My Pilonidal Journey

November 2009 – January 2011

 

January 16, 2011

 

    I am currently lying on the couch on this Sunday watching Ellen. Two days ago I had a Pilonidal Excision which is outpatient but has a long recovery (4 – 8 weeks).

    I wanted to write about my journey with pilonidals because even though it is slightly embarrassing, I have noticed when I have posted about it on FB I have heard from friends who have struggled with it or know someone who has. So let's start at the beginning.

    In late November 2009 I was working at Chicago Title and driving about an hour and a half one way to work. One day I started feeling some pain in my tailbone area and later on I noticed a small lump at the very top edge of my butt crack. It quickly inflamed and became incredibly painful. I went to my regular doctor, who was unsure as to what it was, but determined it was an infection underneath the skin and gave me some antibiotics. At my check up appointment a few days later it was still there but it had shrunk due to the antibiotics. What was strange about it the doctor said was it had a large lump up top by the very top of my buttcrack but there was a tract that traveled downward. She recommended a specialist and I went to see him later that day. A coworker using web md was able to find about the Pilonidal cysts. The specialist confirmed this is what it was but felt the antibiotics were working. It eventually diminished.

    Fast forward to April 2010, when it came back. I went to my doctor who gave me a prescription for antibiotics. It took care of it last time so I thought that would take care of it. Unfortunately it didn't. I had a recheck appointment but it had increased so much that I could not wait. I went back to the doctor and he checked it and immediately left the room. He popped his head in after a few minutes and asked if I had ate, which yes I had had a piece of cinnamon and sugar toast. He sent me directly to the hospital to meet with Dr. Moore, a surgeon who would be lancing and draining this cyst. It was leaking and so incredibly painful! Dr. Moore was amazing! I could only have a local anesthetic because I had ate, and because the infection was so bad the local was not able to dull everything. I was awake and it hurt! Dr. Moore stopped and put more local in, but it was still painful! It took about a week to recover and after I was better I became a washing Nazi back there.

    A website that helped me out with a lot of information is www.pilonidal.org. Everywhere I looked talked about how it was mostly men who got this and the explanation that it used to be referred to "Jeep disease" as men in the army would get it supposedly from riding around in the Jeeps over rough terrain during war. The website addresses many questions I had and has some forums (not working yesterday, not sure what's going on) that allowed me to read other people's questions and see that a lot of women do struggle with this! I decided to write this blog because I've been so embarrassed of where the cysts come up and so I've been sometimes facetious of what it is and what's been happening. But then I got emails from a couple people who said they knew someone who had these or they themselves have had them and so that has made me want to write about my experience. It is nothing to be ashamed of and it's not my fault that I have these cysts.

    So everything was dandy, then over Thanksgiving weekend I started feeling a tingling in my tailbone. Saturday to be exact and I thought "Uh-oh" and wondered if the hours I spent on my behind in my car on Black Friday was the reason. By Monday, the cyst was full blown. Not quite the size of when I had surgery in April, but with only 2 days of growing it was large. My doctor was out of town so I did a walk-in at my doctor's office. They immediately called Dr. Moore's office. Dr. Moore was in the office, but his colleague Dr. Cornwall would meet me at the hospital. When I got to the hospital I met with Dr. Cornwall who gave me the options of doing it in the ER with a local or going with Conscious Sedation. After explaining my first surgery, Dr. Cornwall felt it was best we went the Conscious Sedation route.

    Dr. Cornwall explained to David and I that I would have to have the more extensive surgery soon, an Excision, as I would most likely continue to get reoccurring cysts. I'd had 3 within a year, 2 of which required surgery. I initially asked Dr. Cornwall if it could wait til May when I was done with school for Spring semester and he agreed. Later on David and I started talking about the recovery process (4 – 8 weeks for an excision), the kids school being let out, being laid up in the summer and the busy-ness of the real estate market in the Spring/Summer time. Also would I make it 7 months without another cyst and another surgery?

