I had been diagnosed with Fistula in ano by my CRS and had been advised to undergo Fistulotomy. Initially I was in denial for a day or so since my abscess was drained only on Dec 30th and thought it was too early for the CRS to tell. Then I was like " Who am i kidding??" he is the specialist who under 15 sec of taking a look used a probe on me and confirmed that it is a fistula and also doubts that it would have reached the rectum. He tells the only way to get this dealt is to have a fistulotomy and have the wound laid open. Even before I asked he informed the recovery is going to be very painful for atleast 2 weeks and BM's are going to be screaming pain.. That really scares me..I havent had really bad painful bowel movements even during the abscess time though the abscess by itself was very painful. I have taken an appointment to have the surgery done on 16th Feb and in the meantime trying to consult another CRS for 2nd opinion (though am convinced 100% that I do have a fistula and the 2nd opinion is mainly regarding if I could find a better CRS than the one i had already seen). Reading some of the experiences scare the s**t out of me. I would appreciate anyone going through this or already gone through this help me with your expereince on the below:

1)Is it really screaming pain for first 2 weeks and more pain after bowel movement?
2) Is the pain constant like 24 hrs? Is it that even narcotic pain killers don't control them?
3) How do you manage 14 to 15 days with that pain threshold? (I read a few women who claims that child birth was less painful than this.)

I dont know if am too chickened on this but this had been eating my head more than the abscess itself for last 2 weeks. Any advise would be much appreciated.

Hi rp,

I had an abscess that was "three weeks from forming a fistula" laid open, which is I think a pretty much the same thing. I ended up with a hole from my anus up towards my perineum that was around two inches long and one inch deep. Compared to the abscess itself, post operation really wasn't that bad. I was given pain killers and lactose base laxatives. The first week or so I pretty much stayed in bed and didn't move much. Bowel movements were fine for me. I think every case is different, but I just wanted you to know my experience was really okay, no major pain. It took about three months for me to heal up properly, but after about two weeks I was able to go back to work.

I think the mind bending pain some people report is more related to fissures than a fistula.

Anyhow - good luck.

Best LemonMan

Thanks much LemonMan..appreciate your response..mine started as a fissure which got infected and turned into an abscess and now into a fistula..it's at the 6'o clock position right outside my anal hole...Am not expecting a total painless experience but hoping that with bearable pain I survive this surgery..

I just scheduled my fistulatomy and hemorrhoidectomy for March and I am terrified. Mine is posterior midline but I have no idea what that means except they are slicing open my rectum which does not sound enjoyable. My biggest fear besides the recovery pain is the risk of incontinence and refraining from sex for months. I just need some reassurance that this will be worth the pain and risk. I've gotten so use to the everyday pain of these buggers for years that I don't remember what life is like without them. I also thought I was dealing with internal and external hemorrhoids not a fistula.