theOcean
Moderator
Hello, been browsing this forum for ages now but never thought I would get up the courage to actually post! Been dealing with severe Crohn's since 2011, which is now finally settling into remission.
I did, however, deal with a fistula this summer. It's peri-anal, and supposedly it reached almost all the way to my stomach. When I finally went to hospital for it (way later than I should have) it was lanced and a seton was immediately placed. This was back at the end of May, 2013.
I was put on Cipro/Flagyl (500mg of both) and stayed on it for eight months, finally stopping it in December. I've also been put on Imuran (100mg) and Humira injections (once a week).
I don't intend to keep my seton in, especially since it causes me a lot of discomfort. It's unfortunately very close to the sphincter, so every time I have a BM it interacts with the seton string and... I seem to get drainage from it. Or just blood, anyway. Outside of when I have BMs, I generally get next to nothing or sometimes it just bleeds a bit.
My surgeon assures me that it should just be mucous (not pus) at this point considering my fistula tract has likely matured, and that I'm in no danger of it building up bacteria. But that I'm seeing anything collecting in my pads/pantyliners at all concerns me.
What I wanted to ask was to anyone else who knows someone with a fistula/who has dealt with one: if you got your seton removed, what were your drainage levels like at the time?
I'm aiming to get mine taken out in February (at the same time as a colonoscopy, fun stuff) but I just want to make sure it would be safe.
Any input would be appreciated! I'm mostly over fistula anxiety since I've been dealing with it for awhile, but I still worry...
I did, however, deal with a fistula this summer. It's peri-anal, and supposedly it reached almost all the way to my stomach. When I finally went to hospital for it (way later than I should have) it was lanced and a seton was immediately placed. This was back at the end of May, 2013.
I was put on Cipro/Flagyl (500mg of both) and stayed on it for eight months, finally stopping it in December. I've also been put on Imuran (100mg) and Humira injections (once a week).
I don't intend to keep my seton in, especially since it causes me a lot of discomfort. It's unfortunately very close to the sphincter, so every time I have a BM it interacts with the seton string and... I seem to get drainage from it. Or just blood, anyway. Outside of when I have BMs, I generally get next to nothing or sometimes it just bleeds a bit.
My surgeon assures me that it should just be mucous (not pus) at this point considering my fistula tract has likely matured, and that I'm in no danger of it building up bacteria. But that I'm seeing anything collecting in my pads/pantyliners at all concerns me.
What I wanted to ask was to anyone else who knows someone with a fistula/who has dealt with one: if you got your seton removed, what were your drainage levels like at the time?
I'm aiming to get mine taken out in February (at the same time as a colonoscopy, fun stuff) but I just want to make sure it would be safe.
Any input would be appreciated! I'm mostly over fistula anxiety since I've been dealing with it for awhile, but I still worry...
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