    The recovery for the second surgery was much easier on me (I thank the Conscious Sedation) other than the pulling of the gauze out of the wound the day after surgery. David did it after the first surgery and it was absolutely torture, I dreaded it and it was as bad as I remembered. I had David take a picture at one point to see how much was left. I've attached the picture below. Yes it is a picture of my butt. I'm over it, so anyone reading this should be too J.

We decided to work out a schedule of all online classes for Spring semester so that I could have the Excision sooner. At my recheck appointment we talked about the excision, the recovery time (4 – 8 weeks total healing time) and the high chance of infection during the healing process of the closed wound option. If the wound gets infected during the healing time, it will have to be laid open and allowed to heal as an open wound. This is something I wish to avoid. Obviously.

So I'm a worrier. Most people that know me would already know this. I check on my kids throughout the night to make sure they are breathing…one of my greatest fears is dying and them not knowing me or remembering me throughout their life. One of my top 3 greatest fears is General Anesthesia. The date of the surgery (January 14) was ever present in my mind and the fear that I would not wake up from GA held on tight and would not let go. Two nights before the surgery I was crying from fear. It's silly. I know this, you know this, but it is a fear. The night before the surgery I wrote each of my kids' letters. Yes Yes I know. I'm a freak. So what?

Lucky for me and my fear, the anesthesiologist recommended an epidural and sedation instead of General Anesthesia! Thank you Anesthesiologist lady! Love her! I wish I would've known this all along, then I would have focused my worry on something else!

The surgery went fine and I have a check up appointment on January 24 with the surgeon. It took me forever to feel my feet and then it took me even longer to pee. I tried for a good 2 hours. Really. I was so upset because I just wanted to go home and I could not pee! You have to pee before you go home because you can easily get Urinary Retention from surgeries (I googled this while trying to coax myself into peeing). I finally went and got to go home!

The surgeon left a long-acting local in the wound so I haven't been in tremendous pain from that yet, more achy from lying around and from the epidural. Today (Monday, January 17, 2011) I took off the white tape and diaper-ish thing I've been wearing since the surgery. Tomorrow I shower (I can't freakin' wait!)! I took pictures with my diaper thing on, please see below (if you want) and then had Blythe take pictures when the tape/diaper stuff came off. I can't see where the stitches end.

I will hopefully be vigilant enough that I will continue to discuss my healing journey on this blog. That's my hope. I also have high hopes this will take care of the damn things. They are very hard to get rid of (per my surgeon) and I had only one tract and it was removed but I still have a 20% chance of reoccurrence. I know you are jealous. Hah!

 

Pictures of Pilonidal Cyst

Surgery 2 - Gauze left in wound. This HURT!

Excision Picture:

A New Year, Resolutions and a Look Back on 2010

My dear friend, Heidi, posted a note on Facebook last night and the idea of it was purely brilliance! I am here and now making a Resolution (#1 in this post but perhaps not in importance in my life) to do this every year from here on out! That's how brilliant I think it is!

2010 Moments I don't want to forget:

~Got engaged! (Woot - Woot!)

~Went to Disney World (first time Evah for me and the kids)

~Enjoyed the kids' amazement at their first view of the ocean in Savannah, Georgia

~Took a 9 day trip with stops in Charleston, WV; Savannah, GA; Disney World; St. Augustine, FL and Nasvhille, TN

~Bought a house!

~Bought a 4 wheel 8 passenger SUV that I Love Love Love!

~Started College at the young age of 32

~Rocked out 2 semesters & 1 class in the summer with all A's

~Over college spring break went to Grizzly Bear Resort in Utica, IL and our family hiked through the remaning snow and ice in Starved Rock

~Spent time with family (but never enough)

~David placed #5 out of 170 of all applicants for the Fire Dept. and he is eligible to be hired over the next 2 years!

~Met more of David's family at Shanna's wedding ~ LOVE THEM!

