Anal abscess advice, any positive stories?!

Posted , 2 users are following.

Hi,

this week I diagnosed with an anal abscess (higher up than my actual anus so perianal?) its just at the top where my bum cheeks meet, in the worst place pain wise.

36 hours after visiting the Dr I was in so much pain, I rang and asked for it to be drained. I was sent to hospital, I was in so much pain the Dr told me I would need a general anaesthetic. I decided to go back the next day so i didn't have to sit and wait for hours.

The next morning it burst in the loo, the pain relief was instant and at the hospital they cleaned it out completely and packed it.

Today the nurse came to change my packing and oh my god, the pain was so intense I was crying and eventually had a panic attack. The pain didn't subside for at least 90 minutes and i rang 111 to be referred for stronger pain killers because I will not be able to go through that again.

I just need any words of comfort that this will get better? My wound is quite high up, so doesn't cause any rectal issues, and is apparently only 2cm deep. I will do anything to prevent re-occurrence, my mental health is already suffering terribly because of it.

Any good recovery stories? thank you

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  • Posted

    After a couple of days the pain should have subsided. If it doesn't, then you might need antibiotics. I had a very large peri anal abscess that I had operated on in November. I went to the doctor's office every day after surgery to have it repacked. When it started to get really sore, it meant that it was infected and I was put on several antibiotics that brought immediate relief. But unfortunately it never healed good and I had surgery on it again in January. This healed up better except there was clearly a hole in the top corner of the abscess scar that was leaking stuff; obviously a fistula had formed. I had a seton put in for 5 weeks, then I had a fistulotomy today to get rid of the tract. It was a really quick and easy surgery and I am not in a lot of pain. I was really anxious at first about my surgeries and healing but they all turned out to be not as bad as I thought. Just watch your wound, keep it as clean as possible (sitz baths with a little bit of Epsom salt and a couple drops of TeaTree essential oil - it kept it clean and helped with infection and pain), and watch for a fistula tract if it doesn't heal up completely. But don't worry about any fistula surgeries. These are not so bad, much easier than the abscess surgeries. And try not to stress out. You are taking care of it the best you can and it is out of your hands.

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