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Personal Stores
Archive #27
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Stories from May 1, 2005 to June 30, 2005 |
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Date: June 30, 2005
StoryI've had this weird hole above my tailbone forever (my sister has one as well). I had no idea it was anything other than a depression in my skin. It has been bothering me on a semi-monthly basis for most of my adult life (I'm 44!) with pain, smelly drainage and skin infection around the site. I was too ashamed to see a doctor most of the time--assuming that my hygiene or my weight were at fault (not logical I know).
I would bathe frequently and clean it out with alcohol on q-tips (ouch) or peroxide, and apply whatever cream I thought might help (from antibiotic creams to hydrocortisone, or anti-fungals and hemorrhoid creams!). I stuffed toilet paper or gauze inside to keep it dry (since it itched less when it was dry). The few times I did have to see a doctor, the skin irritation had spread from my vaginal area to my lower back, and the sinus itself was never remarked upon (perhaps never even seen) by my doctor (he wasn't very good--as you can tell). He gave me antibiotic cream for my infection (which helped).
Anyway, my doctor moved away (thank goodness) and my new doc is great! Since I was feeling comfortable with her, and was having a flare-up, I asked her about it. She explained what my problem was. She put me on antibiotics and scheduled a surgical consult.
As soon as I got home, I "Googled" pilonidal cysts and got this website. I was astounded!
I want to know though, has anyone experienced any longlasting fatigue or general feeling of ill health that they believe was caused by their cysts?
Date: June 30, 2005
StoryI was 18 years old and a week from graduation when my polonidal abcess started. Oh, I had noticed something wasn't right a couple months before while doing sit ups it felt as though my tailbone was bruised. I don't complain much so I never said anything. I had one night where some discharge came from my down under area and though that was weird I still didn't say anythings.
So a week from graduation I started to notice that it was getting really hard to sit during finals, the last day of finals I was moving around really tenderly. The last day of school for seniors I went home and finally told my mom that I was in pain. She told me to go get comfortable and she would see what she could do. I went downstairs to my room and started to cry when I realized that climbing the stairs was going to be really painful.
That night I went to the ER, two Doctors looked at me and told me it was an infection and they gave me anitbiotics and pain killers and sent me on my way. That was a Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday the pain grew intense I couldn't stand, sit, lay, walk, move without being in unforgettable pain. I had a fever of 102 and I couldn't sleep and the pain killers didn't do any good.
Monday was a holiday that is why I didn't go to the Dr. that day and I didnt' want to go to the ER because I didn't want someone to tell me it was just an infection. Tuesday I almost crawled into the Doctors office. My regular Doctor took one look at it and started cursing the ER doctors. He sent me to the hospital where two hours later I had the surgery to drain the abcess.
It was an open wound, so we packed it four times a day for almost three weeks. Packing wasn't the hurtful part it was when it was time to pull out the packing that had been in for a couple of hours I would cry before my mom even touched me. But I am good know no pain since, and no flare ups (knock on wood). Though the packing of the wound can be painful I recommend, it is supposed to help decrease your chances of the cyst coming back.
Date: June 30, 2005
Storyi think i was about 18 when i had my run-in with a pilonidal cyst. One day i noticed a dull pain in the spot and figured it must have been some sort monster of a pimple coming in. About a week passed, and each day got progressivly worse. I was to the point where i no longer had a way to sit, stand or walk without the worst pain i had ever felt. I was desperate... i worked up the courage to ask people close to me to look at it (since i couldnt really see it too well) my twin sister had no clue, and my mom said i should head for the doc.
I made an appointment with kaiser and they saw me right away. Strangely enough, the appointment was actually a pleasant experience. The nurse was totally cool about everything and she actually had an intern shadowing her that day (a very attractive one i might add). I think they were trying to make the uncomfortable situation a little more comfortable. I was thankful for that. I had no reservations about dropping my shorts because all i cared about was getting this fixed. They gave me a lidocaine shot right in the area for pain. The shot itself was almost painless, but the most painful part of the whole ordeal was about 5 seconds away... I didnt know, but lidocaine causes severe burning before it causes numbness. It felt like i had liquid-hot magma coursing up my spine. Bent over the table in even more pain than i had come in with, i sort of let my head hit the table, which sort of alarmed the nurses, but thats just how i had to deal with it.
Within a few seconds, i saw the scalpel and an ass load (haha sorry..) of gauze and towels heading toward my nether region. I sat there and waited for her to start. It turns out that I was so numb, i didnt even know they she had cut me open and drained the cyst. I was pleased that there was no pain what-so-ever... not even pressure.
She got me cleaned up, i saw a massive amount of greenish / red goo on some paper towels and the nurse said she was supprised at the amount of fluid in the cyst. I stood up straight and immediatly felt 110% better compared to how i felt before.
Then came the packing... The lidocaine shot was already wearing off, but it wassnt a problem. The packing was slightly uncomfortable, but nothing too notable. If i remember right, they started with 16 inches of packing ribbon. She told me i had to come back once a day for like a month. This irritated me because i have work and school, but i was willing to do whatever was necessary to take care of the problem. She slapped me on my bare ass and sent me on my way (yes, literally). I drove myself home with very little discomfort.
I did the daily packing with various RNs at kaiser. Most seemed to be completely unfamiliar with the whole pilonidal cyst concept and even had difficulty with finding where to remove the old packing from. I got really comfortable with dropping my shorts and educating them on what to do. It was wierd, but again, i guess you do what you have to do. I walked a little wierd at first, but after the first week or so, i had everything down to a routine.
Everything healed in about a month. Today, im left with two very small holes seperated by a small bridge of skin. "Sinuses" i guess they call them. Where they lead, im not sure. I would assume that the acutal cyst is still there (since my opperation was so quick) and that these sinuses lead into the cyst.
I occasionally have a very slight, almost undetectable, amount of drainage from them. I am 23 now and have not had any flare-ups or complications. Im hoping it will stay that way.
In the meantime, ive had two friends go through the EXACT same thing. One was successfully treated with antibiotics only and the other one had the same procedure as i did and so far it is a success for him too.
If anyone is reading this and has excruciating pain at the top area of the cleft of their rear end.... There is light at the end of the tunnel. if you are able, get to a doctor ASAP, they should be able to help. Maybe my case is a rare one, but anything will be better than dealing with the pain of a pilonical cyst.
Keith
Date: June 29, 2005
StoryI am 16 years old. The first time my cyst flared up was over last christmas. I just thought that my boxers had rubbed, and it would go a way. it did, but the second time that it happened, it was really bad. that was in February. i couldn't walk, sit, lay or do anything without it hurting. I went to bed with a fever and chills, and woke up in the morning with it broken open and puss and blood everywhere. i went to the ER and they said it was a pilonidal cyst. i went to a specialist, and he suggested surgery. i chose to wait untill school was out, because he said it might take 2 months for it to heal. it only flared up one time between february and the surgery. i had the surgery 3 weeks ago on june 7. they had to cut two holes, one 4.5 by 3 by 1.5, and another, 3 by 1.5 by 2 ( all in centemeters). after 3 weeks, it still is incomfortable to hurt or bend over.
Date: June 28, 2005
StoryHi. My name is Julie. I am 33 years old and had my first and only experience with a pilonidal cyst at age 16. Not until reading everyone's stories did I realize that the abcesses could come back. So far so good for me. But I remember it like it was yesterday. I was a goofy kid who always sat on the floor with my back up against the couch and watched tv. One day I told my mom that my butt hurt me when I sat on hard surfaces. She took me into my long-time pediatrician, who immediately said I had a cyst that needed to be operated on. He did it right there right then. My mom watched the whole thing. I do not remember having anesthesia, unless it was local. All I know is I was wide awake. He cut out an inch of flesh with little hairs coming out of it. He showed it to me and cracked a joke and asked me if I wanted to take it home in a little bottle. My poor mother had to pack the wound for weeks, and thank God she was a former nurse's aide, because she said it was very hard to stomach. All I know is that for three weeks afterwards, I was in excruciating pain. I couldn't sit or lay comfortably, and the pain medicine didn't do much good. I'm glad it happened during my summer vacation (or am I?). I also had a medical excuse to be out of PhyEd for an entire quarter. So, I'm thinking my case was pretty serious. The reason why I thought this cyst would never come back is that my doctor told me it was a birth defect, like a remnant of a tail. A mini tail! That's what it looked like, and hey, he was a doctor and I believed him. All this time I thought I was a freak of nature. What is the real story? I'd sure like to know.
Date: June 27, 2005
StoryWhile this is not a story, it's an amusing bit of poetry about a Pilonidal Cyst that always makes me laugh. I hope you enjoy:
Bessie's Boil, by Robert Service (to be read in a Lancashire accent)
Says I to my Missus: "Ba goom, lass! you've something I see, on your mind."
Says she: "You are right, Sam, I've something. It 'appens it's on me be'ind.
A Boil as 'ud make Job jealous. It 'urts me no end when I sit."
Says I: "Go to 'ospittel, Missus. They might 'ave to coot it a bit."
Says she: "I just 'ate to be showin' the part of me person it's at."
Says I: "Don't be fussy; them doctors see sights more 'orrid than that."
So Missus goes off togged up tasty, and there at the 'ospittel door
They tells 'er to see the 'ouse Doctor, 'oose office is Room Thirty-four.
So she 'unts up and down till she finds it, and knocks and a voice says: "Come in,"
And there is a 'andsome young feller, in white from 'is 'eels to 'is chin.
"I've got a big boil," says my Missus. "It 'urts me for fair when I sit,
And Sam (that's me 'usband) 'as asked me to ask you to coot it a bit."
Then blushin' she plucks up her courage, and bravely she shows 'im the place,
And 'e gives it a proper inspection, wi' a 'eap o' surprise on 'is face.
Then 'e says wi' an accent o' Scotland: "Whit ye hae is a bile, Ah can feel,
But ye'd better consult the heid Dockter; they caw him Professor O'Niel.
He's special for biles and carbuncles. Ye'll find him in Room Sixty-three.
No charge, Ma'am. It's been a rare pleasure. Jist tell him ye're comin' from me."
So Missus she thanks 'im politely, and 'unts up and down as before,
Till she comes to a big 'andsome room with "Professor O'Neil" on the door.
Then once more she plucks up her courage, and knocks, and a voice says: "All right."
So she enters, and sees a fat feller wi' whiskers, all togged up in white.
"I've got a big boil," says my Missus, "and if ye will kindly permit,
I'd like for to 'ave you inspect it; it 'urts me like all when I sit."
So blushin' as red as a beet-root she 'astens to show 'im the spot,
And 'e says wi' a look o' amazement: "Sure, Ma'am, it must hurt ye a lot."
Then 'e puts on 'is specs to regard it, and finally says wi' a frown:
"I'll bet it's as sore as the divvle, especially whin ye sit down.
I think it's a case for the Surgeon; ye'd better consult Doctor Hoyle.
I've no hisitation in sayin' yer boil is a hill of a boil."
So Misses she thanks 'im for sayin' her boil is a hill of a boil,
And 'unts all around till she comes on a door that is marked: "Doctor Hoyle."
But by now she 'as fair got the wind up, and trembles in every limb;
But she thinks: "After all, 'e's a Doctor. Ah moosn't be bashful wi' 'im."
She's made o' good stuff is the Missus, so she knocks and a voice says: "Oos there?"
"It's me," says ma Bessie, an' enters a room which is spacious and bare.
And a wise-lookin' old feller greets 'er, and 'e too is togged up in white.
"It's the room where they coot ye," thinks Bessie; and shakes like a jelly wi' fright.
"Ah got a big boil," begins Missus, "and if ye are sure you don't mind,
I'd like ye to see it a moment. It 'urts me, because it's be'ind."
So thinkin' she'd best get it over, she 'astens to show 'im the place,
And 'e stares at 'er kindo surprised like, an' gets very red in the face.
But 'e looks at it most conscientious, from every angle of view,
Then 'e says wi' a shrug o' 'is shoulders: "Pore Lydy, I'm sorry for you.
It wants to be cut, but you should 'ave a medical bloke to do that.
Sye, why don't yer go to the 'orsespittel, where all the Doctors is at?
Ye see, Ma'am, this part o' the buildin' is closed on account o' repairs;
Us fellers is only the pynters, a-pyntin' the 'alls and the stairs."
