilonidal cyst. She goes day after tomorrow for surgery
to the local Children's Hospital for the excision & healing by
secondary intention. I am so afraid of what this sweet young woman
will endure here at Christmas time and the weeks to come. She is
very self conscious as to the amt (alot) of body hair she has and
almost daily we talk about waxing, bleaching, or shaving various
parts. Now she has hair coming out of her backside and she is
mortified!!!! I ache for her. Her story began about three wks ago
when she began to have some discomfort in the natal area but didn't
mention it as she "thought it would go away". Finally, Sat. night
after her shower she looked w/ a mirror and noticed two holes. I saw
the holes and blood and noticed an odor. After contacting the
pediatrician on call (rx for antibiotic)& the hot bath (last
night)which allowed the pores to open up, I noticed there were
actually four holes. The top one bled, the next one down had
something inside. Using tweezers I attempted to remove "whatever
that stuff was" (@ that point not knowing anything about a pilonidal
cyst other than the words themselves)& low and behold two inch long
hairs by the clumps. Needless to say, I called the pediatricians
office today for a visit and before we knew it they were referring
us to the Childrens Medical Center. Later in the day we had preop
for day after tomorrow and tonight I am on line learning more than I
wanted to ever know about what is ahead for my child. I am hoping
that what I have found online is much more graphic and long term
than what she will have to endure. I also hope that her pediatric
surgeon is up to date on all the literature regarding the postop
care of wounds like this. Pray for us. Yeah, that's kinda funny.
Pray for my daughter's butt...but I mean it...please pray...and for
her sense of self throughout all of this.
- Date:
- December 20, 2004
Story
I had a pilonidal sinus abcess! i went to hospital on 14th
november 2004 which was five weeks yesterday and the wound is still
not healed yet! i had to get a sick note for 8 weeks and the
district nurses say it mite be longer! it was the most painful thing
i have ever had. i still cant sit on my bottom either! it is so
painful i feel sorry for everyone who gets them cos i now no how it
feels!
- Date:
- December 19, 2004
Story
Hey everyone, My name is luc, my Pilonidal ordeal has been going
on for a while now, the first time i went to a doctor to have things
checked out was back in March 2004 we are now Dec 2004 and my
scheduled date of surgery is Jan 11 2005, I am really nervous about
it and dont really know what to expect. I have read good and bad
stories, i hope all goes well....
- Date:
- December 19, 2004
Story
Hi everyone. I am a 21 year old male. I relized I had a pilonidal
cyst last May. I went in and had the surgery done and it was left
open to heal. I have been back to the doctors to have Silver Nitrate
put on it. It has healed most of the way but has stopped. It is
still draining. I am now going in again, in January to get the
surgery redone. Not looking forward to it. Hopefully it will heal
this time.
- Date:
- December 18, 2004
Story
Hi everyone. I'm a 30 year old female who just had her first
experience with the Pilonidal Cyst. I had it lanced 3 weeks ago and
have been getting the packing changed every morning since then. I
actually thought I had a pinched nerve in my back first because
that's something that flares up occasionally. But the usual remedies
for that didn't work and I was just about to make an appointment
with the chiropracter when I found the "bump". I knew immediately it
was a cyst, but hoped it would go away on it's own. This was on
Tuesday. Wednesday the pain was unbearable and I looked up "Tailbone
Cysts" on the Internet and discovered Pilonidal Cysts and realized I
had to get to the doctor. I made two trips to the hospital and
chickened out in the parking lot. By Friday, the pain was beyond
unbearable. I left work around 7pm and headed to to the ER. They
called in the Surgeon who confirmed it was a Pilonidal Cyst, a very
infected cyst, and lanced and drained it. Although freezing the cyst
was the most painful thing I've ever felt, when it was over, I felt
so much better...all the pressure pain was gone. I spent the weekend
lying on my stomach because there was still some pain, but I am so
relieved to have it treated. Now, as I said, I've just had 3 weeks
of daily packing changes, and I'm guessing I've still got another
month of it at least. I'm scared to death it will come back, and
from what I've been hearing from the nurses and reading on the 'net,
it's going to recur. But next time I'll head to the hospital as soon
as I notice it. The wick has fallen out a couple of times, and I'm
afraid the surface wound is starting to heal over too quickly...the
abcess is still quite deep. I imagine I'm eventually going to end up
having surgery to get the cyst excised, which scares the bejeezus
out of me. But at least I feel like I'm not alone with this...it
seems to be more common than I would have ever guessed. At least I
got one bit of good news out of the whole experience...I haven't got
a hairy butt!!! Just a sinus hole below the tailbone. Thanks for
this site! The stories have helped me, so I'm posting my story
hoping someone else will get the same kind of comfort. Best of luck
to you and hang in there.
