- Date:
- April 25, 2002
Story
hi, its nick again. its now been a week since surgery and boy,
its dragged!! i am now on antibiotics to clear up a mild infection,
and i must confess that it does hurt more now, but its still not too
bad. ive been told that soon it should not hurt at all, at least it
only takes 5 minutes to pack each day. my nurse reckons it will take
about 6 weeks to heal, give or take. the main problem is boredom!!!!
it was nice to read the latest story as i too live in worcestershire,
its nice to know im not the only one around here with this problem!
anyway, ill keep yah all posted on my progress, thanks for reading.
- Date:
- April 25, 2002
Story
Hi, my name is Anne and I live in Worcestershire in England.
I have come across this site purely by accident. I am a personal
injury lawyer and I was looking through Gray's Anatomy today when I
came across a chapter on Pilonoidal Sinuses/Cysts.
In 1997 when I was a student in Edinburgh, I had a severe
incident with this condition. I had extreme paid and was taken into
hospital as soon as the painful episode subsided and was operated
on. I knew little if nothing about the condition at the time other
than what was described to me by my surgeon. I was lucky enough to
have a very radical surgeon whose name I can still remember -
Vaughan Ruckley - and he said he wanted to try a new method of
incision which involved making a z shaped cut which he then crossed
over when stitching up so that the same piece of skin did not go
over the same patch thus reducing the chances of recurrence of the
problem.
Compared to some of the storied I have read on this site, I did
not seeme to have such a bad time of it. By operating in this way it
meant that I did not have to lie on my back for weeks while the
wound healed slowly. Prior to this first attack of pain I had prior
to the surgery I had not suffered in any way with weeping cysts or
the like. There was nothing visible above the surface at all. I am
now 52 and have never had any further problems throughout my life. I
do have a scar on my bottom which I guess would have prevented me
being a girlie model but other than that I have been absolutely
fine.
It is interesting however to read other people's stories of this
bizarre condition. Throughout my life I have never met anyone else
other than medics, who have ever heard of it let alone suffered from
it.
I seem to have some recollection of hearing, at the time of my
episode, that this was a mild form of spine abifida but I have not
read anything on this site which suggests anything like that.
Anne Stuart
- Date:
- April 24, 2002
Story
First I'd like to say thanks a bunch for information on this
"disease". This site helped me to understand what the surgeon was
explaining rather than feeling stupid. It all started with a lump
that appeared in my butt. Being the age I was (not sure exact age,
but a young female) and where it was on my body, I just decided to
deal with the pain. It finally went away, then sometime later I got
another abscess(now that I know what it was), still, I dealt with
the pain instead of telling anyone. Sometime later I got a third
lump--it seemed to get bigger each time it came back--this time and
since it was the third time(I was tired of dealing with it by now),
I went to the doctor who told me what I had (I also had the
pilonidal sinus). She gave me an antibiotic to see if that would
keep it from returning. Then I go to the internet and found out it
was a more common in men--that made me feel really good, here I was
a female with a man's problem (like we don't have enough of our
own). Anyway--this site didn't make me feel as bad seeing other
women that had/have the same problem. A few weeks later, (after I
had fallen down the stairs on my rump) the same place where the cyst
had been started to hurt everytime I bent over (okay, haven't been
able to sit for about 3 weeks already without pain)--this was too
much. I decided to see if it would go away on its own--it didn't so
I then went back to my doctor not knowing if I could have hurt my
coccyx or whether it was related to the cyst (as it was). She then
referred me to a surgeon who I was half glad to see because of the
thought of being able to be pain free after a while, and the other
half, wanted to go into hiding (especially because of him being a
male doctor). We scheduled a pilonidal cystectomy--he said that it
would just keep coming back--so my as well take it out. I must say I
was not worried one bit about the surgery, I just prayed knowing
that God would be there with me no matter what happened. The surgery
