First of all, THANK GOD for the Internet and finding this forum. I am in need of some series encouragement and hope to do the same for others in time that go through the experience of a fistulotomy. Here's my story:
Ever since having a horrible cold with intestinal issues 5 years ago, I seemed to have an itchy bum that I could not get rid of. At times, I had fissures and I think my excessive scratching made them worse. Then a few years ago after dealing with the crazy itching for close to two years, I visited my primary doctor and he prescribed clotrimazole and betamethasone cream to apply twice daily, thinking it would help cure any fissure that might be leaking fluid and irritating my skin. The clotrimazole was in case I had a stubborn fungal infection. The good news is it worked great. No more itching but did still have a small bump at 12 o'clock just inside my anus. But here'a the catch: if I stopped using the cream, the itching came back with a vengeance. Keep in mind, there wasn't much pain just insane itching that drove me nuts especially at night. So I kept using the cream for over 3 years. But I realized this was not a long term solution, so I visited a crs to see if we could get to the bottom of my chronic condition. Initially diagnosed it as a possible fistula, so I went for a c-scopy to rule out crohns and ibs (came back with a clean bill on that front.). Next step was an anal exam under anesthesia where they would perform a fistulotomy if they saw one.
Fast forward to last Thursday....fistulotomy was performed; doc said it was very small/superficial and should fix the issue. I was sent home with packing and told not to pack it anymore. Also told to take colace, Metamucil, Valium for anal spasms, and some narcotic for pain. Well, the narc made me feel ill as if I had the flu, so I started taking i
Advil instead. So here's the deal: I'm generally pain free most of the day...unless I have to have a BM! Then it's "torture chamber" time! It hurts during but even a ton afterwards. The ONLY thing that seems to help the pain subside after a BM is a sitz bath. I generally have 3-4 BMs a day (normal for me) so I've been stuck in/near the house since my surgery.
Am I crazy thinking I should be having relatively pain free BMs this soon? What's everyone else's experience? What can I do to help things go more smoothly if you know what I mean? :( I am thinking about dosing milk of magnesia...
And I do have a call into my doc's nurse for suggestions. Just looking for some ideas and moral support!
Sorry for being so long in my first post but it definitely feels good to discuss with others in the same situation!