Pilonidal Experience #36

“I am 16 year old female and I’m currently in the healing process of a lanced pilonidal cyst. It all began when I would come home right after practice and just lay on my back on my bed, exhausted. I did so for about a week until I my lower back began to hurt. Over the next few days, what I believed to be my tailbone was sore and aching. I didn’t suffer through a bad fall or anything so I was confused but continued to ignore the issue until it was too late. (If you have symptoms of a cyst, go to the doctor, it is embarrassing, but you need to go.) Anyway, a small bump on the top left of my butt crack emerged and I legitimately thought my tailbone was out of place. It was now about two weeks since any sort of pain and I was still going strong, ignoring it, thinking it would go away on its own. The symptoms of a Pilonidal Cyst pretty much lined up with the symptoms I was suffering through; however, I still refused to seek any professional medical care. 3 weeks now and horror occurred. I attended a Jazz Festival in Greely, CO and to the festival it was a 5 hour bus ride. I could not sit on my actual butt it hurt so much, so I laid in the aisle on my stomach or sat completely forward in a seat or sat leaning on my right leg to keep pressure off, it was horrible. Painkillers were unavailable once I reached the hotel and as soon as I opened the door I jumped on the bed on my stomach and would not get up, not to go swimming, not to hang out, nothing, the pain was far too much. I looked in the bathroom mirror and my cyst was now white, and literally the size of a golfball. What a nightmare. To make matters worse, we left to the festival early just to SIT and watch the other bands and we performed late that evening. Oh, and walking…… Was absolutely troublesome. It was an epic journey just to walk a few yards, my movement was coming strictly from my waist and my hips constantly gave out. The last day was back on the bus for 5 hours, I was granted the permission of laying in the very back, I told everybody I had a bruised tailbone because I was embarrased of the true reason. Anyway, it’s Sunday morning, 5 am and I’m at my grandfather’s because my mother is out of town and I go to the bathroom. I am on the toilet and all of a sudden this abundant amount of blood comes out of nowhere, my first thought was my menstraul cycle, but no.. I was bleeding so much blood! I couldn’t believe it, so I reach around and feel where my cyst is and it’s wet, popped, and bleeding. I cry. I cry so much because it starts to sting, and also because there was no “instant pain relief” like I read on other stories. I’m sitting on the toilet, bleeding from my lower back, crying and call my grandpa into the bathroom to give me pain pills, he does so. Eventually it stops, dripping blood, and I can stand like an elderly, hunch-backed woman. I can’t even walk, and I refuse to go to the ER until my mother returns so my grandpa offers me his bed to lay on and I take a nap. When I wake up around 9 am the pain is gone, I can stand straight and I am so relieved. My mother has returned and I showed her the popped, draining cyst and it looks like a deflated balloon. She’s disgusted and immediately takes me to the ER. I’m crying because I’m embarrased, I read the “causes” behind a Pilonidal Cyst: hairy, over-weight, tight clothing, sitting for long periods of time. As my hormones take over I am crying on the mat, exposed waiting for the doctor to come in. The doctor tells me they’re going to lance it, drain it, and clean it. I was afraid of pain but the most painful thing during the procedure was the numbing shot! Oh, my, goodness. That was awful. it felt like he had taken a knife and just drawn a circle around the wound, it stung immensely. Soon, the wound was cut open further, no sign of infection, that was a good thing. So they take an iodine saline solution thing and clean out the wound, it doesn’t hurt, I can only feel temperature, and then the packing. The packing, while it was numb, felt like a lot of pressure to my actual tailbone and hurt just a little. They tell me to come back in two days to have it repacked and to check for any infection. The doctor also included that I get the surrounding tissue surgically removed since a Pilonidal Cyst is going to reoccur due to my “abnormal formation of skin” in that area.Two days later, I come back and it’s a new doctor and man. There is no numbing shot, which is a good thing, but this doctor just rips the gauze out as fast as he could, like I literally thought I was under going a numbing shot, again! He hurt it so much it was unbelievable. Sadly, my wound was showing signs of an infection so I was prescribed antibiotics and when he packed it, it was just this weird painful sensation.. On a scale of 1-10, I rate that packing at a 5. I wasn’t allowed to shower, or get the dressing wet. So, now it’s been about a month since the pain first began. I’m currently having to go to physical therapy to having my packaging taken out, clean my wound, and repack…
Packing: There’s a bit of a sting, for me, when the packing is taken out and it stings a bit less when getting packed. For me, it’s a scraping, stinging aching pain at the very tip of my wound. I honestly wish this pain upon n o b o d y. This sucks. Also, I’m have to have it packed every other day for the rest of the month! I’ve already currently missed an entire week of school due to the pain. I am returning in a few days and I’m afraid, only because of two things. My walking speed and sitting down for long times.
I heavily push this warning: IF YOU HAVE THE SYMPTOMS FOR A PILONIDAL CYST. GET IT CHECKED OUT BEFORE IT BECOMES ANY WORSE. YOU WILL REGRET IT SO MUCH IF YOU DONT.”