Good man, RT. Your honesty and humility are admirable.

As far as pain goes, is the pain in the bone, the surrounding tissue, or both? If you've got muscle/ligament pain around the tailbone, massage might help some. Have you experimented with "softer" pain relievers? When I was 14, I had an excruciatingly painful tumor -- osteoid ostyoma is what it was called -- in my femur. Before the docs figured out what it was and removed it, simple Tylenol was a surprisingly effective pain reducer (despite what the bottle says, you can safely take three Tylenol every four hours). For soft tissue pain, go with Aleve or Advil for their anti-inflammatory properties. And yes, a shot or two of whiskey -- and heck, you might as well choose something good like Maker's Mark or Knob Creek or Booker's while you're at it -- can help take the edge off. Good luck to you. I myself was rear-ended in my truck almost two years ago and am still dealing with a back injury from the accident, so I know how tough it can be to deal with chronic pain day in and day out. There have been many days when I yearned to fish but physically just couldn't get my 32-year-old body to do it. Hang in there.

P.S. If the pain keeps you awake at night and you want to avoid sleeping pills, you might want to try some melatonin. You can find it in the vitamin & supplement section of most drugstores and healthfood stores.