Post by pilonidalstories.com on Aug 28, 2017 12:34:31 GMT
“I first discovered the small hole in my backside about 1.5 years ago, at the age of 19. It itched a little, but otherwise I thought nothing of it. About 1 year ago it started bleeding occasionally, which scared me a little, but not enough to do anything about it. Every now and then my butt would hurt and it would be uncomfortable to sit directly on it. Sometimes I would stand up and realize that the blood had soaked through my pants. I consulted a doctor and he told me that getting it removed was completely optional; I could probably exist for the next 40 years and just be constantly annoyed by it. I chose instead to have it removed. The doctor decided to use the excision technique, leaving the wound open for the greatest chance of success.
The surgery was amazingly quick and painless. I was in and out in 30 minutes or less. Not that I was aware of the time at all, I was completely anesthetized. It turned out that the part of my backside that needed to be excised was larger than anticipated, and that some of the tissue had become necrotic. Thus, my wound was very large and deep: 3.5 in tall and 3.5 in deep. The rest of the day after the surgery was so painless that I didn’t completely believe that any part of my butt was missing. I was sitting and walking and doing everything completely normally.
The first dressing change on the following day, I took 15MG Oxycodone in expectation of the excruciating pain but there was absolutely none. The only discomfort I experienced was the nausea from the medication. For the next few days, the pain of packing progressively worsened, mostly focused on the area at the bottom where the gauze had to be pushed in with a cotton swab. Lidocaine jelly was a godsend for these dressing changes, the nurse would squirt it in and let it sit for a few minutes before inserting the fresh gauze.
By day 5 the real pain started. Removing the gauze in the morning became something I absolutely dreaded. Every inch that came out made me bite down on the pillow and scream. Packing wasn’t great either, but it was nothing compared to the removal of the gauze. Luckily after 3 of these nightmare changes (over two days; i tired changing twice in the same day to see if it would prevent the gauze from sticking to the would and reduce pain [it didn’t]) I discovered a technique that makes the removal of gauze virtually pain free:
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~~~~~~~IF YOU HAD YOUR EXCISION WOUND LEFT OPEN, READ THIS~~~~~~~~~
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I would wake up in the morning and immediately take 5mg oxycontin with a protien bar and some fiber gummies. Then, I would wait 30 minutes and get in the shower. While in the shower, I slowly try to soak the wound and the gauze with water completely. I Spread my cheeks and tried to get the gauze and the wound as wet as possible. My physician and nurse told me not to worry about getting it wet, it wont hurt it even if the water isn’t sterile. Then I would jump up and down, resoaking the gauze every so often. Then I would slowly begin to pull the gauze out inch by inch, stopping to jump and soak if I felt any pain. In this way, I could take ~20 minutes to remove the gauze in a MUCH less painful manner. I cant tell you how happy I was the first time I came out of the shower with no gauze removal looming over my head. So liberating.
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I am now on my 10th day since surgery and my girlfriend (who changes the dressing) says that my wound has markedly improved. The depth is reduced and the color has changed from a dark red to a nice pink with some white/yellow webbing on the inside. The pain is starting to recede, I am assuming that I will be almost pain free within the next week. Sitting is only somewhat uncomfortable now and its getting better every day. If you have a pilonidal, I advise you not to wait. My cyst was not painful (many appear to be VERY painful) and it was still worth it to have it removed. I am already over the hardest part and I can see the finish line a few months away. Good luck!”
The surgery was amazingly quick and painless. I was in and out in 30 minutes or less. Not that I was aware of the time at all, I was completely anesthetized. It turned out that the part of my backside that needed to be excised was larger than anticipated, and that some of the tissue had become necrotic. Thus, my wound was very large and deep: 3.5 in tall and 3.5 in deep. The rest of the day after the surgery was so painless that I didn’t completely believe that any part of my butt was missing. I was sitting and walking and doing everything completely normally.
The first dressing change on the following day, I took 15MG Oxycodone in expectation of the excruciating pain but there was absolutely none. The only discomfort I experienced was the nausea from the medication. For the next few days, the pain of packing progressively worsened, mostly focused on the area at the bottom where the gauze had to be pushed in with a cotton swab. Lidocaine jelly was a godsend for these dressing changes, the nurse would squirt it in and let it sit for a few minutes before inserting the fresh gauze.
By day 5 the real pain started. Removing the gauze in the morning became something I absolutely dreaded. Every inch that came out made me bite down on the pillow and scream. Packing wasn’t great either, but it was nothing compared to the removal of the gauze. Luckily after 3 of these nightmare changes (over two days; i tired changing twice in the same day to see if it would prevent the gauze from sticking to the would and reduce pain [it didn’t]) I discovered a technique that makes the removal of gauze virtually pain free:
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
~~~~~~~IF YOU HAD YOUR EXCISION WOUND LEFT OPEN, READ THIS~~~~~~~~~
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
I would wake up in the morning and immediately take 5mg oxycontin with a protien bar and some fiber gummies. Then, I would wait 30 minutes and get in the shower. While in the shower, I slowly try to soak the wound and the gauze with water completely. I Spread my cheeks and tried to get the gauze and the wound as wet as possible. My physician and nurse told me not to worry about getting it wet, it wont hurt it even if the water isn’t sterile. Then I would jump up and down, resoaking the gauze every so often. Then I would slowly begin to pull the gauze out inch by inch, stopping to jump and soak if I felt any pain. In this way, I could take ~20 minutes to remove the gauze in a MUCH less painful manner. I cant tell you how happy I was the first time I came out of the shower with no gauze removal looming over my head. So liberating.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
I am now on my 10th day since surgery and my girlfriend (who changes the dressing) says that my wound has markedly improved. The depth is reduced and the color has changed from a dark red to a nice pink with some white/yellow webbing on the inside. The pain is starting to recede, I am assuming that I will be almost pain free within the next week. Sitting is only somewhat uncomfortable now and its getting better every day. If you have a pilonidal, I advise you not to wait. My cyst was not painful (many appear to be VERY painful) and it was still worth it to have it removed. I am already over the hardest part and I can see the finish line a few months away. Good luck!”