~Made some ridiculously awesome friends (when I say made, I mean forced) and kept the ones that I already had (mostly)

~Had a fantabulous Birthday Bash for the kiddos, then followed it up with 2 parties: Halloween Boo-tastical Costume Party and our Holiday Food Fest

~Took 3rd place at the Unofficial Biggest Loser contest

~Lost 10 lbs (15 more to go)

~Had 2 surgeries (Dislike!)

~Found a hatred for Black Ops that I never knew I had

~David's Favorite Moment: He got a motorcycle

~Fell in Love... with Blakey (Candice's baby, but soon to be mine)

~Had amazing family pictures done at the beach (a dream of mine) - Thanks Wendy!

~Went and saw Justin Bieber (can't believe I had to look through pics on FB to remember this)

~Got a Shedd Aquarium Annual Pass and have gone a few times with the kids who love it!

~Went to Bad Axe and visited GG & Pops (and had doughballs in Caro - YUM)

~Visited Tony & Wendy Plus the Boys in Iowa (my back was out but the kids had a fantastic time)

~Saw Huey Lewis & the News at the Elkhart County Fair

~Spent a lot of time at the beach

~Got a Nook! (now incredibly envious of the new NookColor)

2010 was filled with great memories and if I'm forgetting some, it's only due to my seriously bad memory.... Moments are created every day and I am looking forward to what awesomeness 2011 holds!


New Years' Resolutions

1. Lose 15 more lbs and keep it off

2. Spend quality time with my family and appreciate them every day

3. Force 3 additional friends (clock starts ticking now) to be my friend

4. Make Every Day Count!

Anti-Bullying Program

 

 

To Whom It May Concern:

 

    I am writing you today regarding implementing an anti-bullying program in all of the Michigan City Area Schools. Bullying is an epidemic in this nation and it needs to stop. Every day children are bullied. Every day children don't want to go to school because they don't want to be picked on. Every day some child wonders if they can take anymore. Children shouldn't have to feel the only way out is suicide. We need to be pro-active about this in our community to ensure that children enjoy coming to school, that school is a fun place of learning without fear of censure. According to the National Education Association, an estimate of 160,000 children misses school every day due to fear of intimidation by other students.

    The schools need to take a stance of no tolerance for bullying. A friend of mine is a teacher in Michigan and her school has adopted the Behavior Rubric attached. She has said that her school requires all the teachers and students to follow the Rubric, and that it is sent home with parents and talked about at the Open Houses. It has made a dramatic improvement in her school. Adopting a similar Rubric costs the school absolutely no money and the benefits are immense.

I want to point out a couple of items on the Behavior Rubric that may need some further explanation. The "Time to Think Form" is a form that must be filled out by the student who has broken one of the Rubric Rules. The student should be sent to another area outside of the classroom and they are not allowed to come back until they have filled it out. The "Time to Think" form should have questions as to why they did what they did, what they could do better next time. This form should be sent to the parents that night for their signature in addition to the phone call directly from the student. This makes the student personally responsible for inappropriate actions or words. There should also be separate forms for the different grade classes. An elementary student shouldn't be given the same form as a high school student. There is an example of the "Time to Think" form also attached with this letter.

The other two terms I feel need clarification is ISS and OSS, which stand for In School Suspension and Out of School Suspension. It may seem strict to suspend a student due to bullying, but I firmly believe that fights are usually caused by some kind of bullying. Once it gets to a fight, it is punished by the school, but we should be taken care of it before it gets to that point.

I am also including some Core Components of a School-Based Aggression Prevention Program. This is an easy to read guide of how to come to a general consensus of what is bullying, where the "line in the sand" is, doing an anonymous survey with the students to get their perspective and developing the plan on an Area school basis. A copy of a survey regarding bullying is also enclosed.

