Anal Fissure Support Forum

[Philber]

I had a sphincterotomy and hemmorhoidectomy on July 26, four days ago now. I have suffered from hemmorhoids for many years, and from a chronic fissure for at least a year or two. The pain and discomfort grew worse even as I took aggressive measures to deal with the problem (increased water intake, greatly increased fibre intake, stool softeners, reducing stress, better toileting habits). By the time I had the surgery, there were no more good days and I was in pain for most of each day.
I knew I was having a sphincterotomy, and my doc told me he would do an exam and take out any roids that he came across. After the surgery, I was told that I had both procedures and that everything went well.
I am a 48 year old, very healthy male. I have been basically eating the fissure diet for six months or so.
DAY 1 - SURGERY
Woke up and felt moderate to bad pain. First thing I did was take 2 Tylenol 3's (with codeine). Doc gave me Tylenol 3's (as nec), Flagyl (antibiotic), Milk of Magnesia (2x/day), in addition to what I was already taking which was Colace (2x/day), Miralax (2x/day) and Metamucil (2x/day). Went home in pain and spent the night tender and in a lot of pain despite the meds. Sleep came mercifully in 45 minute chunks. It would be accurate to call this the day of pain. Soup for dinner, but couldn't eat much.
I told the nurse I didn't want to take constipating meds. She said for 24 hours I don't really have a choice and I should not get behind the pain (i.e. I must take the pain relievers before they run out). After that, she said, I could decide what to do. She was right. The pain was bad despite the meds.
DAY 2
First BM basically on schedule from before the op. It hurt a lot. I did it sitting in a hot sitz bath, which I definitely recommend. It is very gross, but who cares. What isn't gross at this point. I live in a world of gross.
Did the second BM later in the day the same way. Took the codeine during the day and then, feeling like I was getting better, chose to take only regular Tylenol at night. That was a mistake. Took the codeine again in the middle of the night and managed to sleep pretty much through the night. Started to feel a bit better in the afternoon and then felt like a bag of crap the whole evening and night. Oatmeal for breakfast, fruit for lunch, soup for dinner.
DAY 3
Tough morning, better afternoon, tough evening. Several BMs which all hurt, but not for a long time. Pain most of the time, but better in the afternoon. Taking sitz baths. Taking regular Tylenols. Walked around the block around my house, which was a major accomplishment. Slice of homemade pizza for dinner.
I believe that I do not have fissure pain anymore. It could be masked by other pain, or something else, but after BMs I do not feel the same pain - I only feel the pain from the surgery that is always there.
I cannot compare the pain from the fissure with the surgical pain - they are too different. Fissure pain for me was local and piercing, but otherwise I felt fine. This surgery pain is a general feeling of being unwell, a pain that makes you feel sick and fragile, even though it may not be as intense as fissure pain. They both suck. A lot.
DAY 4
I am still in pain, and there are good times and bad times, but I am definitely trending better. I could sit for short periods today, and walked around the block three times. Two BMs which hurt but not as much as the day before. I went without any pills during the day, but took Tylenols in the evening and I will for bedtime too. Back to my normal fissure diet. Everything hurts but not quite as much as yesterday. Relatively speaking, I'm feeling much better. Generally speaking, I feel like crap.
All the best you wonderful people out there. I will keep you posted. Philber.

[StevePain]

Hi phil,
You seem to be doing well, from what I've read about the procedures the recovery times can be quite lengthy, my surgery date was cancelled and has been rescheduled for next wednesday, I have a feeling that I'll be having the same procedures you've had since I still have hemmorhoids (11 years now) and this damn fissure (2 years).
Thanks for posting your experience on this, I pretty much know what to expect now and what meds I'll be taking etc, you say you feel like crap, is that because of the pain or are you just generally run down crap?

