Fistula and low iron not anemic

Hi BWillis,

It's good that you've arranged to see your surgeon so he can examine you further. With regards to treatment of fistula-in-ano, theres nothing you can do except opt for surgical management with a minor procedure. The procedure is called a fistulotomy which unroofs the tract to allow for drainage. A seton stitch can also be placed which allows the area to heal. Again, I wouldn't get too caught up with these procedures unless you know for sure you have a fistula!

Iron infusions are by far the best and quickest method to get your iron stores up. The tablets can have lots of GI side effects (nausea, vomiting, cramps) and you usually need to continue them for 3-6 months in order to get any real benefit. That being said, some people do just fine on them. Iron can also be administered subcutaneously but this has the side effect of sometimes staining your skin! Either way, if you can afford the infusions, probably best to go for them. I can't speak about what they cost as I'm in Canada!

Take care and I hope your visit goes well.

Thanks for the response. I am hoping for no surgeries, but not feeling confident. We will see after my visit this afternoon. I am going next week to a hematologist/oncologist to see about the iron infusions.

Thanks!

I had drains inserted and removed for 13 months  (with seton bands and debridement procedures) but the fistula finally closed on its own.  Ideally, getting a temporary diverting loop Ileostomy while have a drain placed would work best but I really didn't want to have the Ostomy. I still worked during all of this. I was lucky to have an interventional radiologist willing to continue working on it with me. You can PM me if you'd like to discuss further.