Anxious Stevie

[Stevie]

Hi, I am a 47 year old male thats has suffered with reoccurring anal abscesses for the last 5 years or so. I have had one operation and reoccurrences have been treated with antibiotics which worked for a few "flare ups". The abscess following surgery formed a fistula which constantly leaks and from time to time swells below the skin, with anti biotics it calms down. However, recently i began to feel very sore and noted that further very fine thread like fistulas have appeared in another place and are tracking back to the original abscess. Following a recent internal the doctor advised that the fistulas are very complex and also are internal also. These are making my life very uncomfortable and have completely changed me as a person. They weep all the time, they are unpleasant, they have an odour and being so uncomfortable i am constantly cleaning myself. I have to wear sanitry towels, at least 4 changes of underwear a day, wet wipes in between and always bathing twice a day. Early mornings make me feel dirty and run to the bathroom to clean myself, throughout the day i am conscious of the odour, i often change trousers twice a day too. It's making me depressed and it has taken over my life, i just feel horrid. I am awaiting a biopsy of my larger and smaller intestine for testing for Crohns and am awaiting an internal and external surgical procedure for the fistulas. I am unsure what they will find and await extremely anxious and feel so low. I am sure there are others far worse than myself and empathise with those people but this for me is pretty tough going right now. I am glad i have found this site and i hope i haven't come across too down in the mouth but its just making me feel way off centre.

Thank you for your time

 

[Hunt]

Sounds really horrible Stevie, sorry to hear about what you're going through. I've got a problem with my anxiety that I can't quite get on top of in regards to my Crohn's, never suffered with anxiety until all of this started creeping up.

Stay strong buddy, you'll get through it.. We all have to for the sake of ourselves just remember you're not alone!

 

[Kero]

:welcome: to the forum Stevie! Glad you found us We are here for you. There are a few who have/are dealing with fissures and abscesses. The best part about this forum is, it seems no matter what you are going through, someone on here has probably dealt with the same thing. The support here is amazing. Feel free to ask any questions you might have

 

[valleysangel92]

Hello and welcome

I've never had a fistula, so I don't have much advice to give there. What I can say is that the does get easier.

If you have got crohns, there are a range of treatment options that are now available that can help to bring the disease under control and help you to begin to go back to a normal life. If you'd like to hear more about any of these please just ask us and we will do our best to answer any questions.

It's understandable that you are down in the dumps. These conditions can really take a toll on how we live our lives day to day and how we feel mentally. It's ok if you need to moan and vent now and then. Just remember that this isn't the end of the road and things can and will get better.

As for the fistula, I'm going to tag a member called theOcean who has experience with them and has successfully had treatment. Hopefully she will have some good advice for you .

 

[theOcean]

I'm so sorry to hear how you've been suffering... I have a perianal fistula that went all the way up to my stomach and that I got a fistulotomy for last May. What medications are you on other than the antibiotics? I was put on Humira and had my drainage stop within a month, and got my seton finally removed and now it's healing and closing.