Alot of failed appointments... alot of google searches. I showed my primary care and they were like yupp thats what you have. and then I found a derm dr that would listen. When i was diagnosed it was way less heard of.

I saw determtologic 1 who tried several treatments without diagnosing HS. He referred me to an internal medicine specialist who then referred me to dermatologist 2. Who quickly identified the cause. My current dermatologist is an older doctor with more experience, however he's not the most up-to-date on treatment options.

So yes getting diagnosed can be as painful as an anal lesion. This is in the SF bay area to so I would imagine it's harder where you are.