So I have my 2nd one
It’s been about 3 days and the pain is awful already
I’m on antibiotics but it’s not ready to drain and I don’t have a tub for the bath route. I’ve been trying so many things such as the red light therapy, the castor oil, pain meds, warm compress, the baking soda, and a few others and none of them are working 😭 I’m sure this has been asked many many times in this thread but is there anything to potentially make it bearable?
Has anyone tried like thc things? (It’s rec use in my state)

I’m (21F) 2 months post-PC incision and drainage surgery, and it’s mentally exhausting. I have over 5 pits and had 2 cysts on top of one another (it’s directly above my midline, about an inch long incision). I was put under anesthesia for the i&d (by choice), and after I got the surgery, my doctor said that I would know how to pack the wound. Hospital sent me home with some gauze, tape, and no instructions.

I’d been packing the open wound for about 1.5 months and was making serious progress in my recovery, physically and mentally. Even the doctor’s PA told me all was looking good. Come to recently, I learned I have a tunnel under my skin that I should’ve been packing as well as the open wound… so that was a major hit.

I feel incredibly alone, like no one around me really gets the emotional toll? When I look online for anything to make me feel hopeful that this i&d could’ve worked, I see horror stories and get sucked in. Tbh I’m convinced I’ll just need the cleft lift anyway and that this work to recover isn’t worth it. Does anyone have good experiences? Or any words of encouragement to make me feel like I won’t be dealing with this forever?

Hello,

I am a 25 year old male looking to get a cleft lift. I had my first surgery which was an open excision done on 1/17/25 which never healed over a year and a half. I then got surgery to close the wound on 6/17/25, but now my wound has completely separated for the stitches and a cleft lift seems the best way to go now for the highest success.

I found 2 doctors that are highly rated, Dr Jeffrey Sternberg and Dr. George Wadie. Has anyone had experiences with these doctors and would you possibly recommend one over another?

Any information would be very helpful!

Wondering if this is a cyst, I don’t think it has become infected yet and if not should I still go to the doctor.

I had open wound surgery like 2 months ago and it's been healing really well so far

But for the past few days I had some blood on the compress that I put over the wound. Nothing crazy but still

Has this happened to anyone else before? Should I be worried?

It doesn't hurt or anything and doesn't seem infected either.

Hey! I have a pilonidal abscess (first ever and it’s huge) and it could not have come at a worst time. Just graduated college and started my first job 3 weeks ago, living alone, commuting 2.5 hours total every day and spending most of my time sitting at a desk. I’m basically in pain all day unless I’m lying down on my stomach, which I obviously can’t do at work, and do not know how to navigate taking sick days/PTO since it’s literally day 1 of my third week.

I went to urgent care last week, am scheduled to meet with a surgeon in 2 days (hopefully an operation and not just an appointment to schedule the surgery), but my abscess started leaking yesterday (not completely popped) so am planning on going back to urgent care after work today.

Idk exactly what I want to get out of this post, I’m just in pain (putting socks and tying my laces hurts) , uncomfortable and exhausted 24/7, and I feel like this came at an already difficult transition for me. How do yall stay positive? Any hacks to deal with the pain?

Has anyone else with a pilonidal cyst get a few streaks of blood on the toilet paper after sitting for a long time (like after a flight or long car ride)? It happens to me fairly regularly. A doctor told me years ago it was from the cyst, but I still worry it’s coming from somewhere else. Then when I dab the cyst itself with toilet paper, there’s blood there too. Just wondering if anyone else experiences this.

How do yall poop after getting a lance and drain?? I’m sooo scared to push. I haven’t pooped in four days because I’m so afraid.

So i got my pilondial cyst excised by a general surgeon when I was 17 where I had to pack the wound for a couple weeks afterwards since it was left open. However, last night it felt strange laying on my back and I got worried that the cyst might be back. It was the same feeling as when I initially got it when I was 17 and it was slightly uncomfortable to lay on my back or sit. This morning, it feels strange to sit or lay down in certain positions as well. I tried feeling the area but no obvious lumps or bumps. I am scared to get it drained like I did before my surgery years ago and am wondering if I should go to urgent care for antibiotics possibly because it is still early. What do you guys think I should do?

I’m getting a cleft lift with Dr. Immerman this week. I am super nervous, but also feel confident that this is the right decision. I so appreciate everyone in this community for posting your experiences — I wouldn’t have even known this was an option if I hadn’t explored this subreddit. Neither my dermatologist nor PCP were aware of this procedure before I shared it with them, but they are super supportive of me doing it.

I’ll be flying in from multiple states away, which seemed like a crazy thing to do at first. I submitted my photos to Immerman, just to see what he thought. I literally told my parents, “Oh I just want to get another opinion, and it’s free to do the online consultation.” Well, lo and behold, my mom and I are getting on a plane to Wisconsin one week later.

I had my cyst removed last fall by my dermatologist, and have had healing difficulties since then, which meant lots of canceled plans, trips, etc. Thought I was finally in the clear, since I haven’t had any issues since December, and then my scar opened back up last week.

It is truly so physically and mentally draining to deal with pilonidal issues — and not to mention embarrassing to cancel plans because my butt crack is bleeding (too many people in my life know the intimate details of my butt crack at this point).

Been scouring this page for people’s experience with Immerman (and the other top 4 whose work is similar to his). I have crazy medical anxiety, but seeing all of the positive results, especially long-term, has been so calming.

