Anal Fissure Support Forum

[Guest]

When my fissure re- tears I have problems having a complete BM. It's like I have to go several times a day to get a complete BM. When I go I can only go a little and then it doesn't come out until the next trip. This happens every time I re-tear for 2-3 weeks , then It will start a pattern of complete BM'S and if I tear again this starts over. I told my CRS about this and he said the muscle has to relax (the one I can't control). It's so aggravating because once I start having complete Bm's, I will go a couple of times a day. One thing that I've noticed is when I get comfortable and eat more after a relapse the bowel movements come regular and complete also. Btw the Bm's are painless at this point even if I go ten times...

[NeuropathicGuy]

Is it from the pain? I had trouble "getting everything out" when my fissure was acute because the pain kept me from pushing the way I wanted to. The result was a bunch of little tiny poops throughout the day. Very annoying.
If your spasm is real bad it could be that the muscle physically prevents tool from coming out even though you push too.
At the end of the day, I'd say yes, it's likely something that's related to the spasm. When do you put your diltiazem on? I always put the ointments on a couple minutes ahead of a poop and it seemed to make it easier for things to make an exit.

[cherylk]

I also used Diliatzem prior to a bm. Tried to use it at least 5 minutes prior to give it time to absorb into the tissues. I think it helps with blood flow and helps with relaxing the muscles.

[Guest]

NG, Cherylk,
My bm's are painless right now. I put ointment on through out the day and always make sure it's on before a bm. Maybe I should try 5 minutes before... But I never push. I thought pushing was a no, no? I am not sure if I'm having spasms right now. It's just a feeling like I have to go and then it's incomplete. I've never had the one's the people say last for hours after a bm. Once I had a complete Bm, I felt great. It's just like a tightening feeling when I have gas or a bm and if it releases or I go, Im fine.
When I first got the fissure I had an internal hem and I don't know if it was the hem or the fissure but I once pushed a little just passing gas and there was blood. I aksed my CRS if hems can do that and he said yes.
The strange thing about this is my bms aren't hurting right now. A couple of weeks ago they were like broken glass and I was going regular prior to the tear and a few days after and then this pattern started again.

[NeuropathicGuy]

Hrm it does sound like a spasm to me when you say that there's a tightening feeling which feels better once you pass gas or have a BM. I used to have that with gas. Not so much BMs in my case because it was always the pain that stopped me from getting all the stool out. Maybe if I'd been able to get past the pain, I'd have been limited by the spasm.
But I definitely had a lot of tightness when I had gas, it was as if the gas wanted to get out but couldn't because the sphincter was so tight. In fact I think that's exactly what was happening. I've heard others here describe the same sensation so I don't think it's an unusual fissure symptom. If you do have a spasm, consciously noticeable or not, it'll keep the anus "locked" pretty tight and make it tough for things to come out.
One other thing that bothered me to no end when my fissure was really bad was the fact that even urinating hurt real bad. Urinating (in men anyway -- not sure about women) requires pushing with the pelvic/anal muscles, and because my sphincter spasm was so bad (it was constantly in throbbing unrelenting pain), doing that was extremely uncomfortable, and I'd urinate in dribbles (sorry for TMI), taking several minutes before I was finished. Not sure why I decided to share that, but I guess my point is that fissures can cause a lot of different symptoms, which may or may not be described in the literature as classical fissure symptoms.
Oh yeah, my fissure was strong bleeder and in its acute phase, I could get blood by pushing (to pass either gas or stool) too.

[Guest]

That's exactly what happens when I need to pass gas, it will get tight then eventually I'll be able too.It's been better lately but it still happens.
When I first go my fissure and it was really bad, to where I couldn't even set down, I had a problem urinating too. I basically went in the shower most of the time because it was so hard to relax and it felt tight in the anal area. Mine never bled alot, but it would bleed a little about every two weeks, until my most recent tear and it bled 3 days straight but not much.But the time I passed gas and there was blood was probably the fissure because it was before I was even diagnosed with the fissure but it didn't hurt. It just freaked me out and I never tried to force bm's or gas after that.
This is so aggravating going to Bm 5 times a day and rinsing and then the sitz baths and applying ointment! I will be so glad when it's once a day or twice a day again. Thanks for the replies NG.

[StevePain]

I had the same feeling if I couldn't totally evacuate my bowels, the only way I could overcome this feeling was to keep going to the toilet and force myself which in turn made my fissure worse, there is another way that I used to relieve the feeling of a full rectum, quite gross I know but I used to lube up my finger with Vaseline and carefully insert it into my anus and remove any fecal matter from the rectum whether it was formed or not I stayed on the toilet until my finger wasn't removing anything. Since surgery though I haven't been near my anus with my finger but still occasionally get that incomplete feeling after BM, I think it depends on stool consistency, too mushy and it's hard to get rid of it all, I try to aim for a more formed stool these days which eliminates more waste in one go, sometimes I still go more than 3 times a day though.

[Guest]

Hey Steve,
I never force or put anything in my rectum!!! OMG!!
Yeah I don't think that would be too good for your fissure...LOL
But yes it's really annoying and like I said once I start having more complete Bm's , it isn't that bad. I guess it's the spasms?!

[StevePain]

I wouldn't use anything bigger than my finger I'd been doing this for over a year so I knew how to avoid my fissure and how to relax the sphincter enough to insert my finger.