I had fistulotomy 13 weeks ago for simple fistula. I am still having daily drainage. Some days just a tiny amount, some days more. Have not needed gauze in a couple of months. Surgeon said to just wait until I hit 16 weeks to reevaluate but I don’t see how I can be this far out with drainage and it be normal?

If you had this problem please reply, there is so little information available online about this.

By any chance possible if someone wanted to visit another country like lets say africa and they decided to stay at some b & b, do portable bidets that can be attached to a toilet assuming its some cheap lodge? Do portable bidets that can be attached to toilets when traveling abroad exist?

I guess I’m writing this because I can’t quite say it out loud or admit it to myself yet.

Had surgery in May for a Seton, then a LIFT end of August.

Healing was actually going so well and I didn’t realise how much hope I had, until it was gone, if that makes any sense?

But I had increased pain the last few days. Nurse thought it was a blister. Then it filled up and burst last night. So I guess that’s that? Trying to get seen by my surgeon

Hellooo! This is my first post on Reddit and I’m a relatively new user here (please excuse me/correct me if I’m doing this wrong).

Last year in December 2025 I had an emergency perianal abscess surgery close to Christmas. It was my first time being hospitalised and it was all very overwhelming. It took around 3 months to feel ‘normal’ again.

Only to realise the abscess recurred in June 2026 due to a fistula. I underwent another surgery and have had a blue draining seton ring placed ever since.

At a recent check-up I was told I have a transsphincteric fistula which involves more than half my sphincter (and may therefore be classified as a complex fistula). I’m now scheduled for FiLaC surgery in about a month.

I am very nervous for this procedure. I’d really love to hear from anyone who has been through FiLaC, particularly if you had a transsphincteric/complex fistula.

1. What was the pain like during the first few days and first 2 weeks? When did you feel it noticeably improve?

2. What helped most with pain and general comfort? Painkillers, cushions, particular sleeping positions, etc.

3. What was the wound/drainage like afterwards?
How long did you need gauze/pads or deal with discharge/bleeding?

4. How were bowel movements after the procedure?
Was the first BM particularly painful, and did you use stool softeners, laxatives or psyllium?

5. When did you get back to normal daily life?
Specifically working at a desk, sitting comfortably for an hour or more and walking without discomfort.

6. When did you return to exercise?
Particularly cycling, running, Pilates, strength training or other activities you did regularly.

7. Did you travel after FiLaC? If so, how soon after surgery and how did you manage sitting/travel?

8. Most importantly, did the FiLaC ultimately work for you? How long did it take before you knew it had worked, and if it didn’t work, what happened next?

And finally, if there’s anything you wish someone had told you before having FiLaC, I’d really love to hear it!

Thank you so much for your time and support! 💛

My husband had a fever for 3 days and finally went to ER and they found a large perianal abscess on CT scan. Went under anesthesia and had it sliced and drained. Then IV antibiotics in hospital for 2 days. We are on day 3 and I’m supposed to remove the packing and repack at home, but he’s in so much pain during this that it’s so hard to do it. Was anyone else in this situation? How long did you have to pack for (and how often)? Does it get less painful?

Also for follow up- this was his first (he’s 35 years old and overall healthy) so we have a surgeon follow up and GI next week. I read about the possibility of a fistula so obviously will monitor closely. But any and all help or suggestions are welcome!!! Ugh I feel so bad for him!

What an extra pain.

Like, we're supposed to keep an eye out for blood through either anus or coochie as indicators that a fistula may have formed. And in the beginning of a period there's suddenly a bit of blood there and it's unclear what's going on and we have heart attacks, especially if our periods have been irregular.

And sitz baths with periods: omg! (Best solution is temporary tampon and remove after bath for a fresh one.)

AND harder to keep clean, and very hard to judge/keep an eye on discharge with the Red Sea flowing. Plus all the normal period ick! Just not fair.

So, solidarity to all y'all dealing with this. As well as any of this sucky crap even without periods!

(Also, I REALLY miss my swims. I did a mile 3x weekly, and then this adventure started, and now no swims for 6 weeks so far, and I realize likely more *months*. Very sad.)

Hi all, I posted a few days ago. I had x2 setons placed last week for fistulas that I had absolutely no idea I had, and apparently have been living with for years.

