Doing it My Way!

I know from reading other accounts that deciding whether to go ahead with surgery is something that people agonise over. Quite rightly too, as it is no small decision due it being a rare operation with a lengthy recovery period. For the first 2 years I was pretty adamant that I would try everything possible to avoid surgery. Obviously, it makes sense to exhaust all realistic conservative treatments first.

As it is such a rare operation, there is no shortage in GPs and even surgeons who will advise against it at all costs. However, I have come to find that this is largely in ignorance as they are simply not aware of, and/or experienced in, the more modern techniques of the procedure. There is a long history of coccygectomy having a bad rap - from high infection rates to poor outcomes. Back in the day it was even common for people to be labelled heysterical if they complained of prolonged pain here! These risks can be mitigated with an experienced surgeon.

As I have detailed previously I have had lots various types of treatment. If something was going to have fixed it, it would have by the time I made my decision. So once I saw the X-ray of the coccyx dislocating upon sitting, my mind was essentially made up. 

For me therefore the decision was not that hard to make. I am still relatively young (36) and with my life ahead of me - career, sport and exercise, possible family, holidays etc. Although I had become pretty good at managing it, it was not something that I was willing to contemplate doing forever. Once the final injection in November provided no relief, my mind was set. We went for a 2 week holiday to India which was a bit of a delayed honeymoon (Valium, whiskey and standing got me through the flights!) and during that time I decided there was no turning back, so to speak! The main thing that made it more clear cut for me was that Dr Maigne and Professor Dousounian will not operate if they do not consider you to be a 'good candidate'. My physio was also in favour of it once he saw the X-rays, which helped as surgery is definitely the last resort for them. The other key thing was that I had the backing of those closest to me - they trusted me to make the decision and have backed me all the way. 

Despite my mind being firmly set, I still had to adopt a new mindset. After all, for 2 years I had been against the surgery and for most of that time I believed that I could make progress through more conservative approaches. It took quite a bit of energy and single mindedeness to push ahead with it. However, as I have outlined above, it was the rational decision as I had ticked every other box. Even if the surgery turns out not to completely fix it, there was no other option left open to me. If you are in a similar situation, I would advise you to rationalise it as much as possible and get the opinion of those experts that you trust the most. That, along with your gut instinct should help you make the right choice for you. Fingers crossed!