Tailbone saga

On July 10, I had a procedure for my tailbone pain. The official term: caudal epidural steroid injection. The casual term: pants down here's a needle.

Basically, the doctor places a needle into the space between the sacrum and tailbone and injects the steroid, which affects the spinal nerves. The purpose of the injection is twofold: 1) if it provides pain relief, it shows that area is the source of the problem. 2) if it provides pain relief, it provides pain relief. :)

Anyway, the procedure was a little painful, and I had some minor reactions to the steroid (flushing, sleeplessness, soreness at the injection site). Since then, I've had no relief from the initial pain, I'm sorry to say.

I'm glad I gave it a shot (pun intended) and am considering my options. Unfortunately, the last doctor I saw said the chances of losing the pain were slim since my tailbone is so terribly crooked. The next step is "manual therapy," in which a doctor massages the muscles around the tailbone. Doesn't sound bad, does it? Throw in the fact that he/she must do it internally via the vagina or rectum, and you know why I'm hesitating.

So my tailbone is an annoyance most days and a burden on others. But my hips are doing very well, and for that I'm very happy!