I had an infected pilonidal cyst several years ago. The pain was so intense that a general surgeon had to lance and drain it. This helped relieve the pain immediately. I was put on some antibiotics and pain medicine and instructed to clean the area and apply sterile dressings to the wound. I later had a surgery which removes the hair and skin debris (which forms almost a "spider web"). I am now 32 years old and I believe another cyst has formed because I am beginning to feel pressure and slight pain at the same site/area. These cysts will often return.

We just found out that my daughter who is 14 now has a pilonidal cyst. She did not have any pain and it is a hole, not the typical blemish. She may have had something there previously but had not mentioned anything because she may have thought it was not a big deal. I think back now and she may have had a fall on her tailbone several years ago. She is due to see the surgeon this week and we will see what her options are. She is on antibiotics now and has not had to deal with infection yet.

At first, I thought it was my tailbone. I was in so much pain that I ended going to the hospital. I find out it was a pilonidal cyst from an ingrown hair. I had surgery, which took about seven minutes. This was all so painful. I could not walk, sit or lie down. I had to lie on my stomach to feel at ease. The worst thing was when they had to clean it and then pack with some type of thin gauze (anywhere from 18" then decreased to about 6"in length). I felt I was going to die. With this infection, it caused me to have a high heart rate, high fevers, a lot of swelling of my feet and hands. Since I could not urinate nor have any bowel movement. I was told by the surgeon that maybe in the long run the pilonidal cysts would return about 3 more times throughout life.

I had the cyst 40 years ago. My primary doctor lanced and drained the cyst. He said it may come back. I am now 73 and since then, the cyst filled up three times and drained by itself.

I was down in Mexico and one morning I woke up and could hardly walk or sit. All around my tailbone was obviously swollen, hot to the touch and red. It felt like I had bruised my tailbone. I went to a huesero, which is like a bone therapist, or a physical therapist. He said he couldn't help me because all the water my coccyx was inflamed with was infected. I went home and the owner of the house I was renting gave me a marijuana tincture to warm and place on my back with a cloth. After five minutes mostly what looked like blood leaked out, but I guess it was pus. After it drained I just kept the area clean and I haven't had a problem with it since, but it's only been a week or so with this pilonidal cyst.

I had my cyst cut and squeezed by a Doctor. I am in the process now of just letting it drain. It was at the point where the pain was unbearable the first doctor I went to gave me some 800mg Motrin for a week. I almost took them all in 4 days. But after I got cut I could walk and sit properly almost within hours. (And I had to get cut without anything to kill the pain).

It felt like I had fell really hard because my tailbone was sore. Each day that passed the pain got worse and worse until I couldn't sit, lay down, turn over or barely walk. I had a raised bruise on the inside of my butt cheeks and after going to the ER the P.A. diagnosed it as a pilonidal cyst. They had to drain the pus out and pack it with gauze and bandaging. I think the sooner you notice the symptoms the better you can handle the problem quicker.

My first cyst surfaced when I was 15; my discomfort was misdiagnosed and went untreated. The cyst burst during my sleep. Several months later I had the first to two surgical procedures to relieve the pain and inflammation. I have experienced several flair ups that resolved themselves. Today, 33 years later, I am experiencing pain and swelling. It appears that I'm headed for the third in-patient procedure to relieve the pain.

I had my cyst lanced once and it was excruciatingly painful! The cyst came back within a month. Then I had surgery to remove it and never had another issue. It's been over 20 years now.

I suffered from a recurring pilonodal sinus infection when I was 17, over 20 years ago. After having the initial infection drained, and going through several rounds of antibiotics, I had surgery on the area. This created an open wound which took about 4 months to heal as it was packed with gauze and healed from the inside out. The infection has not recurred since, but my tailbone area is sensitive, and becomes uncomfortable if I sit for a long time.