Anyone experience a bladder fistula?

[ibtracy]

I now know what this is now and think this is what I have now:

Quote:

What is bladder fistula?
Bladder fistula refers to an abnormal connection between the bladder and another organ or the skin. Most commonly this involves the bowel (enterovesical fistula) or the vagina (vesicovaginal fistula). Although relatively rare, fistulization to the skin can result from an injury or previous surgery in the face of bladder outlet obstruction. Vesicovaginal fistulas are seen after a urologic or gynecological surgery or in relation to gynecological cancers. Fistulas to the bowel are most commonly seen as a result of inflammatory bowel disease such as Crohn's disease or diverticulitis. About 20 percent of bowel fistulas are caused by bowel cancer. Fistulas are rarely caused by bladder pathology. Fistulas to both the vagina and the bowel may also develop as a result of previous radiation therapy.

What are the symptoms of bladder fistula?

Symptoms are frequent urinary tract infections or the passage of gas from the urethra during urination.

I have been experiencing what I call urethral bubbles for quite sometime and a close friend of mine told me to look up bladder fistulas and this is what i found. Now I don't know where to start. Do I got to my uro, my gyno or start off at my m.d. This has been going on for the past month or so. I guess it can be pretty serious if left untreated. I'm prepared to have it treated with necessary surgery but not sure where to start.

Has anyone else gone through this, or am I the only having this totally weird experience as usual. :biglaugh: I've been through some pretty "rare" dilemmas in my life so it wouldn't surprise me to find out none of you happen to be able to relate.. I know there's some nurses on here, Barb can you help me here????

Scared and lots of ????'s
Tracy K.


PS
See i told you guys I'm jinxed, it's one thing after another with me. Any info is greatly appreciated. I've been doing alot of research online and am gonna check into books as well. Sounds scary to me.

Love,
Tracy K.

[ibtracy]

Please, there has to be someone that's been through something like this? Anyone? Please..... :bow: I'd be grateful for any info....

[Babs RN]

Geez,
It's only 7 am here...let me wake up. I have had a fistula, rectocele and cystocele, of which the only one that has not been fixed is the cystocele. As far as the fistula, vaginal gas was definitely not my only symptom. I had feces coming out of my urethra and vaginal, and had alot of pain sitting. Mine got severely infected twice which landed me in the hospital for IV antibiotics. The best test for a fistula in that area is a CT scan with oral, IV and rectal contrast. You can see it with the naked eye too if it is big enough which they did with me. Then I had to have a colonoscopy to rule out IBD before I had it repaired. Still need to get the cystocele done. PM me or email me if you have anyother questions.

Hugs,
Barb :bunny:

[ibtracy]

I was wondering if anyone was every gonna respond. :) I can always count on you, Jen & Ronda even if you don't know anything. I do have feces that came out in places it shouldn't but so far it's only happened once. How horrible is the repair surgery? I've total hysterectomy @ 28 and there are no female parts left.

I'll email you tomorrow. Thanks so much for the reply!

Love,
Tracy K.

[ICNDonna]

I definitely think this is something you should discuss with your doctor. I have never had a fistula, but did have a rectocele repaired and it wasn't bad.

Warm healing thoughts,
Donna

[Babs RN]

Tracy,
I would definitely discuss this with your doctor. For me they had to cut out the area where the hole ways and then repair it layer by layer--and 450 sutures later, it was repaired. Post op, I was on a truckload of stool softners so I didn't need to bear down(also called Valsalva) I always had feces in my vaginal vault. Mine was attributed to a horrible labor and delivery and repair job directly after. I had a 4th degree tear with an extension into the rectum and the dude did not do a great job of putting the pieces back. Lindsey was worth it though, would go through it again for the honor of being that angel's mama.

Hugs,
Barb

[darlene]

Do you have any abnormal bowel symptoms? Bladder fistula can be a sign of Crohn's disease. A pelvic cat scan and colonoscopy are a must! If the fistula is caused by Crohn's, it must be treated along with the fistula, or it will keep returning. Remicade is one drug used to treat Crohn's with fistulas. It is very important that you find out the cause of the fistula! If it does turn out to be Crohn's related, remember that you are not alone. There are quite a few other members on this board that have both IC and IBD, myself included. We are here for you!

[2to5%]

Dear Tracy,

I have been experiencing bubbles in my urine and passing gas through my urine for some time now. I have been treated with "carcinoma of unknown primary site" in my abdomen with 6 treatments of chemotherapy of taxotere and carboplatin. I have mentioned the "bubbles" symptom to two medical oncologist and one gyncological oncologist who seems to dismiss this as not relevant. My breast cancer surgeon who performed abdominal surgery prior to specialing in breast cancer surgeries sat up a took notice. He suggested I could have a fistula since 3 CT scans have from Oct. 2005 to May of 2006 have shown thickening on the left side and top of my bladder. One CT scan did indicate that I had air in my bladder. I came upon your question "Anyone experience a bladder fistula" as I was reading about fistulas on the internet. You also mentioned that weird things have happened to you and I can relate to that since I am in the 2 to 5 percent of cancer patients where the primary site of my cancer remains undetermined even after two pathology reports at different medical centers.

My question is what happened to you and how were you treated?

Looking for people like me and wondering what to expect,

Cynthia C