- Date:
- December 17, 2004
Story
Hello. My name is Patrice. I had the Pilonidal cyst in April of
2004. I was having pain sitting down and walking. I thought nothing
of it until I told my mom who had the same problem a year earlier. I
immediately thought that she had given me something that was
contagious. But it turn out, the pilonidal cyst is not contagious. I
went to the ER that same day and the doctor drained the cyst. After
that, I was fine. I was a little afraid because my mother had to get
surgery and I saw all of the pain that she was in. She had to go to
the doctor regularly and also had to pack the area that was operated
on with gauze. It was the WORST!! I prayed to God that my cyst was
not that bad and it wasn't. The doctor drained it and sent me on my
merry way. However, here it is December 17, 2004 and I have been
having a little pain again for a couple of days. I looked a my
"behind" to see if anything was there, but I could not find
anything. I sure hope that it is not another pilonidal cyst because
I can not bare the pain again. In reading information about the
cyst, we can take a warm bath to ease pain and even prevent the cyst
from forming. I am going to go home and take a warm bath and I sure
hope that that works. I went to sleep last night with a warm wash
cloth on my "behind", which did not help, but I sure hope the warm
bath helps.
- Date:
- December 16, 2004
Story
A few months ago i wrote a story in here about my life and
pilonidal and in November I finally had it cut out! I was very
nervous about the operation, i never have had to go into hospital
for anything, They're not my favourite place. It was a long day and
all i wanted to do was eat! Finally I was in, and Woke up feeling
fantastic!! the op itself took only 40 mins, then i just wanted to
go home. On the way home we picked up fish and chips!!! The scar is
about 5 cm long stitched. I was told that i wasn't going to have the
open wound method done because mine isn't in the tailbone area, it
is on my labia, (bikini line!) not the best place. The specialist
told me that if we were to do the open wound healing method it would
take a long time to heal,cant afford to have so much time off, and
summer here(Melbourne)Australia it wouldn't be the best place to
have an open wound. awkward place too!. Anyway the next 10 days i
sat and did nothing. I went private and all up it's cost me a
thousand bucks out of pocket. So i'm getting private health
insurance incase this ...... wants to come back. The scar is a
little tender but to be expected, it will take a long time for the
scar tissue to build up again. It's better than having it there and
living with it, it changed my life so much, I never wanted to go
out, i was permanately fiting an infection, all up for the past year
i was on 9 doses of antibiotics, lost 10kg's, basically not well at
all. It's only been just over a month and I feel 1oo%. You dont
actually realise how good you feel. so to all the people that suffer
from this get it cut out get rid of it, you wont regret it. It's the
best thing that i have ever done! the surgery is not scary at all,
it's exciting and you dont feel a thing. For all those who get it
lanced you are wasting your time, it will come back, get the thing
cut out! it's the only way! the stories i have read about it
writting that it ios caused by not showering is a load of you know
what! I shower twice a day and i am the cleanest person known!
almost obsessive! Most of you would know that it is caused by a hair
follicle, It really is a case of bad luck. I got mine from a wax and
the ingrown hair became pilonidal. The longer you leave it the
bigger it will get! do something about it.Thank you and good luck!
- Date:
- December 15, 2004
Story
Hello Everybody! Hi, Dr. Nick! First of all, I am a guy, and I
had a cyst when I was 16, no fun at all, aside from the 3 days off
school when i spend most of the day sitting so my butt wouldn't
touch the chair, and eating lots of ice cream and milk shakes.
