by buttmachine » 14 Mar 2009, 09:58
Hi everyone,
Thanks again for all of your advice. I've taken it -- and haven't been riding my bike to work. I went to the doctor yesterday and basically told him to cool it. That I had trouble sitting down for a day and a half after the scope and silver nitrate treatment last week, and that he needed to be really gentle. He did a fairly gentle exam, said he was a little concerned my fissurectomy incision might be roofing over again, and that he'd seen a tiny drop of pus. I got dressed and went to his office to discuss.
He said he's still a little puzzled as to why I'm not healing as quickly as most patients do, but he's not too worried because I'm not hurting or discharging. One of my options, he said, was to go back into the OR under anesthesia so he could get a really good look, and lay it open and clean it up if necessary. He could also do another scope on a day where I didn't have to be anyplace afterwards, though he didn't notice anything through the scope last week. Another option was that he'd just brought another surgeon into his practice, and would be happy to have him take a look. A fourth was the exact opposite of the hands-on, aggressive approach he'd been taking with the silver nitrate and the weekly exams -- just to let it alone for awhile and see what happens.
The doctor said a number of times in his career, patients have just gone away for a little while and come back perfectly healed. He said there's really no downside to this approach, since the other two options he named would still be a possibility in time, with no long-term risk to my health or healing. I told him that's the way I'd like to go, and he agreed to see me again in five weeks. If I had any pain, bleeding, complications, etc., I should come in sooner. I should continue the baths, but not necessarily every day.
So I'm relieved that he agrees with my initial inclination that we should just leave the d*mn thing alone and see how it goes. Seems to me that the less you antagonize an open wound, especially one that doesn't bleed or hurt much, the better it's likely to get on its own. I've also noticed that a return to something resembling a normal routine helps my psyche, and I know the mind has a powerful impact on the body's ability to heal.
That's the deal. Thanks again to you all for your support, and happy healing to you as well!