ughh i'm in a lot of pain and have been for the last few days. basically it feels like the reason i went to the dr in the first place....over a year ago!! i tried to get an appt today but she's not in so i'll have to wait til monday. i'm determined to get her to give me some antibiotics, even if she thinks this isn't a fistula. so my question is, what kind should i ask for?? i remember the name Flagyl being mentioned and metro...something or other. i just want something that's meant to combat infection, since i'm still seeing discharge. any ideas?

also, how do i go about convincing her to give me an antibiotic for my own peace of mind, even if she thinks i don't need it?? any tips? i feel like i've tried so much other stuff and NOTHING seems to be working, so just mayyybe an antibiotic will help. Have any of you ever been able to squeeze a prescription out of a reluctant doctor??

Yes, you can squeeze if you present all the bad things that can go wrong and put her on "defendant" bench.
Other way, and one that we all suggested long time ago, is to find another more competent CRS.
I wish you luck Juney !!!!

if you're in that much pain and its disharging then its almost certainly a fistula or abcess. Could you go to your own gp or get an emergency appointment somewhere? The casualty department at hospital? Its important to get antibiotics quickly, I wouldn't wait til monday if I was you.
The antibiotic commonly used is metronidazole which is the same as flagyl.
Please get some help quickly.

i don't think i have a gp. Kaiser is a huge bureaucracy so i never see the same person twice unless it's a specialist like this. i guess i could go to the ER but there's really no point since i'm not suffering tremendously. it's more annoying to be in this familiar pain!
the pain is the same as it's always been, i mean for the past year, so it's not like a new urgency or something that's developed overnight. i know without a doubt that it's not an abcess b/c it doesn't present symptoms like anything i've read on the internet or any of you have discussed, and it just doesn't look like one. the fistula thing is more of a possibility, but it's been like this for so long now it's not urgent at this point. i know i'll be fine waiting til monday i just wish they were open on the weekend!
i'm going to write the metronidazole name down and ask about that. thanks!
for all of you in America that see tons of different drs all over the place, how do you get in to see them? do you just pay per appointment, is it part of your health insurance plan, or what? since i have kaiser i'm not sure how i'd get an appt w/ someone, like at the nearest university or whatever. i'm pretty sure i'm seeing the only kaiser CRS in my area right now, so i know they can't refer me anywhere else.

Juney, how I handled it when I was at Kaiser was to go to urgent care and say that you know you have a fistula, that it has been discharging, and that you had these symptoms before and were offered a prescription of Flagyl. Be sure to tell them taht you would like that prescription now before you go spetic. That will scare the urgent care dr into giving you some. The usual med is flagyl/metronidazole (same thing) and the usual dose is 1000-2000mg/day.
That's basically what I had to do in Dec to get them to give me flagyl--threaten that I knew I was going to go spectic if i didn't get them. Tell them to do a wound culture if they don't believe you. The stupid CRS that I saw after I went to urgent care said that he didn't see and infection--I was like oh ya? then why did the antibiotics stop the pain and the bloody watery discharge??? And why is there this little hole at the top of the skin tag???

buttgirl - what is spectic anyway? i remember you mentioning that a few times before but i've never heard that word...spelling?

also, i know this isn't an abcess, so i know i can wait til monday. i just want to know what to ask her for.

ohh sorry BG, i read your post wrong, i thought you said tell them i have an abcess...

I have insurance that allows me to go anywhere I want. But, even when I had HMO I always found the way to per-sway GP to send me to specialist and I would go "out of network" and pay bigger co-pay or even for the whole visit if necessary - what is more important than health ??? Specialist is about 250$ per visit , some will charge less if you explain that you are paying yourself. BUT, be careful, some will charge MORE because they are not under a "contract" with your insurance - all kinds of people in that profession like in any other, maybe worse So if you go out of network ask ahead how much your potential CRS would charge.

Sorry...bad spelling on my part..it's septic...my fingers are faster than my brain....
Septic means that the infection has gotten into your blood stream. The body naturally tries to wall off infections. That is why people develop localized pusules or abscesses. When the abscesses are open and yet they tunnel they are called fistulas.
When people are just getting septic they usually have pain at the area of infection and they have muscle aches, kind of like they are getting a minor cold. Once a person become septic s/he will usually develop a fever, and if the infection is left untreated, it can cause multiple organ failure. It can cause things like pnemonia and kidney infections and lesions on the brain. I have known a couple people who have gone septic. One got pnemonia so bad she almost died. Another got lesions on his brain and in his heart, so he has permanent minor brain damage and had to have a heart valve replaced.
This is why the word septic scares the drs, and if you say that you know you have an infection and that you are afraid of going spetic because you are starting to feel ill, they will respond. telling them that you know you need flagyl and know your doseage makes it sound like you know what you are talking about, so they'll be less likely to doubt that you need the antibiotics. I really hated that I had to take that sort of a stand with Kaiser, but I'm glad I did.

BG - do you think since this is the same pain i've had for over a year now that i could really be in danger of being septic? i feel fine actually, except for my sore butt! by the time i go to bed i can't really even feel it, and definitely not when i wake up. if it was an abcess would you feel it all the time?? was yours the same for months, or did it get worse all the sudden? this doesn't look like an abcess to me, more like an open wound, the same way it's always looked (and felt) as a fissure. i can literally see it when i get down there with a mirror.

i'm writing a book of stuff i want to bring up to the dr on monday. and then i can call the other place, i guess it's an independent drs office that only deals with anal problems right here in my city. the consult visit is $250 so i guess that's normal going outside insurance. i've already made 2 appts w/ them but cancelled both times, so i know it's easy to get in....