Anyway, I had the quick, half hour operation, and unlike most
people, went with the route of not getting it stiched and letting it
heal on its own. This is a long and painfull way to do it, but it
decreases the risk of it coming back by around 10 times. After the
surgery, mine was healing fine for the first month, but just
suddenly stopped healing and sat there for the second. My doctor
kept on telling me to wear the stupid little dressing for another
month, and then we'll see what happens. Nothing happened, it was
just there, doing nothing and laughing at me. So at the start of the
second month, i decided to not take my doctors adivce and actuly
STOPPED wearing the dressing, this made it heal a lot quicker and I
did the last month's worth of healing in around a week. The bottom
line is, this isn't going to be pretty everyone. I wouldn't advise
doing the stupid guy thing taking off your dressing for the last
stages of healing. Mine may have just been a fluke, but it was a
fluke that worked. I would go with the without-stiches route, just
becuase i REALLy don't want to go through this again. Have fun
everyone, hehe.
- Date:
- December 15, 2004
Story
I just found this website and I wanted to let all you ladies know
that this isn't something that "fat, hairy, truck drivers" get
exclusively. I had my cyst removed when I was 15 years old and a
high school student. I was tall and thin but I guess "hairy". ha ha
It was very painful and had to be removed and now I have an ugly
scar "back there". I must have something in my system that causes
cysts because I had a large one removed from my back and a tiny one
removed from the inside corner of my eye. I used to get very large,
painful ones in my underarm areas, but after changing from stick to
roll-on deodorants, they are no longer a problem. I hate to hear
people think (like I used to) that we get these because we are
unclean. I bathe or shower daily and always use antibacterial soaps,
but still get cysts. Good luck everyone!
- Date:
- December 15, 2004
Story
Update on Recovery: I had a primary closure excision of a pilo
cyst in early November. I've since gone back to work, and nearly all
things normal. The wound itself is healing nicely, save one small
gap that has formed in the scar tissue. The doctor says these gaps
are normal, and as long as nothing is coming out of it, I should be
OK. The wound, to me, is invisible, and I hope the rest of the
recovery goes as well as it has been. Thanks again Pilo.org!
- Date:
- December 14, 2004
Story
THANKS GOD IM NOT ALONE WITH MY "BUTT PROBLEM".25YEARS OLD FEMALE
.I HAD CYST OVER 10 YEARS BEFORE I FOUND OUT WHAT IN THE WORLD IS
THIS.I HAD PAINS TWICE A YEAR FOR ABOUT 5 DAYS...ONE TIME PAIN DIDNT
GO AWAY AND BY END OF SECOND WEEK OF THE PAIN I COULDNT WALK... AND
I ENDED UP IN THE ER.THEY DRAINDED MY CYST...IT WAS SOOOO
PAINFULL..LIKE I SAID TO MY HUSBAND -NEXT TIME JUST LET ME DIE....IN
2 YEARS PAIN CAME BACK.AND I DECIDED TO GET RID OF IT FOR GOOD.I HAD
A SURGERY AND WAS ON AFTER CARE FOR ABOUT A MONTH.NOW I HAVE 2 UGLY
SCARS ON MY BUTT,BUTT AT LEAST A WHOLE YEAR WITHOUT "PAIN IN TEH
BUTT".GOOD LUCK EVERYONE AND GOD BLESS YOU ALL.
- Date:
- December 14, 2004
Story
Hi, I am a 25 year old female from the UK. I first noticed a
problem when I was 19, I developed acute pain at the very top of the
cleft of my bum which got worse. It took a few visits to the GP for
them to find out it was an infected abcess, and they gave me
antibiotics and painkillers and it was gone after a week. No
problems for 2 years and then the same thing happened again, more
antibiotics and it went away. No problems for 3 years then it came
back. Antibiotics didn't work so I was refered to the hospital where
it was diagnosed as a Pilonidal Abcess. It was lanced and drained
under general anesthetic and I was sent home the day after. District
nurses came to see me every day for 3 weeks to clean the wound, pack
it with Sorbsom ribbon and cover with a dressing. In November this
year, it came back again so I had to wait until the pain was
unbearable until the surgeon at the hospital would see me. This time
they lanced it under local, the experience and pain was awful, I
actually went into shock after the procedure! It has been 4 weeks
now and I am still having the wound packed every day! I have had a
follow up consultation toady with the surgeon and they are going to
do an op to remove the sinuses and pits sometime next year. I found
this website today and it has lifted a massive weight off my
shoulders. I no longer feel alone or like a freak because I have a
disease which one nurse told me only "fat, hairy, male truck drivers
get!" I have also been paranoid that I have got this infection
because I'm not clean enough, but I shower at least once a day, I'm
not hairy and I'm not overweight. The surgeon said the infections
were likely caused by one of the long hairs on my head falling down
the back of my knickers and getting lodged there! Maybe I should
become a skin head!!