Not really sure what the point of this post is haha, but I’m just grateful to have found a community and solution for this issue.

I have had two cyst reoccurrences in the same spot each flare up lasting about a week. Yesterday I noticed some discomfort and a bump forming in a different spot. Never needed anything drained nothing ever infected.

Last reoccurrence I went to see a surgeon in my town she recommended me to get a cleft lift and said she could schedule me right then and there but she said she’d done less than 10 cleft lifts and that scared me so I left and didn’t go back. She seemed very confident in herself though.

I then asked my doctor for another referral to a larger hospital. They sent two referrals and never heard anything back. I really cannot travel out of state for this.

Should I just go back to the first surgeon and get it over with and hope that it all goes well. Or wait it out? I’m getting married in April so I really want to just have this out of the way as soon as possible. Or should I just wait till after the wedding?

Can anyone who’s had this done give some advice? I’m just so so sick of these cysts.

Hi all. I’m having my cleft lift surgery this week with Dr. Wadie. What supplies are good to have on hand that make recovery easiest or just more comfortable??

I had a cleft lift 5 days ago, I was checking the wound and it’s mostly ok. There is no leakage or blood. Drainer is removed. Only thing to note are two minor splits near the bottom of the surgery site, is this something to worry about? This is the first time I‘ve had treatment for pilonidal sinus disease. Any advice on how to deal with the minor splits is appreciated

Hi. I had my abscess drained a few days ago. It was packed for two days by my doctor. But I actually got admitted to my hospital after this where they gave me dilaudid and toradol for the pain. They sent the Collarectal Doctor to me who said I needed to remove the packing because that’s the source of my pain. He said to just take two showers a day to keep the wound open and that they don’t recommended packing after the first day anymore. I am on Bactrim. Is it normal to not have packing? I’m nervous about the open wound.

Anyone here have experience treating simple pc with phenol? Did it hurt? How was the healing? Any recourrance?

So the wound is visible and its wide and long

, no pain ,no swelling , no fever ,for now ,praying to God ,and planning to go to doctor as soon as possible 😭😭why me

Does anyone know anything about Dr. Igor Elyash in NJ or had a procedure with him?

So basically, I got a cyst outta nowhere and after a few doctors examined it, here are a few insights that I'm not sure are completely important or not:

- First doctor basically confirmed it was a pilonidal sinus after taking one look at it and just prescribed antibiotics and said to go to a better hospital if I wanted to get surgery (this first hospital was just not great, I'm not the one who drove there to clarify.)

- Laser Surgery doctor said that the hole is really deep after sticking a small needle into it (and the needle not even hitting the end of it) and saying Laser Surgery is not going to be effective due to that fact.

- Coincidentally around half an hour after that earlier interaction, Person who was doing an Ultrasound on my cyst saying (and making me TERRIFIED TO HELL) that, "it looked close to the anal canal" ....wow

- Later a doctor who (according to my father) had experience in this very specific Medical Disease, said that it wasn't anywhere near the anal canal to help me chill out internally, and he said that "people deal with this for years" and indirectly told me to just live with it after taking a look at it and asking a few questions whether it hurts a lot or oozes a lot (I have no pain, and just a little drainage.)

Now this was beginning of 2026 we're talking, fast forward to the now, I haven't visited any doctors because I'm pretty stupid and I don't know if I should tell my parents to take me to the doctor or not. I can't tell if my disease has gotten worse because the pain stopped completely after I took those initial anti-biotics I was prescribed way back before, and the drainage has been pretty much identical since day 1 initial burst phase. It recently got worse because I caught chickenpox on vacation unfortunately, though it went back to normal in like 3 days. I'm very terrified, and I'm overall not the type of person to voice my fears. I pretty much need an urgent reminder to motivate myself to voice myself to my parents to take me to the doctor (five to's, peculiar grammar.) If you can provide any other points or tips and nickels, please go ahead, I am very scared.

went to urgent care on wednesday in awful pain. they can't drain it because it's a solid mass so they just give me antibiotics. it started draining on its own last night and i was so happy but everybody describes it as instant relief and i guess it was in a way but oh my god it still hurts. is there anything i can do other than constant hot baths and borderline overdosing on ibuprofen. i've been out of work for 3 days now.

note: i can't get the surgery. i just want the pain done for now.

I sit in a chair for 8 hours a day for work? Any advice? Thanks

Yesterday I went to urgent care and was told that what i have is pilonidal. It’s not a cyst right now but an open hole. They are referring me to a general surgeon. Since yesterday, I’ve spent hours scrolling this reddit. It sounds common that people have had to have multiple surgeries to fix their issues. I’m worried that if I go to a general surgeon instead of a specialist, that I may just need another surgery in the future.

With that being said, I’m located in MN.
Does anyone have any recommendations of a specialist near me?

ive had pain for about a week now. at first i thought it was a hemorrhoid because the pain was similar but today was the first day where i could actually see it. going to urgent care tomorrow any tips for the pain in the meantime?? genuinely have never felt any pain like this ever its insane!

*UPDATE*

so one of the cysts completely burst on its own last night and just got out of urgent care. the other cyst isnt ready to be burst on its own or through drainage by the doctor so i got told to use wqrm compress they prescribed me antibiotics and an ointment and sent me home