was only going to take 20 minutes--well the cyst had spread so that
he had to cut under the skin into the left part of the gluteal--so
surgery was longer(of course I found this out later). Anyways, to me
(I have a high tollerance for pain) postsurgery felt no different
that the pain I had had all along--although the medicine made me a
little sleepy. I continued to lay around and have my butt "stuffed"
for a few weeks, enjoying all the attention :0) But now after 3
weeks, I have decided to go back to my normal routine (I'm a college
student--enjoyed missing class for a few days). At first I was to
scared to sit--imagining the pain being worse than what it really
is. Not great news, but at my follow-up the doctor says that by the
cyst being big like it was, there is more of a chance of it
returning--BOY I HOPE NOT!!!! So another word for the girls--yes
this is embarrasing--but the embarrasement won't last long--pretty
soon you won't care who is looking at your hind parts--so go to the
doctor and get it taken care of--the longer you wait the bigger it
gets. The doctor said the reason I got it was because I am thinly
built--not much fat between bones and skin--that must be the only
thin place on me then :0) !!!! Thanks again for a wonderful web
site--it was nice knowing other women are out ther experiencing the
same thing. Not sure if this story makes on the list--Yes, surgery
is not as bad as you might think, and if the cyst does not
return--you are pain free!!! I pray that mine doesn't--but if it
does, I'll write back.
- Date:
- April 22, 2002
Story
Thank you for adding more positive information and stories to
this site. We first visited the site just over a year ago when my
15y/o was diagnosed with a cyst. She was in tears after reading all
the horror stories.
She just had another flare up and is scheduled to have the open
surgery method this summer once school ends. I reluctantly came back
to this site and am happy to see more positive stories which will
help relieve some of the fear and anxiety that she is feeling.
"Bottoms Up" will have a whole new meaning.... Thanks again.
- Date:
- April 21, 2002
Story
hi, just a few words.. i was told i had a pilonidal cyst about a
year ago after feeling the most intense pain one night in bed. my
docter made arrangements for a hospital appointment to deal with it
and i went in 2 days ago(april 19) i was pretty nervous about the
whole thing, especially when the doc said i had 2 of the things,
waiting to go into theatre was pretty bad, but next thing i know i
was awake and couldnt feel anything. i went home the same day. it
needs to be packed every day for a while, so far its been a bit sore
but not too bad. anyway, what i wanted to say is if anyone is
reading this and worrying about surgery, dont!! its not as bad as
you imagine it to be. im taking ibrubpofen, paracetemol and codiene
and it all works pretty well. sitting is difficult, but i can just
about hobble! i will post again soon , and i would like to thank
whoever made this site and everyone whose storys i have read , it
has been a great site.
sees yah later, nick
- Date:
- April 20, 2002
Story
Hi, i'm a 19 year old male in college. I had written a story
about 6 months ago about my problems in the past with pilonidal
cysts and the surgeries. Anyways, its back!!! This summer i'm going
in for my 3rd surgery. HELP!! Does anybody know how may of these
your allowed to have?? I don't think i can take it anymore. Somebody
please e-mail me and let me know, or at least give me some
encouraging words. It's really a pain because i go to college out of
state, so its not like i can see my DR whenever i want. What did we
all do to deserve this?? I'm a good kid. Thanks for the website.
- Date:
- April 19, 2002
Story
I am the one who put their story out there on January 24, 2002. I
had my surgery on March 5,2002. It is my sixth week of recovery and
the hole that they leave in you is almost closed. My doctor says
everything looks good. Hopefully I will never have to deal with this
again.
The first week was terrible. All I did was lay down. I did not
drink enough fluids because it hurt to move around too much. Plus
the pain meds made me so tired I slept most of the time. I had a
friend, who I owe big time, changing my dressing for me. When I came
back to work I had to use a donut. It really helped with the
pressure. I was also at a point where I was changing my own
dressing.
After three weeks I was able to sit up pretty comfortably without
the donut. You learn great posture with this surgery. :-). I even
took a plane from Minneapolis to NYC to visit family. It was not too
bad.
