It's genuinely frustrating how after bowel movements when I think I am clean I decide to search a little bit deeper and find more poop trapped behind a hemorrhoid.
It's frustrating, does anyone have a way of fixing this?
I'm asking people that have placed Seton and then after some time, had it removed/Fistulotomy done. Which one was more difficult in terms of pain and recovery time?
I have a Seton for 40 days now and there is no pain anymore, but the first weeks were hell. Will the fistulectomy be better or worse than that?
So I genuinely think that you should stay in the hospital after your seton surgery for two days. I know we all want to go home and try to relax in our beds but hear me out.
I stayed in the hospital for like 2 and half days after my seton placement. Mind you I was also getting abcesses drained as well. I went through some of the weirdest and most soul draining experiences after it. One being shitting myself while still wrapped in surgical dressing and tape to have a makeshift diaper of sorts WHICH my damn surgeon didn't explain how to take the hell off. (Tbf that surgeon irritated the shit out of me how he talked to me and didn't clearly explain jack shit.)
Anyway that night I broke down so hard that I cried in tears and my nurse (THANK GOD FOR HIS PATIENCE) cleaned me up and changed my dressing. If i was home, I would be broken toward all compare. I just feel like this isn't a "Put it in and go home" type of surgery. Mind you it is different for a lot of people. Like I said, I had abscess drained and had setons put in.
Have any of yall had moments or thoughts like I don't want to be dealing with this alone? I just want to hear people's thoughts and experiences because I want to know if others have even had this thought.
I recently go detected / diagnosed for pilonidal sinus for the third time.
not happy about it but kinda getting used to the pain of it.
During the surgery, the doctors comes to me and says he discovered an anal fistula as well and would like to remove it at the same time, i leave it to his expertise and he does the procedure.
What I had not expected was the pain, for a week I was prescribed 1000mg (500x2) of Magnesium Tablets per day and 200mg (100x2) of some painkiller.
Since the prescription is over, the pain has returned and the biggest hurdle right now is that everytime I have a bowel movement I have to end up retiring on the bed and resting for a few hours.
What I want to know is, is there a way to ensure the fistula pain reduces over bowel movements and I don't have to suck up to so much pain until recovery?
Of course I have heard of all the dietary options etc. I am just wanting to know if anyone has done something different from norm and has it worked.
I have had hemorrhoids and anal fisures before which were really painful. But recently I started experiencing discomfort, bumps on the sides and discharge, which was weird, never had THAT before!
After trying over the counter hemorrhoids and Dr’s prescription, and nothing worked I decided to see a specialist.
Her diagnosis was: either a polyp or a fistula. I have an MRI scheduled for next week, but either way, I will be needing surgery. So she booked me for September 16th.
Now, from what I’ve read, it is most likely a fistula, and I am really stressing out regarding recovery time. I am very active, I practice different sports including martial arts, even now I feel discomfort, but I’m still able to maintain my normal routine. I actually had a tournament scheduled for October that I had to pull out of. I had also already booked a 2 days trip to Disneyland for October 11th!
For those of you who already went through this, do you think I will feel good enough for my Disney trip? Also, what’s a realistic recovery time? Anything else I should anticipate?
I know every case is different, and mine hasn’t even been confirmed, but I would love to have your opinions on this.
hello,
was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for London-based colorectal surgeons? I am looking to self-fund quite urgently for a consultation.
even if you had good NHS experiences I’d be grateful to hear of them.
thank you!
I randomly was checking out my anus the other day and when i pushed gently around it with my fingers, yellow/white puss came out of the anus. It seems to be coming from a wound or hemorrhoid or lump JUST inside the opening. I squeezed it every night for the next few days and pus came out, maybe less than a tea spoon before it stopped and became clear liquid. Today: nothing. I've had no pain, swelling or other symptoms that i know of. Anyone ever experience this? Is this an anal abcess or can you just have a random boil just inside your anus?
I forgot to ask my surgeon and I don't see him for another 1-2 weeks.
I'm still not 100% healed( I have some drainage and scar still hurts to press on) and I was wondering if it would be fine now, I feel like using water has made my skin a bit too dry.
I made a post a while ago but figured I’d make one again cause my first one was a couple weeks ago.
I had a complex trans-sphincteric fistula. Never had a seton or any procedure done before my fistulotomy.
I don’t really have much to say other than I’m healing nice. New skin hasn’t fully formed yet, but it’s on the verge of happening. I pretty much have had zero pain throughout the whole process.
Bowel movements are pretty smooth with MiraLax. My stool hasn’t really returned to normal because I was on antibiotics for an entire month before I finally had surgery, but that’s an entirely different process.
