Hi. Never posted in this site but have found it invaluable for advice and support so I thought I would register and share my experiences. The one thing I will say is talking about this terrible condition helps. A bit about my history. In 2005 I started experiencing a continued problem with Hemmies. I had had them in the past but nothing that a little ointment couldn't solve. Anyway this continued for several weeks. I saw my GP and he referred me to hospital for a procedure where they inject the Hemmies to shrink them. this did not work or if lt did I still continued to have pain. back to the doc another referral to another hospital. Another painful examinination and still no joy. So booked in for colonoscopy in April 2006. speak to consultant before the procedure to say that I have noticed this lump near my back passage for sometime. Wake up from surgery not having a clue what has happened. Well what has happened is they found a fistula and operated and inserted a seton into my fistula to drain it. The one blessing is that no other disorders like crohns detected. So I go into hospital as a day case and I am kept in overnight. My wife is panicking as I haven't rung her for her to pick me up and she spends a frantic time trying to locate me at the hospital as I have been moved from ward to ward during the day. so panic over I come home with this ring of rubber that goes into my anus and then loops out of my butt cheek. Nine weeks this baby is kept in there. Painful uncomfortable and difficult to keep clean. Luckily I am signed off work as there is no way I could do my job in this situation I was working in a prison on resettlement at the time. So now it's back to hospital where they lay the fistula open and I am sent home again. I will say that both times i am not really sure what is going on, but luckily a team of lovely very caring nurses take it in turns to pack my wound for me every day for six weeks. My wound is over an inch wide and tracks back very deep. eventually I return to work but things aren't right and it's back to hospital in January for another operation to relive the pressure where my scar has healed to tight. so things slowly get better physically but the pain and time off work and stress and the fact that I didn't feel like a real man for such a longtime has has left a psychological scar which takes time to heal. anyway I feel better somewhat although I have periods of pain down there which I attribute to a return of the Hemmies or the scar tissue that is there. Now to the present day I find myself in this awful situation. the pain has been pretty much everyday now for 7 to 8 weeks with what the doctor thinks is an AF. in fact reading up on this condition I think I have had one for along time as that spasm pain has been around on an off for sometime now. Obviously healing and re tearing. Anyway doc prescribes GTN (love the headaches but hey if it works) and i come away feeling relief that everything will be sorted. Which is does for a while a few days of fairly pain free existence and then the pain comes back. so now I'm in the vicious cycle of not wanting to have a BM. Hot baths do help of course. Back to the doc and referred to hospital. Ring up yesterday and appt with consultant I saw for my fistula. But it's not for another seven weeks, I'm in the UK and do not have private medical insurance ( stupid really as I can get it really cheap through my work). I will add that I have a history of depression caused mainly to physical illness but also stress from work. I was on anti depressants for a long time but have been off them for a couple of years and feeling positive about life. I started on a paleo type diet last year when I weighed 13 st 10lbs I am 5 ft 9 inches tall. i have lost 3 stones since may 2011 in a very controlled manner and have felt generally healthier in body and mind. Recently some of the weight loss has definitely been from the issues around the AF, depression, stress loss of appetite. Anyway that's me. Sorry I have come over all doom and gloom I'm normally what people describe as "a right good laugh" but hey you guys know how this condition brings you down. So glad I found this forum
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Wow ouch,
you have been through a lot!
Hope your af heals easier.
Thank you for sharing! It does help.
scars are weird things. Do you think your af could have anything to do with scaring from the fistula? Did your doc check to see if the hemmies are gone?
would you consider LIS?
-Tanya

workingonit wrote:Wow ouch,
you have been through a lot!
Hope your af heals easier.
Thank you for sharing! It does help.
scars are weird things. Do you think your af could have anything to do with scaring from the fistula? Did your doc check to see if the hemmies are gone?
would you consider LIS?
-Tanya

thank you so much for your reply it means a lot
My fissure if thats what it is, seems to be near the back so the opposite to where the scar is. i definitely think i never properly healed, so it has been difficult to have a BM, but poor diet and being a bit "anal" about going to the toilet, only going when i am at home, holding on till i am somewhere i feel comfortable hasn't helped. Not sure about hemmies, the doc actually couldn't see any problems but i said it was inside and then he had a little probe and felt a lump which i said was painful. like i said i have suffered with bottom problems for years but flare ups have been intermittent enough to manage until now. I believe that scarring causes a lot of problems . i had a hernia operation a couple of years ago and i still get tightness and a burning sensation in that area. my friend who has crohns and has had more operations then hot dinners, says that the body doesn't knit together properly and you lose the elasticity. as far as LIS is concerned i will not think twice about it in fact i will be very prepared when i finally get to see my consultant and ask all the right questions. I don't cope well with operations, heal slowly bruise badly (i'm a red head) but i can't see me curing this on my own i think i have had it for too long. it's a case of maintaining a reasonable level of comfort for the next few weeks but i am willing to go through surgery if it means i can start to live my life again. i have pain every day now, and thats no life at all. i have read so many posts on here and many people say they wouldn't wish it on there worst enemy and i would have to agree.

Ouch,
I wonder why your doc doesn't use a proctoscope and actually look? I guess that'll wait til you see your consultant?
I would recommend an electric heating pad if you don't already have one. They are heaven when you are sore or hurting.
-Tanya

I know it’s been years Ouch but did you get everything sorted out?