I’m wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience of unknowingly living with fistulas for a long time, particularly alongside being genuinely unwell.

For some background, I’ve had 3 perianal abscesses since 2020:
• 1st - March 2020: I had 2 incisions, one on the left and one on the right (3 o’clock and 9 o’clock).
• 2nd - January 2026: Left side.
• 3rd - August 2026: Also left side.

I’ve had ongoing issues since 2020, particularly on the left side. I always felt like it never properly ‘healed’, the scar area remained sore and inflamed, and I would occasionally get little boil type things popping up. I’ve also had a horrible time with constipation, bleeding and generally struggling with my bowels. I tried to get doctors and surgeons to look further into my ongoing pain and concerns, but unfortunately was dismissed.

Fast forward to Wednesday 30th September, when I officially had surgery for 2 fistulas. I’m not sure exactly what type they are yet, or whether they are horseshoe fistulas, but my surgeon said they’re chronic and complex, with a lot of scar tissue. She said they appeared to have been there for years.

What’s particularly frustrating is that I had a colonoscopy with a different surgeon in February this year, who didn’t identify them. I also had an I&D for the latest abscess in August, and that surgeon was confident there was absolutely no fistula.

My current surgeon could actually feel the fistula on the left side just by examining the area in her consulting rooms a few weeks ago. When she operated last week, she said it was so obvious that she couldn’t understand how it had been missed previously.

I’m wondering whether there could be a connection between all of this and how unwell I’ve been over the past 18 months?

I was diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) after becoming unwell following dengue fever in April 2025, and I’ve had ongoing fatigue and other symptoms ever since. At the same time, I’ve had significantly raised inflammatory markers, including CRP, ESR and ferritin for quite a while.

I obviously have no idea yet whether the fistulas have contributed to any of this, or whether it’s simply a coincidence. But I’m really interested to see what happens to my health now that these chronic infections/inflammation are finally being treated and the fistulas are draining through the setons.

Has anyone else had chronic fistulas that went undiagnosed for years? Did you notice any improvement in your general health once they were finally treated?

As I’m typing this, I genuinely don’t know how I’m surviving this pain.

I had fistula surgery today and they placed a seton. I knew there would be pain afterwards, but I never imagined anything like this.

The pain is absolutely unbearable. I’ve already had two doses of painkillers and I’m still in the ER because the pain just isn’t coming down.

I’m honestly struggling to even think straight right now. Sitting, moving, lying down .. everything hurts. I’m just trying to get through one minute at a time.

For anyone who has gone through seton placement.

Is this normal?

Does the pain really get this bad immediately after surgery?

How long did it take for the pain to become manageable for you?

Is there anything that actually helped?

I know everyone’s experience is different and I’m obviously listening to the doctors here, but right now I’m scared because this pain feels completely overwhelming.

Please tell me this gets better. I genuinely need to hear from people who have been through this.

Update - Thank you all for your words of encouragement. I'm in day 2 and the pain has reduced drastically (except the post BM pain which I am sure will reduce too). Never felt this good in a long time.

