New Chapter In My Health Saga: A Painful And Embarrassing Development!

[ophelialit]

Hi, all...

I'm having one of those I'm-Sick-And-Tired-Of-Being-Sick-And-Tired moments...err.....weeks....ummm...months? Anywho, I'm fairly used to the daily parade of dizzy/sickly/heart-pounding/fatigue symptoms, but something happened this week that just about pushed me over the proverbial edge. Sooooo, like so many of us here, I suffer from IBS (predominantly diarrhea, lucky me), and I had a particularly challenging bout recently following work stress, family stress, life stress, etc. On Tuesday of this week, I developed a pain...in my bum. (There's just no polite way to say it.) I assumed it was just irritation from the regualr trips to the bathroom, but it got worse and worse and worse...and, well, you get the idea.

By Thursday morning, I was sitting askew in my desk chair and walking like Frankenstein. I couldn't imagine what was going on, and, as you might imagine, it's rather hard to get a good view of one's own bum without some serious contortionsist skills. I contacted a local Colo-Rectal surgery office (being in the DC area, I am fortunate to be surrounded by specialists of all persuasions) that had a website that PROMISED "professional and compassionate care for life's most sensitive issues." That made me snicker, but it also made me feel like they probably wouldn't guffaw at my concerns.

OK....soooooo, fast forward, I ended up meeting with a lovely doctor (she was so pretty and sweet that I was tempted to ask her if she might no want to consider another specialty, but, I digress.) Long story short--after being examined (a bum-examining table thingy is quite the acheivement of modern construction, by the way), it turned out that I had....an anal abscess! What??? Pardon ME? Alas, it was true. Apparently, this is something that can be caused by inflammation (oh, my old friend) especially when the patient has IBS or frequent diarrhea or a gypsy curse (apparently, I have all 3).

Boo-hoo-hoo, and then I had the abscess drained. In my discomfort and horror, I forgot to mention all of my dysautonomia stuff, so when she shot my bum full of Lidocaine, I became dizzy and borderline pacicky. Boo-hoo-hoo some more, and I am just COMPLETELY fed up with my existence at this point. I mean, REALLY? I feel like I'm just a walking time bomb waiting for the next ridiculous thing to befall me. Plus, it's going to take 3-4 WEEKS for this to fully heal. And you know what else? I'm pretty sure there's nothing sexier than an anal abscess, soooooo my husband and I have been living lilke very polite roommates for the past week....blargh.

Sorry for the enormous rant; I think I just needed to vent...enough is WAY past enough!

[E Soskis]

Oh dear....so sorry...just when you think it can't get any worse.... It is so frustrating when new problems just keep adding up - such a challenge! I usually don't mind challenges but, seriously...one thing after another after another....enough already!

[hholmes13]

Ugh you poor thing. Sorry both for you and your bum! Hope things get better soon!

[targs66]

So sorry to hear about this new and exciting condition for you, but I wanted to commend you on your wry attitude toward the whole **** thing - a gypsy curse?? That cracked me up, thank you.

Sometimes you just gotta laugh....

Seriously, hope you feel better soon.

[ophelialit]

To add insult to injury, the bum-pain has apparently affected my typing as well--I just went back and re-read my post...typo much? Sheesh! I always forget this forum doesn't have automatic-underline-spell-warning, so I just bang away with merriment and fail to proofread....which is kind of funny considering one of my side gigs is as an editor/proof-reader for Pearson-Prentice Hall! Sighhhhhh....anywho, I clearly meant PANICKY rather than PACICKY which, I'm nearly certain, is not a word.

[louloutinks]

Sorry about you abscess but your humour is superb!

[looneymom]

So sorry to hear about your situation. Glad you found a doctor that was good and understanding. Tomorrow will be different and hopefully much better.

