pb4

Also thinking about you pb4.

oh no, i hope you feel better soon pb4.

*hugs*

p.s. i can't remember if you mentioned this before but do you have crohn's or uc?

Stupid disease, i really hope this remicade works for you. Or better yet you get better without it.

You have been suffering for such a long time, maybe remicade will fix the fistula and the colitis. you know hit two birds with one stone.

OH CRAP...this is the last thing you need. I, too, hope that the Remi will help deal with the fistula and have you feeling better soon.
qxx

as a fellow recto-vaginal fistula sufferer, I'm hoping the Remi gets rid of it ASAP! Unfortunately for me, Remi and/or Humira has done nothing to close my fistula. Albeit, they both helped with UC symptoms, making the fistula less trouble-some. And as a fellow Mom, I know only too well how kids can get the best of your sanity! Hang in there...

I saw your post about using MJ to help with the pain. I am happy you've found something that helps. Hopefully the remicade heals it for good.

Ha, "they" are doing nothing! I've had 2 consults already about surgical repair, & no surgeon will touch it at the moment. Because I'm not in remission & the tissue is still inflamed, healing won't "take". I guess you can't really stitch inflamed tissue together & make it stick! And neither surgeon I spoke with had very positive #'s to report re. successful surgical repair of fistulas. These weren't some backwoods surgeons, mind you- the 2 I've consulted with are highly respected, renowned colo-rectal surgeons, one in Boston, one out at Lahey Clinic. I've had the fistula for ages now, 3-4 years??? It bugs me if my UC is really active, otherwise it's just there. If I ever do need a procto-colectomy, that should take care of it. I really hope the Remi works for you!

Eva Lou, can I ask how you manage with intercourse with having the fistula? I feel bad for my hubby and I forgot to ask my GI and his assistant about it yesterday. I'm scared that intercourse will cause more harm/damage.

Thanks hateuc, I hope the remi helps to (if I'm a candidate for it, I still have to get TB tests done first to see if I can even take it or not) and I'm grateful the mj had been helping but scared that it's just "the calm before the bigger storm" from what I've already been dealing with.

Q, he's 20

Yes, granddaughter actually, and my daughter got me all excited telling me she'd be moving out the beginning of Dec but of course it fell through.

My kids drive me as crazy as my crohn's does lol...definitely a lost cause.

yes, well, the intimacy issue..... the actual fistula doesn't bother me during intercourse. However, if I'm having a bad stretch of days, then drainage from it is basically constant. Which leads me to avoid sex at all costs! Nothing like a little fecal matter to ruin the mood.... If the mood arises, I'll use the bathroom & wipe everything with a wet wipe, make sure things are clean, then have at it. Afterwards I do the same thing, clean up, dry off, etc. It does get irritated from time to time, & then I'll sit in hot epsom salt baths to let water flow thru it to really keep it clean. Thankfully my husband is really understanding- if my intestines are bothering me, it's not likely that we'll be doing anything! Fistula aside, when your stomach is upset, etc. intimacy doesn't look so hot. The opening to my fistula is right below the vaginal opening, sort of on the inside but not too far- you can see it with the naked eye. I think you'll be ok- just ensure that things are cleaned up well, sit in a hot bath, etc. & it shouldn't irritate it too much. Let me know what your GI says if you ask them about it, I'm curious. It bothered me mentally a great deal for the first year or so, then I just sort of learned to live with it. Like so many other things!

wait & see what the MRI shows- it may not even be a fistula! If you have zero drainage, I don't see how it could be an RV fistula- mine is this tiny track from my rectum to right outside the vagina. So, things pass from one side to the other, back to front! It was an abscess that burst, but the infection healed fine, it's never re-abscessed (???) again. I'm so over IBD it's not even funny. But I have a nasty feeling that if I went ahead with any type of surgery, I'd be dealing with yet another can of health related, sucky worms. At least I know what to expect with good old UC (sarcasm)...