# Anyone ever have/had an anal fistula?



## travis1994 (Nov 16, 2011)

Well I went to the doctor the other day to finally get some answers after 3 years of leaking stool/whatever and some bleeding after BM and upon a rectal exam he said I have an anal fistula that he saw was bleeding which was most likely caused by my severe impaction that I had when I was 14, I literally had a piece of poo stuck in my rectal opening for 14 days and the doc said that it most likely caused some trauma to the area and created the fistula, which leaks. I go for a surgical consult on the 19th and I'm hoping that this is going to be a simple surgery since it says on the internet that people without crohns have a higher chance of it healing and the fact that I'm a teenager my body will probably heal from it faster, but I'm still scared. I've read some horror stories of fistula surgeries and heard some great stories. First of all, I know that I'm gonna be going on painkillers after the surgery, which makes you constipated..and I literally have a phobia of constipation because of my impaction when I was 14. Can anybody help me calm down about this? I know that this will more than likely cure my leaking problem that has caused me so much emotional grief and made me lose out on 3 years of productivity socially and caused me a lot of depression and anxiety..and I know that I have to have the surgery to cure the fistula but still. There's so many variables here, you know? Any help at all would be great..I'm just a scared teenager here


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## SarahLund (Aug 16, 2010)

Hi there. Yeah i always have a new fistula everytime i get constipated again. I get one all the time. Tends to go away after a lot of diahorrea and loose stool. It just sounds like your stool has built up. So maybe you just need to have more fluids and sit on the toilet a bit more. It feels like a paper cut trying to escape. I know. lol. Are you sure you need surgery, for being backed up, cos that's what impaction is.


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## SarahLund (Aug 16, 2010)

Did the dr gaurantee that you'd never get constipated ever again after the surgery? If you were to have another fistula in the future, i'd hate to think you'd have been tricked into having surgery. Just make sure your doing the right thing for your bowel.


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

Travis have you seen this Forum yet?http://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/topic/137594-crohns-disease-ulcerative-colitis-and-fistula-forums-moving-to-own-domain-and-board/page__p__825194__hl__%22fistula+friends+meet+here%22__fromsearch__1#entry825194Check it out .... You have plenty of company unfortunately....


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## travis1994 (Nov 16, 2011)

Sarahlund, you must be mistaken. A fistula doesn't heal on it's own.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

There are fissures, which is a crack and those can heal on their own. A fistula is an extra passage way from one organ to another or from an organ to the outside of the body. They usually do need help.They are more common in people with IBD's than in IBS although they can happen to anyone. You might also want to post on the IBD board in the fistula support form as they may have more experience as a group than the IBS folks.BQ gave a link, and here is the general board link as wellhttp://www.ibdsupport.org/forums/ Hope things heal up well for you.


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## SarahLund (Aug 16, 2010)

Sorry travis. I have mild dyslexia. So i do get confused if i see two things that are similar. I probably meant fissure. Sorry about that


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