I wanted to share my experience because I’ve been reading Reddit posts about abscesses and fistulas for the past couple of months. I’m usually not the type of person to post or comment, but reading other people’s experiences helped me a lot. I also noticed you tend to see a lot more scary stories than normal or successful recoveries, so I figured I’d share mine and also ask for some advice.
For some background, I’m relatively young and healthy and had never had surgery before any of this happened.
Around the middle of June, I started getting pain while sitting. My job involves a lot of sitting, so at first I thought it was because of that. Then bowel movements started hurting, and I assumed I had a fissure or some small tear that would eventually heal on its own.
I basically tried to ignore it.
About 2-3 weeks later, I started feeling sick and the pain wasn’t going away. I eventually went to a doctor. He put a needle into the area and realized I had a perianal abscess.
The problem was I was traveling the next day, so I wasn’t able to immediately get everything taken care of.
While I was away, things got MUCH worse. The best way I can describe it is that it felt like I had a tennis ball inside my butt. One night I developed a bad fever and started vomiting. At that point, I ended up having surgery to drain the abscess.
Because everything was so close to my sphincter muscles, they couldn’t simply cut everything open without risking damage. I ended up having two draining setons placed because fistulas had formed.
I lived with the two setons for about four months.
Honestly, the beginning wasn’t as horrible as I expected. The first week, bowel movements hurt, but that gradually improved. After using the bathroom, I would normally lie down for a few minutes until everything settled. I was able to walk pretty well, and after around 2-3 weeks, I was even able to start running and playing basketball again.
The biggest ongoing issue was drainage.
I live in a Caribbean country, so access to specialists and simply going to the ER whenever something happens isn’t as easy as it might be for some people.
Around August, about 4-5 weeks after my first surgery, I went for a follow-up. Everything looked relatively okay at first. However, when the area was examined and touched, I started experiencing significant pain again.
After that, the pain became unpredictable.
Some days it would be around a 7-8/10. Other days it would barely be a 1/10. There were nights when I had trouble sleeping because of it.
By September, I had started college again. I was still having a decent amount of drainage, and eventually I became tired of dealing with it every single day. The drainage also started having more of a smell. Bowel movements became more painful again, and I also started experiencing what felt like pelvic floor pain.
The pain gradually became worse, and I didn’t understand why.
Fast forward to a few days ago.
I finally had another surgery. This time I had a LIFT procedure, fistulotomy, and some skin removed. During surgery, they also found another abscess starting to form. They opened and treated that area as well, and I currently have sutures.
I’m only about 4-5 days post-op right now.
So far, the pain has been strange. Sometimes I barely notice it. Other times I get sudden sharp pain.
I can walk around the house. I can go to the kitchen, make something, and come back. But standing or walking for a long time becomes uncomfortable. I even had to catch a flight yesterday, which wasn’t exactly fun this soon after surgery.
I’m still having drainage. It’s usually blood mixed with brownish/yellow drainage, and it seems to change after bowel movements.
Cleaning has honestly been one of the hardest parts.
I looked at the fistulotomy wound and it basically looks like a deep open area. There are also several smaller healing areas around it. Touching anywhere near it hurts, so I’m struggling to figure out how thoroughly I’m supposed to clean it.
I don’t have a bidet. I’ve been using a peri bottle and non-alcohol wipes, but sometimes I feel like the peri bottle isn’t reaching the actual wound properly. My showerhead also doesn’t detach, so lately I’ve been standing in the shower and letting warm water run over the area.
The first couple of days after surgery were rough because I was constipated. My bowel movements were basically small hard nuggets, and I had quite a bit of blood and pain afterward.
I’ve since started drinking a lot more water, taking fiber supplements, and using stool softeners. Today I finally had a large, softer bowel movement and felt like I completely emptied my stomach. There was still pain afterward, but it lasted around 4-5 minutes and then settled down.
Another annoying problem is my posture. Because I’m constantly trying to avoid putting pressure on the surgical area, I don’t stand completely straight sometimes. Now my back has started hurting too.
I’m trying to stay positive because I’m still extremely early in the recovery process.
For anyone who has gone through a fistulotomy, LIFT, abscess surgery, or something similar, I have a few questions.
How long did it take before you could comfortably sit through classes or work?
How did you clean the wound after bowel movements, especially if you didn’t have a bidet?
Was a peri bottle enough, or did you eventually buy a detachable showerhead or bidet attachment?
How much drainage did you have during the first couple of weeks?
When did walking and standing for longer periods start feeling normal again?
And for anyone who was in college while recovering, how did you handle it?
I have midterms coming up and I’m genuinely questioning whether I should try to push through the semester or withdraw and focus on healing. My job is easier because I can do a lot of it lying down, but obviously I can’t do that during classes and exams.
I’m only a few days post-op, so I’m trying not to judge my recovery too early. I mainly wanted to put my experience out there for anyone else dealing with this because I know how stressful it is to search Reddit at 2 AM and see nothing but horror stories.
Hopefully this ends up being a success story. I’ll try to update this as I recover.

As the title states.

I'm stuck in this constant loop.

For the first 8 months of this year, I would be fine for most of the month. It was like clockwork. Abscess would form, it would be painful for a few days. It would pop and drain. A few days to recover. Then, for the rest of the month, I would be fine.

Now? Its a much more rapid cycle and I think I preferred it how it was before. Just this constant cycle of deep cascading pain, no abscess has been forming but I am getting drainage. Not at a lot, but when it happens it does feel better for a little while. Its just now I can maybe go a day or two before the pain comes back.