[Katybug]

I always love your posts for the humor you bring to these horrible, embarrassing issues. The challenges of dealing with IBS do get to be tiresome. I will only use a particular toilet paper to pamper my bum during these episodes. And there is no end to the embarrassing situations it puts you in. But...you win. An anal abscess takes the cake. And I'm pretty sure you are a better woman than I because I don't think local anesthesia would have done it for me on the draining. I would have been requesting tranquilizers! I so hope you heal quickly and with limited discomfort going forward.

[Chaos]

So sorry to hear about your recent challenges. Looking at your signature line I see you're missing the joy of having EDS or hypermobility syndrome. Being able to visualize your own bum would be one benefit of having it I guess.

I totally get the "I'm so sick of being sick" thing. Any more when I go to a new doctor, or even one of the non-POTs specialists I see somewhat routinely, the idea of trying to explain POTS/MCAS/EDS etc etc is just so overwhelming...I don't feel like I have the energy to even get into it. Hence I can see why you'd forget to mention your underlying POTS etc. Always a bummer when you have a POTSie episode tho and have to try to explain it in the midst of THAT adventure!

Thanks for bringing a laugh to the rest of us, even though I'm sure it's been total misery for you! Hope things heal up quickly and without complications. Sending you hugs!

[Rachel Cox]

Au contraire! I think PACICKY is a new word, for that feeling you get when you know something is wrong with your arse! Poor you and poor your patootie! Hope you are feeling relieved.

I know it won't take away the sting of that awful discovery, but I had a very embarassing situation recently that might make you feel in good company.

Went to a cafe to meet a friend I hadn't seen in ten years. I had recently developed significant issues with intermittent urinary retention/ incontinence. I was horrified by these things and as we talked, my synopsis of my current situation degenerated into a discussion about my bladder

She delicately enquired whether it was just my bladder and I replied, "yes, thank goodness!".

Then, I noticed this horrific sewerage smell.

"Ugh, this place has some serious plumbing issues" I said. Rolling my eyes, suspecting (stupidly) nothing. Not a thing. Eventually the smell became unbearable and I suggested we find another cafe. We did. The smell did too.

"Wow, the sewerage lines must be causing problems around here, big time!". We gave up, said farewell. She beat a hasty retreat. Still, clueless, I got in my car. The smell in there was even worse. And then, slowly and painfully, the truth seeped into my brain.

Crap.

Mine.

I haven't seen my old friend since.

From now on, I will know that any pakicky feelings are a sign to beat a hasty retreat!

At least anal abscesses are more discreet! tee hee

[ophelialit]

Ahhhhhh, you guys are the best...truly! You're like my BFFFFA (Best Friends Forever From Far Away---just made that up, I did).

@Giraffe: I thank you for sharing your tale of the Rogue Poo! Bonding through horror! Yes!

[Rachel Cox]

@Giraffe: I thank you for sharing your tale of the Rogue Poo! Bonding through horror! Yes!

Glad Rogue Poo could help ease the sting of the pooper-pus-problem. How is this for murphy's law.... my son is finally out of nappies, right when I need to get back into them! bahahahaha! Any other horror stories out there? Sharing is caring!

R ;-)

[Katybug]

Oh yes! Lost control of my bowels on Christmas as I was getting ready to leave mom's house to go to dad's house. Only had the pants I was wearing. Called Dad. He wouldn't let me off the phone without an explanation as to why I was going to be late (out of concern, not meanness cause I was crying). Then, once my britches were washed and dried, I venture to my dad's. I walk in expecting just 3 family members but actually enter to family and 4 sets of neighbors. They are all concerned and want to know if I am OK. Ummmm..no, I just **** my pants and apparently my father shared that with all of you, I'm thinking to myself. I continue to have bouts of diarrhea the rest of the day but my house is too far from his house to try to leave before I am sure the tummy issues are all over. To this day I have never asked what he told all those people about his 32 year old daughter that day. I'm pretty sure I know the answer but if I don't ask I can pretend they didn't know. That's all not to mention the hub-bub that ensued when it actually happened at my mom's house. Totally embarrassing.