First couple weeks I had bleeding with bowel movements, but it was all on the stool. No blood in the toilet or leaking from the wound. I can somewhat sit normally, although I take my cushion with me every where I go.
Drainage is still occurring, but it decreases less and less every week.
Slowly returning to my normal self but I feel like I’ll be permanently scarred because of this lol
I’m 21F and started having leg/hip pain at the end of June. After 3 rounds of antibiotics, I eventually had drainage surgery on July 24. I was told there was no fistula or underlying disease, but that I could be prone to recurrence.
Recovery was initially great. almost no pain, minimal packing, and I was nearly back to normal. A few days ago, after driving for about an hour, I developed significant discomfort and now feel some hardness between the incision and anus. Hip movement and getting up/walking hurt, although sitting and stairs are fine. I walk with a limp right now due to this.
The strange thing is that I feel completely fine when I wake up, and the pain starts about an hour after I’m up and moving.
I’m really anxious and scared to see the doctor again after dealing with this for almost two months. Could this be a recurrence, or is this normal during recovery? Any insight would really help.
J’ai été opéré d’un abcès anal fin mai.
Je continue à avoir des petits écoulements.
J’ai fait un I.R.M. hier qui a confirmé que la zone était toujours inflammatoire, et qu’il y avait un petit canal de pus qui s’écoulait.
J’ai l’impression que mon canal anal n’est jamais propre après la selle.
Est ce une bonne ou une mauvaise idée d’envisager d’insérer une douchette dans mon canal anal, dans le but de bien le nettoyer, car j’ai l’impression que des petits restes de 💩 continuent à inflammer la zone.
Qu’en pensez-vous ?
Merci pour vos conseils
Hi!
I want to share my experience with a middle transsphincteric fistula
I spent weeks reading horror stories about fistula surgery, convinced that a cutting seton was going to be one of the worst experiences of my life. It turned out to be nowhere near as bad as I expected.
It all started with a perianal abscess, which ended up requiring emergency surgery. I arrived at the hospital with a temperature above 39°C and unbearable pain in my bottom.
After the surgery, the pain disappeared completely; although I was still feeling weak and uncomfortable, it wasn't too bad at all. I was hoping that was it, but the wound was still not closed after a month: the surgeon re-opened the partially closed wound to help it drain more, with the idea that it was healing too fast, preventing proper drainage.
Sadly, one more month later, the situation didn't change, so I had further tests and found out the wound was an actual fistula: middle transsphincteric, as per the title. I am based in Amsterdam, but I have also checked with a surgeon in Italy (I am Italian, and often there to visit family and friends): in Amsterdam, the default procedure is to treat the fistula with a laser. In Italy, I was advised to go with a cutting seton.
After doing some research, this was the picture I had in my mind:
- The laser is said to be the least painful of all the procedures to treat a fistula, and the least invasive. Con: it might take more surgeries because it is difficult to reach the whole fistula's surface with the laser. So it will take longer to fully heal, and it might not eliminate the fistula.
- The cutting seton brings an aura of terror with it: the name already made me keen to do anything in my power to avoid it. I was told that the cutting seton had a very high success rate and, in my particular case, offered the possibility of treating the fistula in one procedure.
I have checked the web looking for info related to the cutting seton and the surgery to place it, and I was seriously frightened by it. I felt like I had to do it, to do it once and for all, and to be done as fast as possible. I am a software engineer, and I really need to be able to sit for long periods. I didn't like the idea of having to go through multiple surgeries, and I didn't want to take the risk that those surgeries would not be effective, like the laser could end up being.
This was the reasoning that made sense to me at the time so, really going against myself and embracing my fear, I chose to go with the cutting seton. The surgery happened in Italy. Of course, I have read plenty of scary, horrific posts in here on Reddit too about it, and I went through the surgery with those in mind, ready for the worst pain ever experienced. The words from my surgeon, who told me that the surgery and the cutting seton were a pretty standard procedure, well handled with painkillers, didn't stick with me. I was miserable and hopeless, but determined to eliminate the fistula asap.
And so, after stressing every friend around me about how scared I was, every family member, and over-talking with the family dog more than usual (he is used to that, but with the fistula I really reached my record), the surgery day arrived, and this is my most honest feedback for you:
- surgery: I felt no pain at all. Lemme be the most honest: from 1 to 10, I felt 1. I didn't even need the extra painkiller after it. It was surprisingly smooth. I spent one night at the hospital and then went back home. A walk in the park.