- Date:
- December 13, 2004
Story
#8 year old male again. I realized that I made a mistake in my
first story. 5 years ago, my cyst was lanced and not excised. After
reading more carefully through the website, I realized that I used
the wrong term to describe my procedure. Sounds like having it
removed is the better way to go if it keeps causing a problem.
Again, thanks for any advice or input. Scot
- Date:
- December 13, 2004
Story
Hi, I am a 38 year old male, who is very greatful for finding
this site. thanks for all the helpful information! My first and only
major flare up, was about 5 or 6 years ago. My pilonidal sinus
became infected. I had some pain down there, which developed into
major pain, a fever, and an overll ill feeling. I had it excised,
and left open and packed to heal from the inside out wiht no
stitches. The excision and the extreme tenderness of the sinus
caused such pain, I thought I would faint. I normall have a fair
tolerance for pain, but this was nothing like a I felt before. I
cried like a baby after the excision, I couldn't help it. I was so
sore and shaken that I embarassingly had to call my wife in to the
office to help me get my pants on!What an experience, and I had such
limited or almost no knowledge at that tiem,a nd it happened so
fast! I have probably had pilonidal condition for many years - a
small lump and minor discomfort every so often since my late teens,
but never paid too much attention to it, since it would go away. I
also have been fairly active, and have fallen on my butt a few
times, so I attributed to a slight tail bone injury. Besides being a
white male, and young I think :-), I am not hairy and have always
been very thin. I don't sit much, but have been sitting more with a
new job I started. I have been jogging regularly, but have not been
running consistently for over 3 months now. Thanks to this website,
I have another reason to watch my posture, and have recieved a lot
of helpful information. Question: I have started minor pain and a
small lump agian two days ago. It doesn't seem to be getting
progressivly worse like last time. I am trying the more conservative
approaches,as recommmended - washing, posture. should I see a doctor
before it gets woorse or try to treat it with warm compresses. I
would appreciate any input! Thanks!
- Date:
- December 12, 2004
Story
Hello--- At this point I think my story is luckily not of the
horror variety, so thought I'd try to cheer up this page. I'm a 30
year old male. I am a skinny guy, which I think is why I noticed
pretty easily what is a pretty small pilonidal cyst where a heavier
person wouldn't notice it until it got much bigger. Noticed a lump
next to the tailbone about 3 years ago, which caused no pain but
some discomfort. I'd say the lump was about the size of a medium
sized grape. So I was advised to go to a colorectal surgeon, who was
not quite sure whether pilonidal disease was the problem or not. I
guess this is because the cyst had not broken the surface, but I now
find it hard to believe there was any question as I do have a fairly
prominent sinus, which I've had since birth, am pretty hairy, and do
a lot of sitting for my job. Also I tend to slouch down, putting
pressure right where that sinus is--great way to make the cyst
worse, I now know. Anyway he removed the "maybe cyst, maybe
something else" a few weeks later and stitched it up. Easy surgery,
almost invisible scar, no pain at all after about a week. Somehow
after surgery and lab tests on what was removed he concluded it was
not a pilonidal cyst, but tissue resulting from inflamation from
possibly an old injury or something of that nature. BUT as soon as I
was healed enough to feel I could safely poke around back there and
feel what was going on, there was again a noticeable lump. The
condition did not get worse, and for the next two years just had a
painless lump that I decided I would have for life and not be too
concerned with. The new lump was smaller than the old one, and
caused no pain--I could feel it if I prodded around but not when
sitting, lying on my back etc. THE RECURRENCE-- I was traveling in
Europe last month, and after a 9 hour train ride my little friend
made a resurgence. The classic surface cyst appeared, looking like a
half-submerged blueberry. While not acutely painful, I was
constantly conscious aware of the cyst and could feel discomfort
when lying on my back, walking, and of course sitting. I was quite
upset, thinking open-wound surgery was in my immediate future.