Date: June 26, 2005
StoryI had my first notice of my cyst when I was 17. When I used to go on long car trips it used to hurt so bad that I could not stand up straight. When I was 19 I had surgery done. I have had a couple since then. I am now 35 and I still have flare ups. When I do not sit right or sit for long periods it will ache. For some it is over quick for others like me it just becomes a way of life. I found that a hot tub soak helps to relieve the pain.
Date: June 25, 2005
StoryHi everyone,
My name is Rob, 24, WI. I have had a three week experience with a pilonidal cyst. I am a tow truck driver so I sit on my butt for many hours a day while driving. I noticed pain in my tailbone region about three weeks ago and I thought I bruised my tailbone. Tow trucks have a pretty rough ride so I was sure that was it. It wasn't until a week went by with the pain getting worse that I examined the area more closely and found a lump. I had no idea what it was and I was embarrassed to tell anyone about it. Then one day I was at my parents house and my father noticed I was sitting a little funny and asked what was up. My father has been a Chiropractor for over 30 years. I never expected him to know anything about it because a cysts and lumps are not normally what a chiropractor deals with. After I explained the symptoms, right away he said it sounded like a Pilonidal cyst. He examined the area and was sure that it was a pilonidal cyst. He told me to make an appointment with a M.D. to confirm the diagnosis and get it treated.
I could not get in to the M.D. for a week and a half and the pain was becoming unbearable so I was quite disappointed. My father said he had seen this before in his practice and had me come down to his office so he could check out my tailbone. Turns out my tailbone was out of place. He explained that putting the tailbone back in place would restore propper blood flow to the area and help my body fight the infection. I noticed improvement almost immediately. By the time my appointment came around for the M.D. I had had a few adjustments from my father and the cyst had shrunken so much that it was no longer visible to the naked eye and I had to feel very carefully to find the little lump that was left. The M.D. confirmed my fathers diagnosis and found a tiny opening the size of a pin that he said was called a sinus. He gave me antibiotics to help my body finish off the infection and said that we didn't need to do anything else unless is it comes back.
It has now been three weeks since I initially felt the pain and I am now totally pain free. I spoke to my father more about this and he said something I could not believe. He said that between half and three quarters of the people with pilonidal cysts that see a chiropractor do not end up having surgery or lancing for it. I was skeptical so I researched it on the web. I found tons of info on the cyst as well as confirming what my father said. So, if you have a pilonidal cyst without a large sinus, as I did, please go see a chiropractor and have him check your tailbone. It may spare you lots of pain and may save you a bunch of money. You do not want a chiropractor that uses a bunch of therapies though. All a chiropractor needs is an x-ray machine, the bench to adjust you on, and his or her own hands.
Date: June 25, 2005
StoryI'm 16 years old, and just had my first pilonidal cyst a few months ago. I thought it was broken, and it kept getting worse for about 2 weeks. It got to the point where I could not sleep, and no matter how I was sitting, laying, or standing it was extremely excruciating. It had swollen up to a little larger than a golf ball, so I finally went to a doctor who told me it was a cyst. I had heard the term before, but I hadn't known anyone with the problem, so I guess I had to experience it first hand to really know. Well they drained it and gave me anti-biotics. It felt better for about an hour and then it started hurting again. But shortly after getting it drained, my older brother kicks me in the spot, and I passed out from the pain. That was the most pain I've ever had. And I've had my share of broken bones. I could not go back to school for about a month because I was inable to sit. I only had it drained so I'm hoping it does not come back.
Date: June 24, 2005
StoryMy name is Jacy and I am coming up on the end of the 2nd recovery week from my surgury. This whole process for me has been only a month and a half. I first noticed the extreme pain one week before college finals (I am a sophomore, 19yrs). I went to the school doc. (for free) and received an antibiotic and pain pills. After taking both prescriptions for 4 days, things began to look better. Needless to say I missed the entire week before finals, but I made it back to school for the tests. After the antibiotics were finished, I was hoping I'd be a rare case and never live through that pain again. I was wrong. One week after finals, the pain came back more fierce than before. It wasnt until I drove myself to my parents house that I went to the ER. So, that Sunday afternoon I saw a doc and he lanced the cyst. I did not even want to wait until this flared up again, so the next week I had a follow-up appt with a General Surgeon and I scheduled the surgury to remove the cyst the following week. I have an open healing process, which seems to be going excellent according to the doc, and my boyfriend is helping me with the dressing changes. Recovery was good for the first week during which I needed 2 4 in. X 4 in. gauze pads to fill the hole now it is down to 1 2X2 in. pad. But this past Sunday I felt like I was hit by a car. When my boyfriend went to change the gauze in the morning I think he was a little too rough and tore new flesh, needless to say, I was in extreme pain all day. And the drama continues...
Date: June 24, 2005
StoryJust came back to work after my second occurence of pilonidol sinus operation.
The first was last year in June 04 - i felt as if i was sitting on a golf ball, but being an English man, i did not want to bother the doctor for a long time.
I finally saw him and he prescibed some pills, within a week i was in so much pain i was admitted to hospital and was under the knife within that day..
The recovery was no problems, as the Wimbledon tennis tournament had just started, so i enjoyed my time at home, i returned to work after 4 weeks.
Then in April 05 i felt the tell-tell signs on my lower back, i was admitted to hospital and had my second operation, but this time the hole was very large, again, i had no problems with my recovery.
I saw my doctor on Tuesday and he said that i have another one, but it has not flared up yet.....
He wants to see me in 4 weeks to discuss the reoccurences...
Luckily, i live in England and we have a National Helath Service that does not cost any money, i would not like to have a sinus problem and not have money to pay for it to be sorted out.
Date: June 23, 2005
StoryHello All... well, I am my second Pilonidal Experience. My first was about 20 years ago, when I was in my early twenties living in NYC. Pretty much collapsed on Madison Avenue in pain. At the time, I went through a couple of rounds of draining of the cyst (the most painful thing next to child birth--- never mind, it was worth than child birth). Eventually, had surgery...with closed stitch method. A very long recovery period, and Pilonidal cyst free for just about 20 years. A few flare ups, and if I recall, it was when I was wearing a back-pack, and had heavy weight. However, it went away very quickly, within 24 hours.
So, now 20 years later. I felt it. I knew EXACTLY what it was. No backpack...hmmm, my biggest question was why now. I ignored it. I ignored it for months, until those that suddle dull pain became sharp knives in my butt. Back to the good ol'rectal Doc. Back to surgery. This time, the open healing. Surgery was on Tuesday, and I was back to work on Monday (medicated, of course). Actually, now, on my 3rd week, he medication is decreased, however the doc said he was AMAZED it took me so long to treat it again. Very DEEP sinus, with many cavities. So, with my percecet by my side (quarter doses just to help me through) I am managing the packing and draining, and unfortunately, my ALL DAY sitting job. What a pain. But it had to be done. All this in the middle of selling my house and a divorce. Please tell me round two of this stuff goes quickly...signed... round two.
email: flywithme05@yahoo.com
Date: June 23, 2005
Storyhi.. before i had my pilonidal cyst surgery i read almost all the stories on this website..After reading them i was more scared then ever. ive been dealing with this cyst for about 4 years now until when yesterday i got the surgery. i am 14 years old. i was terrified and totally freaking out because of the experiences i read on this website...so i arrived at the hospital they but me the iv and needle and everything else i needed to be asleep. i was a goner by then.after the surgery they gave me pain medication and i did just fine...it wasnt scary AT ALL!! i was just scared because of all these stories that i read online. to be honeset all u have to do is just belive in ur self and all the people that support u and u will do just fine..and for all of the people who will have this surgery in the future take it from me that it wil go fine and there is no reason to be scared! i am doing fine after the second day and i am taking medication! everything is well and i am grateful!
Date: June 23, 2005
StoryMy name is Celeste, and my story with pilonidal disease started when I was 15. I was at a hockey tournament and my butt started to hurt. Assuming that I just fell wrong during play, I ignored it the whole weekend even though the pain was getting worse. I went to school on Monday and remember sitting through band rehearsal just wincing from the pain. I vaguely remembered both my mom telling me a story about how she had a cyst on her tailbone when she was a teenager and how my dad had one too so I thought for once I'd get a little sympathy. We went to the doc the next day to have it lanced. I was in so much pain that I didn't care that there was a small group of med students watching the procedure! I remember being in pain a couple of days and pulling out this really long cord out of the cavity.
In Dec. 2004, the familiar pain came back. This time I'm 22 and on my own health insurance and completely in charge of what I want to do. I'd had small flare ups since I was 15, but I was fearing this one would be worse. I went to NowCare and the doc said that it was a premature pilonidal cyst, gave me anti-biotics and sent me on my way. I knew that it would need to be lanced and I was in such pain by this time, I was really annoyed that he couldn't do anything about it. I made an appt. with a regular family physician for two days later, but in the meantime, I would have to go to work and sit through meetings which was pure torture. My boss scolded me a little for being short with other people at the meeting, but after I explained to her what I was going through, she was very understanding since she, too, was a pilonidal sufferer! I had the cyst lanced and went back for a check up about a week later. They referred me to a colon rectal specialist so about a week later, I went there. She recommended I have the excision procedure with open healing as soon as I could. Because I had just started my new job, I knew I wouldn't have adequate vacation time until at least spring so I put off scheduling for a while. I finally scheduled it for Tues. June 21.
I went in for my surgery on Tuesday, nervous and very reluctant. At this point I felt great and was really not looking forward to going through any pain and putting my life on hold. I started crying in the waiting room and even more when the nurse took my vitals. Finally, someone came around to give me some anesthesia. My mom said I just started acting a little drunk, but I think that's just what I needed to relieve the anxiety. The wheeled me to the OR and had me roll over on another bed. I had an oxygen mask on and basically fell asleep. At one point, I came to, and I could feel sharp instruments poking at my behind. I was perfectly capable of saying something, but I told myself to "buck-it-up" it's not so bad. I started crying quietly and this guy with scrubs on asked me why and I said this kind of hurts! They gave me some more local anesthesia. I don't really have much recollection about how I got on to my back but I remember sitting in a recovery room asking for my mom. After a little while, I got to put my own clothes back on and sit in a recliner. I was wheeled to another area where my mom was waiting and I got to eat some tasty cookies.
My mom said I was crabby and rude, but I just wanted to get out of the hospital and go home! My butt was completely numb and I felt just fine. Finally we got to go. My butt remained numb for about 24 hours and until then, I felt great. Then I could feel it wearing off little by little. I'm assuming it's all worn off now, but I still feel really good. My butt is a little tender and I waddle more than walk, but I'm definitely ready to get back to work tomorrow!
Having the cyst, living with it or getting it lanced was probably an 8 or 9 on the pain scale, this is definitely a 2 or 3. I've found that ibuprofen is more than adequate and haven't even filled my prescription for vicadin. I'm more uncomfortable than anything--I've been more hurt stubbing my toe than this. The only real downer here is that I can't swim for a while and for the person that swims over a mile a day, that is tough. It's possible that I have a high threshold for pain, I also felt just fine after getting my wisdom teeth out--but I definitely felt the pain of an inflamed cyst and that blew this out of the water. My wound is more "superficial" than others according to the doctor, but I did have two cyst sinuses removed and I do have a fairly ominous looking battle wound on my butt.
I highly recommend this surgery if your doctor has told you that you should think about it. The minor pain I feel now is nothing compared to the horrible pain I felt when my cysts were inflamed and then lanced. The inconvenience I'm going through now is worth the solace I feel knowing that it is highly unlikely that I will ever have a cyst again!
Date: June 21, 2005
StoryHi, I thought I would give a update on my story. I had my surgery back in NOV. of 2004, 26 yr. old female, exsicion w/ CLOSEURE. Well a few days after I had posted my story the doctor removed the rest of my stitches and later that night the incision split open. There was so much fluid under the skin that the pressure from the
fluid caused the incision to split open about 2 1/2 to 3 inches. Yeah, lots of fun! I had to be packed after that, starting with about 4 feet of gauze and less each day until mid Feb. of 2005 when the hole finally closed. I personally wish that I would have had the excision w/ OPEN HEALING since that is what ended up happening anyways. The good thing is, I do not have that horrible pain anymore and you can hardly see the scar. Even with the problems that I had with the surgery I am sooo happy that I had the cyst removed. The surgery has motivated me to get back into shape I can finally do sit ups and ride a bike with out any pain, I lost 20 Lbs. and can actually wear a bikini again! Good luck to all of you out there dealing with this it is truly a giant pain!
