My name is Michal Reich. I am 52 years old and from Israel. I travelled to India on May 19th, 2017 to receive Kshar Sutra treatment from Dr. Ramesh Bhat of Bangalore. On August 15th 2017, I returned home, back to my country, FISTULA FREE!
My story began in June 2013. I had mild pain in my rectum to intense pain during bowel movements and strong blood flow. I went to the hospital and was diagnosed with deep anal fissure and abscess. I was operated on immediately and came out with a tight seton. The thread fell after two weeks but pus began to emerge from my anus. I underwent more procedures under anesthesia until I was diagnosed with a front high facing fistula which crossed my sphincter muscles at the one o’clock position. My fistula was not far from vagina wall. From here I underwent a series of surgical procedures under full anesthesia to eradicate the fistula. I changed doctors and hospitals. Almost all possible methods had been tried on me. Loose and tight seton, fibrin glue, fistulotomy, LIFT surgery…but none of them solved the problem.
Overall, I had 9 unsuccessful surgeries. My life went into a tailspin and after the last procedure failed, my life came crashing down. From a woman who lived a normal life, I gradually lost everything I had. I had to leave my job because I could not sit properly and most often had to use a wheel cushion.
An occupational doctor determined that I was unable to work and for 4.5 years I received a salary from insurance that I was lucky to have.
I stopped practicing sports, and that’s one of the things I loved the most in my life … biking, triathlon competitions, yoga, Pilates, dancing and just getting out and enjoying nature.
I lost the relationship I had and could not create a new one. I felt unattractive, not feminine, and without vitality.
My fistula affected the way I parented my children … I had no patience for anyone around me, not even for my two children and my social life was diminishing.
I’ve lost a lot of money to greedy doctors who had no integrity.
After I learned that my ninth operation had failed, I lost the motivation to continue fighting. Suicidal thoughts passed through me and I became deeply depressed.
Just because I am a single mother of two amazing children, I finally decided to pick myself up and sat down on the internet to find more solutions in the world. I learned from studies and reading a great deal of material that the Western world uses the same methods and have very high failure rates. To my surprise, I discovered that in India there is an ancient Ayurvedic method that works successfully and is called Kshar Sutra.
I contacted people from the West who went to India specifically for treatment and went back home healthy. I contacted several Kshar Sutra therapists.
I realized there were differences in approach. With a warm recommendation from a patient, I contacted Dr. Ramesh Bhat from Bangalore. India. I realized he is an amazing doctor, both in his knowledge as a professor in Ayurveda, and in conventional medicine. He was a humble man with a lot of compassion and a desire to help his patients. I liked his approach to dealing with a fundamental problem and that he didn’t use shortcuts.
I decided to organize my trip to India. I wanted to get there as soon as possible because I was in pain and without a drainage seton, which was removed during my last operation. I could no longer imagine myself entering the hospital again in my country.
I sent all the material to Dr. Bhat that he requested. He agreed to accept me quite quickly, take care and help me with everything he could.
I flew to India with my mother who was with me for the first month. The treatment began with photography and precise mapping of the path of the fistula. This was done by Dr. Shankar, who is a doctor designated for this procedure. I have to say that this is one of the critical things since I saw some patients who underwent surgery “near the place,” (doctors didn’t treat their entire fistula) so there was no chance that they would ever heal.
From there I went back to my doctor for an initial operation whose goal was to remove the damaged tissue and thread a knot in the path. This was done under spinal anesthesia and passed in a convenient and easy way.
From here I underwent 12 thread changes in total. About once a week, I went back to see Dr. Bhat who changed my Kshar Sutra thread without anesthesia. I also went to the clinic to have my dressings changed as my fistula tract became shorter and shorter. I had almost no experience of pain during treatment. It’s possible that my pain threshold is very high in light of all that I went through.
My stay in India was 3.5 months, and I spent the first month in a hotel in Bangalore. Then I rented a room in a partner’s apartment in close proximity to the Art of Living Ashram next to the Ayurvedic Hospital. There I saw my doctor at least once a week and I also went to the hospital to have my wound packed. While I was in India, I could occasionally travel for a few days. When I lived near the ashram, I took courses. I practiced yoga and breathing. I participated in the various activities; I met people from all over the world, and also some wonderful angels who helped me while I was in India and will be grateful to them forever. Three months after I arrived, the doctor informed me that I was a fistula free. He asked me to stay for another 3 weeks to make sure that healthy skin tissue forms instead of the fistula. On August 15th, 2017, I returned home to my children and my family happy and healthy. I got my life back. Slowly, I recovered and entered a normal life course. It takes time for the head to digest and the body to understand that I am normal again.
The fistula was forced on me. It is neither me nor part of my personality.
Since then I have set myself the goal of helping anyone who can get out of this bloody disease.
God bless India, Kshar Sutra and Dr. Bhat.
I wish you all the best.
