Another hopeful story: I, like many others, used this website when I started having pain on my tailbone about 2 years ago.
But my story started my freshman year of college when I noticed a small bump on my tailbone, and I wrote it off as nothing. Around the middle of my Junior year, I had my first ‘flare up’. Misery ensued. Big mistake: I went to the school doctor, when they wanted to lance it on the spot and not knowing any better, I allowed them. She said she sees 2 or 3 a year so I felt comfortable at the time.
They put a local anaesthic which involved injecting the area with a numbing agent [this was the worst pain of my life, nearly passed out]. But immediate relief set in as she was draining the cyst, oh yeah, this was the 2nd worst pain of my life.
Then about 4 Months later, I got an even worse flare up, where I could barely walk. Luckily it was right after finals week and after the end of my track season. 2 Essentials for flare ups: 1) vicodin prescription 2) heating pad!!! I went to the school doctor again and she drained it in the same fashion, which was horrible again. She wanted me to come back for another lancing 2 days later and I refused any treatment without full anaesthesia from there on out. I immediately looked up a surgeon because I wanted this thing dealt with and out by the time my senior year rolled around. I found Dr. Lam in Torrance, CA. Nothing but the funniest/best surgeon. He doesn’t waste your time and is very efficient if you can deal with his shortness.
I live 45 minutes away from Torrance. I spend, on average, 15 minutes in his office. I was in surgery the next week for a drainage and elected to be completely knocked out [anaesthesia and I go well together]. This was all with the expectation that I needed a full cystectomy down the line when the infection was gone. 2 Months later I was in surgery again for a full cystectomy where he would be sewing it shut with stitches [despite the critics]. When the stitches came out, 2 out of the 3 holes fully closed and have not had subsequent problems. The 3rd hole and the lowest and hardest to operate on has been open since that surgery but with no flare ups and no real time to get it taken care of. I visited him today and he said that some more hairs were trying to get in there and that’s why it never closed, and he cleaned the area and it should be closing soon.
All in all, surgery is not that bad. The drainage one was worse and much more painful afterwards because everything was infected. The cystectomy was a piece of cake! I was down for a couple days, but sitting in chairs in about 2-3 days and swimming in the ocean nearly 2 weeks later. Finding out I may need surgery again was a set back, but seeing how well my first one went and how much I enjoy my doctor, it seemed like there could have been a lot worse things happening to me [like being jobless, which I still am after graduation].
Hopefully this third one will continue to close [it’s been open for a year with no problems, I try to shave the hair down there]. I am not trying to marginalize the stories of those who have had this worse. I know how horrible this can be and I’m very thankful for how lucky I have had it so far. But to provide some perspective, this thing occurs OFTEN [for males at least]. My doctor does 40-50 a year. I simply just wanted to provide some hope to counter the horror stories.