what does a fistula feel like/look like?

Oooh, yes - I'd like to know the answer to this, too....

Does anyone know symptoms of vaginal fistula? Is a fistula always painful? Just curious...thanks!

 I have just a fistula prob. Didn't even know i had until my bum started leak green ooze.Doc put me on antibiotics then 4 days later after not been able to walk or sit. I went to hospital. I had two MRI scans to see if where the fistula had tracked from- they are very hard to find sometimes- couldn't find my. The surgeon has inserted a drain into the fistula so it can drain and not close up again.

For the last few months I had pain like  - a big stick was being poked up my back passage and terrible lower back pain - like a dragging down pain. Had surgery on Wed 6th Feb and feel heaps better, no more back pain.

I had read the people on 6mp with crohns shouldn't sever badly form fistulas's as the 6mp helps provent them and heal them. I have been on 6mp for 7 months!!!!!!!

if u have a bump on the outside its probably an abcessess. and abcessess are usually the end result of a fistula in that the tunnell holds the mucus or infection in it and it drains, once it gets to the skin and there's no where else to go it turns it to something like a boil. it gets bigger until it gets drained. But the pain is not like that of a pimple, neither is the bump, its big and in my case excruciatingly painful!

I hope you get better soon! My doc is putting me on Remicaid.

I have had a bowel-bladder fistula. Very painful passing stool through the urethra.  Took seven hours of surgery to repair. I have had SEVERAL rectal/anal fistulas (sometimes two at a time draining).  Very nasty.  Wore lots of pads on my butt for many years. Finally got Remicade and they closed.

Right now I have one just right above the belly button where I had surgery last July.  Feels kind of weird to pass gas and stool from the belly button area.  I never feel the gas bubble until it starts coming out...sometimes it can be funny.  Can't have Remicade to close this one though.  Last infusion I went into anaphylactic shock, so I just have to deal with putting bandages on my gut. 

I AM GOING TO ELABORATE A BIT ON MY INTRODUCTION INTO THE FISTULA WORLD. IT STARTED AS A BURNING SENSATION, I MEAN IT BURNED LIKE HELL. I ACTUALLY THOUGHT THE SURGEON HAD SET SOMETHING HOT ON MY SIDE DURING MY ABSCESS CLEAN UP SURGERY. IT FELT LIKE SOMEONE BRANDED ME SO I ICED IT ALOT AND TRIED TO KEEP ALL CLOTHING OFF IT BECAUSE EVEN A T-SHIRT RUBBING ON IT WOULD HURT AND HURT BADLY!! THE NEXT THING I NOTICED WAS MY SKIN IN THAT AREA STARTED TO SWELL TO A CENTER POINT. THEN A BLISTER APPEARED ALL OF A SUDDEN THE BLISTER FILLED WITH YELLOW AND TRANSLUCENT FLUID. IT WAS THE SIZE OF A 50 CENT PIECE. I TOUCHED IT SOFTLY WITH MY FINGER AND THE BLISTER WAS VERY WARM AND THE CONTENTS SWIRLED TOGETHER SO NOW IT WAS MOSTLY YELLOW IN COLOR. THIS BLISTER NEEDED TO BE POPPED BECAUSE IT KEPT GETTING BIGGER AND THE PRESSURE WAS GETTING HIGHER. I DIDNT KNOW THERE WAS A HOLE UNDERNEATH THIS BLISTER FEEDING IT MORE AND MORE FLUID. SO I POKED A HOLE IN IT WITH A LARGE NEEDLED SYRING AND SPLOOSH ALL THE CONTENTS CAME STREAMING OUT. SO MUCH FLUID WAS COMING OUT THAT I JUMPED IN THE SHOWER AND IT JUST POURED OUT, IT WAS STREAMING DOWN MY LEG. IT SEEMED NEVER ENDING. FINALLY IT CALMED DOWN A BIT AND I BANDAGED IT. THIS HAPPENED DECEMBER 21, 2009. I STILL HAVE THE FISTULA THE HOLE IS SMALLER AND THE OUTPUT IS LESS BUT IT CHANGES ALL THE TIME. ONE WEEK THE HOLE IS SMALL THE NEXT ITS BIG. I DONT REALLY UNDERSTAND THIS WHOLE PROCESS SINCE THIS IS THE FIRST ONE IVE HAD. BUT I WILL TELL YOU THIS.....IT IS VERY PAINFUL, EVEN NOW. I HOPE THIS HELPS. I KEPT PHOTOS OF EACH STEP THE FISTULA WENT THROUGH I COULD EMAIL YOU SOME IF YOU LIKE.

15. No SHOUTING.  Remember, using ALL CAPITAL LETTERS in posts is considered yelling and rude, plus it is difficult to read. 

Post Edited By Moderator (Nanners) : 2/10/2010 9:24:44 AM (GMT-7)

Can you have an abscess without a fistula? I had exactly what crohnspot1993 without the gushing fluid. I didn't know what it was and went to my GP. I thought it was an infected hair follicle! She was horrified when she looked at the pusy mess and put me on antibiotics and it cleared up. I don't think I ever had a fistula ...????

I started to have the same symptoms during this flare in my perineum area, it raised and then it went down, never breaking the skin.

I had an MRI following and it showed "nothing" according to my GI doc. Two weeks later, a bowel X Ray showed my left side all swollen/black on the Xray. Wouldn't it have shown any scaring from a past fistula?

Hi - this is an older discussion, but I'd like to resurrect to see if there have been any new developments with you all, or if anyone new has developed fistula/abscesses and had treatment (or not), and how successful that was for you. I myself had a labial abscess about 6 months ago, which was drained by my surgeon. At this time a fistula was seen on MRI (rectal-perineum), but no action was taken, because - after the draining, no real problems occurred until recently.

about 2 weeks ago I had some SERIOUS pain in the labial area and thought it was another abscess - was ready to go to the doc again to have it drained, but something popped and blood gushed out. I'm imagining that the fistula found its exit, but don't understand this stuff. The discharge might have been through the hole my surgeon had made, but I thought that had closed up. This was about 2 weeks ago, and I still bleed - a lot - through the little hole near the vagina/perineum and maybe from elsewhere, but it sure is hard to tell where this is coming from. The perineal/vaginal area hurts. I'm trying to get in to see my local surgeon just to talk.

I was in a "try not to worry about it maybe it'll resolve itself" mode for quite sometime. Guess I might as well ditch that way of thinking and take some action.

What about you all?