Just had my surgery...

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Just had my surgery...

Postby Triss » 13 Feb 2013, 07:49

So let me tell you my story. It's going to be looong... but I've kept it in for too long and I just need to share or I'll just break down.
In July 2012 I became crazy about getting slim and fit, going to the gym every day, eating lots of fruit and veg and protein and all was hunky-dory until one day when I experienced really bad pain on pooping with blood aka the anal fissure. I still had some meds from the last time that I had it, so I just took that. A couple of weeks later I went to my GP because I felt a painful lump underneath the skin just adjacent to my anus - but she said it was an external haemorrhoid and nothing to worry about, so I went for holiday for a month and had good and bad days on and off. When I got back the lump has become much bigger and much more painful, but my GP still kept saying it was nothing to worry about, but she'll refer me to CRS to have a look. And so she did... but the waiting list was so long that my appointment was scheduled for November! I thought I could do it, I could wait it out... took full dose paracetamol and ibuprofen a day, put countless amounts of various creams and suppositories up my bum and still just could not focus on my studies because I had this awful, pulsating pain near my anus that prevented me from sitting down comfortably, turning in bed, doing sports, having sex, you name it... So one day I went to the GP again and she, eureka, said it was an abscess that needs draining. It was on 11th of October.
Oh My God I was so happy that something will finally be done! My op was scheduled for 13th of Oct and I had the best time having the general anaesthetic. I had my abscess lanced and the horror began... the wound was not big, 3 cm deep, but it just did not want to heal...kept draining yellow/green pus. NOBODY listened to me. It got to 8 weeks of thoughtless packing the wound that was still 2cm deep when I cried in the nursing office and said that I'm not leaving until someone makes a decision about what to do with me. So I got referred back to the CRS, but with waiting times again I could not expect to be seen until Jan 2013... In the meanwhile I developed really bad infection down there, and started passing stool matter through the wound, which to me meant it was a fistula.
So in the clinic the CRS said that yes indeed it was a fistula (eureka again) and it needs fixing. He scheduled the op to be on 11th Feb, which is the day before yesterday...
I had seton drain put in because the fistula turned out to be transsphincteric. He laid open some of the fistula tract, about 1.5cm and put the seton drain around the external sphincter (I think). Now I have a horrendous looking wound down below, with green thick stitch coming out from it that drains yellow ?pus and blood. I also have haemorrhoids, which add to the picture... It looks like a slaugherhouse there, I'm not even joking. I couldn't go to the loo yesterday so I took laxative last night and this morning I went three times... It didn't hurt, but made me paranoid about cleanliness, I spent about 1 hr and 30 min in the loo pooping and having a salt bath over and over...
How am I ever going to heal?!?!
I have a few questions. Please help if you can...
1. Have you had a seton drain put in? What did it look like initially, and what did it look like after a few weeks time? Did the gaping hole heal at least a bit?
2. Did you have the wound packed when you had the seton in? The surgeon said not to pack it but it is a cavity wound so I don't know if it should be packed or not?
3. I do salt baths twice a day (one after BM and one in the evening), is that enough? I'm so paranoid about cleanliness around that area, how do I prevent infection?! I spray the wound with an antiseptic which is used for surgical wounds in Europe and I'm hoping that this will maybe make healing faster and maybe prevent infection at least a bit...
4. If you had a fistula and seton drain put in...have you ever healed completely? I'm losing hope...
The only upside is that it's not really painful. I am a medical student and I comfortably went to a tutorial yesterday, which was one day after my operation. I don't lay around and do nothing, I can't do that or I'll just go crazy. The thought that I will need another 2 or 3 operations to get this fixed properly is just overwhelming, I don't know how am I going to fit this around my studies and I am just desperate for some consolation...
Thank you for reading this, I hope your day started better than mine.
Triss
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Re: Just had my surgery...

Postby Mamalucia » 13 Feb 2013, 09:40

I'm not much help with this procedure but check these posts out they have a lot of information regarding the Seton! Best of luck
http://anal-fissure.org/search?search_keywords=Seton+
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Re: Just had my surgery...

Postby Jessjess » 13 Feb 2013, 10:01

Hello! So sorry you are having issues but I'm glad you are not in a LOT of pain! There is a sticky note at the top of the surgery section on this board that has information about fistula surgery.
Can you call your doctor and speak to a nurse? A nurse could probably answer a lot of your questions directly. There are a few folks on this board that can help as well. :)
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Re: Just had my surgery...

Postby Triss » 13 Feb 2013, 10:10

Hi guys,
Thanks for your replies. I saw a nurse in my GP practice yesterday and she was useless. Didn't even know what a sitz bath was. I have the number of my surgeon's secretary but I don't want to ring him about little things I don't want to sound silly. (It's difficult for me because people know that I have medical background and often don't tell me little things because they assume I know about them. Sounds stupid but that's the reality...)
I'm seeing a different nurse on Friday and hopefully she'll be able to answer some of my questions... but given my 6 month experience with them thus far...ehhh.
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Re: Just had my surgery...

Postby owmybum » 13 Feb 2013, 14:02

It sounds horrendous what you have been through... Good old NHS waiting lists eh!
Sitz baths are not really used here in the uk... But I have seen them on amazon if you want one.
Don't feel bad about phoning your crs' secretary and asking questions... I do it all the time! It's what they are there for.
Hopefully someone will come along and post some advice for you soon.
Hope things ease up for you
OMB x
fissure after hem banding and tag removal feb 11
Pelvic floor therapy
Diltiazem
Botox June 13
Nitro
Internal flap July 14
EUA and polyps removed Nov 14
Diagnosed with neuropathy Jan 15
Diagnosed with HS EDS type 3 (causes poor wound healing )
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Re: Just had my surgery...

Postby Jessjess » 13 Feb 2013, 21:38

Something that I didn't know about sitz baths when I started this journey is that it is simply a bath for your butt. The ones that they sell online are fine if you don't have a bathtub or can't take a bath for some reason. I take a sitz bath by getting in the bath tub and soaking for 20 minutes with HOT water filled up only so much that my butt is wet. It can be filled a little further if you like. It gets warm after few minutes so I let out some water and fill it back up with HOT water, as hot as I can stand. After 20 minutes, it looks like the back half of my body has been sunburned! It is fine though, just the blood circulating to the surface. Hope this clarifies in case you were confused about it.
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Re: Just had my surgery...

Postby Triss » 14 Feb 2013, 05:33

Hm, in that case maybe I will call my CRS...
Unfortunately I dont have a bath tub, but I managed to get one off amazon for only a few pounds. I add epsom salts to it, I dont know if it actually makes any difference or not but why not give it a go.
Day 3 today, not too bad thus far, Im a bit sick of wearing that roll of gauze between my buttocks, it puts a bit too much pressure on the spot where seton enters the bum hole and it aches... I find that sitting down is much more comfortable than walking or bending over.
Do you guys take anything to keep your motions soft/regular?
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Re: Just had my surgery...

Postby Triss » 14 Feb 2013, 16:31

Haha of course I meant I got a sitz bath for a few pounds, not the actual bath tub!! Lol
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Re: Just had my surgery...

Postby Jessjess » 15 Feb 2013, 07:58

Triss, epsom salts are not really necessary, but if they don't sting, I don't see the harm. And, the gauze doesn't have to be a big wad. You could probably cut it in half. I just wear a 3x3 piece in between my cheeks and it's fine.
My nurse told me that the gauze is good but not necessary. A lot of people wear it to keep the skin from getting irritated and underwear clean. I personally think that the surgical site should stay dry and the gauze should be worn to catch any extra blood or seepage so that the wound will heal faster.
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Re: Just had my surgery...

Postby Triss » 15 Feb 2013, 08:13

Jessjess, do you stick the gauze to your buttocks?
I don't like the feeling of wetness between my buttocks and that's why I wear the gauze - I even used to put a plaster onto the external opening before the operation as it makes me feel just a little bit cleaner. Not having to stick the gauze to the bum would make weeing so much easier! Could take it out just before and put it back in after and voila no more worries about wetting the dressings...
I went for the check up with a nurse today at my GP practice - she put a bit of some sort of antimicrobial ointment on a part of the wound that was a bit sore - it seems to have 'lubricated' the spot and it's not sore anymore. I still seem to produce quite a lot of yellowy/beige discharge/pus, but she said it wasn't smelly or the wound didn't look infected so it's all good.
And I went to uni today so back on the right track hopefully!
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