The Tailbone Doctor blog

I want to draw your attention to the new blog of Dr Patrick Foye, aka the Tailbone Doctor - http://tailbonedoctor.com/blog/. As many people will know Dr Foye is an expert in coccyx pain and treatment, based in the States. He also has a book coming out in a few months which will likely be a very welcome addition for patients to educate both themselves and perhaps more importantly their GP, physio and orthopaedic spine consultant!!

Clearly nothing replaces an actual physical examination and X-rays etc but the advice and knowledge shared through these means can enable and empower people to make the right decisions in the first places rather than go round in circles searching for a solution.

Happy reading!!

The long and winding road

As most people reading this will likely know, recovery from a coccygectomy is a long one! As Professor Doursounian says, 'not a particularly complicated operation, but a long recovery'. 

In previous blogs I have detailed my first two weeks or so recovering in Paris, so here I will talk about the subsequent 6.5 weeks I have had back at home. It seems timely to do so as I am due to start back at work on Monday as part of a phased return. I am not going to talk or speculate about the potential success of my operation here - that can be for another day when I can hopefully be more conclusive - but I will highlight how I have kept my sanity (I think!) and what I have and have not been able to do during this period. 

Weeks 2 to 4 were pretty similar to Paris with only a very slow improvement (at least noticeable to me). I went outside for some fresh air but walking was pretty limited to the streets near to where I live, maybe walking up to 500 metres at a time by the end of the period. Lots of lying on my side either in bed or on the sofa. I read quite a bit and listened to the radio as well as write the occasional blog. One of the books I have been reading is the Chimp Paradox by Pr Steve Peters. I have never been a fan of these kind of self help type books before, but I have found this very useful and brilliantly written. It tells you how it is and keeps you focused on how easy it can be to remain positive, happy and in control by controlling your inner chimp - all key things for me over this period.

I also began watching the Wire boxset which proved to be really useful! I am not a big TV or film watcher ordinarily so this proved to be a sanity saver. Over the 5 seasons there are about 60 episodes, each an hour long. This really helped in being disciplined with the rest, but also with changing position and moving a bit. I got addicted and ended up watching all of them within 3 or 4 weeks.

I noticed near the start of week 5 that my movement had started too improve and I was able to start going on longer walks, perhaps up to a mile a day outside, usually across 2 separate walks. I began doing some very basic stretches just to try and keep a bit of movement in my back. In week 6 I took my first trip on public transport since the mission back from Paris. Just 5 mins down to Richmond but it felt good to see something slightly different and leave my postcode!! I also watched a half of rugby in the local pub with a friend and had a pint. The dizzy heights!!

By the end of week 7 there was definitely less constant discomfort and pain into the scar and operation area, although a fair bit of discomfort into surrounding areas as a result of having nearly 2 months without exercise and only in certain positions. I began sitting at this time - just for minute at a time. This is quite an emotional moment when you first do it!!! It is obviously impossible to tell whether there is a massive difference as the area is still very sore from the operation and the muscles have not been stretched in this way for some time. Great that I did not jump off the chair though!!

At the start of week 8 we went away to a cottage with a couple of friends. They work in education so like my wife were also off work. This took me out of my comfort zone a bit, but after laying in the back of the car for a few hours to get there, was definitely worth it for a change of scene and fresh company. We live in a one bedroom flat so things have definitely been a bit tense occasionally, so to be somewhere neutral and bigger helped. We stayed on a farm in the middle of nowhere so really felt away from everything. I did not really leave the cottage much other than for my daily constitutionals! The sitting that I was slowly increasing meant that I was getting some increased discomfort into the scar area and pelvic floor but I expected this so have tried to roll with it as much as possible.

Last week (week 9) I noticed another small improvement in my mobility and by the end of the week was walking up to 3 miles a day and sitting for 3 minutes 3 times a day. I live near the river which has been great as it provides some nice views for a walk and a bit of perspective! I have had an increase in pelvic floor discomfort during this time but I am hoping this is just a result of the increased sitting and walking. I am hoping that things continue positively over the coming days so that I can go back to work in a confident and postitive frame of mind. The great spring weather has certainly helped!!

I am starting by working 2.5 hours a day, most likely from home, and all being well will then aim to ramp this up over the coming weeks to get back to full time. It is very much suck it and see, but so long as I keep doing the right things I am optimistic all will be well. I am really keen to get back to work, visit friends (rather than them come to me) and eventually start exercising again, but I am even keener to do this in the right way and give it every chance. It really is a case of ticking each day and week off and seeing what happens as things progress along the long and winding road.

Resting up

As I mentioned, after staying in hospital for a week I then stayed in a nearby apartment (glorified hotel room!) for another 9 days before taking the Eurostar back to London.

The walk from the hospital to the apartment was slow but I managed reasonably well. Once there, I did not really leave many times, and just continued to rest up. Apart from the odd bit of fresh air outside, I read some decent books, listened to the radio (thank goodness for BBC Radio 6 Music!), started writing these blog posts, ate and slept!

The constant side lying was not very comfortable but I was determined not to start doing too much too soon. We setup a table upon a table for me to eat off and use the iPad. On day 9 (post-op) the surgeon came to take the stitches out and check on the wound and how I was doing. He then came back on day 11 for a final check that all was ok - thankfully everything was.

Aside from the pain, I think the time was harder for my wife than it was for me. I am not usually one for laying around 'doing nothing' but it was almost as if something took over and instructed me to just rest, so I did! There was the odd moment of doubt and frustration though of course.

The journey back was a bit of mission! We took a cab from the hotel to the train station which took about 20 mins. Once there, Ranjit was able to somehow smooth talk us on to a business class upgrade which meant 2 seats each (I could kind of curl up and lie down) and a three course lunch with a beer! I am not sure how I would have coped if I had had stand the entire way as this really made lower back ache like mad in the first 4 weeks (and still does for after prolonged periods). Once at St Pancras we made our way to the underground - which is miles! The tube ride was not too bad, but the walk back to the flat the other end was another mission. It had to be done though and all in all it could have been far worse.

I am glad the Professor insisted on my staying in the apartment for that length of time. Whilst it did feel like a long time away from normality and home, on the plus side it was also useful to compartmentalise that initial first 2 weeks by being somewhere different and neutral. It was all quite surreal and I think that actually made it easier to just go with the flow.

As I am sure I will detail in due course this was really just the beginning of the long road to recovery, and hopefully a return to being able to sit down!