Date: June 21, 2005
StoryI had my first PC when I was 19 and newly married. Over a couple of days my tail bone hurt worse and worse. Finally my sister looked at it and felt the large lump. My husband took me to the doctor. The doctor lanced it and packed it with guaze. Talk about a horrible smell. I went back the next day for a dressing change. It healed well and I get flair ups maybe once every couple of years. The best way I've found to help keep the flair ups down is the take regular baths in warm water and add Epson salts to it. This was recommended by my doctor. I have been able to avoid the BIGBURST this way and only have my husband press on in over a couple of days to keep the hole open and release any buildup.
Date: June 20, 2005
Storymy name is Brittany and had my first pilonidal abscess at 13. I was mortified. I thought it was extremely embarrassing so i did'nt seek any medical attention. At the the time i had no idea what it was so i kind of just rolled with the punches and it eventually drained. About a year later another one appeared 10 times larger than the first. I told my mother and she made an appointment to have it lanced, however the night before it drained on its own. The next day i saw the surgeon and he packed the hole and let it heal from bottom to top. Everything was peachy after....not. About a month later the abscess came back, and it was huge... I hardly walked and if i did i was bent all the way over to about my waist level and forget about sitting. My mother scheduled my surgery which was about 2 days later. I thought i was going to DIE!!!!!The pain was so bad i had to lie on my stomach on my way to the e.r. Since that excision i've been abscess free but let me not jynx it. I never knew so many people had the same problem for all i knew it was very rare. But at least now i don't feel so bad....thanks.
Brittany
Date: June 20, 2005
Story This is actually about my husband. He is in the military so it took forever for these doctors to do surgery. He knew he had a cyst for a while. We had been going to the doctors a lit, but all they said was keep toh area shaved. You can only do that so much. We finally had the date for surgery in January (we had been going to the doctor for a few months) but the surgeon had to post pone it another month. My poor hubby was in a lot of pain!
He finally had surgery on the 13th of February, the surgeon removed the cyst, then sewed it up, (he had to have a cleft lift procedure). He said it looked like a ball of wadded up hair (pretty gross.)I didn't really have to do anything with the healing of the wound, just kept it covered and cleaned.
Fast forward a few months to May.
My husband said his tailbone was feeling sore again. The scar was still purple, but it was only a few months old. We made an appointment to see his surgeon, but the pain was getting too much for him. There was a big bump under the scar and it was very tender to the touch. He also had 2 small holes that appeared along the scar line and a little drainage. I had to end up taking him to the ER on the 28th. He had it excised and drained. I saw the whole thing, it was really gross. The cavity was HUGE and a lot of blood and puss came out. I really thought that it went all the way through. I think it hurt me more than him! This time they decided to just pack the wound and send him home. This is my first experience with a wound of this nature. I have been packing it twice a day since. The wound is a lot smaller now, it went from about 3 inches deep to about half an inch now. Its still sore and very tender, but its getting better. Hopefully this will be the last time. This is the second time he had this procedure, in all 4 procedures in the last 6 years. I will keep y'all updated.
Date: June 19, 2005
StoryLike a lot of people, mine started when i was around 13. I fell on my tailbone and then a day or two later, it hurt like hell. My mom said if it didnt get better she would take me to the doctor. I remember sitting on a pillow at school because i was so sore. I also remember feeling some wetness and thinking somene put something it my seat. Nope, the cyst burst and it was the worst smell Ive ever experienced. I walked home from school and told my mom. I dont remember much after that.
Im 38 now. A couple years ago, it swelled up( I still didnt know what it was). I went to my dermatologist and she told me it was a PC. It all started to click in from when I was a child. I knew I had been living with this for years, but it was dormant. She gave me antiobiotics and a reffereal to a surgeon. The surgeon explain the open healing and I was thinking NO FREAKING WAY. I was in law school at the time and just couldnt take the time off. It drained again and didnt bother me until last week. This time i knew what it was. I found this website, went to the doctor and asked for cipro. This doctor wanted to know if I wanted a reffereal to a surgeon( Im in canada now) and I said NO. I said it doesnt bother me that often.
Anyway, on Thursday my spouse and I went to toronto and walked and walked and walked. We had this trip scheduled or I would have cancelled. I was really uncomfortable. Friday night i woke up around 3am and i found out that it burst. Gross. I cleaned up the best I could, threw a gauze pad up in the crack and went back to bed. It drained most of the day and it looked like there was no end in sight. I asked my spouse to press on the area and help the draining along. That helped a lot. So much puss and blood came out. The odor wasnt too bad. I hung out at home yesterday and laid low today too. There was a little bit of draining today, but not too bad. I hope and pray that I wont have a flare up for a long, long time.
Oh and the doctor i just saw a few days ago told me that a PC is congenital. It's similar to spina bifida and has nothing to do with a hairy butt. That made me feel better.
Date: June 16, 2005
StoryI am a 25 year old male. When I was younger, I used to ride horses competatively, from age 5 to 19. I stopped riding horses while I was in college. I started riding again 3 weeks ago, 4 times a week. Now, to understand my problem, you have to understand the type of riding I do. I ride English Style. It is a very intense aerobic exersize and I sweat a large amount. The horses are high performance horses and require much bodily input from the rider. (Not like western style where you just sit in the saddle). We ride in flat saddles with no saddle horn. Your entire balance is of utmost importance, and you use your muscles in your legs, butt, back, and shoulders to maintain balance and to make the horse perform. In my type of riding, we usually wear Kentucky Jodphur pants, which are tight and fitted so they won't rub. However, I haven't ordered any since I started riding again, just been riding in jeans. There lies the problem. Sweat and dirt get into the crack of your butt, while you are bouncing around all over the saddle. I had a couple of bumps on my butt after the first week of intense riding, but thought nothing of it. In fact, one of the bumps scarred over and is fine now. But my tailbone and butt were getting more sore.
Well this week, I had a killer large and long bump on the inner side of my right buttock. It was intensely painful, but not as painful as some of the other stories I've seen here. I went to the doctor and she described it as an abcess. She told me it needed to be lanced and drained. The worst part was the shots for the local anesthesia. When they out that needle into an already painful area of your bum, it feels like lightening shot straight into my ass. But after the anesthesia set in, I was fine, and didn't even feel her lancing it.
However, my cyst was shrouded in scar tissue underneath the skin. She wasn't able to get that much out of it, but said that since she lanced it, the scar tissue will eventually go away and the cyst should pop open. As of now, I'm taking a low dosage of Vicodin, which is helping. But, I wish it would finally pop. I had the surgery this morning around 9. Crappy part is, I'm scheduled to fly to California from Oklahoma tomorrow morning at 845 for a wedding.
Date: June 15, 2005
StoryMy story starts when i was just ten years old. I noticed what i thought was a pimple on the very top of my "butt-crack". My mother tried everything to help me get rid of it,.. soaking in baking soda, warm compressions, acne body wash but nothing worked, eventualy I couldnt walk or sit for very long and then one day i felt a sharp pain and then relief as a warm thick substance oozed out of the area. After that i had nothing but a scar and eventauly forgot all about it. Then at 16 I noticed a pimple under my arm it too was treated with various home remedies but to no sucess, when i went to my family doctor he checked it out and sent me to get blood work, but had no knowledge of what was wrong with me. I learned to live with this pimple which harldy ever opened anymore. Fast forward to about a week ago, i am 21 years old and everything is fine. Then i was very tired and drained for a week and had terrible night sweats. Then on the same day i started to get a fever i noticed that my "but pimple" was back after 10 years. Within one day i found it hard to walk or sit. So yesterday (6/14) i went to the emergency room. They gave me a numbing shot, opened it and packed it with gauze. Tomorrow i go to the surgeon and im going to have surgery because i feel it is what is best for me. I just wonder why when i was sixteen my family doctor or the hospital i had that blood work done at didnt try harder to find what was wrong with me,.. could i have had the surgery then and not be going through this now? I'll keep you posted.
Ashley, 21, Ohio
Date: June 15, 2005
StoryHello everyone. Im probably one of the younger persons on this website. Im a 15 year old male who had the surgery done after have the cyst for quite some time. So far the worst part about the surgery was the darn iv. They couldnt find the vain in my hand so it took a while. I didnt understand why i had this cyst. I thought i was just an average jock in my highschool. I guess luck wasnt on my side in this case. My mom and family have been very supportive about the surgery and the post op time. I just hope it gets better. I think im going to contact my surgeon today and ask him when i can sit down. because all this standing up and laying down is darn right exhausting. haha
well good luck to you all with this problem
-Anonymous
Date: June 12, 2005
StoryHello group,
I am a 30 year old male nurse who recently discovered the pain of a pilonidal cyst. On May 18 I noticed a hardening red area around my left buttock. I chalked it up to my overactive sweat glands. I sometimes get cysts under my armpits and just figured that it was just another infected hair and would eventually subside on its own. Finally, after the second day and the pain of sitting, driving, and interruption of sleep I decided to go the emergency room. I was started on antibiotics Keflex and Septra (Sulfa drugs) and Vicodin for pain. I used a lot of Vicodin for the first three days. Wednesday of that week I was at dinner with a friend when I felt a tremendous relief of pain for which I knew that the cyst burst. I finished the course of antibiotics and the cyst was gone. It wasn't but one week later that I noticed the cyst return.
I called my physician and he saw me in the office that day. He then prescribed more Keflex and gave me a shot of Rocephin. He wanted me to come back into the office later that week to incise and drain the cyst. I demanded to see a surgeon. He gave me a referral. I had heard other nurses talking about pilonidal cysts (PC) and was sure this is what my problem was. I met with the surgeon last Wednesday (6/8/05) and he immmediately explained what indeed I had thought (PC). He said that I needed to have surgery. He put me on Levaquin, a much stronger antibiotic that completely drained the cyst once again. Tomorrow he is going to incise, drain, and remove a little bit of surrounding tissue (the sac, and any other infected areas). He said there is about a 90% cure rate after surgery. He also said that he is going to let the site heal from the inside-out rather than stitch it closed. His fear is that if he closes the site that since that there is alot of bacteria in that area that it is best to not close the site. I will have to do dressing changes, and he estimates around a 4-6 week healing time. I am having general anesthesia. I thought that he would use deep sedation (Versed or Diprivan) but since it is a hard area to get to he suggested general anesthesia. I have done plenty of research and this approach seems to be the best course of action to take. I'll keep everyone updated
Thanks for listening
Jim Houdek
Date: June 10, 2005
StoryHello,My story starts about 2 months ago.I had a weekend off work(Iwork at a hotel)So my husband and I decided we would bike ride around the lake by where we live.It was a nice afternoon ride. My tailbone had been bothering me alittle the month before but i had started riding the bike every morning isince the snow melted,so i thought it was just gettting used to the seat.Well by the following tuesday after the bike ride i kept feeling alot of pressure. Itold my husband i must be getting old.Im 33 and have fallen quite a bit on my tailbone when i was young. Well wednesday i had my husband look the pressure was getting worse he said there was a redpimple on my butt.I thought ok its going to pop. the following morning i went for my jog my tailbone was really bothering me but i was going to run my2 miles.I got home went tothe batroom and there was blood and puss in the toilet i was scared called my family doctor and got in. He looked at it and said it was a draining pilonidal sinus and i would need to see a surgeon.Iwas scared never had surgery at all.
Well the surgeon he recommende took about 3 weeks to get in to. The sinus was still draining i wore a little pantliner and that was that it didnt even bother me. Iwent for a rdie a couple of times and it would flare alittle i seriuosly considered just living with it after i got online and heard some of th surgery stories.Anyways i saw the surgeon he was very nice and said in his opion it needs to be removed. He said he would insert a blue dye in me to see how big the cavity was and remove it and around it to ensure it doesnt come back. He said he likes to do stitches if there is enough skin I said ok surgery was at the hostipital 2 weeks later. Everyhting went fine i woke up feeling good My husband counted 12 stiches the dr told him he did a 5 inch insicion Ihad alittle discharge when th surgical gauze came off 2 days later but it looks fine im day 4 after surgery and feeling pretty good Iwas really tired the first couple of days So far no signs of infection. I see the dr in 11 days to have the stitches removed. In the meantime Im enjoying being of work for a couple of weeks. The dr said if i do get an ifection he willdo packing and let it heal open. Ijust wanted to tell this story because some of these stories are quite frightening.So if your out there and wondering what to do as far as surgery goes i would recommend getting it taken care of.good luck and im so thankful for this website.Ididnt know what this was,and neither did the people i knew. the after care section is excellent also.