After five weeks I was able to lay on my back without it being
too uncomfortable. I also dont have to pack my wound anymore. Since
I stopped packing it, it seems to be closing a lot faster.
I was scared to have the surgery because I did not know what to
expect but now that I have had it done I just pray that my suffering
is over. All of you on this site know how excruciating the pain can
be. I wish all of you great success with your surgery and recovery.
God Bless.
- Date:
- April 15, 2002
Story
Last year around February I had this weird feeling on my
tailbone. I had no idea what it was. My fiance and I were planning a
trip to his home in Canada. For three of the most painful days of my
life (i thought) I sat on my rump on a bus. I thought it was just a
boil. When we got to Canada, I couldn't even walk anymore or lay
down. I begg Shaun to pop it and he did. I thought I went to Heven.
All the pain was gone. Well I went about my normal buissness and
never thought of it again. Well to my surprise in November I felt
that funny weird feeling again. Still thinking it was a boil I did
nothing. I could not move for 2 weeks. I was left to stay in my bed
and feel even more pain than the first. Going to the hospital was
far from my mind. I didn't have insurence. I couldn't pay. Well one
morning I was atemping to take a shower and I got this feeling of
sharp pain up my body and felt my eyes tighten and I couldn't see.
This was so scary for me. I was terrified. Then I passed out. When I
awoke I was in so much pain. The shooting pains were getting worse.
Finnaly after three weeks of the most horrable pain I have felt, I
was rushed to the hospital. When I got there I had no idea what was
going on. They completly sadated me. When I awoke they had told me I
had a Pilonidal Absess. What in the worl was that? To make it even
worse they told me I was born with it. How could I go my whole 20
year life with out knowing this? Well the doctor told all he knew
and I still was dumb founded. I went to the library serching for
information. Everything i read seemed like a different story of how
and what it was. In all I knew one thing I had to get it removed.
Well I was visiting my mother and yet again that funny feeling. This
was in February of this year. I felt as though I was going to die.
As before I held out like a champion. Went almost two weeks before I
couldn't stand it anymore and my mother frantic with concern and
horror rushed me to the hospital. There I had to wait another 3
houses un-medicated to get it lanced. When the doctor came in he
decided to shove the needle in withought any pre-medicine. The pain
of that alone should have killed me. My mother said she herd me out
in the halls clear on the other side. (It was a small Hospital but
still) He then sadated me and finished with draining and packed it.
He went out to tell my mother I could go home and had the odasity to
ask if I had a low tollerence for pain. I was horrified. Here I am a
nineteen year old female and have experienced so much pain I would
rather die than go throgh it again. I got an appointment to talk to
a doctor to remove my cyste on my birthday. That was the most
confusing visit of my life. The doctor told me what he would do,
what problems I could have, and what to do about them. When I came
out of the office I looked like a deer in the headlights. I was so
confused. So now here I am twonty and have a sergery on the 17th of
April. I am so terrified. I have read up on everything I can. This
sight I must say has been somwhat of an insperation. I have found
out more and feel better about what is going to happen to me.