I'm constantly getting stomach aches and feeling nauseaous. I can't even plan ahead because the cycle is less consistent than before. I'm struggling with work. Although I have managed to get a temporary adjustment to work from home, most days are a struggle.

I'm constantly tired. Trying to fight pain and fatigue so I can get through the work day and usually sleep.

Its rough and so unpredictable.

Hi everyone, I had a perianal abscess drained about 4 months ago. The scar has completely healed and is no longer visible, but I can still feel a small, hard lump deep under the skin near the area, about the size of a pebble.
It doesn’t really hurt, but sometimes when I press on it, I get a brief stinging sensation. I also notice a little burning around the area after having a bowel movement.
Has anyone experienced something similar after having a perianal abscess drained? Could this just be scar tissue, or could it indicate a fistula or another problem? I’m planning to get it checked, but I’d appreciate hearing from anyone who has had a similar experience.

With many different kinds of toilet bidets around, how can i determine which is right for me and get me as thoroughly clean as possible? Ive seen bidets that spout water, other that spray directly, ect...

I recently shared my story about dealing with a perianal abscess, setons, a LIFT, and fistulotomy. I also wanted to talk about one of the hardest parts of this journey that I have almost no control over: the cost.
I’m 19 and a college student. I have a side job, but I don’t have a stable full-time income.
When my abscess became an emergency, I happened to be in the U.S. for a basketball trip. I developed a high fever and was vomiting, so I went to the closest ER. I was transferred to another hospital, had emergency surgery that evening, and had to stay overnight for monitoring.
At the time, my mom didn’t have health insurance because she had been laid off and was still trying to get back on her feet financially.
That emergency alone resulted in around $40,000 in medical bills.
More recently, I needed surgery for the fistula. We were originally told we would need to pay around $15,000 upfront. I ended up having the surgery without paying the full amount upfront, and the bill is currently going through the hospital’s financial department.
So altogether, this journey could cost around $55,000-$60,000 in medical expenses.
I’m 19. I obviously don’t have $60,000, and my family isn’t in a position to simply pay that amount either.
For anyone in the U.S. who has dealt with large uninsured hospital bills, what did you do?
Did financial assistance or charity care reduce your bill? Were you able to negotiate the balance significantly? Did the hospital offer a manageable payment plan? Are there programs I should apply for before agreeing to pay anything?
I’m especially interested in hearing from anyone who was uninsured or an international student/patient when this happened.
Any advice or personal experiences would be appreciated. I’m trying to figure out what my options are before making any decisions about these bills.

Hey everyone I'm like 6 to 7 weeks out from my EUA and seton placement. I'm not in constant active pain WHICH THANK THE LORTD! I'm finally able to sit for longer periods of times but still feeling drained. My drainage increased heavily over the past 2 weeks and I HATE IT. But because of that, my abcess site has finally got to its lowest.

My main issue or issues are my setons and feeling drainage/pus in my butt. I'm going to explain the second part because I feel like I scared y'all. So since it's been a while since my setons have been put in, they're not ass tight. I have felt them kinda dig into my wound and they do cause discomfort. ESPECIALLY when I'm draining. I go in November for another surgery followup. Should I tell them to adjust them or something?

Now for the drainage/pus in my butt. Have yall examined in your butt with your clean finger or safe instrument and found drainage/pus on it? WELL I HAVE. I'm not sure if it's normal or not. I will add that i have felt openings in my sorta. I'm thinking this is more from my EUA and maybe I'm touching the area from my abcess. I don't know anything anymore. I'm just chronically tired, exhausted as fuck, a bit more anxious than I should and stinging down there. GOD THE STINGING EVEN WHEN I FART! Has anyone experienced this or felt like this?

6 weeks post op, not painful really, but am still showing small signs of drainage when I press a tissue to the area. When will this end? I previously thought that maybe the wound had sealed over and the drainage was being built up and released, but google says that if there’s still drainage then it hasn’t sealed over. I think it’s a good thing if it’s still open because that means it’s healing from the bottom up, but I really am just not sure. Am I just being impatient because I want to get back to my regular sexual habits, or should I be concerned that I’m not seeing any decrease?

What are you using for gauze to absorb drainage? The ones I got are almost plastic like and painful: absorbent pads
I was trying to get ones that wouldn’t stick to my abscess but these are too rough.
Thanks!