- cutting seton(s): the first time feeling it with my hand was... strong; I felt like Neo from The Matrix when he is just freed, reaching the plug at his neck, knowing it is there but hoping it is not. I said "it", but there were two: I understand it is the standard way to go, to add one more, so in case one breaks, there is a backup already in place. Well, it takes a while to get used to those. In my case, I was in charge of pulling them myself every day, two times per day: the surgeon told me to pull as many times as I wanted, which made me feel comfortable. The deal was: the more pulling, the faster the setons would move through the fistula.
The first week was the hardest: sitting is not possible, nor is walking. So I was basically in bed most of the time. The first poo was not a pleasant experience at all. I can't deny it was painful, but not as much as anything you would read online. Actually, don't read anything online, but success stories!! The good thing is that you get used to the setons fast, so things improve quickly.
In my first three weeks, I focused on avoiding sitting. By the third week, I was able to start walking quite ok-ish again, although I still avoided sitting. Those three weeks were time to digest the fear and to get used to the setons. And after those three weeks, things got much easier.
I had a visit with the surgeon a week after the surgery, and then every two weeks. After the third week, the surgeon showed me how to pull the setons: I remember being frightened; that was the moment I was really fearing. But at that point I got less uncomfortable with the setons, so at least a part of the anxiety was gone already. When the surgeon pulled a seton, I was ready to feel the sharpest pain ever, ready to choke out a scream of pain... and it was really not the case. I remember the surgeon telling me he was pulling, and me asking: "Wait... are you pulling already?" I could not even feel the pull, nothing at all. The scary "seton pulling", of which I read the most terrible things online, the nightmare of every man and woman, the gold medal of torture, and I could not even feel it! The pulling, as the surgeon told me to do, it had to be delicate, just done many times daily.
That made me feel very relieved, and the pulling went pretty smoothly. The setons were removed after about a month and a half.
In general, I think my experience was very good: I feel grateful to my Italian surgeon, who was very supportive and always available at every stage and had a big part in making my experience so good. The pain I felt was definitely manageable, and now I regret reading so many scary posts online. They did nothing but make me super anxious and stressed. If a friend needed fistula surgery and asked for my opinion, I would tell him/her to stay relaxed; that is going to be fine, that is going to be manageable!
I wish this post could spread some optimism among those who are dealing with a fistula right now! I would be happy to add any more detail if asked.
Best,
Luca
So, I am 4 days post seton placement. Wiping with TP is not an option, but we have separate bidet next to the toilet. I finished BM, moved there, let the warm water hit just above my bum hole and hoped for the best. There was loads of poo left when I wiped dry. I tried to add running my fingers over, tried to add unscented soap. There is always poo left and I have to finish carefully wiping with water wipes. Is that normal? Am I supposed to stick my finger in my bum and wiggle? I feel stupid, I thought I have built in solution at home. Water pressure is good. I do not want to let the stream hit me directly, it is not even quite possible with the way the faucet is shaped. I go through water wipes like there’s no tomorrow. I do have some grade 4 hemorrhoids that have been there for decades and not causing any trouble. I never had issues wiping with standard TP before. Could it be just my anatomy?
Hi, I was wondering if there’s anyone out there who’s had the same bad experience as me, because I can’t find anything similar. I had 2 skin tags removed — one big, one small — by a regular surgeon, who stitched them closed. The healing process was hell, and I got an infection/abscess where the bigger one was, which turned into a fistula, After the fistula, I had a fistulotomy, which left me with an indentation in the sphincter where they opened the canal. On the small tag, the stitches bursted open and left me with a permanent deep split in the mucosa that’s visible when I pull the skin apart. Overall, my bum was in much better shape before the procedure. I’m at such a loss that this happened to me — having gone through this hell and now having to live with scars that were never supposed to happen
I feel really terrible about it and am wondering if there is anyone with a similar experience?
Wow I feel so unlucky.
Alright so I started feeling paint a week ago but I was out of town for work and then I felt a lump which freaked me out so I decided to go to urgent care which they then prescribed me antibiotics. The next day I was supposed to be flying home and I got freaked out googling and decided to go to the ER he said that it was already draining and proceeded to push on my lump and I felt like I was gonna throw up from the pain. Had a 6hr flight back home (awful). When I got home it was Saturday and unfortunately I couldn’t get an apt with crs until Monday.
All that though shitty wasn’t the worst. So I brought my paperwork from the ER and this doctors did not even look at it so I had told him was the ER told me which was that they thought I should get imaging done blah blah blah. He ignored everything I was saying and said let’s just do the examination and then said yes it’s an abscess like ???? Yea I KNOW. So then he said they’re gonna drain it I’m like fuck I thought they already drained this mother fucker. So the numbing was one of the WORST pains I’ve ever been through and I have my armpit tattooed. He didn’t walk me through what he was doing AT ALL and it’s just so much pain I feel like I’m gonna throw up. Anyway, we get through it and all he tells me is to put pressure on it and I’ll see you in two weeks to check on it. And to take the antibiotics he obv didn’t read my chart because I’m already on antibiotics. He tells me to stop them and just take what he prescribed.