Luckily found this web site and began following the "conservative
care" advice, just lots of washing and several hot compresses per
day. Well it's been about 3 weeks and the thing seems to be much
better. The mass under the skin has shrunk to as small as it's been
in years and the surface skin seems to be scabbing and healing--my
hope is it will return to how it was and I can avoid surgery. I only
wish I'd found this site sooner--If I'd known how obviously my
condition is pilonidal disease I would have been doing hot
compresses daily all along, done more careful cleaning of the lower
back, and been very careful not to slouch on my pilonidal sinus for
hours at a time! Pretty frustrated with the conventional medical
opinion, i.e. "I'm a surgeon, so what you need is surgery," without
much consultation/advice/thought about other possible ways to take
care of this condition and take care of it to avoid more flare-ups.
Also I'm convinced that if the first surgery had removed my
pilonidal sinus as wel as the cyst, it wouldn't recur. I've still
got the sinus so am still at risk. My own opinion is that the
pilonidal sinus is the #1 risk factor for pilonidal disease--lots of
sitting, being hairy, or being overweight can help bring the problem
about, but having the sinus is what enables the cyst to come into
existence. Good luck everybody! Michael
- Date:
- December 11, 2004
Story
Kia ora!,I am glad to hear most have recovered from what is a
very painful and frightening experience.At first you think it could
be cancer,an s.t.d,anything! and it's in such a personal place,it's
awful. I am a 22 year old female living in Auckland,New Zealand and
have pilonidal disease for a year and a half now.It tends to flare
up around my period,times of stress,and when I wear tight clothing
and g-strings,the g's are just outta the question,it's cotton
granny's for me all the time!.So I get a flare up of around once a
month if unlucky,once every two months if lucky. The healthcare
sucks in New Zealand,all this pain and discomfort,my mother(she's a
nurse,thankgod!) will lance it for me when it's just so bad I can't
sit,lie..you know the story,but my doctor,we've done the antibiotic
thing,the swabs etc,etc.It's so bad, this thing effects my sex
life,I'm just too self-concious of it,for someone to ask me "what
that lump is there",I would feel nasty explaining the facts,and what
if it popped during sex with my latest beloved,how awful!. I just
want it gone,I explained the sex thing to my doc.so she put me on
the public waiting list for surgery,but a month later I got a letter
booting me off the waiting list,private healthcare is sooo expensive
in new zealand,now what? I am 22,very out-going,love the lads.I work
full time in a bar but am thinking of quitting the night jobs soon
because to come home to an empty house late at night is very
lonely,and I am lonely,all because of this thing on my butt so it's
effecting me mentally and physically. C'est la vie!
- Date:
- December 09, 2004
Story
Hi everyone. Today is December 10th and I just had my first
lancing a few days ago. The local was the most painful shot I have
ever had in my life, which has made me really nervous for surgery. I
am having a lot of bleeding and drainage. Tomorrow will be the first
time I remove the packing from my wound, and I am very nervous... I
have to go to have excision surgery in about four to six weeks and I
am very very very nervous about the healing process and surgery
itself. I am hoping they will at least put me out this time...I hope
that all of you are doing well, if anyone would like to write me
with some advice that would be really great.Like I said, I'm very
nervous about removing this packing and having the excision surgery
in the next month or so. My e mail is morethenmel@hotmail.com, any
advice would be great. Good luck to all of you and have a great
holiday!
- Date:
- December 08, 2004
Story
I'm a 38 yr old male. I notice my cyst in 2002. Unlike many of
the stories I've read here, my cyst was not painful at all. I had a
growing dimple or "sac" of fluid at the top of my natal cleft. On a
long 11 hour flight, in March of 2002, my cyst started to drain. It
was uncomfortable, disconserting, and a little embarrassing. I
considered going to doctor after I returned home, but the draining
stopped so I decided I was OK. This cycle continued for the next two
years. Finally, in an attempt to research what was going on, after a
long term of the draining phase, I stumbled onto this website. This
site has been extremely helpful. After meeting with my PCP, I was
insistent that I be referred to a Colo-Rectal Surgeon. My excision
was performed at the Cleveland Clinic on Monday, Dec. 6th. I am
happy to say I have had no pain at all from the surgery (knock on
wood), after 2 days post op. I'm being cautious about what
activities I should be resuming, because since I am not in any pain
the temptation is to resume work and recreation activities
immediately. I'm going to give it a full week before I start to add
any regular activites, to promote the healing.