It is important that teachers teach children what the difference is between ratting and reporting. I am attaching a worksheet that discusses how to talk to students about it as well as a Student Report Form. This year at an after school program, my five year old son was being choked by another five year old. My oldest daughter (8) saw this and attempted to get up to tell someone, but was told promptly not to get up from her seat. When I found out about this, I went directly to the after school program and talked with them about it. They told my daughter that no matter what she needs to get up next time, but I understand my daughter's fear that she's going to get in trouble by trying to get up because she at that point is supposed to "sit down." This can happen as easily in an after school program as it can during school hours.

I am also including handouts of "Reasons Adults Don't Intervene More," "What do Targets Need?" and "What do Bullies Need?" I think these are very informative for a teacher or staff at the school as to what to look for, why an adult should intervene as well as the support both the "Target" and the "Bully" need. There are many web resources regarding anti-bullying and suicide prevention. A couple of my favorites are: http://kidshealth.org and http://www.thetrevorproject.org. Web resources, hotlines, pamphlets and books regarding bullying should be able to be accessed through the school.

It is important for the schools to teach empathy vs. intolerance and compassion. Many times I have talked to my daughter about asking questions in school. Currently, I am enrolled at Purdue North Central and I ask any question I need to, because I know how important education is. However, as a young child it is different. There is a tremendous fear of censure or "looking stupid" when they raise their hand. If they get an answer wrong, or ask what someone else in the class thinks is "dumb" children can be made fun of. My daughter told me of an instance just like this two weeks ago in her class. She told me she raised her hand and answered a question, but her answer was wrong. The result: a few of the students in her class laughed at her. Next time it will be that much harder for her to raise her hand and take that chance. The form "Teaching and Modeling Empathy and Compassion At School" furnishes strong ideas on how to teach this in the classroom.

The final attachment is a Teaching Script of a couple of games that teaches children about Bullying. I feel these are applicable for students from pre-school through elementary school. I feel it is important we start early in teaching our children what is right and wrong, and what is acceptable behavior.

After the recent deaths of so many teenagers it has inspired me to become actively involved in Anti-Bullying. Children are killing themselves. This can and should be stopped. Let's not wait until this happens in Michigan City. I hope that you will take the time to review this information and contact me. I would like to be as involved as possible with initiating an Anti-Bullying Program in the Michigan City Area Schools. We should go from being a reactive society to become a preemptive society. I hope you take this situation as seriously as I do.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

Cari Adams

    Email: cariannadams@gmail.com

    Phone: 219-898-5412

Diet Day 5 and 6

Diet Day 5

Morning: Coffee

Water Count: 5

Breakfast: 2 pieces of French toast

2 pieces of bacon

Lunch:

Salad w/ranch

After Lunch:

100 cal Cheez It/Pretzel pack

Dinner:

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast w/light BBQ sauce

Mushrooms & Onions

Cherry Tomatoes

2 Green Shoots of Green Onion

4 Asparagus

After dinner:

Yoplait 100 calorie Lemon Meringue… ok when I ate it, but after had a weird aftertaste

Indulgent Bad/Bad/Bad:

Miniature 3 Musketeers

Sunday

Diet Day #6:

1 cup of Coffee

Water Count: 6

Breakfast: Everything Bagel with Tbsp of Butter (approx)

Lunch: Chicken Fajitas with Mushrooms, Onions and Green Pepper with Salsa and a teaspoon of Salsa

Lunch (Dessert): Strawberry Rhubarb Pudding (literally my favorite freakin' dessert and my mom made it and I could not resist!)

Dinner: A cup of pulled pork, 2 shoots of green onion, a bunch of red cherry tomatoes cut up, a cup of green beans, one cornbread muffin and 3 slices of fried (in olive oil) green tomato

 

I'm really nervous about weighing in, especially because of my couple slip ups with the rhubarb pudding and the pumpkin pie… oh and the miniature 3 musketeers. I think that I've done a really good job and am hoping that tomorrow I will see some sort of weight loss on the scale! I am planning on working out Mon, Tues, Wed and Fri and I will continue to try and keep in good portion control and my water intake up!