Then I’m walking out and I feel something in my butt I’m like wtf is that but I thought maybe it’s cuz I’m numb and it’s just that sensation?? I get home (MY CAR BROKE DOWN ON THE WAY HOME TOO) anyway I get home and google and they didn’t tell me about packing or what to do with it!!!!!! I had to call and they were still like so vague and rude.
I can’t stop crying this has been the worst experience of my life. And then my sister picks up the prescriptions and the pharmacist wants to talk to me to basically ask why I’m getting prescribed this because my gut will not be ok if I take both. Luckily someone cares.
So any advice on aftercare is welcomed. I got an appt with a new doctor they suggested weekly apts and I checked the reviews to make sure she’s ok.
Also what do I do about my packing. They just said to take it out before I have my bowel movement but I don’t know what that means. I’m also like chronically constipated so I doubt I’ll have one within 24 hrs. Do I pull it out?
I’m 24M and have had what I now believe is an anal fistula for around 8 years. I had a tough childhood and was too embarrassed to tell anyone, including my parents. I initially thought it was a hemorrhoid.
A few months ago I researched it properly and realized it was probably a fistula. I finally saw a doctor today, and he asked me to get a sonofistulography done.
The thing is, I don’t really have any pain. It swells up maybe once every 5-6 months, then drains the same day or the next. Otherwise, my life is completely normal.
I’m worried about surgery because I don’t want to fix something that barely affects my life, only to end up with complications or multiple surgeries. I’m doing well in life and honestly don’t want to mess that up.
At what point did you decide surgery was worth it? Is there any reason not to leave it alone if it’s not causing much trouble?
The only issue I have is occasional skid marks/discharge on my underwear, and I’m not even sure if it’s pus or stool.
Would really appreciate hearing from people who’ve been through something similar.
TL;DR: 24M, probably have had an anal fistula for ~8 years. It rarely swells/drains and otherwise doesn’t affect my life. Doctor recommended a sonofistulography. Worried surgery could make things worse. When is surgery actually worth it?
Question is exactly as posted in title. Just see a lot of people mention avoiding both seeds and nuts with one in place. Curious the experiences that lead to this advice.
Hey all,
I've posted a few times about my journey but I guess as we all know, its an ongoing saga. I've had 2 drainage surgeries and a seton put in after a perianal abscess. The last surgery was now 5 weeks ago. Apparently I'm generally healing well. I feel a lot better than I did overall even if some days are worse than others. There was a point last week where I almost felt 100% for a few days and I wish I could have captured that feeling! I still have a lump on the inner left butt cheek, right up against the anus. I was scared this was another abscess forming but I've had 2 different doctors now be pretty sure it's not and that its more likely post-surgery trauma, more like a blister. It bleeds a bit and is what causes the most pain now, but apparently it's ok.
I was meant to have an ultrasound last week to determine what type of fistula closing surgery I am to have but I couldn't have it done - it was still a bit too painful so they want to try again in 3 weeks. Giving it more time to heal and drain. Apparently the main 2 options they're considering are the MAFFS and LIFT surgeries but given its quite a complex fistula and deep they want an ultrasound done over any other type of scan as well as a muscle strength test where I have to squeeze a balloon thing with my butt.
I guess what makes me nervous is the success rate of the surgeries. The doctor said no matter which we go with, the success rate is still at about 60% and if it fails then we will basically be starting the whole process all over again and next time we are back at this point it'll be less than 60% since apparently your best shot at getting it done right is the first shot. I know 60% is more than half the chance, and there's things working in my favour - I don't smoke, I'm not obese, I'm not diabetic etc... but still a 40% fail rate is scary.
I don't really know what im typing this for, I don't really have any questions as they said theres nothing much I can do now but keep on keeping on and giving it time. And that time for it to keep draining and maturing is better than rushing into it. I guess I just wanted to get this out somehow and people here seem to be ones that will understand the frustration/fear/anxiety of what's ahead.
I have a new-found level of empathy for anyone going through this. I didn't even know it was a thing until it started a couple of months ago but it's just brought my entire life to a stand-still and is so debilitating.
I have a seton down there for 2-3 months now and kinda worried if i can go to swim to celebrate my friend’s party it would be akward if im the only one whos not gonna swim
Between an enema and a bidet, which will provide or offer a superior clean feeling right after a bowel movement? Assuming a bidet, what kind of bidet would offer the most thorough cleansing available? Hand held, electronic toilet, ect...?