About Rear View Recovery

Rear View Recovery is a patient-to-patient resource for anorectal fistula recovery. Practical logistics, tested products, and the stuff your surgeon doesn't tell you.

The stuff your surgeon doesn't tell you.

When I was diagnosed with an anorectal fistula, I did what everyone does, I Googled it at 2 AM.

Here's what I found: clinical definitions that made me feel like a textbook case, chaotic Reddit threads that scared me more than helped, and absolutely nothing in between.

Nobody told me what to buy before surgery. Nobody told me how to sit at my desk a week later. Nobody told me that the hygiene situation would become a part-time job, or that I'd develop strong opinions about portable bidets.

So I built the resource I wish someone had handed me.

What This Site Is

Rear View Recovery is a patient-to-patient recovery resource. Think of it as the Wirecutter for the bottom — practical logistics, tested product recommendations, and the real talk nobody else is having about fistula recovery.

Every article here is built around a simple idea: specificity beats sympathy. "By day 3, you'll want a cushion within arm's reach" is more useful than "hang in there."

This site is organized around where you are in your recovery, not when something was published:

• Just Diagnosed — plain-English explanations for when you're scared and Googling
• Surgery Prep & Recovery — checklists, daily routines, and the hacks that actually help
• Long-Term Management — Setons, recurrence, mental health, and life beyond the acute phase
• The Product Vault — tested and ranked recovery gear, no sponsored fluff

What This Site Is Not

This is not a medical site. I'm not a doctor, and nothing here is medical advice.

Everything on this site reflects personal experience, community-sourced tips, and thorough research. Your fistula is different from mine. Your surgeon may have different guidance for your specific situation.

What I can tell you is what the recovery actually looks like from the patient side- the logistics, the products, the weird stuff nobody warns you about, so you're not figuring it all out alone at 3 AM.

Why "Rear View Recovery"?

Because recovery is best understood looking back at it. And because sometimes you just have to lean into the humor of the situation.

Stay in the Loop

No spam. No fluff. Unsubscribe anytime.

Access all areas

By signing up, you'll get access to the full archive of everything that's been published before and everything that's still to come. Your very own private library.

Fresh content, delivered

Stay up to date with new content sent straight to your inbox! No more worrying about whether you missed something because of a pesky algorithm or news feed.