I thought I'd start a diary thread instead of continually bumping up my thread in the introduction forum (here's my post on how I got to 70-80% healed: my-current-routine-what-do-you-think-t10813.html).
I did a lot of reading on this forum and other forums to gather different things to try, with the intention to fully heal without using any prescription creams, surgery, or stool softeners.
If *all* else fails, I will go the prescription route, but I want to avoid this because I believe it's much healthier and easier to sustain long-term if I fix my hard stool/constipation problem naturally.
Some details about my fissure:
- self-diagnosed fissure (could be a hemmy but solutions will be the same - soft bm's and promote healing)
- feels at least 1-2" inside
- have had issues with constipation for months prior, but what caused a major tear was an extremely stressful situation
- currently had it about 2-3 months. Not really keeping track because that will just make me lose hope.
- longest record where I did not experience blood post-bm: 8 days
- when bm gets bigger or harder, it causes a splitting sensation and minor traces of blood. However it doesn't really get that much worse and I believe this is down to the Sudocrem/Polysporin that is great for healing wounds. If 10 was fully healed, I'm currently at about 7-8. A bad bm drops me down to 6 temporarily.
- suffered hard tip for a long time. Only solution is to either have more bm's (2 per day) or add oil to every meal.
I currently use the following to keep stool pretty soft:
- take olive & coconut oil with each meal
- drink 8 cups of water
- aim to have some kind of fiber with each meal (e.g. veggie, dried fruit like dried mangoes)
- 1-2 magnesium citrate capsules
- sometimes I purposely induce an extra bm (although sometimes comes out as diarrhea) by eating raisins and cranberries that were soaked overnight and also drinking the water it was soaked in.
For some reason, this makes me have a second bm within 1-2 hours. It probably irritates my body. The beauty is, the NEXT DAY, my bm = soft from tip to end.
I currently use the following methods to help healing:
- apply vaseline 1" inside pre-bm
- take a shower immediately after bm
- apply polysporin & sudocrem post-shower (both of these help prevent infection)
- controlled fasting for 16-18 hours (I'm following a modified Warrior Diet, which is similar to intermittent fasting). I believe the fasting has helped with healing.
- vitamin C (up to 2000mg per day - I definitely feel a difference taking this, but it doesn't help with constipation)
Currently experimenting:
- flaxseed: it was bulking my stool up too much when I soaked it in some water overnight and then poured it over my food, but it really lubricates my stool. Will try drinking it in water *before* meals.
- Warrior Diet: many benefits to fasting. I really feel that my body is healing my fissure better when I skip breakfast. But I am experiencing an issue with my stool not sliding out. Will need to do some research!
- olive oil + coconut oil with meals (increasing intake)
Will try soon:
- chia seeds
- aloe vera juice - 1 tsp in the morning with water to start (my mother reported that it made her stools softer)
- more prunes (3+)
- dairy-free butter
- baby carrots (to increase vitamin A intake; this is critical in producing mucous to lubricate stools in colon)
More stuff to try later:
- chlorophyll
- probiotics
- ghee
My ideal is to have soft stool that slides out easily once a day at a fixed time! And is easy to maintain even while I'm traveling. Right now I am too afraid to go anywhere far or even go on road trips.
Hopefully along the way, some of you may find something useful in my posts and help your own bm's and recovery.
Cheers!