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I was originally diagnosed with coccydynia. This literally means a pain in this coccyx area. I’ve had my coccyx removed but I still suffer from chronic pain. In day 7 of my Blogtober challenge, I share an interesting fact with you about my chronic pain.

A fact about my chronic pain

I’m one of the 10% to 20%º of people who continues to have pain following my coccyx being removed.

In 2015 I had my coccyx removed. The procedure for this is called a coccygectomy. I was hoping that this would cure my pain as I was told my coccyx was dislocated in two places. My regular readers will know that this made no difference to my pain whatsoever.

My chronic pain journey before surgery

My chronic pain journey after surgery

Although the recovery time following this surgery can be up to a year, surgeons often advise that it can take up to two years to see any benefit. The general outcome is that 80% to 90% of patients see an improvement in their painº – either it goes completely or it is less than before.

So what next?

I always knew that there was no guarantee that the surgery would work, but based on the diagnosis, I was hopeful.

I attended a pain management clinic a few weeks ago in the hope that there was one last resort to trying to get help for relieving my pain. Ever since I realised my surgery didn’t work, I have accepted my pain and learned to cope much better. But after attending the clinic, it actually hit me that I’m going to have this pain for the rest of my life.

The clinic offered me the option of trying another cortisone injection, and also something I’ve never heard of before called radiofrequency lesioning (RFL). Both these options could give me temporary relief but there was no guarantee either of them would work. I’ve got a lot of thinking to do to decide if I want to go down this route or not.

ºStats then from https://www.your.md/condition/coccydinia/#chapter-treatment 

Who else is taking part in blogtober 2018?

Nicola at nicolajogston.com – Parenting, disability and lifestyle blog

Natalie at thespooniemummy.com – Living a meaningful life with chronic illness

Laura at lauramorningstar.com – Personal blog covering a wide range of topics

If you’re taking part, let me know, I’d love to add your blog to my list.