Coping With Fistulotomy

After spending what will most likely live on as one of the worst nights of my life in an ER, I will say that that if you have any problems that you THINK might be a hemorrhoid, definitely get it checked out ASAP. I was out of town, visiting my soon-to-be wife’s family and after a few weeks of Preparation H and living in denial, I decided it was probably time to get to the hospital. We went to a less than stellar ER, thinking it would be an in-and-out procedure.

Instead I had an amazingly bad night there, after being diagnosed with a Perirectal Abscess. After suffering through ineffective local anesthesia (as mentioned in another story here, it DOES NOT work on that area of the body), and doped up on what was probably morphine to help me cope with the violation I had just received, I was admitted to the hospital and scheduled for surgery. The next morning I went into the OR, still a little foggy, and woke up a few hours later in a very uncomfortable situation, with lots of packing and wicks and god knows what inside of me. But thankfully, the worst was over. I was kept in the hospital for a few days to receive antibiotics via IV (I must have been in a much worse situation than I thought), had the packing removed, and went home. After a few weeks I was feeling better and able to do most of what I was used to, but it took a while to heal fully.

I realized soon afterwards that if I had just had it checked out when I felt feverish and only slightly uncomfortable sitting, I probably could have avoided it all and just had it drained in the doctors office. If there’s anything to take away from my experience it’s that.

Fast foward 8 months, to last week. Feeling like I was out of the woods in all things butt-related, I started to get nervous when I was feeling a little uncomfortable in the same vicinity I was before. I gave myself a mental deadline of 2 days for it to go away before I would go see the doctor, but it didn’t get any better. By the time I made it to the appointment, it had come to a head and drained itself, so I was feeling okay about the whole thing and hoping the doctor would prescribe me some antibiotics and I would be on my way. While there, he took a look at the situation and told me I developed a fistula and would require surgery to ensure that it would heal properly and that I would not get any more abscesses. Taking him on his word, I nervously made an appointment for that Friday to have surgery.

Backing up a little to the healing process from the first surgery, the doctor in the out-of-town ER told me I had to meet with a doctor for a few follow ups. Resolving to not get myself into another bad situation, I researched a few general surgeons in my hometown (Philadelphia) and found one that took my insurance AND specialized in surgeries pertaining to the digestive system, noting on his page of the hospital’s website my condition. I started doing follow ups with him, which turned out to be a good decision, because he seems to have known what he was doing.

Yesterday’s fistulotomy went very smoothly. I’m young, 26, and don’t have any allergies or pre-existing conditions, so I didn’t have to do any pre-surgery lab tests. I went to the hospital very early, and was in surgery 2 hours or so later. I woke up, went to a recovery room, and left about an hour later. My recovery has been fairly painless so far. There’s very little bleeding, but using the bathroom is a little painful, especially the first time because there was some gauze in there that had to come out (lovely, I know).

The nurse advised against taking the baths the doctor recommended, because she thought it would be painful to sit in them, but so far I’ve been taking them and not feeling much pain at all. I haven’t taken the prescribed painkillers yet today because I don’t want to be loopy the whole day, but I also haven’t really felt like I’ve needed them. I’m up walking around the house with little issue, but I’m also taking it easy for a couple of days.

A few things I’ve learned with all of this:

1. If you feel uncomfortable in sitting, don’t hesitate to get it checked out. It only makes things less painful to get them taken care of early. And Once you’ve gotten that initial exam out of the way, everything that follows is not embarrassing at all. Doctors have seen it all.

2. Fistulotomy is not a rough surgery at all. I was a little nervous going in, but now I’m feeling good and I don’t regret getting it taken care of. I’m able to control myself (something I was nervous about) and I’m not in much pain at all.

3. Find a good doctor that specializes in this kind of thing! Even for the abscess. That first hospital I went to, was pretty bad.