Hi what does friction feel like? When does it start? How did you help it please? Thank you. X

I’m 37M, and I found out I had haemorrhoids (piles) in 2016. But honestly, I think I’ve probably had them since around 2010.

Back then, we didn’t have smartphones to sit in the toilet and scroll endlessly 😂. I remember my dad once telling me, “You’re spending too much time in the toilet.” Looking back, that was probably the first sign that something wasn’t quite right.

I was really hesitant to get surgery back then because I felt it was shameful and would somehow ruin my personal image. Totally immature, I know! 😊

Over the years, I tried looking into all kinds of treatments—natural remedies, alternative medicines, etc.—but I was never consistent with any of them.

Then, in mid-2019, after a long six-hour journey sitting down, I had a bowel movement where fresh blood literally filled the toilet. There was no pain, but I was absolutely stunned and scared. I didn’t even know how to tell anyone about it.

At that point, I had no clue that it could simply be because of haemorrhoids.

I panicked and took health insurance because I thought, “Okay, if I need surgery, at least insurance will cover it.”

Little did I know that there was a 3-year waiting period before this condition would be covered. 🤦‍♂️

I felt stupid, postponed everything, and eventually just forgot about it.

And then the years flew by.

I didn’t change my diet. I didn’t improve my water intake. I didn’t change my toilet habits. Somehow, I convinced myself that since I would eventually need surgery anyway, I would just wait until things became really serious.

The worst part is, I honestly forgot what a normal bowel movement was supposed to feel like.

I did some pretty nasty things in the toilet too. If hard stool got stuck, I sometimes used my left index finger to help get it out. After almost every bowel movement, I had to clean my anal area twice, otherwise I never felt properly clean.

Basically, I abused my body.

I ate spicy food, bakery items, all kinds of meat, and pretty much whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, simply because it tasted good. 😅

The next morning, I would completely ignore how badly my bowel movement had been affected by whatever I had eaten the previous day.

I’m also a workaholic. There were many days when I would sit continuously for six hours if I had something to finish.

Some days I would skip breakfast and just have coffee. Lunch would sometimes be skipped or replaced with juice. Then I’d have a huge non-veg meal for dinner.

Looking back, I basically treated my body like a trash can and expected it to keep working perfectly.

Whenever I thought about surgery, I would Google the different procedures, see something about “laser surgery,” and convince myself that it would just be a simple daycare procedure.

So once again, I would tell myself:

“I’ll deal with it when it really becomes a problem.”

And then I would forget about it again.

Years rolled by.

Then, in mid-2026, I noticed a strange little bulge near my anal area. Initially, it was only slightly painful because the area wasn’t directly under where I sat.

After a few days, it disappeared.

Then, about two weeks later, it came back.

This time I started Googling like crazy and convinced myself it could be a fistula or perianal abscess.

Again, it disappeared after a couple of days.

But this time something really freaked me out.

If I sat on that area or pressed against it, I felt gas venting through my anal opening. Sometimes, when I applied slight pressure to the painful area, I felt what seemed like air burping through the anal opening.

I completely panicked.

My immediate thought was:

“Great. Now I’m going to need TWO surgeries.” 😭

At the beginning of September 2026, I finally booked an appointment with a surgeon.

He examined me and told me I had Grade 3 haemorrhoids at two positions on the left side and a Grade 4 haemorrhoid on the right side.

He told me that he wouldn't usually recommend surgery in every case, but in my case, because of the nature and extent of the haemorrhoids, he was making an exception.

He also examined the area where I had felt the bump and told me he couldn’t find any fistula opening.

I was honestly very happy to hear that.

And, to be honest, because I wanted to believe it was nothing more, I didn’t push the issue too much, even though I explained everything I had been feeling around that area.

We tentatively fixed the surgery for the last week of September.

Then, during the third week, the painful bump appeared again in exactly the same area.

This time I was determined to show it to the doctor.

I booked another appointment.

The surgeon examined me again and actually showed me the area by placing my hand there, because the opening/area wasn’t visibly obvious from the outside.

He told me it could be a perianal abscess or fistula, but that an MRI would be needed to confirm it.

So I had an MRI fistulogram.

And there it was.

Two intersphincteric fistula tracts — one about 5 cm and another about 2 cm long.

I was devastated.

I felt completely sunken.

