How long before my fistulas go away?

[jamie2462]

Hi all,

When I was hospitalized in January I had a drain cut in to allow a large abscess to drain and that drained and then it healed...but my bottom is still sore..still requires me to sit on my donut pillow... I am thinking that my smaller internal fistulas are not healing...how long does everyone wait after the fistulas come before they go away??

I started back to work on half days but some days I just have to take a break and can't make it in...thank god for my health plan... Just looking for an idea..any idea would be good...

 

[My Butt Hurts]

I had a perianal fistula that was drained, and then I didn't have too many problems with it for a year or so. Eventually it was filling faster than it was draining, and I had surgery to remove it. It was a very painful recovery, but I was in pain with it anyways, so I didn't have much of a choice. Either they didn't get it all and it came back shortly after, or a new one formed in the same spot. This time however, I was put on the metro and cipro to keep it mellow, then I started Humira and then Remicade (both of which are supposed to be beneficial to fistulas) I haven't had any problems with it since then.
They gave me lidocaine, a topical numbing cream for pain, but I didn't find that it helped me at all. Maybe it would for you.

 

[ErinDF]

Hey Jaime,

If you have on-going fistulas, they won't necessarily go away on their own! Also, you should not just ignore them until they become unbearable, because the longer and more entrenched they get, the harder they are to treat.

I would talk to your GI or your surgeon about the ongoing problems. They might want to do a test to see if you really do have fistulas and treat them with medication (Remicaide or HUmira probably, as MBH said) to get them to clear up.

Erin

 

[kello82]

jamie what kind of drain did they make?
did they just put a cut or did they put some type of appliance in there?

 

[Cookie]

I have never had a fistula heal completely on its own. I take Cipro and Flagyl to keep the infection at bay and they usually don't cause me too much pain if they are not infected...just more of a nuisance with leakage and stuff and some irritation if I do too much physical activity. The only thing that has ever worked to get rid of them for me is to have them surgically repaired. Like MBH, however, it eventually returned. Remicade has not worked for me...I just take lots of baths and deal with them. I am taking flagyl as a maintenance drug right now...if I quit the flagyl, they abscess again.