Date: June 09, 2005
StoryHello,
I'm a bit older than most of you with this dreaded disease (I'm turning 35 next week). My pilonidal cyst first cropped up as a very painful, out-of-the-blue abscess on the top inner left buttcheek in February 2001. I went to my primary doc back then, who drained the abscess and left it at that. I thought it was all over. However, bottom pain and the bump returned in the same spot, but not until December 2003, almost 3 years later. It really flared up to be a nuisance by then though, & painful to sit especially. I had just given birth to my first baby girl 3 months prior to that, so I thought it was just a post-childbirth complication and saw my OB/GYN. She immediately referred me to a surgeon specialist, guessing it might be a pilonidal cyst.
I saw the surgeon, who was really nice, in January 2004. I had never heard of such a thing as pilonidal before, and it horrified me to hear the explanation of what it was, the treatment, but especially the open wound/packing healing part. The surgeon removed my cyst via in-office procedure and I was sent home that same afternoon to start the healing/packing process.
Removing dry gauze from an open wound that wasn't anesthesized was the most excruciatingly painful thing next to natural childbirth that I've ever experienced in my life. However, my wound healed and closed quickly, within 10 days. I felt relieved and thought this embarrassing buttpain and trauma would be behind me (no pun intended).
But, no, the surgeon had warned me there's a fairly high recurrance rate and sure enough, it reappeared again, this time in January 2005, one year later after the surgical office procedure. I let it be a few months, hoping it would go away on it's own (and not wanting to go thru that pain again!), but it kept draining and that became annoying, plus my hubby and I want to try for Baby #2 soon, so I saw the same surgeon again last month. She immediately scheduled me to have the full excision surgery under general anesthesia at the OR (scarier sounding than it actually was). My surgery was on Friday May 27th and went surprisingly well. I felt almost NO PAIN compared to the office procedure last year -- I think the difference is, they use a local anesthetic on the area in addition to your general, so you feel almost no pain in that area for several days. I didn't have to take any vicodin they prescribed, and the minor packing I had to do for 48 hours after didn't hurt at all either (prob. due to the local anesthetic). I've taken 2-3 sitz baths per day since then, and those really seem to help the healing too. And I've only felt minor discomfort and achiness when sitting since the surgery. The only yucky side effect is an itchy "diaper rash" all around your private parts, probably from the open healing and sitz baths. So I use my daughter's Desitin for that.
I don't know if I'm one of the lucky ones, or if the full excision surgery is a better option, or both. Even though it'll be two weeks tomorrow since my surgery, the wound is still open, but is getting better each day. I'm hoping I'll be fully healed in another week or two since I healed so quickly last time. I'm just glad the pain is almost non-existent unlike before.
I wanted to share my story to let people know that going through the full surgery is WORTH IT and definitely less painful than the office draining procedure. And even though the recurrance rate can be high, not all pilonidal cysts have major complications or problems. My surgeon says she's positive mine won't recur again (we'll see though!!). Also, get a donut pillow to sit on, especially when trying to drive -- it's a lifesaver during recovery. I'm on round 2 w/ my treasured donut pillow but I'm hoping I'll be able to throw it out soon. :-)
Date: June 08, 2005
Storyhello all, after this website being such a big help to me i thought i'd give back with my personal story.
Lets see in feb. of this year, i felt a sore on my butt that I thought was a zit or something that wouldn't go away. After about a week of this pain, I decided to look around on the net for an answer. After comming across this website it soundled like what I had, so I went to my doctor. The doctor agreed and said that he would cut it and let it drain. He said that 40% of the time that it wouldn't be a problem agian.
Well it took about 2.5 weeks to heal from that procedure, and was a real pain to do daily tasks for the first week. I could still go to parties and such if i wore a pad just in case. So everything was fine until about 3 months later, I felt what seemed to be the same thing and checked it out in the mirror and it was. So I went to the doc and tried antibiotics for a week. That definitely helped keep the swelling down but not to the point that it was not a problem anymore.
I scheduled an appointment with a surgeon to see what they would say.
They said that they felt I should get it done and it sounded good so I did. The procedure took only 1.5 hours and I was home 1 or 2 hours afterwords. I got a whole bottle of vicatin but I only had to take like 2 pills for pain. Once I was home I couldn't sit for the first 2 days, but slowly I was able to sit for longer periods of time, by the end of the first week I could sit for a few hours to play video games or something with only mild discomfort. By the end of the second week it was still a little painful but had no drainage or anything. A few days later I got my stiches out and by the end of that week I was basically back to normal.
Its been about 6 weeks since the surgery now and I feel like i am fully healed. I feel a few twinges of pain from the area once in a great while, mainly when putting a lot of pressure on the region, but other then that I feel normal. So now I just have to wait and hopefully I won't have any reoccurances.
Date: June 08, 2005
Story My "story" was one of the most traumatizing events in my life. I was 16 and a cheerleader. While we were teaching JV girls how to do stunts, I was cushioning their falls. I landed on my back/tailbone, with another 110 lbs on top of me, somewhere around 10 times before I told my coach I couldn't take it anymore. My backside was very sore.
the next few days my butt was still sore, but I figured it would go away, with all aches and pains. I had plans to go to the beach that weekend, and nothing was going to spoil my fun.
That Friday, 4 days since all the falling, my 3 friends and I headed to the coast 3 1/2 hours away. I did all the driving, as it was my car. The whole way there, the pain increased, but I didnt want to complain. When we got to my friends beach house, I was in so much pain that I couldnt get out of my car. My friends had to help me to the door. They didn't know what was happening, and all I could say was that my butt hurt really bad. At hearing this, they laughed hysterically, and I began to cry.
I spent the whole time on the couch, and my friends had no sympathy. They didnt believe me that I could not possibly stand up, let alone head out to the sand. They started to get the hint that something was really wrong when it took me 20 mins to walk to the bathroom 10 feet away, sobbing the whole time. The pain would go from dull aching to pierce stabbing sensations up my spine. I was afraid that I was dying, and my friends were upset that I wasnt spending time with them. I got really angry and said that I needed to go home, and since it was my car, they better start packing. We drove home the next day. Correction, I drove home, and muffled my sobbing by turning up the radio. This drive would only be the second most painful experience...
We get home and I explained to my mom why we were back early, to which she replies, "why didnt you just take some advil?" Like, gee, I have never heard of pain medication. In the midst of her laughing (apparently butt pain is funny to all except me) and my protesting that my butt hurts so bad it is painful to stand and talk to her, I force her to take a look. I drop my pants and she gasps. This scares me, becuase her tone has now instantly changed. She kneels down and examines me, and tells me there is a HUGE bump at the top of my buttcrack. I don't know whether to feel relieved that I'm not dying, upset that I have a problem, or mad that nobody believed me. We go to the doctor the next day.
At the doc's office, I am greeted by the most friendly medical assistant, and foolishly believe that my problem is minor. I am led into the examining room and meet the doctor, who is a large (6'+ 250lbs) old (at least 60) very scary looking man, who I must show my butt to. I am not pleased at all. After he examines me, he displays no signs of empathy that doctors usually have or at least fake, and in gruff harsh tones feeds us (me and my mom) lots of medical jargon. He seems annoyed that I would come in with something like this, and tells me I must have surgery immediately, without furthur explanation. He seems to storm out, and I put my clothes back on and we go to the hospital.
At the hospital things go much better. Things are explained to me, and I feel much better. They told me that they would remove it, and after a few weeks of healing I would be back to normal. They conveniently left out the details of "open wound healing"...
After the surgery, things are great. My mom helps me change my dressings (not pleasant; horrid smell) but I cannot do it myself because I am high on vicodin (sp?). A few days later we go back to the mean, gruff doc and he seems to have more time for us this time. He proceeds to tell me that in order for my wound (5") to heal from the inside out, dressings are not enough. I must have healing tissue along the edge of my incision BURNED OFF WITH SILVER NITRATE! We take him at his word, since he is a doc, and I prepare for the most painful experience I have ever had to endure. Imagine, an acidic compound being wiped all over my OPEN FLESH wound. First he yanks out the old packings, wipes the acid all over, and stuffs me with gauze again. Not carefully, delicately, or taking my bloody-murder screams into account, this happens in all of 5-6 minutes. I almost faint from the excruciating pain and cry all the way home.
I had to endure multiple treatments of this, and on the 3rd appointment, I had to drive myself. I could handle it I thought, last time wasnt as bad. He used less acid. Alas, I was dilusional in believing this guy had any sympathy at all. This was the most painful out of all the sessions, and he "missed some spots" and had to do it again after he jam-packed me with gauze. Then I had to DRIVE MYSELF home. I dont need to explain the pain of a driver's seat...
My mom went with me the next time and watched what he was doing, to see if I was really in as much pain as I claimed. Apparently, she had been closing her eyes the other times, because my wound looked gross. Upon this fourth session, the nurses were well aware that I would be screaming, and actually warned the people in the waiting room not to be frightened. What my mom saw horrified her, and she cried with me all the way home. She berated herself for allowing such toture as a parent, and threatend legal action against the clinic. I guess this wasn't the first complaint against gruff doc, and he got into big trouble. I went to another specialist, who had never heard of using silver nitrate for this kind of thing. With him my weekly packings seemed like the sting of a minor scrape. The first session with him, I was prepared and waiting for the torture to begin, but it never did. I hardly felt it even. This time I cried from relief.
My wound actually started healing, and in no time I was just fine. I still have pain now and then when I stand from sitting too long. I also have the weirdest scar on my bottom, but I am ok. It has been 6 years and not a single problem. I heard that mean doc #1 "decided to retire" thus avoiding legal problems. doc #2 is the best doc ever. I will, from this day forth, always get a second opinion.
Thanks for letting me get this out. Ive been repressing some of these memories. Has anyone else had the acidic-burn-silver-nitrate experience? Or was I really abused? Well, its over now.
Date: June 03, 2005
StoryHello everyone. i just had a pilonidal absess cut open and drained for the first time today. My cyst has been sore and infected about 3 times that i can remember and it finally got to the point i couldnt walk, sit, stand, sleep, or drive and i had to get something done. The doc said it was absess and gave me antibiotics that werent helping. I remember the first time i had problems with it was after i fell 3 ft and landed on my tailbone really hard snowboarding 3 years ago. From then to now it has been tolerable and would go down and drain itself until this past week. i must say the worst part of the whole 20 minute mini surgery was the shots of 2 full syringes of novicane they numbed me with. I had a gunshot would 2 years ago in my left hand(shattered a metacarple too)and had all kinds of numbing shots in my hand for it at the ER but the ones i got today were the WORST shots i have ever felt in my life that i can remember. Compared to an IV and a tetnis shot in ur shoulder, sticking an infected cyst is like sticking a sodering iron in ur ass. I came close to passing out and i was hyperventilating cause i mean MAN IT HURT!!! Everything else went fine after that but getting poked in ass with a needle hurts. Im not trying to discourage anyone from going to the doctor cause im so glad i did. it feels so much better now. i just wanted to share my horrible ,slightly painful ,embarassing day with everyone. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE AND TO ANYONE IN PAIN , TRUST ME GO TO THE DOC AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. I HAVENT SLEPT FOR 3 DAYS CAUSE OF MY CYST AND I WOULDNT WISH THAT OR THE PAIN OF ONE ON ANYONE NOT EVEN MY WORST ENEMY!!!!
Date: June 03, 2005
StoryToday I just had what I think is my last hospital visit for the Pilonidal cyst that I had. I am 13 years old and I never had to go to the hospital for anything because I was very healthy all my life and I wasn't one of those wild children who jump around and get their head cracked open. So for me it was the most horrible thing that happened to me yet. I noticed that everytime I would sit, lay down on my back, get up from sitting and bend down I would have a lot of pain. I told my mom and two days after I begged her to take me to the hospital. At that point I thought I had a broken tail bone. I had an X-ray done, nothing wrong. I had to lay on my stomach letting this man look through my butt crack. When he said it was a cyst I was kind of relieved because I thought it was just like a little pimple that would go away with some cream or something. Then the doctor gets all technical and says that he would have to open it up so he can drain it and blah blah blah. Everything was just a blur until he says "its extremely painful" and we will have to put this sort off thing (like the filling for cavities in your teeth) to numb the pain before he cuts it open. That was the worst part.
