I got my first pilonidal cyst at age 40. I am now 51 and still, I can't get rid of it. After many surgeries, I still have a pin hole that drains yellow fluid ever so slowly. During one of my surgeries, the tip of my tailbone was removed because the cyst was wrapped too many times around it. Although I don't hurt anymore, I would like to get rid of this thing once and for all.

I am 26 and I just suffered from a pilonidal abscess. I have always had a little lump under my skin for about the past 3-4 years and it was tender. I remember at one point it hurt so bad that I could not get in and out of my car. I had to drive with my body stretched straight which was very uncomfortable. Then one day the pain went away and I felt normal. My doctor had said that many times these cysts will go away on their own. Now three years later this past week that same cyst started to grow. Within about 48 hours it went to being the size of a pea to the size of a golf ball. It was sore and I could not sit down. My doctor sent me to the ER where they lanced and drained it. The doctor shot multiple needles of numbing medicine around and in the infected area. It felt like she was shooting fire in my body. Bad enough I was lying on my stomach so the only thing I could do was try to crawl away off the table. It was more painful than natural childbirth! When the medicine kicked in she then cut open the area and drained it. A lot of pus, blood and nasty stuff came out, and I am glad that I couldn't watch. She packed it and I returned 2 days later and I just got my packing removed. I feel much better. The doctor said it almost always comes back in patients.

I had a cyst when I was seventeen and in excruciating pain I had it lanced and drained only to have to do it all again 6months later as the surgeons couldn't get it all the first time. Now 16years later it is back and I am on my third round of antibiotics to try to get rid of it without lancing it again.

From the age of 15 to 19, the cyst would come back and I would have it lanced. Finally, at age 19 the doctor decided to do the surgery and I haven't had a problem since, but the area is very sensitive and I can't sit for very long.

I had surgery for a cyst when I was 15. I'm now 29 and have not had a recurrence, though the area is sensitive and uncomfortable when sitting for long periods. The first surgeon I went to wanted to make two diagonal incisions and basically sew it up in a way that would have flattened the cleft. It did not sound like a good idea so we got a second opinion. The surgery ended up being a vertical incision along the cleft and the area was drained and cleaned. It was packed with gauze to heal from the inside out. The healing process took several weeks and the wound was a pain to take care of, but I'm still convinced it was the right treatment. There was never much pain but the bleeding and constant draining in the first several days was pretty hard to deal with.

I had a terrible time in my teens with a pilonidal cyst. Had it lanced and it kept coming back even bigger. I couldn't sit for even short periods of time. Some wise soul (it wasn't my doctor) told me to drink lots of pineapple (unsweetened) juice. I can recall buying a big can of it and would drink a large glass a day until it cleared. It did and I was never bothered again. I'm now 52 and it was that experience that got me interested in alternative health. Good Luck!

It has been 14 years since my cyst was lanced and drained. The original incision was about 3/4 of an inch and is now about 1/8 inch. There has been no pain or discomfort since the original incision and the drainage events are minimal, about 6 times per year. I have not been motivated to attempt to resolve the problem with surgery, which does not appear to be a sure thing, and the intermittent seepage is not a problem. Research indicates the wound may never heal and that would be fine with me if no other complications develop.

I had pilonidal cysts three times during my young adulthood. Now many years later I still have pain and discomfort when sitting for too long. More recently I've started to have trouble with numbness in my legs and even my private parts. I believe something may have happened during surgery.

I got my first cyst when I was about 27yrs old. My doctor did an in office surgery in which he lanced it several times before he broke it. He only used a topical numbing spray. Then he drained it and packed it with gauge, I could fill my skin ripping as he did this. This by far was the worst pain I have ever been in and actually went into shock.