Question:
Has anyone who has lost alot of weight had pain when they sit from their tailbone?
I am 5 months post op and have lost 82 pounds, about 25 more to go. For the last month I have been worried because my tailbone seems to be sticking out very dramatically and it really hurts when I sit! This has affected my driving as it is very uncomfortable. This last week, I also have pain from the other bones in my rear, I am really afraid that maybe I have something out of alignment, maybe from being so overweight all these years. It is really getting difficult to sit for long periods of time and my back has also been hurting real bad! I wanted to know if anyone else has had this type of pain and if maybe it will get better as my body gets used to not having as much padding. I will mention this to my doctor, but first wanted to see if any of you have any experience with this. I can't imagine all thin people have bones that hurt like this all the time, but maybe it is just a hazard of being close to a normal weight? Thanks for any input! — Vicki K. (posted on October 28, 2001)
October 28, 2001
Yes!!! I have had the same problem exactly. I had surgery in July and I'm
down around 60 pounds (depending on the scale). My tailbone has really
been bothering me, and my entire back. I have an old back injury but it
has been fine for years and now suddenly my back is hurting so much again.
I thought I was the only one. My tailbone is probably worse though. It is
tender to the touch.
— Laurie L.
October 28, 2001
We tend to sit on one bun or the other. This is handy cuz it helps you
cross your legs! Even driving, I tend to sit a bit crooked in the seat and
then shift as I sit for longer periods. Ideally, we'll build some muscle
back there to replace the fat, but it CAN take a few years before your butt
is back in place. First it falls DOWN, where is it conveniently located
right below where it would be handiest to have it!
— vitalady
October 28, 2001
Me too, first noticed at about 60 pounds gone. Now at 3 months post op and
down over 80 pounds hard seats are to be avoided at all costs. Small price
to pay for being healthy.
— bob-haller
October 28, 2001
Yep! My butt hurts! I have to sit on a cushion a lot of the time,
especially for ballgames and such. The trainer at the gym told me that I
need to build my muscles so that I will be sitting "up" and
"off" that tailbone. I know that I don't have a butt anymore.
Just a saggy bag that hangs down! LOL... off to the workout now! Gotta
work those glutes!
— BethVBG
October 28, 2001
I am only 6 weeks out and 41 lbs gone, so this hasn't happened to me yet.
However, instead of mentioning it to my surgeon, I would take it up with my
chiropractor. After all those years of your body adjusting to carry its fat
self around, your thin self is probably out of alignment at one or more
vertebrae. Getting adjusted will probably diminish the pain a great deal.
Hope it happens to me!
— Julia M.
October 29, 2001
Yeppers- it has happened to me. Building up the glutes is
what has helped me, but I think I will always get fanny fatigue
now that I am down 139 pounds. It isn't too bad, though, as
I don't sit still long anymore anyway:) It did get better
for me- good Luck!
— M B.
October 29, 2001
Vicki, thank you for posting this! I'm 10 mths post op, down over 150#,
and my back is killing me!!! I've been taking advil everyday which helps
tremendously, but I am planning to schedule a doctor's appointment since
taking pain relievers everyday is not a good thing.
It probably won't help, but I'm going to speak to my surgeon and see what
my chances of having a tummy tuck are since all the pull is in the middle
to small of my back. Hey, it doesn't hurt to ask. The worst thing I'll be
told is NO! He may also be able to tell me some causes based on previous
patient experiences. This will determine for me if I need to go to a
chiropracter or medical doctor.
I think you should contact your doctor and see what your options are. I
know how this pain is, and I wouldn't hesitate to get the problem fixed.
Congratulations on your awesome weight loss and take care!
— Cristy K.
October 29, 2001
Hi, I too had major tail bone pain, and I thought it was related to the
weight loss. My tail bone was or seemed enlarged, so I went to the doctor,
not my surgeon. Seems that from sweating with exercise and losing weigh
rapdily I have a perdoinal cyst (I know I'm not spelling that right lol) on
my back over my tail bone. A lot of people get them. That may not be your
case, but if you try everything else and it still hurts you might want to
get it checked out. It's no big deal, but not something you want to live
with.
— [Anonymous]
October 29, 2001
Personally, I didn't lose a lot of weight in that particular area;
so I have enough padding. But my sister who lost 110lbs. by dieting
is down to 130lbs. finds it painful to sit for any length of time.
When we flew to Orlando, she actually took a big puffy pillow to sit on.
She's been thin for over a year and the problem isn't getting any better.
Certainly this doesn't occur in naturally thin people. I think it's
probably a result of losing too much body fat in that area of the body.
— [Anonymous]
December 1, 2004
Hey! Congratulations on the weight loss! I am post-op 15 months and I have
lost 170 lbs. Previous to surgery I had broken my tailbone several times
but it seemed to have healed just fine,(after months of sitting on a donut
pillow)ha! Since losing weight, I discovered a large golf ball sized
"bone" at the end of my tailbone. It had probably been there for
some time, but because of all the excess weight and cushioning, I didn't
notice it. Now, I have to be very careful how I sit, even in the bathtub,
because it causes great pain if I hit it the wrong way. I showed it to my
doctor who has referred me to my orthopedic doc. Beside of invasive surgery
to remove the bone spur, they think that there might even be some type of
laser treatment, etc. that can take care of the problem rather than
surgery. I am to go after the first of the year to follow up. Hope this
info helped you some.!
— Angelia V.
January 18, 2006
This is an EXCELLENT website with lots of information on this problem:
http://www.coccyx.org/
— [Deactivated Member]
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