I waited for the doctor and his assistant to get ready which was about 30 minutes and then they come in. It was very painful, I was crying, squeezing my mothers hand, the doctor said it was a little cyst but it actually had a lot of pus in it. After that I had to come back in two days to change the gauze pad I had on and the packing. I had some much pus that I had to come a third time and have it repacked. So today I was so scared because last night the packing came out on its own so I was scared that it would close up but it didn't so they told me just to soak it 4, or 5 times daily. I also went to the surgical doctor to let him see it and he said that it looks good so I have to just clean it and see if I'll end up with the 50% chance of not getting it again. If I do I will have to have surgery so I won't get them anymore. I'm just happy that I don't have to keep going back to the hospital because the repacking was also painful and the wait was driving me crazy!
Date: June 01, 2005
StoryI am so happy!
I had my surgery back in early to mid April, but let me tell you a little background information. Last summer I began to get really sore one night around my tailbone/butt area. By that morning it pained me to even sit down! This period of hell lasted for about two weeks, and then the bump went away for awhile. Lo and behold, a few months later it came back - and with a vengence. Not knowing what the heck it was, I immediately assumed it was hemmorhoids (I am only 17, lol). I waited for two hours to see a specialist, I dropped my pants and he exclaimed "That's a pilonidal cyst."
By the way, this was a great use of $150 (not). So I went to three more doctors to make sure, and I was assured that it was indeed a pilonidal cyst. My surgeon decided to do a closed surgery and stitched it up, instead of leaving the hole there. He assumed it would be around a 3" incision, but when I woke up from the anesthetic my father exclaimed "It was a 6" whopper!!" Yes, 6" long, 3" wide, all the way down to my bone. He stitched it up, and then I went to hell for three days. I had severe pain for 10 hours after my surgery, and was soooooooooo sore the following three days. On Thursday, the fourth day, friends from school came to visit me, and I began to get better after that. I was out of commission for two full weeks (and I missed Easter brunch!). Then I got the stitches out (the ones that went down to the bone weren't too much fun) and went to a follow-up appointment the following month. It has been about 2 months since my surgery, and I feel great. I do not get sore when I sit down for long periods of time, and there is no more fetid discharge. My advice - go to the doctor as soon as you think something is wrong. Don't wait, because there is great relief after the surgery is all said and done. Also, talk to your doctor about the closed stitch surgery. Many people say that the packing surgery is better, but my experience was great with the closed healing (except getting the stitches out). It would have been a major pain to pack and repack the wound. Anyways, good luck to anyone with this problem. Get help - I'm sure glad I did. I can know be safe in asserting that I am "Hemmorhoid free!" LOL
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Date: May 31, 2005
StoryAbout a year ago I noticed "the bump". The first thought I had was, "hey, I'll just see if this thing will go away on its own." Well, since I can make a story out of it, you can imagine it didn't just go away. After the pain was getting worse and I couldn't deal with it anymore, I figured I would so a little "self-surgery". Being a carpenter, I had many tools handy. Why I chose a nail is beyond me. So I lowered my pants a little in the back, bent over and took a poke at it. OUCH! Hey, at least it wasn't a rusty nail. So the stinky ooze came dripping out. I squeezed what I could out into a paper towel or 10, and cleaned it up as best as I could. Then put a couple folded up paper towels in my crack and went back to work. I swear that thing leaked for a week after, but the gross smell was better than the pain. So everything was all better in about a couple weeks.
Round 2
About six months later, my favorite lump pays me another visit. This time I wasn't messing around. Out came the utility knife. I sliced about a 1/2 inch with it and it drained much quicker than the great nail idea I had before. So the blade was by far the better choice. It healed quicker and everything. No more cyst.
Round 3
Hey now, I thought this thing was in its grave by now. A few months later it was big and painful and in need of another drainage. I don't know why, but I got a crazy idea this time. I'm a carpenter, not a doctor, maybe nails and blades aren't the answer. So I called the local hospital and got an appointment to come in after work. When they sliced that thing open, the doctor says, "Hey look, it's Ol Faithful." We laughed and before long they had stuck a drainage wick in the wound and gauzed me up and sent me packing. I came back every three days to get a new wick put in and three visits later, I was sent home for good. It has been about six months and it hasn't come back, so they must have done something right. I guess the moral of the story is this: If you do end up with a pilonidal cyst, don't go jabbing it with things from your toolbelt. The End
Date: May 31, 2005
Storywell heres an ok story of mine with this stupid thing i never knew was there on body. who knew u had stuff like this in my buttcrack!Well i'd say about a year or so ago i had a small bump there and thought it was a pimple or something, it was very small and went away on its own. the 3 days ago i got a real painful one, and today i took a nice long hot bath and about an hour ago it drained on its own. i never saw so much nasty looking puss in my life. well about two hours after it drained and a nice hot shower it feels so much better. so what i recommend is take a nice hot bath and try and pop it or drain it. i'm hoping it goes away for a log time, but i'll have to wait and see. still hurts a bit but theres not that horrible throbbing pressure. i tried for an hour to drain it and it finally worked!well good luck and give it a shot.
Date: May 31, 2005
StoryHi. I'm 30 and just figured out what they heck has been going on with me for the past 10 years of my life. I don't think I have it as bad as some of you. I would be petrifed to have surgery, especially since the majority of you have had a lets say more than unpleasant experience and lengthy healing process. Like I said it's been about 10years of flare ups. The first day the spot on my tailbone will get hard and achey usually a couple hours later if I push on this area it will drain about an inch below. It's probably not even teaspoon of reddish brown fluid and then turns clear. It ususally last about 2 - 3 days then will come back in another month or so. There is no odor. Maybe because it drains each month.
I am now nervous after reading the story of the 6" hair that wrapped around someone's tailbone. How many other places inside you can a hair wrap around and possibly "choke". This is what worries me.
Date: May 31, 2005
StoryI want to start off by saying that I am still going through the healing process as of this point, but recently i was able to go down to one dressing change a day instead of two. I first noticed my cyst at the end of 9th grade, in spring of 2003. I, coming from a modest family, ignored it and the pain that came with it. It constantly irritated me and was draining a large amount of mucus-like fluid that was covering my clothes. I managed to hide it for close to two years. My sister had just been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, a disease where her body attacks the food she eats leaving a bloody mess rather than fecal matter, so I decided to come out with my problem in the fall of 2004. That October, the beginning of my junior year, I went to a Gastro Interologist, who told me it was a perianal fistula, incorrectly. He then had me have a colonoscopy, try explaining that one to your friends, where he found no problems and basically ignored it.
One day in December I was sitting down at work and when I stood up, the chair was covered in blood. I immediately went back to the GI who reccomended surgery. The surgery itself was not that big of a deal although it was my first overnight experience at a hospital. When I saw my surgeon in the recovery room later on, he told me that the portion of flesh he had removed was the size of a grapefruit. The first dressing change at home was probably one of the most painful experiences of my life. I reccomend to everyone to take the pain medication about 30-45 minutes before each change, it will make life a lot easier. It has now been about 4 1/2 months since my surgery and I still have an opening about half the size of a golf ball, but I am feeling much better than I did before the surgery. Unfortunately for me, the dressing changes have become painful again, as my doctor recently told me that I couldn't have anymore because of a fear of addiction. I'm not exactly going through withdrawl from the pills, but I do miss their anesthetic qualities. In the end I am definitely glad I did go through with this surgery, even though the healing time could possibly mean that I may have to go to summer school to become a senior next year. Good Luck to others who have yet to have the surgery, or heal as I.
Date: May 30, 2005
Story It came up in my second year of high school. I had just started at a new school, and needless to say my gym teacher was unimpressed with my inability to sit or run due to the pain in my backside. I thought that I had some sort of funky boil or butt blister. And my parents really helped by dubbing me "boily butt". I have to admit that it was creative. Anyway, I finally broke down and asked to go to the hospital. Which shocked the living daylights out of my parents 'cause the only thing I hate more than going to the hospital is going to the dentist. So, I get there and the intern tells me that I have an abcessed cyst and that it has to be lanced immediately. Naturally, I wasn't exactly thrilled with this. So I agreed, and after a freezing needle, which just added to the pain because apparently I got a dud, and a drugged slushie later ( don't yah just love Canada's health care system) I had my butt cut open, squezzed and packed full of cotton. (this also hurt alot) (did I mention I'm allergic to pain) For the next week I had to come back to the hospital every day to have the bloody thing repacked. And even with the slushie it still hurt like sixty. Finally, on the last day, some genius figured "Hey, let's give her anitbiotics" and the pain stopped. It drained for about another month ( I love pantiliners) And I've been fine since. (about 5yrs.) But to this day I take special care to ensure that I don't have any new bumps down there and that I've cleared all "butt lint" before exiting the shower. I do still have the occasional twinge and the accompanying panic-attack. I also still bear the misnomer "boily butt", but at least I can laugh at it now. And I just want to thank you for this site as, until today, I still didn't really understand what had happened to me, and have a few more ideas on what I can do to keep it from happening again. Thankyou, from the very top of my bottom.
Date: May 27, 2005
StoryI had several go rounds with pilonidal cysts before finally having surgery to have the cyst removed four years ago. Stress always seemed to be a trigger for me--the first flare up was fall of my freshman year at college, away from home and no idea what was wrong with me. I couldn't go to class because it was so painful to sit in the hard chairs. Probably lasted about a week before I finally went home, soaked in epsom salts and it burst (AWFUL smell, brownish pus).
Came back again two years later (again, away from home); went to the hospital and had it lanced (and got to be a learning experience for a group of med students all gathered around my rear perched in the air...fun...). Two more flare ups and two more emergency room lancings and I was finally persuaded to have it removed.
I highly recommend having the surgery; it's been four years and I've had no problems.
The pain during flare ups was incredibly intense (a 10 out of 10), not only from the infection itself, but also from accommodating and laying on my stomach, on my side, propped on my elbows, not even able to stand up straight. My cyst got so big each time that when I cupped my hand over it, it would occupy my entire palm; it was also red and warm to the touch. I probably had a high fever, but I never thought to check it.
I also want to point out that I am female, do not have a particularly deep gluteal cleft and have very light and fine body hair, and yet I have had recurrent problems with infection (prior to surgery). I have found that mental stress and local physical stress to the area (especially bicycle seat) have been the primary factors in my flareups.
The only way to treat this condition is either having it lanced/drained by your doc or having surgery to have the cyst removed entirely. Good luck in your symptom management and recovery!
Date: May 26, 2005
StoryI first learned I had pilonidal disease during an acute flare-up during my senior year of high school. Like many of you, I was diagnosed in the ER after I spiked a high fever, was throwing up and was in the worst pain of my life (I now know that it was worse than childbirth!). It turns out that my mother had problems in high school as well so I'm surprised that pilonidal disease didn't occur to her. I was treated with antibiotics and codeine (which made me throw up even more); the next day I had it lanced and drained by a surgeon. All told, I ended up missing almost 2 weeks of school. The surgeon wanted me to come back and have it removed, but we decided to take a conservative "wait and see" approach. Throughtout college it drained on a semi-regular basis and would occasionally swell but I was able to manage with moist heat and ibuprofen. I also modified my workouts to avoid any exercises that would put pressure on my tailbone (I think situps triggered my initial incident).
Fast forward 17 years--I am now 35 years old and have not had a serious incident since 1987. Expectant management was the right course of treatment for me. I consider myself lucky and sympathize with all of you. I can especially sympathize with high school students dealing with pilonidal disease--it's not easy or fun to explain to your friends what is wrong. I apologize for rambling, but except for my mother, I've never known anyone else who dealt with this problem. Wishing you all a speedy recovery.
--amy
Date: May 25, 2005
StoryI had been suffering from what I thought was a boil for a year. Then one night I had travel 3 days straight and this reaccuring boil got so bad i became physically ill. I went to the ER and found out that it was not a boil but a pilonidal cyst and that i needed to seek out a surgeon. I thought "Lucky me to be the 3rd generation of yet another weird disease". Because of my job I was not able to do this at the time. I let this cyst stay in my body for over a year. The absess became so bad that it leaked puss constantly. My lymph nodes on either side of my groin would swell to the size of golf balls. I just kept telling myself that this was something that I could handle. I kept letting it go until I could hardly walk from the pain of the cyst. I had it removed in Alabama. After the surgery, my doctor showed me the tear golf ball sized cyst that went from the top of my butt crack to almost my anus. I had the open wound type surgery. I have read some of the horror stories of other people about the pain that was involved after the surgery. I am here to tell you that i had a pain free recovery. The only time that I would hurt was from when the healing would pull on the stiches that was surrounding the wound.