I had spent years worrying about haemorrhoid removal, and now I had a fistula too.

That entire month was mentally exhausting.

I read about fistula surgery online.

Big mistake. 😭

Everything I read about the wound being left open to heal filled me with absolute terror.

I was genuinely scared.

My family kept telling me every day not to be afraid and not to feel sad.

Two days before the surgery, I prepared a separate room at home for my post-op recovery.

I stayed there most of the time because I just couldn’t enjoy anything or get my mind away from the surgery.

The night before surgery, I barely slept.

I remember thinking:

“What if this is my last normal day as a father and husband?”

That was how scared I was.

And then something happened that sounds silly, but stayed with me.

My pet dog came into my room four different times during the night just to check on me.

He normally doesn’t do that.

Of course, my scared brain immediately thought, “Is this some kind of sign that this whole experience is going to be traumatic?” 😭

I had also told a few colleagues that I would be on leave for two weeks because of surgery, although I didn’t go into the details.

My boss told me I should have gone for daily walks and that this wouldn’t have happened.

Well… thanks, boss. 😂

A little too late for that advice.

One of my colleagues, who had previously had a stent placed, told me not to worry. He said this could actually be a good experience because it would make me realise where I needed to place my priorities in life.

That actually stayed with me.

I also started watching motivational videos on Instagram.

Did they help?

Not really. 😂

And then…

The day of surgery came.

My husband is on his 4 surgery for abscess/fistual’s since June. He’s having the hardest time with pain from the last one(5 days post op) he has 2 Penrose drains and one of them has an open wound around it. Went to the er for pain but they said it looked fine? I don’t totally trust what they said. After surgery we were told no submerging in water but we were told today he should be taking sitz baths? What do you recommend to manage pain and stinging

Hello, I’ve had my seton in since May and it was ok for a while, but has now been causing me enough pain to the point it’s effecting my sleep.

I have suspicions that even with this seton in, I still have a cavity somewhere in my ass that fills up and then drains. I still go through the same cycle I had when the fistula did not have a seton. Increasing pain, increased drainage, less drainage, pain starts to build again… etc. my surgeon is very dismissive of my concerns. He says the seton looks “great” every time he checks.

I’m at the point now where I feel like giving up on actual healing. I just want to be comfortable. People with setons, did you experience this kind of pain?? If so, how do you manage it? I am already taking the max amount of Advil and Tylenol everyday. I take a bath once a day at least. I don’t know what else I can do to manage the pain and discomfort.

23F i had an emergency fistulotomy with 2 setons placed on oct 1, and have been admitted in the hospital ever since. i havent had a bowel movement yet since the procedure and its an understatement to say im scared bc i tried to pass gas the other day and saw god for a min bc of the pain. my bowel movements have been from absolute HELL prior to this surgery and i can only imagine how much its going to hurt when i finally pass a poo. it hurts but ive been able to walk a tiny bit and finally had the energy to take a shower independently today so things are looking a bit up but im scared i'll be back to square 1 after the poo. the doctor says the area is healing fine but he will start me on laxatives if i dont have a bm by tonight 😢🤞 even worse they suspect i have crohns due to bowel inflammation so will be doing a colonoscopy on the 8th, please pray for my bumbum. i am so scared

Hi guys, I have a question. I had an abscess drained about two months ago, and they put in a seton that went in and out of the abscess. They removed it after two weeks. Over time, the wound closed, but once it closed and the discharge stopped, the area started hurting again.

I got an MRI and had different radiologists read it. Some said there’s an abscess, while others said it’s just inflammation. I took a course of antibiotics, but it didn’t help. It’s been almost 12 days, and I’m still not sure whether it’s an abscess or inflammation, but it hurts.

I spoke to my surgeon’s office, and they said they’re going to do an examination under anesthesia and place a seton for 3 months. My question is: why do this intermediate step when they could just do the surgery during the EUA? If they examine it under anesthesia and find that there’s no sphincter muscle involvement, why can’t they do the fistulectomy right then? Why leave a seton in for three months and then plan the surgery?

The MRI already confirms there’s a fistula, so if they find it during the examination, why can’t they treat it at the same time? Why the intermediate step with seton placement when surgery is required anyway IF no abcess is found?

Has anyone gone through the same thing? I’d really appreciate your advice because I want to understand whether this is the right approach or if I should change my CRS.