- Date:
- December 08, 2004
Story
Hi. I felt I had to write. I didn't realise what a lucky escape I
had after seeing this site. I'm an averagly hairy bloke living in
the UK. I had a pilonidal excison about 6 years ago. My Dad's a GP
so I asked him about this strange spot on my arse that wasn't going
away. He didn't look at it but said is was probably a pilonidal
sinus. So I want to my GP and said I had a pilonidal sinus. He
didn't look at it either - just took my Dad's word for it... And so
within a month I was at the local hospital having it removed. (It
was a pilonidal sinus - my Dad's nonvisiual diagnosis was correct -
not that I recommend this as a normal way of doing things). As I
caught it reasonably early it wasn't very big, so the surgeon just
cut it out then stitched up the wound. Job done. I was back at work
in a week. Looking at the pictures of some other poor souls' arses I
can't believe what a lucky escape I had. No open wounds, no packing
required, no lengthy recovery time. My heart goes out to you who
weren't a lucky as me... -bill-
- Date:
- December 08, 2004
Story
Hi, I am a 19 year old female who totally thought she was alone
with this problem. I do consider myself a generally hairy person so
this wonderful news of getting something that was more common in
hairy men was yet another blow to my already low self esteem. I
waited too long to get it checked out and after i had it drained i
was visited by a home nurse everynite for about a month for packing
and cleaning. I was in high school and very involved in school and
it was one of the biggest bummers that I would have to be home
really early every nite to meet the nurse. I missed many meetings
and other important things. To anyone embarrased about this esp the
chicks honestly the pain just GETS WORSE... and really its not GONNA
GO AWAY no matter how much u hope it will. Just bite the bullet and
get to a doctor sooner than later.... as for me.. i continue to
struggle but its nice to know that theres others out there !!!!
- Date:
- December 05, 2004
Story
Hi' I am a 26 yr. old female (who also does not have a hairy
butt). When I was 14 yrs. old. I fell down a flight of stairs, my
mom and I thought that I broke my tailbone. Two weeks later my mom
finally brought me to the doctor because I couldn't take the pain
anymore. That's when the Dr. told us that I had a pilonidal cyst and
she had to lance it. A few years later it came back after I gave
birth to my first child and I had to have it lanced again. Well,
this past October I was sitting on the floor and as I went to stand
up I felt that pain in my tailbone! Again, it became swollen and
infected and I had it lanced for the third time. This time I went to
a surgeon and told him that I wanted to have the surgery.
Personally, I think that the pain from an infected pilonidal cyst is
much worse than giving birth (and I have three times). Anyways, I
had the surgery on November 23rd and because I waited about a month
and a half after having it lanced (it was healed and not infected)
the surgeon was able to do a excision with closure. I was put under
a general and the surgery was a hour long. My incision is about six
inches long and stiched closed. I had a pressure packing that was
stiched over the incision and was removed one week after surgery.
Fortunately I haven't had any problems, nine days after surgery I
was back to driving my kids to and from school. Next week the rest
of my stiches will be removed. The pain from having this surgery is
nothing compared to the pain that I experienced from having an
infected cyst. Best wishes to anyone out there dealing with this.
- Date:
- December 03, 2004
Story
My wife, 30, has just undergone her 3rd procedure for her
pilonidal condition. We live in the UK. 1. The first was on
September 11, 2001 - aged 27. It had been growing for a number of
days and, like many people, she had no idea what it was until the
pain was so excruciating, we had to get an emergency appointment at
our doctor. A few days reviously, he had prescribed a course of
antibiotics and painkillers, but to no avail. They were doing
nothing. While the news broke about the twin towers, he withdrew a
very large amount via a syringe, on his examination table (with
minimal anaesthetic I might add, and much screaming) and this
"solved" the problem for 3 years. Within a few days, all was fine.
2. Fast-forward to this year - March 13th 2004. After no ill effects
since the 1st procedure whatsoever, the cyst suddenly became VERY
aggressive, growing from the centre of the cleft and spreading
towards the right. It was bad, but manageable with painkillers and
antibiotics.. for about 2 days. By Wednesday 17th March, the pain
was so intense, she was on the point of passing out, and an
emergency appointment was made - in total agony, she was rushed into
the Royal Berkshire that night to have it removed. She went into
theatre at midnight, and it was taken out under general anaesthetic.