I was also another unusal recovery patient by the fact that i healed so quickly. I believe it was because I did not let myself sit around. I walked as much as a could and rested when I needed to. I have had no problems since my surgery. It was the best thing that I have ever had done to my body. IF you are suffering please get it out. It only gets worse and the rewards of it's removal is the best thing that can ever happen to you.
Ryan
Date: May 25, 2005
StoryAll through high school, I wondered why my tailbone hurt almost every menstrual cycle. I thought it was period related and never said anything. The only time I really thought about it was doing stretches in karate class (on a tile covered cement floor).
I was a sophomore in college when it developed into a visible infection. I called mom saying I had what looked a boil with three heads right between my butt cheeks (I had a boil in 6th grade on my left cheek). A trip to the doctor and it was diagnosed as a pilonidal cyst. After I got back, I accidentally knocked myself in the backside with a bag of oranges (it hurt!) and then laid down to hotpack it to encourage drainage--didn't take long, and it STUNK!
A year later, I was sick a lot with sore throat stuff and Mom decided it was related to the cyst, so Christmas of 1996, it was removed. A wedge of flesh was removed and the opening was stitched shut.
Haven't had a problem since--and when I though I DID, it was actually pain and itch from a hemrrhoid. Another issue altogether.
Date: May 25, 2005
StoryHi my names Cory im 19 yrs old and My first post was on may 4th about my first surgery, well its been about 4 weeks sence the surgery and i am almost healed, my wound is still open but is so small i dont ned the dressing "stuffings" anymore i feel no pain at all and i almost always forget i even have it. I was just told by my surgeon that i will not be needing that second sergury as planned and i really just hope and prayy everyday that this thing dont come back it was hell, Being 19 and trying to go to school and work full time well living on my own, is hard enough without having to take a huge amount of time off and go through pain, surgery, and suffer through huge hospital bills (I was stupid and didnt get health insurance). so good luck to every body and remember we are not alone in this and be strong. please if you have had a simmilar experience to mine and your cyst has or has not come back please let me know. Cory_manning2000@yahoo.com
Date: May 24, 2005
StoryI had my first abcess in 1998 at 20. At first it was just sore and I thought I briused my tailbone. After a few weeks it hurt so bad I thought I had broken it. When I got to the doctor it was the size of a softball. I had it lanced then and once more since then. It has never been as bad as the first time but it flares up 3 or 4 times a year and drains on its own. I never knew that it was a guy thing but then again I never knew anyone else had this. It's nice to know I'm not alone.
Date: May 19, 2005
StoryI am almost 15 years old. I am very young and I feel a little od, since most of you are older than I. The first time I got the cyst it was late December of 2004. At first it was just uncomfortable to sit sometimes and all I would have to do was shift my weight aorund to feel better, it got worse as the days went on. The worse part was that I was on vacation a thte time visiting my sister in Las Vegas. I never mentioned it, I just thought it was me. Then I went to California and as I was there that is when no matter how much I would move it would hurt. The people I stayed with tried putitng vic and heating pads on it, they didnt know what it was. When we left that city and went to L.A., I finally convinced my father that I was in more than enough pain and I needed to go to the doctor, I had to wait in the waiting room for many hours and we finally left and went to a small practice. The doctor checked me over and gave me antibiotics, as the days went on it got worse and owrse. I couldnt walk or sit. Lying down on my stomach and sides didnt help much, it was still uncomfortable. When I came back home on Jan. 3rd, it burst on the car ride home and my mother proceeded to take out the maetrial and blood, but I couldnt take the pain and I made her leave me alone and eventually the pain left and I was fine, until now.
A couple weeks ago I started feeling the pain again, I would just shift my weight again, but his time I told my mom and we went to the doctor. The doctor told us it was beg. to form again and I needed to have surgery done. Surgery was on tuesday, they gave me "happy medicine" and all I remember is waking up to some pain. They have placed a drain on me and friday I am to go back to the doctor to ge tit taken it out. Hope fully this will be then end to most of my pain. I am unable to lie down comfortably on my side or stomach. Sitting is much of a problem until I get up. I was so embarassed tpo hear that this was a "guy thing" form my doctor, I couldnt believe it. Now I am just waiting to be able to not bei apin anymore nad go back to school, exams are nect week, hopefully I'll be there in tiem to start them.
Date: May 19, 2005
StoryI went to my post's ambulatory care center (It's like a hospital without emergency services) on Tuesday. I've been living with a pilonidal cyst (or whatever it is) for about the past four/five years, too embarassed to tell my parents or anyone about it. I'd thought it was a hemorrhoid, and just brushed it off. I pushed through Basic Training (I'm junior enlisted Army) and my training for my job with it (Not easy! It -hurts- to do sit-ups, bad). But I was trying to keep the super-macho image up, y'know, and I honestly didn't have the time to go and have it checked out. Well, it swoll up bad the other day, and ruptured -- I've never lost that much blood before. It was kinda scary and I was prompted to see the doctor today, to have it removed...I'll find out in a few days when my surgery is scheduled for at Walter Reed.
Date: May 19, 2005
StoryI had my first pilonidal abscess last March 2004 when i was 20 weeks pregnant. As i was pregnant i was very wary of the surgery however things turned out fine. About 8 weeks later i had another pilonidal abcess on my bum cheek again i had to undergo durgery to drain as it was very big. 8 weeks after that i had a small cluster of abscesses which were drained locally. I have never experienced pain like it in my whole entire life - put it this way my labour 4 weeks later was like a walk in the park.
After i gave birth to my little girl I thought that would be the end of the abscesses, but no another one came along. This time however antibiotics cleared it. I had an appointment to see the specialist at the hospital in December of last year and he told me that i should never get another abscess as everything looked clear. One week later later i was back in hospital again with the doctor attempting to drain yet another abscess. Unfortunately it would not drain with a syringe, so surprsie, surprise i was back undergoing surgery again. This then meant that on my 21st birthday a nurse was coming to my house to pack me.
Unfortunatley my last abscess took longer to heal therefore i had to spend a longer time off work. I have had smallish abscesses which have cleared up by thereselves.
At the moment i have an abscess under my arm which has not cleared after taking 10 days worth of antibiotics. I am now on another course of antibiotics which my doctor has assured me will clear it away. Will keep fingers crossed.
I am awaiting to go into hospital to have yet another operation to find the route of the problems.
Date: May 18, 2005
StoryIn spite of tremendous, mind-blowing itching at the site of the infection I didn't see a doctor until the cyst became big enough to impede walking and sickeningly painful. It took over a year to get to that point, initially being just a hard mass just under my tailbone. I agree with some of the other users on the site that getting it lanced (especially) and stuffed was excruciating.
Unfortunately, and I know I'm not alone, seeking treatment during flare-ups is embarrassing to me. Since the surgery (6 years ago), all my flare-ups (30, 40?) have drained on their own so I haven't sought any more treatment. My wife is disgusted by it all, but I've learned to treat it as a fact of my life, as a tremendously inconvenient problem that leaves and comes back every 2-3 months. In fact, I'm enduring a flare-up now. This one is particularly painful...so I'm looking forward to the event that causes it to drain.
It's interesting that there are web sites dedicated to this affliction. I've always considered myself a virtual solitary sufferer. I may try some of ideas presented here to see if it helps at all.
Anyways, good luck to my fellow sufferers and hang in there!!!
Date: May 18, 2005
StoryI feel like a real newcomer to this delightful disease in comparison to those of you who have suffered for years. Only a week and a half ago did my tailbone area begin to swell and hurt, and after a few days it REALLY hurt (couldn't sit, sleep, drive, or do anything normally). I guess I've had the "dimple" for all my life but never knew it, and now it was an abscess. Just wanted to note, though, that as of now, I've had it lanced and have taken a week's worth of antibiotics, and God willing, it won't come back. I was a bit overwhelmed and scared reading of all of those who have had serious surgeries, and while that is necessary for many, my surgeon was clear in saying that "that course of action is not needed after just one flare-up." Oh. One last thing. HUGE surprise to find out how many friends and relatives have actually had pilonidal cysts themselves, and have a great deal of sympathy. Don't feel alone, and don't be scared to go to a good surgeon.
Date: May 17, 2005
StoryMy full story is at www.angelfire.com/ill/nazasnightmare the story is in regards to the lack of proper treatment I received at Credit Valley Hospital Mississauga Ontario, it also is about the neglegence of
(name edited) a so called medical neglegence lawyer. Save yourself and others by sharing this story!
CANADIAN MEDICARE KILLS!! PEOPLE ARE DYING LIVES RUINED & NO ACCOUNTABILITY FOR IT!!!!!!
Date: May 13, 2005
Story:
Hi, I'm from Michigan and I have had a pilonidal surgery twice. Not
because it came back the second time, but because it never healed.
The first surgery was difficult, just because it was my first
surgery ever and didn't know what to expect. My father was the one
who started doing packing. It took about 3 months for the very
deep/large (unlike any the doctor has seen) wound to partially heal.
After a very thin, but deep line remained near the anus, we could
not close it anymore because the gauze would not fit. So the doctor
did not what to do and I ignored it for the next two months. I did
not suffer any pain, infact I forgot I ever had it. after the 2
months, pain started again, drainage, and very foul smell. I went
to the doctor, and he said that the wound was open from the bottom
- up, not any diffrent than it looked after surgery. Because of all
the hair inside it and the infection that he did not prescribe
antibitocs for, he said that I must have another surgery to clean it
out. The second surgery was not as bad, because the would was already
open,and I was in alot of pain. So I couldn't wait for the surgery.
He didn't do much. I don't know why he didn't do it in his office,
just taking out the hair, so bad tissue and allowing me to start
the gauzing/healing process all over again.
The wound began to heal quickly this time. 2 months later I also
had a very small line left that wouldn't heal. Again there was
nothing I could do(honestly, I couldn't help that tiny line to heal)
so once again my dad could not do anything, and the doctor had no
choice either, so I left it since there was no pain, packing and
cleaning it anyways to the best that I can. 2 months later, the
would was open again, and infection began every two months that
lasted for about a week. No one could have helped me, multiple
doctors, wound care centers, wound healing centers, I don't want to
have the FLAP, I have heard it's a nightmare. Now it's fine, but
every once in a while I get pain/swelling/redness/discharge/smell,
that I suspect an infection (but no fever, so I guess it's not major)
The infection, if it is, goes away by itself, so now I'm begining to
ignore it since it's not causing any problems, especially that there
is no fever is a good sign that my immune systme is curing it without
medications. So what it never healed, I don't know (the doctor thinks
I never packed it well, but he saw for him self that the would was
begining to close, I visted him once a week, every week for the
entire time, and he said the would is healing), I don't know it was
only closing for the top and not the bottown therefore eventually
ripping, or what. I have no idea. I have a strong immune system
(rarely flu's, infections), why my immune system is not working on
this I don't know, maybe the immune system has nothing to do with
wound healing according to my family doctor, it's purpose is to fight
off infection and that it's not causing serious complications is a
good sign of a strong immune system, Right. Please give me your
openion on my situation.
- Date:
- May 13, 2005
StoryHello all! I am a 27 y/o woman with this lovely cyst. It all started with me in March 2005. I noticed theat I started to have some discomfort in my Coccyx area. I thought nothing of it until it started to really get painful towards the end of March begining of April. It hurt to walk, sit, drive, anything... any time I touched back there in my crack area, it felt like someone kicked my with a steal toe boot. I am a paramedic and I have seen alot in my day, but I had never heard of this.
Finally on April 2, 2005 I had my mom take me to the E.R. The P.A. (physician assistant) advised me that this was pretty common and that I would need to take a Z-Pack to make sure that it would not abcess. Because if it does, i'd be in alot of trouble. No sooner did I finish getting dressed and I had my hand on the door knob to leave the exam area, the "Big Man" Dr. came in. DAMN IT! I knew that I was in for it now. He had me drop my pants around my hips and with one palpation to my tailbone, I was crying in pain. He told me that it has already abcessed, and that it had to be lanced and drained immediatly. Let me tell you after my cocktail of morphine, I still felt everything. Him numbing the area, trying to locate the cysts, apparently, I have 4 and they are very close to my tailbone itself. No luck, the P.A. couldn't lance it. so he put a tiny little drain and a healthy stack of gauze in the incision site and sent me on my way. The very next Monday I went to my doctor and she took one look at it and said that have to go to a specialist ASAP because this is bad news. I have a bad infection. The next day I went to the colo-rectal dr. He opened me up, lanced 3 of the 4 cysts, put a larger drain (it felt like a garden hose!) in the incision and secured it with 4 sutures. Then he told me that I could go back to work that next weekend. What a JOKE! I told him what I did for a living and that I will not be going back to work until I was healed. He then told me that i needed to come back in 2 weeks. Now I'm not dumb, but that didn't sound right, I know that sutures are supposed to come out in 7-10 days max. And this dude is telling me 14 days??? Something about this quack rubbed me the wrong way, I knew that I would not be going back to him ever!