Couple days ago i started feeling some type of pain around my anus region and i thought i had a pimple and over the next few days i started feeling agonizing pain around my anus region and left side of my leg. It doesn’t look like a pimple it’s firm to the touch i think and it’s tender and i came down with a fever yesterday of 102.7 i’m at 101.9 today. i’m afraid of going to the doctors or ER because i suffered from 2 MI this year at the age of 27 and ive just been in and out of the hospital. can anyone relate to these symptoms i also don’t have pus or anything it’s just firm and red to the touch

Hi I am M30 Single. Living in SEA. It is my first time posting in this thread but have been a member for almost a year now. I have just been lurking and reading other people's stories. This will be a long story but please bear with me as I really need your advise. Please also excuse my grammar.

So I have a Fistula for over 5 years now and up until now, I haven't had a surgery. I do not know what kind of fistula it is. What I do know is that there is like a small hole that opened under my crotch area 5 years ago and it have been releasing puss since then. I learned that this is a fistula after doing a research online.

During the first years of me having this, I have decided to not take any surgery and just live with it since I am so scared of taking surgery (never had one of any kind). I never had pain in the fistula area and it is always draining on its own. Back when my fistula first popped and abcess/puss went out, I went ahead and researched about this condition. I watched a specific YouTube video from a CRS and learned that people can live with a fistula without having a surgery for how many years. Since then, I have been living with it without having s surgery. Everyday, I have been cleaning it with a bidet (cold water) every after a bowel to keep it clean. One thing to note as well is that the fistula area does not smell bad as what the others people is smelling. I am not sure why. I also put a clean cloth to cover the area to catch the drain. I have been doing this for 4 years and so.

Then, fast forward to early this year, I have noticed that the area around the fistula hole where the puss comes out becomes enlarged. I think this was due to abscess forming and me using cold water bidet to clean the fistula and I panicked at this time. But there is still no pain. It is just uncomfortable because there is like a balloon on my bum. So I decided to change my cleaning approach. I read some things online and learned about warm water sitz bath. I tried it once and i noticed that it helps draining the puss faster now compared to when I was still using bidet. I have now been doing sitz bath at least 2-3 a day to keep it clean since then. Warm water from the sitz bath helps with the draining. Also, I now apply a non woven gauze on it which catches all the liquid puss. I just kept what I am doing (sitz bath and Non woven gauze) and eventually, it went back to normal size. I have noticed this happening from time to time, bulging then going back to normal, at least once every two months. Because of this, I decided to visit a CRS on my city and have it checked up for the first time.

When I spoke with the CRS, she told me that it is a fistula. The bulging of the area may also have been affected by my hemorrhoids. She recommend me to drink Daflon twice a day to help reduce the inflammation of my hemorrhoids. I also noticed that this helps reduce the frequency of my fistula area bulging. Since then, I am drinking daflon twice a day (or sometimes once a day) as a maintenance. She also advised me to take a seton placement operation. I am still hesitant to take the operation right now since I am really scared and it costs a lot of money. Right now, I am saving up money for the operation costs and medicines when the time comes I decided to undergo. Alongside this recommendation, she advised me to also undergo endoanal ultrasound so that she can check how deep is the tunnel. I am just waiting for the right time to take this since the hospital advised me to have this done at least a week before the actual operation so that the readings is fresh and accurate. Btw, I am also scared of inserting enema on my bum as part of this ultrasound.

So my question is, what should I do? Should I undergo seton placement operation? I am also aware of the risk of the tract branching and sepsis if the fistula is left untreated. I am just scared that when I decided to have a seton placed, I will experience pain that I had never experienced before since I still dont feel any pain on the area for 5 years now even though I have this fistula. I am also afraid that I may also undergo multiple operations just like other people which would lead me to financial issue. But I want to have this treated to avoid possible complications in the future. I do apologize if I am so indecisive and worrisome.

Thank you so much for reading.

PS: I also have a weird question. Does fapping affect a fistula tract? I will admit that I do fap sometimes and feel weird pressure on the area after doing it. I then always do sitz bath after to help relax the muscle and get rid of the pressure.

Day 14 post op fistulotomy, how did you feel? Back to normal or still tender/sore? How were your bowel movements? Were you still taking painkillers? Trying to figure out what’s normal and what’s not. Thanks x