Before I begin, I want to thank the people who put this site together. Without your help, support and recommendations I'm not sure where I'd be today. Thank you to everyone for your thoughtful words and details remarks. There are so many questions regarding procedures, treatments, pain remedies and diet, and being analytical I have put myself through them all. My focus has always been to heal myself naturally and develop a diet for life, not just for now. I believed that this would help my healing, as well as give me better habits for future health as I realize this is a long term affliction. I suffered from constipation and hemorrhoids since my early 20's and I decided this wasn't going to work for the rest of my life, especially when I realized what anal fissures were. I had no idea this condition existed!
I've had anal fissures since March 2012. Since March I have never spoken so much about stool, diet and treatments in my life. My husband has been my dearest friend and life partner and his support has helped me through the darkest days, the rest has been shear patience, tears, will power and more ointment than I ever wanted up my ass. My physical and emotional strength have been battered and I am not sure what's next.
Today my pain subsides daily around 2-4pm, however this is not as good as it was in July when pain was minimal by 12 noon and I felt I had improved to being 80% well.
Now, a part of my bum pops out with every BM (since August) and I have to ease it back in with a wet tissue. I also have had puss on the TP every day following a BM and this has been happening since Sept 3rd, and it is now October 13th. I do not have blood which I did have at times in September, but the puss worries me as its new and it means infection.
A recent Dr's appointment suggests that I may have a Anal Fistula. Without an examination under anasthesia they cannot say for sure. I was prescribed to take Proctosone daily, following a BM and before going to bed and see if the condition improved within a week. I supplemented with Niphedipine 0.9% which has worked in the past and after a week I have not had much change, but maybe a little.
An examination under anasthesia scares the shit out of me. If they find something they will want to perform the necessary procedure and I could wake up with less of a bum.
I have had difficulty finding answers to some questions I have. If you can help, please do:
-When using Niphedipine ointment, how far into the anal canal do you insert it. Is 1" deep enough? I understand it it to go into the inner sphincter. Any advice? I usually apply this 1-3 times per day.
-Has anyone developed an anal fistula from a fissure and do you have any advice if it can be healed without surgery and how you can tell if you have one?
-What kind of an examination did you have to undergo to know you had a fistula and not a fissure?
-Has anyone else had puss with a fissure? No one has spoken of this anywhere. If so, were you able to heal it and what helped?
-Has anyone had to manually ease part of your bum back in following a BM and if so do you have any recommendations on what may help this condition? I assume it is weak and inflammed veins around the fissure which may also be a source of puss.
-Did anyone find that daily but firmer stool (not hard, but ends with a clean cut and not a messy wipe) made the fissure heal quicker? I believe that a period of time when I had messy loose and explosive stools made mine worse and I'm trying to decide if I need to add more fibre to my fibre rich diet of 30-40grams/day or take out some water.
-If you are 125 lbs, how much fibre in grams do you take per day in your diet, and does it help?
-For those who have had surgery, did you have a general surgeon or a colo rectal surgeon perform the operation and what are your results today?
-As I normally choose the natural approach to healing, I have chosen not to use a stool softner or a laxative and instead followed a very strick diet. I have had daily bowel movements since April 2012 and they have not been large or hard. Does a stool softner make soft stool not as wide to pass or just watery? I would consider taking a stool softner if allows passage of stool without making it loose but I'm not sure I need one. Any advice?
At this time I am willing to try anything that may help with healing before deciding that surgery is the only option.
Thank you kindly for your feedback.
Mindfulnesshealing (or Jbird)