After the 11th day, I was in worse pain than before! I called my Dr. and asked for a second opinion. Three days later, I ended up at the miracle butt Dr. He took one look at my incision, and told me that this was only supposed to stay in my backside for 3 days. So by now, my skin started to heal itself over the sutures. And the infection was not any better despite all the antibiotics I had been talking. He removed the drain cleaned me up and packed me again. I received another Rx for more antibiotics, and I'd have to come back in 2 weeks for a checkup. So, in that time, my incision healed, though I'm still sore like I'd been kicked. But at least I could sit sqarely on my butt now. I go back to the Dr. 2 weeks later, and finally he tells me that the infection is cleared enough to have the surgery. I'm scheduled to have the surgery this coming Wednesday the 18th. I'm really nervous, and I'm supposed to take a plane trip on the 26th. Good luck to everybody. Thank you.
- Date:
- May 13, 2005
StoryHello! i am 30 year old guy from Finland. I have had that thing around 8years, and now on Monday 9th May i was in surgery. The wound is around 3inches long. I have kind of a supporting "sewings" that are supposed to be taken away in a week and week after that they will take away those real stiches. Then we will see how it has healed. But after 4 days of surgery, i am feeling ok, no pain, except if i try to sit, i can walk and do almost everything but sit. The most important thing is that you dont sit on it, and irritate it, and of course keep it hygienic. Shower it two times a day at least. So everything looks fine now, but i will hear the final judgement 23.5. when they take away those stitches, is it healed or will they leave it "open" which i dont want to happen. I will tell more after 23.5.
But still i believe that surgery is the best way to get rid of it, eventhough healing might take time....
Good luck all
- Date:
- May 13, 2005
StoryI am 25 years old and have been dealing with the PC (pilo cyst) since Fall 2002 (going on 3 years). I've had 4 major surgeries and dozens of little procedures almost continuously for the past two years. I am in the middle of healing up from my last surgery, 4/22/05.
THE DISCOVERY, 2002
In Sept 2002 I started having trouble sleeping due to back pain. I figured I must have pulled some muscles, stretched something out of wack. After a week, it got to the point where I couldn't get comfortable in the bed, and the pain radiated all through my tailbone and lower hips (at the back). I went in to my company doctor (we had one on our company campus) and she said, I've got to research this but I think it's a pilonidal cyst.
She sat down and flipped through some texts, confirmed it, and basically said, I'm going to have to lance it and drain it, and we're going to have to pack it. I want you to go pick up an RX for some antibiotics, and take them immediately.
When she did it on site, the cyst was the size of a quarter, and not that deep. It was a bit painful, but not too bad. However, it took me a few days to pick up the prescription - 10 days, in fact. By then, the pain had gotten much worse in the area. I couldn't see what was going on back there, so I went back - the doc was mad at me for not taking the antibiotics and said I'd have to head into the hospital because the infection was large now and required major lancing.
DECEMBER
In to Kaiser Northern California I went. RULE #1: GET GOOD INSURANCE, preferably PPO. I was poor, but I learned my lesson - the $50 you spend per month is worth it. Seriously.
Someone who wasn't an actual surgeon lanced me and the area was so infected and full of pirulent fluid that it took forever, smelled foul, made me cry, was unbelievably painful - after which, I was sent home for the weekend but advised to pack the wound. No further instruction was given. Confused about what "packing" meant I went back to my doctor on Monday. She said, this is huge and will require more than just my own expertise, get back to the hospital.
Turns out I should have been "packing" 2-3 times a day with some specific orders, none of which had been given to me (ie, irrigate with saline, pack with packing gauze, etc.) I availed myself of the nurses at the hospital and the doc on site at my job.
SURGERY #1, Feb 2003
Finally got a general surgeon who was supposedly the most experienced with PC at this particular hospital. He said, yep, looks like a hair caused it, literally pulled it out of my butt - it was 4 inches long and had grown into my backside. Excision surgery was green lighted.
Fast forward to post op - the amount excised was huge, tunneled everywhere, and had apparently been growing "for a long time, more than a few months." 4" deep (to the outer portion of my pelvic bone), 6" long, 3" wide. Sutures at 3 levels, 2 internal, 1 at the top. The surgery is outpatient and I am sent home that day to be at home on my belly for 4-6 weeks. Note that I have 19 stairs up into my apartment. And when they roll me out of the hospital, they roll me out on my side - in a chair.
Problem was, 3 days after surgery, the wound split back open. I went into see my surgeon; his resident removed the top level sutures and packed my gigantic wound TIGHT (cuz surgeons love to pack tight) with DRY GAUZE and NO TOPICAL or LOCAL anaesthesia. I asked for it and was told they didn't have any. So I bore it and screamed bloody murder because the pain was unelievable.
And so, daily packing. Into the hospital I went to the wound care clinic, with incompetent nurses who all measured my wound a different way, packed my wound a different way, never seemed to have an opinion on the wound and never had a desire to confer with my surgeon. I had to yell for it.
It was like pulling teeth to get my surgeon to see me, and he had no particular advice other than continuing to pack and irrigate with regular saline, saying that "these things take time."
EIGHT MONTHS passed, no change. The wound had NOT been debrided - when I went in to see him, he peered at it, poked at it, repacked it, and that was that. He didn't even really change wound care treatments. The wound was closing VERY slowly to the point they thought I was diabetic. So to the lab I went, where they determined I wasn't.
SEPT 2003
My company doctor cries foul at poor medical care, and forces me to seek an outside opinion from kaiser. Telling me that plastic surgeons specialize in non-healing wounds, she sent me to one. The plastic surgeon frightened me with a list of potential tricks to pull if the traditional vertical closure wasn't working. She advised that I could get very good plastic surgery care out of Kaiser if I raised some hell, and referred me to top surgeons there. She recommends some options - the wound vac, inserting a dye into the wound area to see where it tunnels, flap surgeries, all kinds of horrors.
Back to Kaiser. I ask about the wound vac, am told that it's not really feasible for the wound site because suction would be difficult to maintain in the area, and wound care at home to handle the wound vac would be problematic since I am not home bound.
I look into plastic surgery. The top surgeons I wanted weren't available. One was ill, one was booked for the next three months. I raised hell with the plastic surgery department; got a room full of plastic surgeons flustering over me. One of them said, "of course this wound isn't healing, it hasn't been
debrided and is shaped so oddly you're literally trying to pack a maze."
LOVELY that my own general surgeon left my butt to be that way. Lovely that the nurses never said anything and kept trying to pack little ribbons of gauze into all my little holes and didn't think to press my issue with the surgeon, or that the surgeon didn't bother debriding.
by the time the plastic surgery team starting trying to help me, I was fed up. Too little, too late.
OCT 2003 - Desperation.
I bailed out of Kaiser, filed a grievance, begged my company for a switch, signed up with Cigna HMO. New primary care physician referred me to a general surgeon. General surgeon referred me to a wound care clinic at a San Jose hospital, clearly not wanting to directly deal with my butt himself. Fine. I'd dealt with wound care clinics before. i was hopeful that these guys would tackle it. These were the only wound care specialists in the area.
Assigned to - a plastic surgeon. Who continued to debreed, assign new types of dressings, but practically no progress was made.
FEB 2004
Plastic surgeon noticed an absess further down - anal fistula. Worried that the fistula might be connected to the PC, which would mean big trouble, he was quick to push me off, he referred me to another surgeon in the wound care clinic - colorectal surgeon. I am pretty sure he was relieved to be rid of me cuz he didn't seem to want my case in the first place. (I'd been assigned to him.)
This new colorectal surgeon had had a PC himself as a teen - and had worked on many. He could also check out my bowel regions and discover if there were any other surprises, take care of the anal fistula, etc.
MAR 2004 - SURGERY #2
Vertical closure, surgery is outpatient, and I leave the same day. But a week after surgery a section of the sutures near the bottom started draining. This portion had to be reopened and packed. Healing from the inside, with all kinds of different wound care dressings - very slow progress.
Took forever, but it finally healed ... for a month or so.
JULY 2004 - THE RETURN
Switched to PPO for good measure. July to August I had a little freedom, then felt some chafing, tenderness - even though I kept the area very clean, dry, and then - pow, drainage. Back to the WCC (wound care clinic).
Back to debreeding and investigation. Kept finding tunnels. Kept trying different dressings. Couldn't seem to get anywhere. Still cleared of diabetes. Surgery greenlighted - a Z-plasty, to try and minimize pressure in the area. We're gonna try something new.
OCT 2004 - SURGERY #3
Z-plasty discovers absess same size as surgery #2. This time they keep me over night, and put in a blake drain - something never done to me before. I walk around with the drain for a couple weeks.
Upper portion heals fine, lower portion still problemtic. Weekly debreeding for MONTHS. New dressings, new irrigation solutions, no real progress. Hopelessness ensues. Finally decide to seek another specialist because tho I've got a colo rectal surgeon at a WCC, I haven't been getting anywhere for over a year.
FEB 2005 - STANFORD HOSPITAL
Peeps have been telling me to go to stanford all this time and I kept trusting other options. Finally, got no choice, and now have PPO, so, I can go.
The colorectal specialist says, umm, I can open and excise but the real issue is the closure. You're going to need a plastic surgeon for that, and we're going to have to work together on the surgery. I've done a lot of these but I leave these to this particular plastic surgeon now.
It takes a lot of hullaballoo and schedule shenanigans (one down side to these stanford peeps) to get surgery scheduled.
APRIL 2005 - SURGERY #4
Off I go for a two-for-one surgery. One colorectal surgeon to cut out and explore all absesses, tunnels, fistulas, etc. One plastic surgeon to do a fancy closure and suture me up properly.
Area ends up being about as big as the original #1 surgery - this time, though, I've got 6 levels of sutures, a huge flap that goes up to my left hip and panty line and all the way down to 1 cm above my anus. Gigantomatic.
But, these guys keep me in the hospital until they feel I'm good to go. And I see TWO sets of docs - colorectal AND plastics - EVERY DAY. They stop in every morning and check my wound out, discuss the surgery and how it went, how it looks, etc. The hospital food is passable.
I get clockwork pain meds and food and the IV keeps me peeing like crazy but hydrated. Note that when you first get a surgery and are sent home outpatient and it's severe, you are generally too messed up to TRULY make sure you get enough fluids and all the right stuff in your system. You don't feel like eating. You don't feel like drinking. You just want to sleep. I definitley thought I was taking care of myself last time around but this time around, my body was feeling WAY different. WAY better.
They keep me for FIVE DAYS. This is amazing. The after-care I'd had previously was never this good.
They finally send me home. The only potential issue is the dreaded BM - bowel movement. I could rupture something. I cannot strain. I cannot be constipated, yet, I need to try and minimize bowel movements and keep the area clean and avoid tearing things.
Freaked beyond belief and now luckily into a bit of money for some personal reasons, I hire a nurse - my home care visits long since maxed out with insurance, so at this point I am paying out of pocket for those - I say, to heck with it. My health is what matters and I want this watched daily post-op to be sure all things are kosher. I don't care what it costs.
MAY 13 2005 and counting ...
Still healing. In my third week and I thank God every day that this seems to be healing fine. There is one tiny portion, very superficial that the surgeons aren't worried about, right above the anus. Probably opened up due to bowel movements; they predict this will take 2-3 weeks and I remain on belly rest, changing the dressing frequently but not doing anything painful or crazy because, thank the heavens above, I am not really draining, there isn't any huge infection.
CROSSED FINGERS, AND WORDS OF WISDOM
-
Yes, hit the WCC, but most importantly, use a COLORECTAL AND PLASTIC SURGEON. Use them both, if you can. I didn't even know you could DO this. THEY recommended it and I wouldn't have asked because I didn't know it was an option.
