Ive had what I thought was a fissure since June of last year.

It all started when I wiped too hard and it hurt and bled and formed this bubble right near my anus. Which im now learning was a abscess.

I went to the Dr. in November with complaints over the area itching, occasional bleeding and yellow mucus. I was diagnosed as having a fissure. Dr. said there was a tiny tear near the opening of my rectum.

Been getting bleedings on hard stools every few weeks or so and thats when the discharge would happen which would then go away until another "reopening"

So after things not getting better I go back to the Dr. and the NP there says it looked and sounded like a fistula and referred me to a CRS.

He agrees after probing what was though to be the fissure and doing a digital exam.

I guess im still in shock, im afraid and have a lot of questions. He says its nothing I did, but why after wiping too hard did I feel a bump, which im now thinking was the abscess.

He did suggest getting a second opinion and told me that this is the best possible scenario for a fistula and is confident I wont have any incontinence which is what im super afraid of as im sure everyone is as well.

I've had bad luck with having surgeries in the past with pilonidal disease and them not healing well and I still have issues from that surgery 3 years later. Which he said if given an option between the fistula that I have and pilonidal disease he said he would much rather have the fistula issue. I think he said that because he could see how disturbed I was at the diagnosis.

Its on the posterior side and the opening is right near the rectum so much so that it was diagnosed previously as a fissure.

In one way im glad he said that its best case scenario, but im paranoid over incontinence, recurrence, and what the hell I did to get this in the first place. He said hes never heard of anyone wiping too hard causing a fistula, but he said it could have caused a fissure which turned into a fistula.

Hello, Having suffered from an abscess myself I would advise on surgery. I really don't think there are any conservative measures that work, and I very much doubt it will heal on its own. What typically happens with a fistual is it heals over, and then bursts again, and then heals over in a repeating cycle. You really need to get an MRI done so the location of the abscess and fistual track can be assessed. You will then know what your options are. The good news is some fistulas are easy to fix and don't have any continence complications. Even the difficult once have procedures that provide minimal risk. You should really get this dealt with as soon as possible though, as leaving it might very well lead to more difficult complications and potential sepsis. If at any time you develop a high fever then get yourself into emergency medical care.

Try not to be scared though - chances are that it is very easily treatable. My surgeon told me that it is at the lower end of surgical procedures, and once done takes six weeks to recover from.

Very good luck with it. LemonMan

I have a follow up with my gastro who referred me to the CRS this Thursday.

Ive been having loose stools frequently ever since Ive had these issues.

Is diarrhea a symptom?

I really hope its an easy one. The doctor did say that but since he didnt do an MRI im getting fearful about him maybe being wrong and going for surgery to find its tracked all around my buttocks.

I have a follow up with my gastro who referred me to the CRS this Thursday.

Ive been having loose stools frequently ever since Ive had these issues.

Is diarrhea a symptom?

I really hope its an easy one. The doctor did say that but since he didnt do an MRI im getting fearful about him maybe being wrong and going for surgery to find its tracked all around my buttocks.