Another happy listener :-(
Darienne McAuley - roadsend@pipcom.com
I am not alone. I am still in pain, but I am not alone in this incredible thing which has wrecked havoc in my life.
My butt-related accident list:
- Fell two stories and landed on the small of my back (& butt? I don't know) when 11 years old. Untreated.
- Third child presented laterally (his arm to be exact) and the ensuing delivery did some considerable damage. Haemorrhaged for a decade (with other womanly problems) and then had hysterectomy, rectocele and cystocele. What fun! :-(
- Lastly, April of 1998, I fell squarely on my butt - tripped by my loving dog - with immediate pain, but nothing more. Then in August, the pain set in and I was in for it. I thought it might be my endless wearing of jeans - but not wearing them made no difference. I have not worn pants with a back seam for a year now. Mostly I wear knitted legging things. With matching long jackets. (The pain seems at its least when my butt is warm. I keep an extra mohair throw on my backside at night.)
I have had pain for just about one year now. Not excruciating, just there, bad, constantly, endlessly - except as you all note - when walking. It hurts now to sit here and type this. Standing makes me very tired. I do have two other diagnoses: fibromyalgia and spondylolisthesis in L4 & 5 because of severe degenerative arthritis in the apophyseal joint in the lower lumber spine (read from a slip of paper). My primary care physician first gave me the diagnosis of coccygodynia and says that the arthritis may be the explanation. So far I have been given an office rectal exam, x-rays (nothing show in the sacrum or coccyx); pelvic ultrasound, colonoscopy (thank God I do not have cancer - I had never worried about cancer, but at 2 am I did tend to somewhat), anorectal manometry - the strangest test I have ever had, but not too unpleasant - all checked out fine here. Nada.
I've tried chiropractic - nothing; massage - helps me keep going but nothing else; moist heat - helps at night but no difference; pain pills - how many can you take? I just don't bother anymore unless it is unbearable. Next week I try accupuncture.
I've read most of the website now and will try one suggested thing after another. Thanks for being there.
Darienne McAuley.
Lessening of pain levels
One major thing has changed in my battle with coccydynia. My naturopath doctor suggested that I change my eating habits radically. I was already a vegetarian, non-drinker, etc and wondered what I could give up. Answer: just about everything I loved to eat - mainly the Nightshades (tomatoes, eggplant, peppers of all kinds, potatoes, to name a few) and the Rue family (citrus fruits, etc), along with wheat - which is in almost everything- , chickpeas and various other things to numerous and painful to enumerate. It seems that the Nightshades and Rue family contain substances which exacerbate pain. Wheat goes because it is the most common food allergy and chickpeas because they are hard to digest. No more potato chickpea curry with tomatoes.
Well, the good news is that IT REALLY WORKS!! The pain level has subsided greatly. It's not gone, but it is so much lessened. And for that I am extremely grateful.
Darienne McAuley
Updated 1999-11-11
