Don't look back in anger

This song came on the radio this morning and it prompted me to write about what I would do differently with the benefit of hindsight and the increased understanding I have now. As you can see from my previous post, like many coccyx sufferers, I have had pretty much the full range of treatment, gradually going from the most conservative to the coccygectomy a few weeks ago.

To be honest I am not sure I would have done much differently. The obvious flaw in the way the NHS deals with this is that they want to give you drugs and tell you it will hopefully go away at some point soon. If someone has had pain for a a few months and treatment is not making progress then the dynamic sit/stand X-rays should be undertaken. See my other previous post on this. There is not much I can do about the NHS process though - unless of course someone influential ever reads this blog, which is unlikely! Perhaps it can help inform individuals in a similar boat to the one in which I have been stuck in though. This in turn may help to spread the knowledge over time perhaps.

Given the NHS  ignorance to the issues, I can kind of see how the approach they employ makes sense. Drugs - physio - more drugs - more physio - injections (various) - manipulation under anaesthetic etc etc. Very reluctant to operate even as a last resort! The problem is that the people administering this treatment are not really experts in what they are doing, they are usually making a semi educated guess - it is a rare problem after all.

While I do not have regrets as I followed the logical path of treatment - I was ignorant to coccyx pain at the start of all this afterall - there are probably two things that I would have done sooner than what I did. Firstly, I would go and see Michael Durtnall or another physio or chiropractor with proven expertise in managing coccyx pain sooner. I saw Michael at approaching a year of pain. Although it did not resolve the issue it was a big step towards making things clearer (see previous post). Secondly, I would probably not have persisted with any treatment if after 3 or 4 months it was not making a distinct and consistent improvement. 

The problem is, hindsight is very wise! You have to give each treatment a fair crack and it is very confusing to start having too many avenues open at once. As I imagine it is with a lot of chronic pain, I think the whole thing is a learning process, both mental and physical. While it frustrates me that this is poorly understood by medical professionals (in particular the NHS) I am not bitter about it as things could be far worse and some good things have come out of this process, as highlighted in previous entries. Whilst this pain is very compromising it is obviously not as widespread or dangerous as many health issues that people have to contend with. The most important thing is not to lose faith and focus your energy on moving forward - don't look back in anger, it's not worth it.