GET AWAY FROM GENERAL SURGEONS. Just get away from them. I don't care how much they know, they don't know about the rectal region, and they don't know about closures. They know how to REMOVE things and close you back up again in a basic sense, but they don't know how to deal with this part of your body. I have learned the hard way. Even my lone colorectal specialist tried his best, with all the tools at hand from a WCC, and I just didn't get anywhere.
This part of the body moves, stretches, is strained in almost EVERY movement you ever make. It's not your spine, but it's close enough. It's not like you can put it in a cast, or lock it up and not use it. You need to bend to stand up from your bed, and lift your knee/hip/butt to take a step and go up a stair. Not to mention the bathroom - it's a sad thing to become a champion of using the toilet - both ways - as a female, and STANDING.
This vulnerable spot not only moves with every tiny action you may take, it sweats, it is muffled, it chafes, it has hair and bacteria. It is just one big snowball rolling downhill once you discover you've got a PC. So you have got to find the BEST practioners you can. You have got to PAY FOR PPO, beg borrow and steal, I don't care, but you need the freedom to explore all your options and to switch when needed when things aren't going well.
And thank God for this site. Use it's resources, confer with others to find capable surgeons, and believe in yourself. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger. For those of you with minor PCs, thank your lucky stars and keep a close eye on your butt - don't take your reprieve for granted and work to avoid having the issue again. For those of you with major PCs like me, hang in there. When you're broken down and no one around you can get what you're going through, when years of pain pass like a daily dose of hard rain and lightning, when you are at the bottom and don't know what to do any more - know that it WILL end, someday, and do your best to get there. Fight it, because that's all you can do, and God willing, may your battle end sooner than later, and be FINAL.
...
It's been 3 weeks since the surgery and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. i don't know if this will be the last one, but I pray it is. here's hoping ...
- Date:
- May 12, 2005
StoryI have been reading your stories and have noticed you all seem to be having the cysts drained and lanced. There is a difference with that and EXCISION OF A PIOLINDAL SINUS where the whole lot of your bum (or thats how it feels) is removed.
These are much more severe and can take YEARS not months to heal.
After my 1st operation i just had it lanced but my surgeon is a specialit and know that they tend to re-occur if you dont 'dig deep' and take the rest out!
So you are all LUCKY and say NO to the excision you will still be writing in years, like me.
- Date:
- May 12, 2005
StoryHi I wrote yesterday (im the 19 year old girl)
I have been reading other peoples stories and i understand that the absess is the most painfull bit but i would rather have 1000 of those in my life than the full excision (not just the drainage) as a big wound that is prone to MRSA is much worse BELIEVE ME!
I am happy for all of you that are healing up nicely or are catching it early enough to just take some tablets but just think of those (and there are lots of us out there) that are left in a worse situation like this!
If the drainage of the 1st cyst would have healed (and then come back) i would have been happier than i am now because at least i would of had a few days/weeks/months/years of FREEDOM!
Having no freedom is driving me mad.
Is there anyone else out there who has has the wound long term? Ive had mine a year so i need to hear from someone in the same boat. Thanks for listening again xxx
- Date:
- May 11, 2005
StoryFor all those of us that suffer with this, I have found that 500mg Zithromax will make you feel better in about 2 days and knock out the infection in about 4 days.
- Date:
- May 11, 2005
StoryIam a nineteen year old girls with a very unsightly wound.
I got my pilonidal sinus at 18 within 1 week of noticing a sharp pain on my tail bone when i sat.
One particular night i could not sleep i was in that much pain so to my relief the next morning the absess has come to head and was lanced. aaaahhhhhh relief!
That was where my problems began.
I had dressings everydaythat i had to have v.strong painkillers for. The nurses were concerned that it had not healed (and that it was still so painfull) so i was referred to specialists who decided to 'take me back in' and excise the whole lot. By this point i had already lost the little things in life i love, such as soap, sleepovers, holidays with friends (as i needed nurses everyday)and needed to be free again and NORMAL!
So after the second surgery i awoke with THE worst pain ever (i would rather of had the absess)all the nurses and doctors could say was well it is a very large cavity. That made me feel great (not!) One nurse cried because she had a daughter the same age and was shocked at the severity of the wound. I had another 3 absesses underneath and that was why the other wound did not heal.
I was bed bound for nearly 3 months. I had to have gas and air for dressings.
8 months on from the second op and 12 since the 1st i am left with a large wound that just will not heal.
I studeied to be a holiday rep but cannot apply as i still need nurses everyday and i still have to go away with my parents (if i want a holiday as my mum has been taught how to do it).
This has been the worst year ever and im sure it will not stop here! As much as my friends are supportive they do not know what i am going through everyday. The only person that knows is my mum, i dont know what i would do if anything happened to her (and run me to the docs everynight!)
A 'boil' has ruined my life.
Thanks for listening xx
- Date:
- May 09, 2005
StoryI first had the cyst outbreak a few years ago and was very alarmed and scared because of how badly it hurt. I was seriously concerned something was wrong with me. I set up an appointment right away to see my doctor. He took a look at it and knew what it was right away. He said “you have a pilonidal cyst”. He lanced it and then packed it. While he was packing it I almost fainted from the amount of pain. I can usually take pain pretty well but it was overwhelming, my ears started to ring and I thought I would faint but finally it was over and I did not pass out. He told me that I should consider getting the surgery or it may come back.
I was busy at work at that time and with a newborn son and decided to take my chances and not get the surgery. Well, about a year and a half later it started to come on again near Christmas while I was on vacation. I felt it coming on and told my wife “Oh no, it is coming back”. Well, it then went away for a week or two but then came back with a vengeance and this second time the pain was even worse. I could not sit down at the computer or at work and had to call my doctor again right away to get it lanced again. I remember on the way over to see my doctor how bad it hurt. I have a sports car with a tight suspension and the San Francisco streets are not all the best in the world for smoothness. The pain was overwhelming.
The doctor lanced it again and within 24 hours I felt almost back to normal again and was back at work. However this time I decided to take his advice and get the operation.
He gave me a recommendation for a surgeon in San Francisco (Dr. Eugene Groeger, which I have posted his address and phone number in the forum section of this site under “San Francisco Surgeon”). I set up an appointment and went in to see the doctor. He took a look at me and gave me a consultation and said he could do it. My general doctor had just got done telling me he has a patient, a young man, who has had six operations and the cyst keeps coming back. I told Dr. Groeger about this and he assured me he has never had a “repeat customer” on any of his many pilonidal removal surgeries. This made me feel a lot better. We set up an appointment for the procedure.
The procedure was at St. Mary’s in San Francisco and went very smooth. I checked in at about 7:00 in the morning and they put an I.V. line in my hand and taped it on so it would stay. Then I waited in a room for awhile and finally they came and put me on a bed and took me down to where the surgery would take place. The anesthesiologist came and asked me questions, mostly about medications I am taking (I am taking two at this time) and he looked them up in an enormous medical book to make sure there would not be a bad reaction. They then wheeled me into the actual operation room and it was very cold in there and there were probably about six medical staff. The anesthesiologist took my I.V. line and put the “juice” in it and I was out within seconds.
I woke up awhile later and was pretty groggy from being put under. Someone came and asked me a few questions and then they took me up the elevator to what would be my room overnight. I was very happy to find out I would not have to share a room that night. The rest is pretty uneventful, I just sat in the bed kind of sideways and read magazines and such. They served food and I was able to eat pretty well. One thing that was strange was it was very hard to urinate from the anesthetic I suppose… For about 24 hours I found it hard to pee but it did go away after that time. One thing I should point out here, it you will be blessed if you have a husband or wife or friend who can take you to the hospital and drive you back home after you are done. In fact, I think they said it was required that I have someone take me home and believe me, you will not want to drive after this surgery, especially if the cyst in inside of your butt crack like mine was. It was also nice to have the company of a friend (wife in my case) in the hospital and she even brought me some good Thai food from a restaurant on Haight St.
For the next several weeks I was at home with my wife packing the wound once or twice a day. I did not go out much but for the first two weeks when I did I wore black pants because there was some leaking puss and such from the wound. It was very hard to sit in a car and at the computer and so on, but after a few weeks I could sit ok. I have seen pictures of the pilionidal cyst on Google and some people are “lucky” and get it up higher above their butts making it much easier to sit down. For me it was at the top, but, inside of the “crack” of the butt so sitting was very painful at first. Also when my wife would pack it I would lay on the bed or a towel and help hold it apart so she could insert the gauze which was soaked in ascetic acid. Once the gauze was in she would put a large bandage over it which I was able to get at Wallgreens drug store or she would put gauze over it and tape it up. One thing that came up was with all of the taping and removing of the bandages and such my bottom became very tender and it would hurt quit a bit to remove the tape. I got around this by taking a nice warm shower and slowly removing the tape with the hot water running down. That worked well but if that does not work, the best thing is to rip it off as fast as possible.
Like I said, the first two or three weeks post-op were somewhat painful (and I had percoset pain medicine for that) but once that was over there was not too much pain and I was pretty much able to do just about anything I wanted around the house or yard. I could sit at the computer for quite a while though I do have a mesh chair which is very comfortable which I am sure helped a lot.
I was able to take off about six weeks from work and my boss and company were very understanding about it all. I’ll be honest, the time off was really nice once the pain went away. I just started back at work and I feel fine now even though there is still a small wound, it is healing up fast and there is no pain at all. I hope this will be the last of the pilonidal cyst for me. I have heard of it coming back on this site but my Dr. said he has never had one of his come back for any of his many customers so that makes me feel reassured.
Lastly, it is too early for me to tell you if it will come back but I feel like getting the surgery was the right thing to do since when the outbreak of the cyst happens it can be so awful painful. Good luck to you.
- Date:
- May 09, 2005
StoryMay 9,2005
i am a 22 year old female. i recently had surgery to have my pilonidal abcess excised on april 22,2005. it's been about 2 wks since my surgery and i feel 100 times better. i got my first abcess in april '03. at first i thought i had a bruised tailbone so i didn't bother going to the doctor. then i started to feel pressure and i thought i had a boil but still didn't go to the doctor. i tried all kinds of home remedies thinking it would come to head like everyone was telling me, until i became ill. i had a fever of 103 and i was throwing up every where so i went straight to the e.r. where the doctor lanced it. i was told that if the abcess ever came back that i would have to have surgery. so i started to feel the pain around april 12, 2005. i went to urgent care and explained the situation which did no good. they sent me home with some antibiotics because they said i had not had the abcess long enough for them to do anything about it. within a week of that visit i was in such excruciating pain that i could do nothing but cry. i could not sit, stand, walk, cough, laugh, use the bathroom, or sleep. it was this intense burning sensation and my only sort of relief was sitting in a hot bath because pain killers would not work! i went to the e.r. because i could not wait for my scheduled doctor's appointment but the doc was very rude, unprofessional, and uncaring. he looked at it diagnosed me with a boil that he said was not ready to be drained because it was still too hard and had not come to a head. i explained to him that it was not a boil and that i had this before but he didn't seem to care because he is the "MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL" and i am not. he sent me home with more antibiotics and some vicodin, which still did nothing for the pain! i am currently filing a complaint against this doctor!!! the next day i had my regular doctor's appointment and he immediately called the surgeon and sent me directly to the hospital. the next day i had my surgery and guess what? NO MORE PAIN!!! my abcess was so bad that the surgeon removed a cup of puss(the puss pockets had spread across my butt cheeks)some hair and some dead fat. he had to remove everything all the way down to the muscle. today is my first day back to work and i feel much better. i have to soak in a warm(hot)tub of baby bath twice a day and pack the wound twice a day which is kind of annoying but it beats being in pain any day. my last official day of packing is june 17.
- Date:
- May 09, 2005
StoryI am a 24yr old male in the UK, had a csyst which has left an open wound about 1 and half inches deep by 2 inches wide.
Had a small insignificant lump on my coxyyx whcih I noticed because I itched it on Monday afternoon, gradually got bigger and more painful until Wednesday night. I drove homw from work and was in total agony because my Pilonidal was rubbing on the car seat. Went to see my doctor who said it was a boil (!) and gave me some antibiotics. Woke up on Thursday morning in shear pain, could not move without my whole body aching with pain. Stayed in bed all day Thurs and Fri until my housemate ordered me to the doctors again on Friday night. My GP (UK) looked at it, wrote me a note and sent me to A&E at my local hospital.
Once in A&E was admitted to a surgical ward and waited 24hrs for an op to remove my cyst. I can honestly say from Thurs to my surgery I have never never never been i | |