However, there is still this feeling that somthing is going to
happen. Then I think of all the pain I have been through. I am in
anticipation but at the same time absolutly terrified. Next time I
write about my story I hope that it will be of recovery and
satisfaction. Untill then thanks for reading Pamila Clayton,
- Date:
- April 13, 2002
Story
Hi. I was just diagnosed with a pilonidal abscess yesterday. It
had started hurting on Monay April 8,2002 and since i do gymnastics
i thought i had landed wrong and bruised my tailbone. Tuesday i felt
fine so i didnt think much of it, then on wednesday i had a hard
time in pe and sitting down in class. again i dissmissed it as a
bruised tailbone, but by the next day i eas having trouble walking
and finding a comfortable position to sleep in. well yesterday i
hadnt slept at all the night before and was in alot of pain. while i
had been up the night before i felt a bump near my tailbone off to
the right side. I tried to look at it in the mirror and what i saw
seemed to be two HUGE zits. So like an idiot i tried to pop them,
but it was to painful to even touch. when i woke up i told my mom
she told me i had to go to school and i had to do pe. so i got
dressed but when i tried to put my shoes on i started crying because
it hurt so bad and i couldnt even lift up my leg or bend down to tie
my shoes because it felt like my spine was going to caome thruogh my
skin right through my butt. My mom ended up taking me to the
emergency room and the doctor knew without looking what it was. He
then explained it to us that i had a pilonidal abscess but it wasnt
ready to drain. He told us to go to my doctor to get reffered to a
surgeon or at leastt get it drained. Im currently on vicadin wich
works pretty well but the abscess is no broken up into 3 white heads
but it is so swollen that i cant get in or out of bed without
excrutiating pain. If anyone would like to talk about it with me my
email is agkr13@hotmail.com. any suggestions or advice would be
greatly appriciated and welcome i let you guys know what happens. oh
and i d like to thank woever wrote this website(sorry i dont know
your name)i didnt know anything about this or my options because the
only thing i could find on this condition was either insubstantial
or in language only an expeirienced doctor could understand.
- Date:
- April 13, 2002
Story
Well, for years I remember having occasional pain in the area of
my tailbone and didn't know why. When I was a child I would bring it
to my mother's attention and she once told me that when I was born
the doctor told her that I had some kind of a post-natal cavity or
something, but it would eventually close up and everything would be
fine. So as a child my mom just attributed my occasional pain to
that or maybe me just being a kid and falling while playing or
what-not. So all these years, even as an adult, I would have pain in
the area for a few days and then it would subside. I never saw
anything in the area, nor could I feel anything. When I would go to
the doctor for other things, I would always forget about mentioning
it to her.. so the cycle would continue.
Now I'm 26 and this past January I had another flare-up of pain,
but this time it was tremendous. I had to go to the emergency room.
They diagnosed it correctly, but said they couldn't do anything
about it, because it hadn't yet surfaced. They gave me some pain
meds and antibiotics and sent me home. I was to call my doctor on
Monday. I have never been in so much pain! I had some huge,
unrelated insurance dilemma and finally made an appointment with a
general surgeon in my area. I made an appointment to see him on
Tuesday morning. By this time the cyst had come to the surface and
was not feeling good at all (this is an understatement). I was in so
much pain I was vomiting and my head felt like it was going to
explode.
I finally get to see the surgeon and he was outraged that the ER
did nothing to help me while I was there on Saturday. He and his
nurse lanced the cyst in his office using only local anesthetic.
This again was the worse pain I have ever felt! He and the nurse
both agreed that in all his years of practice this was by far the
worse infection they have ever dealt with. Believe me, I was
relieved to find this thing got me into some kind of hall-of-fame..
:o) The doctor told me that I would have to have this thing
surgically removed in order to guarantee that it's probability of
recurrence was almost non-existent. But, before we did the surgery,
I had to let the area he lanced completely heal. This took about 6
weeks.
I finally had my surgery on March 11. I was very nervous.
Especially about the pain of it all and what to expect. I just knew
that I could not handle again, pain like I had experienced before
with the lancing. I was completely knocked out with the surgery,
thank goodness; and it was all over in about an hour. I was only in
the hospital eight hours total. With the procedure he performed, I
had about a 3 to 3 1/2 inch incision area. He stitched up about a
half inch on the top and the bottom of it and the middle was left
open. After the surgery, he had packed the area. The next day I was
allowed to shower and remove the packing. He did not require me to
re-pack the area. I was to do sitz baths three times a day.
I went back for my first follow-up appointment about 10 days
later. He was concerned, only because I didn't appear to be draining
properly. I was completely amazed to find that I had just about no
feeling in the area of the wound. He says this is completely normal.
