Yes the oregano oil is very potent...I was getting bitten really bad in Germany by mosquitoes and the chemist gave me neat oregano oil told me to mix it with olive oil and apply...well I thought I knew best and applied it to my arms neat OUCH doesn't even come close lol
My IBS has always been very unpredictable it's very mood orientated even if I get excited it sets it off. Also I can have say a pie from a shop one day but the next day they may have put too much gravy in so I will end up on the toilet 6 times. It's so very frustrating but I'm used to it now after 20 years.
Oh I can't even imagine the joy of just eating what we want when we want like other people do.
I'm sure the antibiotics will be worth the trouble they have caused you. You will soon be sorted and back to normal

Day 30:

It's been a few days since I posted on my progress - anyway, here's the latest installment.

The abscess is quite a bit better and is oozing very little pus now, although I can still feel a small lump on or by the incision site - nothing like it was, though. On the down side, every couple of days I seem to get a little faecal matter coming out from the same place. Obviously, I'm fearing a fistula, even though it's not happening all the time. My GP didn't think it was one and was pleased with my progress following the antibiotics which I finished last Monday (glad that's over - no more runs!). What I am trying to treat the possible fistula with is tea tree oil and olive oil once a day. I'm not altogether sure of the proportions, but I'm using 10 drops of tea tree to about 2 or 3 tablespoons of olive. I did read that one site suggested 1 tablespoon of tea tree to 1 spoon (not specified) of oil. That did seem to be a LOT for tea tree.

The rest of my regime includes having chicken livers every lunchtime and a cottage pie for most suppertimes, just to increase my iron levels. I'm also on the Spatone once a day and have leafy green veg, also for the iron. I am seeing some improvement in my breathing and heart rate, but as my GP said, don't expect an overnight improvement as it could take several months to get back up to normal levels. The downside of having the meaty meals is pretty full, dark sticky motions which are leaving me a a bit sore rectally.

All in all I do feel I am making progress, rather than regressing, but it's not altogether straightforward because of my other issues.

MPB, I stopped using the oregano oil as I couldn't seem to get it to a bearable consistency without it burning my rear end off. I probably just haven't figured out how to use it properly, though. What I am finding is having so many sitz baths with salt in, together with the sticky motions is making the whole area a little raw - not impossibly so, but a bit red and a bit sore. Not sure what I can use to counteract that, though. I really commiserate with you over your Crohns - it must be hard to contend with along with the other issues. I find it's hard enough with my IBS.

I was thinking of trying Anuice on the area (not internally) just to cool things down a bit following a bowel motion and sitz bath, but I'm not sure if it's wise or not? I wouldn't use actual ice as the cold is a little TOO cold! Anyone else tried cold to calm things down?

What I don't really know is how much progress I should be making after about a month? I am walking a fair bit now, but don't tend to sit at my computer for much over an hour yet - it is better than it was though, as I can sit now! As lovely as the weather has been these last few days, it's not exactly conducive to healing rear end problems - TOO HOT! Particularly tricking walking in the heat as I don't drive.

Anyhow, this has turned into a bit of a ramble. I'll post again in a little while.

Day 32:

I'm feeling pretty depressed today as I'm still getting pus and some faecal matter from the abscess site despite completing one course of antibiotics. So I'm fairly sure it must be a fistula. I need to see my CRS to confirm this, but if it's like everything else on the NHS, it'll take a minimum of two months just to get the diagnosis, then there's the wait for an operation, which could take up to six further months. I wish I could go private, but financially it's a non-starter.

I'm sick of the sitz baths, cleaning routines, soreness, uncomfortable wind passing, unpleasant tarry sticky bowel motions, watching daytime telly, heavy meaty meals to replace the iron/blood I lost, unknown future and possibly swapping the previous problem for a worse one.

My apologies for the negative rant today - just feeling down in the dumps, knowing it could have been so different if I hadn't suffered the blood loss and abscess.

Oh no banjo that's not good.
Is there no way you can phone the surgeon who did your LIS to avoid waiting with the NHS, as they might squeeze you in perhaps
Yes the oregano can sting like heck if you don't get the proportions right.
The sitz baths can make the area a bit sore especially when we have been doing them so long. I only have one now when it's really bad.
I can imagine it's very frustrating and downheartening for you as something that was meant to make you better has now created another issue.
But I'm assuming the spasms have stopped and you can now sit even if only for a while. These are improvements and although they are small they show your body is healing and it will continue to do so just hang in there

Wow, I haven't posted in over a month - time flies! Anyhow, some good and some bad to report.

