Crohn's Disease Support Group

I recently found out I have a fistula. I am just curious about how they are treated and what not. This is the first one. I don't know how long I have had it for but the doctor I seen that my GI sent me to is the one that told me I had it so I probably got it recently since I had to colonoscopys in August of last year. So any of you guys that have had a fistula please let me know how yours was treated it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Laurie

I have several fistulas, I had surgery a year ago and they put a seton in (a plastic cord run through the fistula tract to help it drain) I had one seton through each fistula and they also did a "laying open" of the fistula which cuts it open and lets it heal from the inside out.I had the seton taken out after about 6 weeks and unfortunately it didn't heal and now a year later I'm waiting for another surgery to put another one in. I have a friend who went through the same thing, had several setons put through the same fistula and had one cut out every 4-6 weeks and six months or so later, his has healed up and he has had no recurrence. I would be happy to try to answer any other questions you have.

Good Luck!

Rachel

I had two large rectal fistulas around the anus when I was first diagnosed with crohns in 2007. They started out as very painfull boils and they got so painfull I went to the emergency room because at that time I had no idea what I had or knew nothing about crohns. A colon-rectal surgeon took me into surgery and he lanced and drained both fistulas and installed c-tons. He also did a colonoscopy to see what was causing the fistulas and discovered I had crohns. I ended up going to a GI who wanted to put me on hard core drugs like 6mp and pentasa and he told me that large fistuals like I had seldom heal so get use to having ctons the rest of your life. My surgeon tried puting in a fistula plug, but after two weeks, they both fell out and ctons were installed again. After much research, I decided to try the SCD diet rather than become a slave to drugs, and within 9 months after getting on that diet and following to the absolute letter, both fistulas were completely healed and all my other cronhs symptoms like diarreha and pain went away. It has been three years since my diagnosis and I have not had one flare or symptom of crohns, and I am fistula free, and I don't take drugs, and I still follow the SCD diet.

You are taking or playing russian roulette with your crohns by not taking maintanence meds. We have all heard of the SCD diet.

i agree with libit, and also, pentasa isn't a hardcore drug lol. i took 4000 mg's of it a day and it hardly did anything.

i have no any idea about the medicines, but i had surgery for fistula two times, all things as RACHEJOE SAID , BUT once u done it have care and take tretments to heal it like metronidazole ,i did like that, but be sure also ur inner feeling weather u are in remisson or not , if u are in fale ups it will not heel properly ,so that first u have to control that ,

all the best

respect

It may work for some ppl and not others..

Hemp oil is supposed to be a really good detoxin and said to cure cancer and other diseases.Only thing is extracting oil from cannibus is illegal,so its hard to come by,but def would say to take Humira/remicade/Cimzia or something like those that are for fistulas.

Maqui Berry is supposed to be the best antibiotic/antioxident

bgodwin22, it isn't just diet. Primitive cultures, as you put it, come into contact with disease on a regular basis, so their immune systems are kept busy. Crohn's disease is an auto-immune condition; theories suggest that IBD is an increasing problem in the USA and other developed countries because our sterile lifestyles cause our immune systems to become "bored" since it has fewer germs and bacteria to fight than does the immune systems of third world countries.

Additionally, my Crohn's continues to progress despite my diet. Every single thing I put into my mouth is made from scratch (with the exception of a few condiments I consume, but I'm working on a good recipe for ketchup and dijon mustard). My freezer is full of seafood and game that I caught/hunted myself. So please don't automatically assume that I (or anyone else on this board) is a McDonald's-eating, frozen-meal-inhaling person who cries about self-inflicted, incapacitating intestinal issues.