Fistula ?

fistula ?

hi All,

just wanted to ask you a question about a possible fistula/fissure.
Basically I feel like I have a small ball between my anus and my sitting bone. It feel deep in the buttock. When it first developed, I lost some fresh blood in my stool but it cleared out after 2 days. I also developed external roids which are no longer present.
I have an office job and I sit 8 hours a day. When I am sitting, I feel some pain and some kind of pressure ( ball feeling ) in that area. If I am on holiday and I do not sit for a few days, this feeling goes away and it clears away. Sometimes it feels like a stabbing pain and it is localised only in that area.
I went to a specialist 2 months ago. He looked inside my recturm and could not find anything wrong. He also did an unltrasound of my sphincter and an MRI of my pelvic floor. He could not find anything wrong. So my pain is still unexplained.
Do you think it is possible that the MRI missed a small fistula deep in my buttock ? What about people that have a fistula, do they feel like they are sitting on a golf ball or something. Do they feel a stabbing pain when sitting ?

Hi Juniper. I had a very similar experience but I didn't have a fistula (yet) it was an abscess. The abscess eventually turned into a fistula, but the "golf ball" description makes it sound more like an abscess. Do you have any other symptoms? Even though you went to the doctor two months ago these things can creep up so you should probably have it checked out. If it is an abscess they should be able to tell by just loooking at you and not subjecting you to other tests. Good luck.

Beth

Watch out for fever...abscess with a fever is not good...I had a peri-anal cyst and it turned into a fistula too. I was in a lot of pain with the abscess. A lot of pain.

i just came out of the hospital saturday for a procedure where they started to drain these horrible painful things!!! one step closer now to feeling somewhat comfortable....

I'd go get it checked out again, your symptoms are very familiar to me. Two months is a long time, I've found things can change dramatically in a matter of days. 6 years of not being able to sit properly due to perianal Crohns leads me to this conclusion.

MRI does not guarantee to spot all artifacts. I've had scans when a visually obvious abscess and fistula have been present near the surface of the skin and they've not show-up. The Surgeon managed to find them ok though!

Yes...one step closer...indeed! I hope you find relief soon.

well it's been a week since surgery and the pain has gone down a good deal, looking forward to the day when i can sit properly again without having to think about it....the worst feeling in the world when you can't sit OR stand comfortably. to juniper, i would get that checked very soon to avoid more pain and suffering because fistulas aren't the business and they'll spread like wildfire!!! :frown:

Hi guys and girls,

thanks a lot for your replies. Well, I do not think I have an abscess because I cannot feel any swelling when pressing and the pain has not chaged a lot in months. I never had fever either. I am still inclined to think I have a fistula which does not show up on MRI which to be honest does not surprise me considering how small they can be.
I would also like to ask you another question. Is it possible that an anal or perianal fistula causes tingling in the testicles/vagina/penis area especially when sitting. I can also feel some sharp pain travelling down my innner right leg.

P.S. I do not have sciatica, prostatitis, problems with my spine or pudendal neuralgia.

Thanks a lot, folk. You are great.

I think it would make sense for an abscess to cause pain elsewhere. I mean...when there is inflamation - everything changes. Maybe the inflamation has cause something to press on s nerve ending? I have no idea really but to me - it doesn't sound out of the realm of possibility.

juniper said:

I would also like to ask you another question. Is it possible that an anal or perianal fistula causes tingling in the testicles/vagina/penis area especially when sitting. I can also feel some sharp pain travelling down my inner right leg.

Click to expand...

Hi,

In my experience yes. My fistula exits on the left buttock and I have a persistent ache in the front of my left thigh. I also get sharp intermittent pain on the right side of the anus that radiates to the base of the penis. I only used to suffer the thigh pain when an abscess/infection was present, but now after 10 EUAs the pain is there most of the time. Sitting is the worst possible thing for this pain. Laying down takes the pressure off.

Now for the best bit, the Surgeons and Medics can't see any reason why I'm having this pain. Perhaps it's all in my mind?

Mark

Hi Mark63,

i think we both have that kind of pain because the pudendal nerve which is affected by the fistula inflammation radiates the pain along its path. I just wish this fistula would heal and let me go on with my life.

Thanks,

I'll take a look at that.

They say nothing shows-up on the MRI scan, but I that does not really mean a lot. In the past I've had visually obvious abscess and fistula tracks near the surface of the skin which are undetectable on MRI. The Doctors trust too much on technology and not enough on their eyes and the patient's experiences.

Mark

Hi Mark,

I agree. I hate it when doctors say things like you have nothing, you should not be in so much pain, I cannot see anything wrong. My doctor told me that I have no fistula ( after an MRI ) and that it is probably the pudendal nerve playing up. I told him that it's not nerve pain and the pain is more like a cut inside my buttock. But guess what ? If he cannot see it on the MRI, it is not there. Doctors should learn to listen to their patients more rather than relying on their academic knowledge only. If I had a penny for each time a doctor misdiagnosed me, I would be rich now.

By way way, Mark. I am happy that you confirmed that MRI might miss fistulas because I am so certain that I have one judging from the kind of pain I feel and the location.

Hi all,

if you have a fistula, does it happen to you that when your rectum is kind of full or you have air to expell, you feel like a pain shooting down towards your anus ?

Not really. The fistula itself is not really painful unless there is an underlying infection/abscess.

Hi Juniper,
I second what Mark said and what others have mentioned. It sounds to me like you may have more of an abscess. Fistulas are open pathways and you will pass air, stool and other nasty stuff through them. Usually they can be seen during an exam. And they are not painful in and of themselves. If you have an abscess, it is a closed off passage so nothing escape. That is when you get swelling, pressure and pain. If they are not close to the surface, they may not be seen by you doctor. Abscesses are not always accompanied by a fever either.

It sounds like you have been battling this for quite some time. If your regular GI is unable to help, you might want to try a surgeon. They may at least have more experience in the area and help to diagnose. Good luck.