Diet Day 4 and 5

Diet Day 4

Water Count: 4 - 5

Morning:

2 Eggs Fried (w/Spray)

1 ½ Pieces of Toast

Mid-morning:

Banana

Lunch:

Large Salad

After Lunch Snack:

100 cal brownie bites (YUM)

Dinner:

Salmon

Cherry Tomatoes

Sugar snap peas

2 shoots of Green Onion

Mushrooms, Onions and Red papers (cooked with olive oil spray)

 

Diet Day 5:

Water Count: 5 – 6

Breakfast:

Bowl of fruit loops w/1% milk

Mid-morning snack:

Apple slices w/cheese and low fat caramel dip

Later on morning snack:

100 calorie Cheese Crackers/pretzels snack

Lunch:

Ham sandwich w/mustard

Salad w/lots of veggies and ranch

Dinner: (at a Banquet)

Thin slice of Prime Rib (no fat eaten – ew)

Asparagus

Tiny bit of potatoes

Maybe a cup of shrimp w/pasta

Pumpkin Pie (this is a vegetable right?)

    Forgot to do Diet Day 4 summary so just moving on! Yesterday (Friday) went working out with Maggie in the morning, did cardio and weights and then a cool down. Had a banquet to go to last night with Debbie…. Knew I was going for a dessert, but I feel ok with that decision! Now that I'm working out in the morning every morning I start waking up at 6:30…. Today is Saturday (Day 6) and I woke up at 6:30 but laid in bed til 7 because it seems wrong to get up so early when I'm not working out. I am going to try and bike a bit later on, but first Must Clean House!

 

Diet Day #3

 

Water Count: 4?

Morning: Coffee 1 cup

Bowl of Frosted Mini-Wheats

Mid Morning: Banana

Closer to Lunch: 100 Cal Snack Pack of Cheddar, Pretzel etc.

Missed Lunch/Starving: Apple

Lunch at 2 pm: Salad with lots of veggies a bit of Ranch, Half Ham Sandwich w/Mustard

Dinner: Lean Steak, Asparagus, Mushrooms, Onions, Red Peppers, 1 Half of a small potato, 2 shoots of green onion, 1 slice of crunchy bread

After Dinner Snack: 100 calorie Hostess Cupcakes (YUM!)

Day #3

    Woke up and pretty sure thought my legs were going to fall off. Sore all over. But I was up! I was going to work out! Picked up Maggie (after cleaning out my front passenger seat overflowing with water bottles and former pop bottles) and headed to the gym. Cardio!! We decided to do 30 minutes of cardio to switch on and off with weights. Maggie had the great idea of the Spinning Bike (remind self to send her a thank you card). 20 minutes of Spinning was horrifying! The video instructor I feel was totally mocking me and everytime he smiled his stupid little chipper smile my anger grew at him! However, burned a lot of calories and we are going to continue this torture every Wednesday, slowly moving our time up. The next 10 minutes were spent on the treadmill. Was sore for the rest of the day!     Took snacks to work with me, felt starving by 1 pm. Suddenly remembered the kids' Awards Ceremony at school at 1:30. Crap! Starving!! Had a delicious apple and some water that totally hit the spot! When I got home I was careful in what I ate for lunch and didn't overeat, I thank the apple.

    Dinner was scrumptious! I picked up a couple of little lean steaks and cooked in a light spray of olive oil, I cooked my mushrooms, onions and peppers also in a light spray of olive oil and some seasoning. Asparagus was delicious as well. Oh I forgot I had also cut up a few cherry tomatoes and had those with my steak. It was a truly delightful dinner. My temptation was the bread. Oh how I love big crunchy bread loaves from Meijer. I don't think I could give it up, I don't think I'd want to. I could sit and munch on bread and be happy. But, I had some self-control, limiting, myself to one thin slice, then the crust piece of the 2^nd little piece on my plate that David put there. I gave the rest to the dogs, because I knew I had to.

    Pretty happy with how things are going so far this week. I'm avoiding weighing myself until Monday, I am hopeful that I will not be disappointed then!