Antibiotics for Abscess?

Hi Everyone,

I have what I believe are the beginnings of a perianal abscess forming in the muscle. Its been a slow process, just feel sort of a dullness in there that I can't seem to find when I push down on it with my fingers. Been going on for weeks but has become more constant. Sometimes it feels like just my underwear brushing against the skin is annoying yet when I feel around with my hand nothing is there. Very strange feeling.

If this is another abscess, it will be my second one so I know what to expect but was wondering if I should request antibiotics from my GI. I normally would not, but I am taking my family on vacation for a week and don't want to ruin the trip. Has anyone had an abscess held at bay taking antibiotics?

I had an abscess drained using antibiotics (cefalexin)for 3 weeks then these were followed by cefepime injections for a week in 2013 but it developed into a perianal fistula January 2016. I didn't have any kind of lacing of the abscess.

I got rid of my first abscess with cipro flagyl, but my second one a year later burst after I started cipro flagyl again. You just never know.

Thank you all for the replies. I called my colorectal surgeon the day before I left for vacation and he thought just throwing antibiotics at it was a bad idea. I explained my symptoms to him and he did not think it was an abscess, more likely a muscle spasm since it had been going on for a couple weeks and was distal to my last surgery sight. I had my doubts but I did a ton of walking and running on vacation (like 8 or more miles every day) and the discomfort has improved a lot so maybe he was right. I go in to see him again next week and will probably have some answers then.

Sorry cilly, I know this is very late. Hopefully you will come across this post again. Did you get a diagnosis when you had the symptoms I have? If it is a muscle spasm issue, I believe it would be from 'guarding'. Many times, when we have an injured area, we can involuntarily contract the muscle surrounding it as a means of protecting ourselves from pain. I'm not sure this if what is happening with me. I still believe there is a fistula or abscess in there but my surgeon is not convinced. He did not have enough suspicion to do an MRI.

Earthshine,

Did you have surgery? If so, when? Luckily for me, all other IBD symptoms are under control right now so I have not had to deal with incontinence. I think that depends on the location of your abscess and how much disease activity you have. One tip I can give you is to walk walk walk. While on vacation weeks ago, I walked around 8-10 miles a day (as tracked by a family member's fitbit) and did not notice the issue at all. I think all the distractions and the muscle movement allowed the muscles to relax a bit. Now that I am back to normal life, it has come back to about 50% of where it was.

Its a very strange feeling, not like other muscle issues I've dealt with at all. I do not notice myself guarding but the area still hurts a bit so I'm sure I do it involuntarily. I can see how constantly guarding would cause muscle fatigue and or spasm, which would affect continence. Thing is, I always think of a spasm as like a twitching of a muscle that starts and stops. Apparently, a muscle spasm can also just be where the whole muscle or a portion of the muscle gets "stuck" in the "on" position and does not release? Am I right about that?

On a side note, I was at the gym the other day. I was doing that exercise for your lower back that is sort of like a reverse sit-up. You place the front of your hips against the cushion and your heels are against something, then you bend down forward at the waist and lift yourself straight again. Seems like it would be great for strengthening the muscles that affect continence since you really squeeze your butt cheeks together when you lift yourself straight again. Those 'superman' exercises would be good too, I would think. Youtube it if you don't know what I'm talking about.