Firstly, my breathing is getting a fair bit better following the blood loss from the operation. Weirdly, I haven't sorted that out with iron rich food. Instead, I started drinking a bottle of Lucozade Sport a day and seems like it's making a difference.

I saw my CRS a few weeks ago and she was happy with my progress and was able to do a digital exam, followed by the dreaded proctoscope. Neither were too bad, which was a plus. I should also add that at the time I was suffering from a bad bout of food poisoning, which was really grim. I did eventually get over that though. She also said that I didn't have a fistula and that this type of operation pretty much never leads to them. I'm not 100% convinced as I still get a little bit pus from near the incision site, but it is a bit better on the whole.

On the downside, I had a hard motion this morning and again a dry looking looking stool at lunch time. This felt a bit uncomfortable going through, despite using the breathing technique. Then this afternoon I had to go again and it felt pretty iffy in the rectal area. I can't figure out whether I've given myself a fissure or I've aggravated the surgery site internally. It didn't exactly feel like razor blades - quite hard to describe, but it sort of felt unhealed. There were also a few small spots of blood on the wetwipes - very little if I'm honest, but not comfortable. Now I'm worried that I've wrecked the surgery. It also doesn't fill me with masses of confidence that I could ease off on the Movicol, despite my CRS saying I should try. I guess I have been having some slightly naughty foods, but not a lot - a few squares of chocolate, a smallish slice of sponge cake and some oat biscuits and crackers. So I'm feeling a bit down that my dream of comfortable bowel motions and a varied diet might not come to fruition.

Can I ask anybody who has had the LIS, how quickly they feel 'normal' internally again. With me, it's been just over 2 months since my operation, so I'm not sure what to expect. I also had the setbacks of the abscess and food poisoning. Any advice about long term healing would be much appreciated. I drink a lot of water, but it doesn't seem to help with soft motions.

Hi Banjo!

Good to hear you've made some progress since you op. Hopefully this is just one of those little setback days and nothing too major.

As for healing advice and length of time to feel normal, well 3 months post LIS and still struggling, so don't think I'm really in a position to help lol! What I would say is that I've read quite a few accounts on here that where there were/are complications (think we both fall into that camp!) it can take up to 6 or 7 months to fully recover, and I'm hanging on to that hope...

As for tips on healing, I try to keep off alcohol now, drink lots of water, take a stool softener morning and night, take coconut sitz baths after every BM, oh, and even though my CRS said I wouldn't need it anymore, I still apply Rectogesic whenever things get really tight or sore down there, as they have been recently.

Wishing you all the best in your recovery,
Mr F

Hi Mr F :-)

I think what this is telling me is we all heal at different speeds and there are sure to be setbacks on the way if it wasn't a hundred percent smooth course of events following our ops. Things are generally a lot better though and I'm now sitting on my office chair for most of the working day, whereas it wasn't too long ago that I was ensconced on the couch watching masses of daytime telly (urghhh!).

I do still take a stool softeners (Movicol), despite my CRS urging me to try to do without them, because I do have a tendency to have dry hardish motions, but will try a few different things when I'm over this hump. I drink a lot of water and I'm guzzling down Lucozade Sport drink and that's giving me much more energy. I couldn't do without my sitz bath, it's a real life saver. I always have one after every BM and add salt as suggested by my CRS. Coconut oil sounds interesting, though. I'm trying to resist the Rectogesic and thus far have stayed off it as my fissure seems to have gone - I'm just left with the incision area which hasn't fully healed yet and I'm trying not to think negatively about this as it seems to be taking a while. I still get a few small spots of pus on and off, but it's not as much as it was, plus a few small spots of blood if it gets sore.

Some people probably breeze through their recovery, but maybe had different starting point. With me, I had a very tight sphincter and 20 years of rectal problems, plus hems, so I need to scale down my recovery speed and hope everything will iron itself out eventually.

Very best of luck with your recovery as well - we have to try to stay positive through our bad days and give ourselves a pat on the back for having the courage to go through with this in the first place!