Since it wasn't draining properly and to avoid infection, I had to
try cleaning the outside area of the wound before each sitz bath, to
make sure nothing was obstructing the opening. My second follow-up,
he said it looked better than before, but could still look better,
so now I am packing gauze into the area about twice a day, to draw
out any drainage that could be pooling in the area. My last visit
was April 11. He said it looks great!! He is very impressed with the
progress. He asked me to continue packing the area a couple times a
day, it can't hurt anything. I'm still continuing my sitz baths at
least three times a day. I go back to see him on April 30.
I really hope it's just about completely healed by then. I would
just like to get back to normalcy. I have a desk job and sit most of
my days, so I was off work a total of four weeks with this thing.
The doctor has asked me to take it easy, not do any heavy lifting,
no heavy exercising. He says that the healing process is the most
important part of this cyst removal. If it does not heal right, it
could come back and I DO NOT WANT THAT!!
I am so glad I found this site with all the positive stories and
useful information. Before this, I found a couple of other websites
that were very negative and had me really worried about the whole
thing. I'm glad I had the surgery. So far it has been a breeze. I
just hope very soon, I will be able to lead a normal life again. God
bless. My prayers are with everyone who suffers with this disease.
- Date:
- April 10, 2002
Story
I wanted to post a recent experience I had, so that there would
be a record for future people who might experience this extremely
minor complication. I've already spoken about my surgery; this
experience came a little after one year after my surgery.
On Monday, April 8, about a half an hour before my workday ended,
I felt a sharp pain near the site of my surgery. When I got home, I
examined the area and found that the scar tissue looked slightly
cracked. There was sweat near it, so I patted it down with a hand
towel. I felt a sharp pain again, and found that the area had opened
up.
However, this was not a recurrence of my cyst. What had happened
was that the scar tissue had been very taut, and, like what happens
with chapped lips, had cracked open. I saw a small opening. Its
length was that of a fingernail's width, and its width was perhaps a
quarter of that, or less. I could not tell its depth. There was the
redness of blood showing, but it was not coming out of the opening.
I stepped into the shower and rinsed off the area, and applied
Neosporin. I then proceeded to watch television. I then looked the
next morning, and there was no blood. The area was pink and very,
very, very shallow. I ignored it for the remainder of the day.
This morning, I again showered and applied Neosporin. The length
of it is shortening. What I believe happened was that the scar
tissue was too taut over the wound, and eventually cracked. This
healing may actually prove to be a good thing, because by
introducing new tissue (the tissue that is filling in this very
shallow crack), the resulting area will not be as taut.
It is NOT a recurrence, however. The last time this cracked open,
it simply shut itself back up the next day without any ‘filling in'
as it is doing now, so I assume the problem of skin tautness was not
solved. At that time, my physician has said that he saw no sign of
tunnelling or any other symptom that resembled when my pilonidal
cyst was still present and untreated.
Because it is so obviously healing, and healing both healthily
and rapidly, I have been monitoring this latest development without
making an appointment with my physician. (My physician at one point
recently suggested I may have an obsessive-compulsive personality
disorder, partially due to my focus on this surgical site. Although
I plan to seek counseling for other reasons, I disagree with him on
this point, and see no need to give him further ammunition.) I tell
you this because none of my hypotheses above should be considered as
medical fact, although if others find this happening to them, this
story may hopefully prove a calmative.
If circumstances change to a point where this advice is no longer
appropriate, I will post a follow-up.
- Date:
- April 02, 2002
Story
Hello to all fellow sufferers. I have heard many stories from you
all but i would like to add my own. I have had and still got my cyst
for about 8 years now am i brave or just stupid???????? i kept
putting off going to the doctors and when i finally did i was told
that i may have slipped a disc!! and that my cyst was nothing to
worry about and gave me a prescription. After much suffering for
about 7 years and more putting off i went to see a different doctor
and she told me i had pilonidal sinus and would need to be operated
on this was in jan of this year. i saw the surgeon a month ago and
am going in on the 21st of may i will give you an update soon.
Anybody who reads this and is suffering please please go to your
doctor and dont be stupid like me as the pain is just not worth it
!!!!! Talk to you all again soon
Bye for now D.
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