The Tail Bone Effect

Before I posted this, I did do a search on this site.  One answer I couldn't find was why do many of us have excruciating tail bone pain after an RNY when our skinny peers don't have this issue? Anyone know the medical reason? It was so bad yesterday I had to lay on my side.

I am only 5 weeks out and I am having issues as well, When i sit for a little bit it starts I have to shift to a new direction. I wonder what this is caused from, I never had this before.

This is something I've worried about happening to me.

Apparently what happens is that on an obese person their butt (not sure which muscle group) muscle does not get used as we sit on our fat. So the butt muscle gets atrophied. Therefore when we lose weight and no longer have all that fat to sit on which cushions our tailbone, it causes pain.

This probably varies with the way different people are built (as to whether you have tailbone pain or not), how long you were obese, etc.

I wonder if one starts working on their butt muscles BEFORE and during our weight loss will it help with preventing this awful sounding tailbone pain?

Anyone experienced the tailbone pain and then exercised their butt muscles and were able to get rid of that pain?

I'm firmly of the opinion that if ALL those who had WLS used ****yx pillows from the day of their WLS, they'd be likely to avoid issues with their tailbone.

Naturally thin people have muscles that pull the tailbone up when they sit, keeping them from sitting on the unprotected bone.

FAT people lose the need to use these muscles, as the fat provides enough padding so that the tailbone doesn't have to be pulled up out of harm's way.

when you lose weight FAST, the redevelopment of muscles to pull your tailbone out of harms way doesn't keep pace.

MOST people who lose a tremendous amount of weight (particularly those who carried around a big posterior) have transitory tailbone pain. As the muscles redevelop strength, the pain recedes and is forgotten.

SOME people who have this pain don't find it diminishing. The issue is that the tailbone itself has gotten inflamed and without the use of anti-inflammatories, this inflammation doesn't subside. Seeing an orthopedic pain specialist can help. The specialist can set you up with some physical therapy (this includes manipulation of the tailbone via anus), or more likely he/she might attempt a series of cortisone injections to the tailbone, to diminish the swelling. ONE shot often does the trick, but if it doesn't a second, and sometimes a third shot might be necessary to cut down on the inflamation.

The vast majority of folks who go so far as having a tailbone injection find that the one, two, or three injections does the trick. The inflammation is curtailed, and as the muscles in the tailbone region regain their strength the issue is resolved.

In all of the above cases it is best if a ****yx cushion is used in any seat upon which a person sits for any length of time (not a donut pillow)

In an extremely tiny minority of cases, none of these things works. In this situation a person must deal with the chronic pain, or go to the ultimate extreme of having their tailbone removed (****ygectomy) an extremely risky procedure that doesn't always give much relief.

 

I consulted with my plastic surgeon about this.. he specializes in patients who have lost over 100 lbs. He said we lose all our padding and it can be remedy with surgery. He relocates fat to that area.

I still have a fatty upper and lower abdominal area.. my arms, legs, face and back side are so skinny.

Michelle

Michelle, I would NEVER let anyone remove the tailbone without extensive tests and alternative treatements I also would not pay for surgery to relocate fat to the region without alternative treatments. There are a wide variety of reasons a person has pain in the tailbone region, and treating it surgically without exploring WHY it hurts can be a recipe for disaster. I was in pain THREE years before I had my ****yx surgically removed. My pain doc, when I first went to him, was adamantly opposed to removal, but eventually recommended it, and when teh first surgeon turned me down and wouldn't do it (due to teh risk of complications and high incidence of failure) my pain doc (who was opposed to the CONCEPT for anyone) actually spent time out of his day and shopped around until he could find a surgeon who WOULD do it. In some cases it is a pilonidial (sp?) cyst and only removal of the cyst will bring relief.

I guess I'm grateful that I've ALWAYS had a big butt & I hope some of that extra padding I have sticks around! 

Even as a skinny little pre-teen I had this ginormous backside. That is why I was expecting to always keep a big butt.

No can do.

And because my posterior was always galactic in proportion the muscle group responsible for lifting my tailbone out of harms way completely atrophied. In this end this was why it was determined that the only choice was to remove my tailbone. It was being repeatedly traumatized everytime I sat down.

I haven't had any tailbone pain (yet?) but I have had pain in my knees when I sleep...lol I've never been able to feel my patellas bumping together before now...it's weird!!