DougG

If you don't know what it is, I'd recommend skipping Googling it and also skip the rest of this thread . I'm recovering today from having one excised in surgery yesterday. I'm doing very well with no pain, but it is going to be a bit messy the first couple of days, dealing with drainage. It's one time i appreciate my wife even more than usual!

The worst outcome is that the doc wants me off biking for a full 8 weeks because it seems that cycling is particularly associated with developing this condition (the other is being a truck driver!). Mine might actually be congenital seeing in that I had this done once before, 54 years ago, when I was not even 21 years old, and it is most common in males 20-40. But if this is a known cyclists' ailment, I'm wondering how many of you here have had this or heard of a friend with it, and if you were ever told that it was possibly due to cycling.

And you know what's only slightly less worse than not biking for 8 weeks at the time of year when it's finally getting warm outside? A week before my surgery my LBS called me up to say that the bike that I've had on order since last September just came in and was ready for pickup! So now all I can do for a while is make occasional trips to my shop in the basement and stare at it. Of course, it also gives me plenty of time to check it out, mount the bottle cages, etc. etc.

rck

Never had one but saw quite a few when I was in the army many moons ago! (pun intended) Army treatment involved the use of a little numbing med, a scalpel and a fair amount of discomfort. We were much kinder in the civilian world.

Bob S

Had a cyst removed recently from next to a much more delicate area back there. Had to be careful sitting for a few days. I was off my bike for 4 weeks.

OldCoot

I hope recovery goes well. I know how hard it is not ride. I had spinal surgery and was off the bike for nearly 3 years, and thought I might not ever ride again. The time off helped me reassess my priorities and be extremely grateful for riding once I started again. I did gain weight though... be careful there!
Again, I wish you speedy recovery.

10 Wheels

Thanks for sharing. Never heard of it.
Speedy Healing.

Climb14er

Had one, unfortunately they do sometimes return. Painful as all hell. Was excised, opened up and drained. Lots of fluid and blood. Had to take it easy for a few weeks, allowing it to heal. Bought a cushion with opening at lower end to relieve any excess pressure. After seven years, still use the cushion. Am aware of my sitting and posture. You might have to wait longer than you want to allow it to heal.

Flip Flop Rider

had one high school that was removed in the hospital..didn't ride then, and don't remember it limiting me much other than sitting on a donut for a few days

DougG

Thanks for sharing your experience. Considering that mine took 50+ years to return and I'm 75yo, I can probably assume that I'll check out long before it's back again! Mine was painful only when it first erupted and was badly infected. Once I took a few days of anitbiotics it settled down as far as pain goes. Interestingly, I've had no post-op pain whatsoever! The biggest issue is the inconvenience of changing bandages several times a day until the doc removes the drain in a few days.

I'll make sure to talk to him about exactly what types of pressure to avoid. My first incidence was the common one just below the tailbone, but this one is below that and on one side. He thought that 8 weeks off the bike was sufficient, especially since I usually only ride for an hour or two and no more the 4x per week. We'll see...

Again, thanks for the reply. For something that is claimed to be "common" for bikers (and truck drivers!), it's odd that I haven't found more than a couple others who have experienced it.

masi61

Well when I looked up "Pilonidal Cyst". the photos show a large boil just above the butt crack sort of directly over the sacrum. I have posted here about "epidermoid cysts", "sebaceous cysts" and even "perineal nodular induration or PNI". In my case the cysts (if I get an angry one) are directly at the base of the scrotum where pressure on the saddle is concentrated. I have had to wait until the winter where I am off the bike for like 8 weeks to get a couple of angry ones to calm down. I considered surgery but am self-managing mine by scrubbing the area with soap and water and using a small amount of Shea butter directly on my scrotum and in the skin folds so that there is no pinching between my bits and a bit of my pad in my shorts. I have also written about my "poultice" of taking a slab of fresh ginger root or turmeric root, buttering it with Manuka honey and covering it with a waterproof bandaid to "wake up" a solidified inflamed sebaceous cyst with some promising results so far.

DougG

If you look it up on Wikipedia there's a better explanation. It's not really like an epidermal cyst and is in the crack below the tailbone. I had mine surgically excised a week ago and they put me under full sedation for it in a hospital OR. Going by the surgeon's and pathology reports, the incision was an oval 9cm x 6cm and 2+ cm deep. So IOW a real bite out of my a$$! Stitches and the drain come out tomorrow and then several more weeks before I can get on a bike again.

Sorry for your ongoing problems which are apparently chronic. My last "repair" in this same area lasted 50 years, so if this is the same it might come back when I'm 125 (can I still bike at that age?).

gringomojado

My Dad was an MD in Army in WWII. He did a lot of pilonidal cysts, your procedure he called a cougar swipe, and the more minor was a incise ,wick and drain, which I chose since he said the incidents of cyst return seemed about the same. He said the recuperation from the major operation such as yours was lengthy

I used to get flareups which I called "having my period" where the cyst would infect and then bleed and drain. Since cycling, I have not had this.

gm

DougG

According to my medical log, my operation was on March 17 and I took my first EZ post-op ride on April 23, so about 5 weeks recovery before the doc cleared me. Since then I've been riding on my usual schedule with no issues (and hoping for no repeats!).