by Luka » 07 Mar 2013, 16:52
Thanks everyone for adding to the discussion. : ) Lots of good tips on what foods to eat here!
CrayonOfDarkness: Yeah, you just have to find what works best for you. Pears, pecans, Nutrigrain waffles, Nutrigrain bars, broccoli, baked potatoes, salad, peas... all of that works well for me. I've noticed white rice is a no-no for me right now, so I just get brown rice (like when I go out to eat at Chipotle... they offer brown rice). Beans are a little tricky for me because they seem to be too bulking sometimes.
Oh yeah, and wheat bran blueberry muffins are awesome! There's a recipe for them on Allrecipes.com. Very yummy and they seem to help things stay soft.
I haven't tried squatting yet. It kind of freaks me out for some reason. I don't have pain when going to the bathroom (maybe minor, but not terrible), unlike many others on here, and I don't have bleeding ever. It's just the pain afterward that gets me (the spasms) and the burning at the fissure site. I'm not sure if squatting would help it or not, but I'd be willing to try it sometime.
redbug12: I don't take stool softeners or laxatives, either. I was going to start, but then I started having softer stools on a regular basis after changing my diet a bit more. Honestly, I think VERY soft, mushy stool (verging on diarrhea) is what irritates my fissure the most (more so than dry stools, strangely). Although, I rarely get dry stools and constipation since I drink so much water during the day and have a healthy diet. I just don't want to go from the frying pan into the fire by adding a stool softener and then regretting it by getting burning diarrhea. My fissure developed from a bout of that during Christmas (or got very irritated by it... I think I've had this fissure for a long time, honestly, and it flares up from time to time due to major stress and digestion issues caused by that stress).
For fiber, I have to be really careful because too much will make me go to the bathroom more and bulk things up. So, it's a balancing act. I'm only about 100 pounds now, so I don't eat much to begin with. Anything to make me avoid going to the bathroom more... which is another thing that concerns me about taking stool softeners. Going 2-3 times a day is enough for me and seems to be normal for me (if I eat even less, I'll just lose more weight and I don't think it will change that pattern for me... I've tried). When I had the most pain in December and January, I was hardly eating anything at all, which caused me to get constipated. So I don't suggest eating very little or nothing at all. That will just make things worse in the end.
easyflo: Thanks for the tips! I'll have to try cauliflower out. I eat a lot of broccoli, so I'm guessing it does the same thing. Glad to hear the Miralax helps you, too.
January 2013 - Diagnosed with fissure. Eventually turned chronic.
History of IBS and anxiety disorder, along with fear of using bathrooms other than my own caused it.
Tried Diltiazem, but eventually developed a rash.
LIS surgery scheduled August 26th.