Anal Fissure Support Forum

[SummerGal]

Hope, Things are already better today with the tissue. It's still a little sore, but much better than the last few days. I hope that will help gets things back on track. Keep crossing the body parts...I am not that flexible, so I can only cross fingers and toes. lol

[Deleted User 579]

Hey Summergal! How's the bum now? I'm glad things were getting better - I hope things have improved even more. I can only cross other body parts now because they sag!

[SummerGal]

How are you doing with your recovery Hope? Did you enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday? I had a great time and had a lot of family in town.
Well, things are about the same with me. Still bleeding everytime I go to the bathroom (although it stops quickly). Actually, the last two days I have had no bleeding, so I am hoping that is not a fluke and on my way to something positive.
I have a lot of itching still down there, but I think most of that might be due to psoriasis (great problem to have down there in addition to everything else. lol).
Do you know if you can form an abcess at the top of your cheek that could become a fistula? Or are they usually lower on your rear end. This morning I noticed in the shower a bump, it feels like under the skin, but I can't see it to tell. It's a little itchy right now, not painful. I am hoping it's just something clogged due to my psoriasis creams or something, but now I am scared maybe it's an abcess or something. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I am going to see how it is tomorrow, and then see if my dermatologist or CRS can check it out if it's not better. UGH!
Hope you are doing well and not having any complications. ONe of us has to get all the way better soon! LOL All in all though, I feel way better than pre-surgery, so as long as new complicates things, I am pretty happy.

[Deleted User 579]

Hey Summergal! It's great to hear from you! I'm so glad you had a great Thanksgiving. Up here in the Great White North, we celebrate Thanksgiving in October, eh? Mine was nice too.
It sounds like we are in very similar situations. I still bleed sometimes with BMs, and sometimes when I inspect the wound too. My doc told me not to worry about blood, though, so I won't. I don't want to jinx myself, but there doesn't seem to be any signs of anything sinister, so I'm just being as patient as possible and thanking my stars that I'm not in pain. :D The bleeding is slowly lessening, so I'm taking that as a hopeful sign. I see my doc again Dec 14th. You also have an appointment coming up too, don't you?
I'm not sure what to make of the lump you describe. It sounds like it's pretty far from the anus for a fistula. If you don't mind me asking, are we talking inside the crack, near the anus, or more than a few inches from the anus? If it's more than a few inches away, then I'd put money on it being a separate issue and not a fistula. But it's worth keeping an eye on it, of course, and certainly going to a doc to get it checked. The itching must be really annoying! Man, you've got nerves of steel! Hat's off to you! :D
I know how you feel - anything that goes on in that area gets me really paranoid! I'm convinced that I've developed some horrible complication. This whole ordeal really messes us up pyschologically! I'm off the anti-depression and anti-anxiety meds now, but that took a while - and I still need sleeping pills. But I am doing so much better now. I'm slowly starting to trust my body again.
I'm so glad you are doing well too. I'm really sure that you don't have any complications, but let us know how things turn out when you see your doc. It's so nice of you to volunteer me as the one of us to get all the way better, but I say we recover completely together! That would be much more fun than doing it alone.
I'm so glad you are happy! After all you've been through, you definitely deserve it!

[SummerGal]

Hi Hope! Sorry about the Thanksgiving mistake...I forgot your were from Canada!
Yeah, we do sound very similar in our experiences. I have the bleeding, but I am not in much pain at all, so I am not worried about it unless my CRS is! I still sometimes feel some light "achey" dull pain when I go on the side where the fistula surgery was, but it's like a 1 on a scale of 1 to 10, so not a big deal.
Well, yesterday I was in the shower and spraying the handheld nozzle and that area with the bump started stinging. I noticed a little spot of blood on my gauze later in the day, so I think it opened. Yikes! It didn't feel anything like my original abcess though...that really hurt and was a mess, so I am still hopeful it's just a flukey thing. I would say it's a couple inches from the anus. Maybe like an inch and a half down from the top of my crack. It's just in the inside of the cheek as it curves in,hard to explain. I looked in the mirror a little today, but I can't see that side well, but I did notice my skin is very red looking on the other side. I am hoping this is all from my psoriasis, since I have it pretty badly. I am going to the dermatologist tomorrow in the morning. I wanted her to look first, since I assume she would know about both things...skin inflamation as well as abcesses. My CRS didn't seem to know how to handle the skin irritation other than to give me some medicated wipes, but they didn't help much. I swear the itching is so bad sometimes, I could tear my skin off. I itch more than I should, so maybe that is why I got the bump? The bump is also in a total opposite place as my last fistula. That one was on my lower left cheek at the very bottom, this one is the upper left cheek near the top.
I just want to be wellllllllllllllllll again!! Arggggg! I feel like Charlie Brown sometimes. lol Right when I feel I am getting better "Lucy" pulls the football away from my kick and down I go. I feel if I can conquer this irritated skin thing, I would feel so much better mentally and physically. It does get depressing dealing with all this worry, as you know. I am glad you are off the anti-depressants. I know what you mean about trying to learn to trust your body again. It's hard not to naturally expect the worst right now, but I need to try and be more positive, until I have a valid reason not to be.
We are getting there Hope...so hang in there! I have an appointment I think on the 29th of this month, so you are a little before me. I dread going because I know he will probably do that nitrate stuff I hate, because I still feel a little itchy where the other fistula was, so I think the tissue heals wrong a bit. He has done the nitrate stuff twice now to get rid of granulated tissue or something like that. It doesn't feel good!
Okay, let's go back to crossing all body parts that cross to wish us luck. I will let you know what the doc says tomorrow. Let me know how your appointment goes next week as well. I hope it's good news for Christmas. Let's hope that no fistulas are in our stockings this holiday! hehe