[Rachel Cox]

Oh Katy! I hear you! Awful awful times. I always remember vividly the reaction when one of my high school teachers crapped his pants. You can imagine how compassionate a bunch of seventeen year olds were. Poor man. Maybe my experiences are karma. It is so incredibly cringe-making!

[ophelialit]

Katybug! Eek! And wow...so sorry you have that particular file in your memory bank! I'd wager that we all have 2 or 7 stories we'd rather forget. I once vomited in my future mother-in-law's lap (very reminiscent of former President George Bush's political faux pas when he yarphed on the Prime Minister of Japan) following a terrible bout of altitude sickness...I secretly think these experiences lead us to planes of greater clarity and, in turn, we become superior humans....yes? Ha! :-)

[potsyturvy]

Oh dear! This cracked me up! I'm sorry about your abscess though. No fun. Both times I had C. Diff, I pooped my pants. Horrible experiences. The second time I had C. Diff. I was admitted to the hospital and I was hooked up to an IV so I couldn't get up without a nurse. I called and told them I was about to poop my pants, but they weren't fast enough. Plus it was like 1 a.m. and I couldn't call to get clean clothes or anything so I had to settle for a hospital robe. Let's just say they put a portable stool next to my bed after that. The diarrhea from the C. Diff literally burned my butt. Here is the embarassing part though. Once my bottom started to heal, it felt like my cheeks were sort of stuck together at the top. Major freak out! I went to my pcp and fortunately the skin had not grown together,but she told me that that actually can happen, so I felt a little less like a paranoid hypochondriac aboutt hat part of my experience.

[Rachel Cox]

...I secretly think these experiences lead us to planes of greater clarity and, in turn, we become superior humans....yes? Ha! :-)

bahahaha! we are the master race!

[Rachel Cox]

Postsyturvy, that would be seriously worrisome. Would create a 'poo pocket'. That would make me pacicky!

[Katybug]

I love you guys! I hope as the master race we are erasing shame for some of our peers as they silently realize they are not alone....because I know with all the GI complaints on this forum, there are some secret poo stories out there. This is such hard stuff to discuss and it really does help to be able to share our stories and the emotions that go with them in a safe and fun environment.

I actually hadn't told anyone ( except the 13 people who already knew, ugh!) and I really do feel like a demon has been taken out of my closet and my soul is a little lighter. Thanks for the laughs!

[ukwildcat]

I have poop issues too. Every time as Im rushing to the restroom (which i know where the restroom is in every store I go to now) I feel like Im going to pass out. I get black spots all over and very hard to see where Im going. I think, it is going to be wonderful ha!ha! when they find me passed out on the floor and I have pooped myself. Hopefully it is not summer time and Im not wearing shorts. When make it too potty, I still feel like Im going to pass out. Many times hold onto walls so dont fall off the toilet. the person next to me, when I finally fall off toilet, will have a great story to tell her friends.

[abbyw]

When I had very bad IBS right when this whole thing started, I would have presyncope whenever i was going to have a bout of diarrhea. I went to doctors and told them that if I felt like I was going to pass out, that was my indication that I was about to have a stomach attack. No gastro believed me.

I was once in a doctors office waiting room, and I knew it was coming. I spent 45 minutes in the bathroom of the office, sweating profusely and splashing cold water on the back of my neck while sitting on the toilet so that I would not lose consciousness. As it got worse, I was peeling off my clothes because I was so sweaty. I was doing deep breathing and continuing to keep myself awake with the cold water. Meanwhile, every once in a while, there would be a polite knock at the door, and I would sweetly answer - "just a minute". I kept picturing what would happen if I passed out and they called an ambulance to break into the bathroom and found a partly naked woman lying on the floor in the midst of pooping. Pretty traumatic. When I came out, I sat in the waiting room for a half an hour, waiting to calm down enough to drive myself home. I tried not to notice the strange looks considering I had already been in to see the doctor.

Not fun at all. But I am still here to tell the tale...and doing much better now. It is a not so distant bad memory. I hope that we all get past this and it will be just a memory for all of us.