The wound was left open, only about 1cm in length, but about 1 inch
deep, and it was supposed to heal from the inside out, being
repacked everyday for 6 months to keep it open. This we did
religiously, until the end of August 04, when it healed, with an
almost imperceptible 1cm scar. Very pleased. 3. The reason I am
writing this, and not my wife, is because she is back in hospital
tonight (3rd December 2004), undergoing emergency surgery again. On
Tuesday, it came back with a vengeance. She took super-strength
painkillers and antibiotics from Wednesday onwards, but too late -
they may as well be maltesers. This time it is VERY aggressive, and
she had to be admitted tonight. She has just emerged from theatre
(its 01:23am Sat 4 Dec) and is very woozy. Still in pain, and still
in hospital. She was under for 1 hour. The doctor had said that it
was not a pilonidal problem as such this time, but more a case of
reinfection of the scar from the last op. Still, the whole of today
was very distressing for both of us. We're in the process of
emigrating to Canada at the moment, and we have medical examinations
booked in 2 days time (HA!) We are still thinking of keeping the
appointment as we still believe that the condition is more of an
annoyance than anything - not a life-altering thing, despite the
story above, and a medical practitioner will see it as such too. On
the other hand, if she is too ill to move for the next week or so
(as it seemed when I saw her come out of theatre just now), we'll
have to postpone... Another point... The second flare-up was when we
were trying to sell our house and it kept falling through. The third
flare-up, tonight - we are on our final hurdle for emigration. I
firmly believe that STRESS is a MAJOR factor. Sigh. A long night.
Best of luck everyone. Chris Stewart-Smith
- Date:
- December 02, 2004
Story
I can relate to the second lastest story advertised on this
message board. I got the first pc when I was about 18 years old. I
went to the emergency room and was treated like a half-human teenage
girl with an std! The doctors made me lay on what felt like a board
for almost 3 hours(can you feel the pain)! After my pap smear came
back and all of my blood test defied the statistical thinking of the
doctor I did not have any of their forseen diagnosis. I stayed in
the hopsital for two weeks and lost a ton of weight. They did not do
surgery but gave me IV antibiotics. One day when my mother was
bathing me it burst and I was finally able to go home. The doctors
still did not identify it as a pc. About three years later after the
birth of my daughter another one came back. I was admitted to
another hospital and once again I was treated like a little girl
adicted to drugs because the pain was so severe the medication was
not touching it. I stayed in the hospital again for 2-3 weeks. This
thing came back almost thirteen times before I was then refered to a
surgen who took me through the colonoscopy routine and created a
drain. This seemed to work but the darn thing came back when I was
pregnant with my next child. I was rushed to the ER because the pain
was so intense (another surgeon tried to open the drain)imagine that
pain....mor victous than the contractions it erupted. For almost six
years this thing was quiet until recently. I am in excrutiating pain
but I am trying to deal. I do not feel up to going to someone's ER
and having all the interns in the world look at my butt, however to
go to my new Dr. would be just as bad. The problem with mine is that
it is not visible or on the surface at all. The first time that a
doctor actually found the exact location was a encologist who had me
lay in the most ackward postion ever. The surgeon that performed
that surgery said it was the size of a grapefruit.... I have a
pretty high threshold for pain and the fact that I am a mother of
four (recently seperated), I have to try to at least make it another
week to get Christmas shopping done. In and out surgery never works
for me I always wind up staying a while. I don't have a fever yet
and I have to drive with my left cheek in the air but I can stand
this pain for at least four or five more days. It is a little
different this time because it comes and goes. I would not wish this
on my worst enemy or my soon to be ex---this crap HURTS! Tameca
- Date:
- December 01, 2004
Story
Hi I'm a 27 year old female, and I too have had to deal with the
agony of the "cyst from hell". My Mom, and grandmother have both had
it, now I guess it's my turn. Why couldn't I have inherited
something else? I was 23 when I started to feel the pain and
pressure. I went to the Dr's and they said that I had broken my
tailbone and it was just soar and sent me home with vicodin. After a
couple weeks of pain and more visits to the ER they finally drained
it the whole experience was painful embarrassing and extemely GROSS.
I got it again last Christmas and really thought I was gonna go
insane! Last week I was in a lot of pain again and I knew what was
coming. This time it burst on its own. Thanks to my Mom she's been
helping me clean and dress it {thank God for Moms}! I'm now debating
on whether or not to have the sugery. I was so happy when I came
across this web site and read stories of women like me going through
this. It's a great comfort to know you're not alone.
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