[Deleted User 579]

Ha Ha! No worries :D I consider myself to be an honorary American, since half my kinfolk are in the States
I also still get the odd ‘achy’ feeling where the fistulotomy was done. I expect it will be a good long while before the nerves down there settle down.
Did you see your dermatologist today? What did they say? I hope they were able to give you some information and assistance. I would be so surprised if that lump is fistula-related, especially since it’s on the other side - but I really don’t know? I really, really hope it’s nothing serious. I also really hope your dermatologist can help you out with the itching too. I can’t imagine dealing with psoriasis on top of everything else. Man, you are one strong cookie!
I’m going to keep all body parts crossed that everything is well, and that your appointment on the 29th goes well too (no silver nitrate, please!). We are getting there, Summergal! We will beat all this!

[SummerGal]

Hi Hope! Well, I think all in all it went well today. She said she didn't see anything that looked like a fistula. She said there was something that looked more like a tear or scrape where I was worried. Maybe I did something when scratching? I am going to try and never scratch again, but it's soooooo freakin' hard. lol She too two cultures and I will know next week if I have an infection of some sort. She gave me some special cream in case there was an infection, and then told me which psoriasis creams to use. The bad part is, my psoriasis meds don't really help that much (anywhere on my body). Soooo, at least she doesn't think it's a fistula. I have the other appointment at the end of the month, so I will double check with my CRS then. Thanks for keeping your body parts crossed...I think it worked! hehe So how far North are you? Any snow yet? Have a good night! xox

[Deleted User 579]

Hey Summergal! That's great news about the no-fistula
What a relief! Of course, I understand that you might be holding off on celebrating too loudly until you hear back about the cultures and until your CRS appointment, but this really sounds like very good news to me. :D
Oh that itching must be so awful! You really deserve some relief! It is really difficult to avoid scratching when there's an itch. I really hope the cream your doc prescribed turns out to pleasantly surprise you and works like a charm.
I'm in southern Ontario - so I'm not so far north. That's no way I could handle the winter any further north than I am right now! I like snow when it first falls, but I get sick of it real quick ... mostly because I HATE the cold! YUK! I'm moving to Florida as soon as I can. Look out all you Americans!
I hope you have a lovely weekend. :D
I'm so happy about your good news. I will continue to keep my fingers crossed

[Deleted User 579]

Hey Summergal - how are you doing? I just got back from my CRS appointment and he says the fistula site looks very good and all healed. I told him that I do still bleed a wee bit with BMs, so I'm scheduled for a colonoscopy to check everything out. He thinks I may have a small internal hemmie, which he will band if he finds one during the colonoscopy. So that's my news. :D I'm feeling pretty good. The area where the fistulotomy was done is still a bit tender during BMs - I can feel that the tissue is not 100% yet, so I'm just doing my best to continue having soft BMs. Otherwise, I'm doing well.
I really hope you are doing well too. Your appointment is in two weeks, right? I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you! Please let us know what your doc says. I'm sure we are both going to have that lovely Christmas we've been hoping for!

[SummerGal]

I was reading your post Hope on the othe thread. That is good news the bleeding has stopped for now (and hopefully for good). I went in today for a follow-up. The doc said the surgery sites looked pretty good and only one little spot he put silver nitrate on (HATE that stuff...my butt is still throbbing as I type). He said the bleeding I have is most likely due to a small tear/crack in the skin near the surgery site. He thinks I probably reopen it when I go to the bathroom. It's not very painful though, so he said at the moment we won't do anything. I still sometimes have an achey feeling when I have a BM, kind of like a muscle ache on one side. Maybe my muscles are still getting back to normal?? Anyway, he said I didn't really need another follow-up, unless something is going on.
My gastro doc is doing some kind of scope for my acid reflux (no probs, just a scope to make sure things are fine) and she said she would do a colnoscopy at the same visit to make sure the bleeding isn't something else. My CRS and I think it's just from the tear, but he said it wouldn't hurt to have one done, if she is doing another thing as well already. Bleck! I don't want another colonoscopy, but I guess I will agree to it to be on the safe side. So all in all things are fairly okay. I still have some slight discomfort and I still have the skin problems due to psoriasis down there, which makes it hard to know what is what, but I am hopeful Iwill stay on the right path. He said I don't have a hemorroid that he sees, but I do have a little skin or something, so I guess like a little skin tag. UGH! I had a big one removed this summer, and I know they have a good chance of coming back, so I hope it stays small. That caused me more pain than anything, can you believe that? lol Crossed fingers here!
If you end up having to have the hemorroid banded, is that as painful a recovery as surgery? It's always something, isn't it? We will keep hoping for healthy butts! lol I hope you are doing well. I have been meaning to check in, but work has been busy and then I am tired when I get home. I can't wait for my summer long vacation!!! :) Oh, and I hope you guys aren't having too rough of a winter. It's been kind of mild and rainy here...not too cold, but definitely gloomy. Take care Hope! I am glad your doing better with the bleeding.