Tell me about it!! I have actually been more successful diagnosing myself than drs have been. My wish now is to find a dr who will just listen to me and do what I tell them to do. "I feel infected"--here's an antibiotic. "I have spasms and want botox"--here's botox. That would have solve many, many problems for me. I'm still pissed that the dr who cut my abscess in my anal canal refused to give me botox.
anyway, hope you (Lecia and Val) are feeling a little better today.
Also, Val. don't blame yourself. I don't think the scented soaps would have caused the abscess and epsom salts are not disinfectants, so you did nothing wrong. what finally put my abcess over the top was that I got a minor bout of food poisoning--e coli--which infected the open wound. something like that has much more of an effect than scented soap. Perhaps you had a bad egg or an unwashed veggie. did they do a test to see what bacteria has colonized the wound??? the need to do so to be sure they gave you the right antibiotics. (I got the wrong ones the first time and had a MAJOR resurgence towards the end of the antibiotic cycle.)

Yeah, Val, don't blame yourself. You have to live your life! I am sorry you are still suffering. Did they give you an idea of how long it would take to recover?

I am still in tons of pain too-nothing is touching it. Plus I have my period so my sphincter is contracting on and off.

I know what you mean BG about wanting to give direction to the doctors. Many are just operate with algorithms and can't think outside of the box.

They didn't do a swab, although the nice nurse I saw a few days later because of the big bleed said they should have done. She's the only one there who actually knows about fissures ect. and she's nearly eighty, so I suppose she'll retire and some other dumb person will take over!
The night before it all started, I had a prawn rissotto because we'd gone out to dinner. I initially blamed that because I thought it was the AF come back and it was the only time I'd cheated on the diet, but I didn't get an upset tummy with it or anything.
They haven't given any indication of healing time, that was going to be a question I was going to ask you guys!
Lecia, I'm so sorry you're still in so much pain. Can't they give you anything which would help? Have you managed to contact anyone about it? It seems barbaric to leave you in agony and then just let you carry on suffering. It seems like you healthcare is as bad as ours!

I hope that nice nurse doesn't retire either. Tell her she can't until you are healed!!!!

I think what made my pain spike is that the doctor told me to stop taking Celebrex which I use to keep the inflammation down so my nerve pain is more controlled. She also prescribed Flagyl which I looked up and said it could cause peripheral neuropathy so I quit taking it. I had a bad feeling about starting it but again I thought "maybe she knows something I don't!"

Are you feeling any improvement at all?

Flagyl and metronidazole are the same thing, Val and Lecia. It can cause peripheral neuopathy, but I didn't get that until it was combined with ciprofloxacin. The metronidazole is an antibiotic, so I wonder if the doc was worried about infection, Lecia. Perhaps, she can prescribe something else. A common replacement for flgyl is vancomyacin. Perhaps you should ask about that. An infection in the area is worse than a fissure.
Val, my guess why they haven't told you how long it will take to heal is that they do not know. It took four weeks on antibiotics after the drainage surgery for me to completely clear the infection. What I did (and I don't know if you want to try this beacuse it hurt so bad I nearly passed out. I'm sharing only because it worked for me) was put iodine ointment on the area that was cut. It hurt like crazy (i have to say again) but it cleared that last little bit of lingering infection for me.
I had my infection for a good several months and was on flagyl for nearly 2 mos before the surgery with little change in the abscess.

What is weird is that she didn't say I needed them for an infection. She said it sometimes can help with pain relief. I took 5 doses and my neuropathic pain skyrocketed. If she thought I needed it for infection I would stay on it but if she said it was for pain then it certainly isn't helping.

I think I need to find a new CRS.

It can help calm inflammation, but only if the inflammation is caused by a bacteria (so far as I can figure). It is often prescribed for people with IBD as a frontline treatment for flares. It is also prescribed to treat ulcers--gets rid of the hp and thus the inflammation and bleeding. It is especially good for treating infections in the intestinal lining because it targets anaerobic bacteria. That might explain why she thought it would help with the pain. But I think that she should have explained her reasoning to you and the possible side effects since she knows that you have nerve issues, especially in the area. Or maybe she just misunderstood the mechanism behind this particular antibiotic... It's like they dont want to sped the time or think that we're dumb or something....
Over this past couple of years I have been way more successful at diagnosing my own problems than the drs, who come to my diagnosis after the damage has already been done. Really how insistent do we have to be!?!

I have turned into a shrew at some of these offices because I just need someone to problem solve and not just practice heurestics on me.

I will see my 11 CRS today. We'll see how it goes. I am so tired of having to present all my history and then ask if I get enough fiber in my diet.

I hear you there. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Well, I had a banding done on one the hemmies but she really recommends getting a hemorrhoidectomy to take care of the problem. She did not want to remove the skin tag though that is really what keeps getting irritated. Can I force a doctor to do this??? :D

And to top it all off I gave myself a yeast infection from taking the Flagyl. So if I get in the tub it feels like my perenium is on fire!! She told me to go get some Monistat and put that on just on the outside because I have a rash now.

I am not sure when to do the surgery. It will take a month to heal and maybe longer. Maybe when I go to Colorado this Summer I can do it there so I have help with my kids. I have had several doctors say that is really the best way to deal with it but they admit the pain is excruciating and one of the most painful surgeries.

Does anyone know anyone who has had this? I have read some other boards about it and it seems to be half and half of people who are delighted with the results and those that are trying to heal. Maybe I need to move to a hemorrhoid board since I don't have a fissure anymore.

She also told me to try soaking in Dunboro? I am not sure of the spelling. It is an astrigent powder that can help reduce the skintag but I don't want it to touch the other parts so I am going to put this off.

I go back next month and will discuss all of this with her again and maybe get another banding but she said after 15 bandings I have a lot of scar tissure that the bander doesn't want to pick anything up anymore.

But she was very nice and seemed to listen. Hey, I didn't even cry at the appointment. :leiamas: