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Hello

Postby Tedser » 22 Oct 2010, 18:14

Hi Everyone,
I recently found this forum and have found it a very informative site.
I believe that I am suffering from a fistula and it has been at me for the last 7 months.
I had my appendix removed last September (09) and following that I got a stomach infection.
My bowel movements became very odd,I would often go to the toilet 3 times a day and the movements varied from normal to constipated to diarrohea .
Generally the first movement was hard the second normal and the third watery.
I was also bloated and full of gas.
Its during this time that I developed a fistula or fissure,I'm not 100% sure.
I was under alot of stress over the Winter and I think my infection festered.
I noticed a hard small lump near the front of my anus that would swell up and it was quite painful.
At first I thought it was haemhorroids but when it didnt go away after a few weeks I knew it was something else.
It would seem to swell up a few hours after a bowel movement and if I pressed on it ,it relieved the pressure and pus was discharged from my anus (not the lump)
It looked like a tiny pin hole.
I went to my GP in March and he diagnosed me as having a sinal infection and put me on antibiotics.
The antibiotics seemed to clear up my bowel movements which returned to normal .
I also stopped drinking alcohol and made a few changes to my diet .
I had to give up porridge as it was driving my stomach crazy and running through me .
I went on a course of probiotics which didnt seem to do much good.
My stomach eventually returned to normal but I had the odd flare up where I suffered nausea and bloating.
The lump in my ass would not go away though.
Its only sore after a bowel movement ,it seems to swell up and pressing it relieves it.
Its not sore passing stools and there is no blood discharge.
I do have a papillae at the edge of my anus .
I take warm baths every day ,use baby wipes and hydrocortisone cream .
It doesnt flare up as often now as it did a few months ago but there are days when it can be a real nuisance and swell up and be throbbing for a few hours.
In August I went to a specialist surgeon and he said it looked like a semi healed fistula or a fissure,he wasnt sure.
He said there was some scar tissue inside my anus ,I can feel it ,its pretty hard.
He said I may have Crohns disease and said I should go for a colonoscopy and he would have a look at the fistula/fissure/??? .
He said he could remove it if it wasnt in too far in the muscle or deaden it with botox.
Since that visit my stomach has been pretty good,very little bloatedness or wind and normal bowel movements.
I did feel bad for a few days allright but I traced that to taking Berocca tablets which are high in acid and can cause IBS .I stopped taking them and I felt fine again.
I am 32 years of age,male and pretty fit .
I play soccer twice a week,and play golf regularly .
I notice that the lump can swell up after a long round of golf as I sweat alot ,which seems to irritate it.
Most days I feel fine but every so often,perhaps once a week ,the swelling can get pretty sore,like a throbbing spasm.
I wouldnt say my condition is very painful or affecting my lifestyle but it is a nuisance ,as you could say "a pain in the ass".
I often think it is almost healed but then it flares up again.I'm getting fed up of it at this stage.
I am due to go to hospital in 2 weeks for day surgery but I'm wondering if I might be better off just getting the colonoscopy and foregoing the surgery ?
Does what I have described sound like a fistula or fissure ?
Would I be better off trying some topical cream like Diltiazem before surgery ?
I know my post is a bit long but I wanted to be as detailed as possible.
Many Thanks
Tedser
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Re: Hello

Postby cherylk » 22 Oct 2010, 20:39

Tedser,
I wanted to say welcome. Nice to see that you are a golfer also. Image I cannot relate to your situation, but I'm sure there are others who can give you some feedback to your questions.
Image
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Re: Hello

Postby Tedser » 23 Oct 2010, 14:18

Thanks for the welcome cherylk ,great site .
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Re: Hello

Postby Guest » 29 Oct 2010, 09:17

Hey there,
Has a crs diagnosed you with a fissure? Have you had the shards of glass feeling when you bm?
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Re: Hello

Postby Tedser » 29 Oct 2010, 17:24

dawn wrote:Hey there,
Has a crs diagnosed you with a fissure? Have you had the shards of glass feeling when you bm?

The consultant said that it may be a fissure or fistula,he wasnt sure.
I have no pain during bowel movements ,they are fine.
I only feel sore 1-2 hours after a bowel movement ,when the lump swells up and there is a discharge of pus from my anus.
Most days I feel fine but every so often,perhaps once a week ,the swelling can get pretty sore,like a throbbing spasm.
I wouldnt say my condition is very painful or affecting my lifestyle but it is a nuisance ,as you could say "a pain in the ass".
I often think it is almost healed but then it flares up again.
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Re: Hello

Postby Guest » 30 Oct 2010, 10:45

Hey ,
That does sound like an infection( fistula or abcess ), especially having puss.
I know there are a few others on here who have had them, maybe they can answer some of your questions, but pus is definitely infection.
You may want to read some of NG, Pauls and afugh's post , they all had infection. Hopefully they will come on...
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Re: Hello

Postby Tedser » 03 Nov 2010, 18:49

Thanks Dawn,I will read through their posts and see if there are any similarities with my symptoms.
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Re: Hello

Postby afugh!! » 04 Nov 2010, 09:38

Welcome to the boards Tedser.From the description of a lump that swells after a bm and pus discharges sounds like a fistula to me.Mine never swelled after a bm or cause me pain until I developed a second fistulous opening but I've read that fecal matter can get caught and fill a fistula and maybe thats why it swells up after a bm.That lump you have maybe the abcess but I'm surprised your Specialist/surgeon couldn't tell if it was a fissure or a fistula,my GS recognized mines at first glance.Well everyones anus looks different.As for a colonoscopy or surgery is up too you.You can always do one first and have the the other after.Just don't sit too long on your decision because if it is a fistula it can get worse and develope another fistulous track just like mines did.
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Re: Hello

Postby Tedser » 04 Nov 2010, 10:11

Thanks for the reply afugh!,I appreciate it.
I spoke to a person from my surgeons team today about the proposed surgery next Monday.
My surgeon is a gastroenterologist .
The surgeon says that I have a fistula ,its almost certainly not a fissure.
I will be put under general anasthetic and they will perform a colonoscopy to assess the damage and then they will decide what action to take.
If the fistula is routine they will lay it open to let it heal.However if it is deeper in the muscle they will most likely insert a seton .
They wont know fully what to do until they have it assessed.
After examining the lump myself in a mirror this week ,it seems there is a tiny opening there and sometimes a tiny speck of blood can be seen.Its a good 1cm from my anus .
I'm a bit hesistant about going into hospital next week as I'm being kept a bit in the dark by my surgeon.He seems knife happy but perhaps thats the way most surgeons are.He never proposed any medication (Diltiazem ?) or antibiotics ,just decided on surgery.
I've had this condition for 8 months and it does seem that surgery may be the only solution.
I've tried sitz baths,hydrocortisone cream,manuka honey,rest ,all to no avail.
Its certainly not as bad as it was but it still has some daily discharge.Its not painful just an irritation.
I'm not really sure what to do.
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Re: Hello

Postby afugh!! » 04 Nov 2010, 14:02

I've had my Fistula for 7 months and I just had the surgery 3 days ago.It was a short procedure around 30 minutes and I was home 15 minutes after.I was prescribed Vicodine for the pain but so far my pain level was about a 3 out of 10 at most and a Tylenol does the job.Pain level will vary from person to person but from what I've read from other people on the net that severe pain after a fistula surgery is rare but surgeons will still give you the Vic's just incase.The only real problem I have with this is the cleaning after a bm and the discharge/drainage.It's suppose to get better over time but 3 days post-op it's driving me crazy.Forced to gauze up and wear man diapers Image Well I'm glad it was properly diagnosed and I wish you luck on your colonoscopy and surgery.
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