[Philber]

DAY 5
Not a good day. On Day 4, I ate some dinner leftovers (food my family was eating - pizza, Italian wedding soup) and I ate too much. The result was a very painful BM at 3:30 am which had me in severe pain for two hours. I managed to get some sleep after that, but I felt very unwell and was in a great deal of pain all day. Strangely, by around 7 pm, I felt pretty good, and until bedtime I felt the best I have felt so far. Still, the day felt like a setback, and I got discouraged. When you feel better with each passing day, you at least have hope. But when you have a day where you feel worse than the day before, your mind goes in other directions (wondering if it is getting infected, or it didn't work, etc.).
Got a good night's sleep for the first time.
DAY 6
I awoke feeling pretty good, had two moderately painful BMs, and assumed I would get better as the day went on. But I didn't. I just felt like that all day. Definitely feeling better than the day before. I guess I am getting better, but I still feel poor.
My BM routine goes like this: BM, clean with shower wand, sitz bath. That seems to minimize the pain, but it still hurts. No wiping at all.
My diet is mostly cereal and fruit for breakfast, pea or bean soup for lunch, fruit and yogurt for dinner. Ten glasses of water.
Lessons learned so far:
Small meals = good. Big meals = bad.
Don't be too aggresive in trying to go off the pain meds.
Every day is different, and has its own challenges and accomplishments.
Steve, it's hard to describe the feeling of unwell. It's a combination of pain and weakness/illness that is very uncomfortable. It is definitely worse than the fissure pain, because I was a functional human with the fissure pain whereas I am a couch potato now. Until today, I did not really feel well enough to read. Since I am an avid reader, that surprised me, how truly unwell I felt. For the most part, I have been just laying about, doing nothing at all. As I say, I think I am getting better, but it is hard to deal with how slow the recovery is. My doc told me to take two weeks off work, with complete recovery in six weeks, and I can certainly understand that. I am at almost a week, and I'm not close to going back to work.
Having said all this, I'm still very glad I had the surgery, and I am hopeful and optimistic. I could not go on the way things were and the prospect of not having the fissure/roids in my life is phenomenal.

[StevePain]

It's best to take it easy I guess, with each day that passes the healing process will slowly take place, keeping with the small meals sounds best to me and keep taking Movicol with a ton of water will ensure that the stools are soft enough to pass without trouble, the sitz baths seem a must and I will have to put them to the test next week.
Wishing you continued healing.

[Philber]

Yeah, I think you have it. Another thing that helps is a heating pad, especially when the pain gets really bad. Walking seems to help too, but a lot of the time I don't feel well enough to walk. Basically, I just slowly move around until I find a position that doesn't hurt too bad, and then I stay there as long as it doesn't hurt.

[Philber]

One thing I must say is that this could be going much, much worse.
I came into this thing with the dubious luxury of being totally prepared. I was knowledgeable. I was already on the required diet and supplements. I exercised regularly. I have no complicating factors.
I have to think that I would be very much worse off if any of these circumstances was dramatically different.
For information, this online community has been fantastic. The experiences and advice here are fantastic. I am so happy I was able to mentally prepare by having a good idea of what to expect. And I was able to physically prepare by making sure I had all the stuff I was going to need. Thank you all so much for that. What a blessing.
For those of you who may be candidates for surgery: Get on a post-operative surgery diet now. Not only is it a great fissure diet, but when the surgery comes you and your body will be used to eating what you will be required to eat, and your BMs will come as regularly as possible after any surgery. If you end up not having surgery, you have just still been on a healthy diet of fruits, vegs, whole grains and lots of water.

[Fissulyna]

For those of you who may be candidates for surgery: Get on a post-operative surgery diet now. Not only is it a great fissure diet, but when the surgery comes you and your body will be used to eating what you will be required to eat, and your BMs will come as regularly as possible after any surgery. If you end up not having surgery, you have just still been on a healthy diet of fruits, vegs, whole grains and lots of water.

I can only second that - one of the most important aspects of healing any butt ailment is a correct diet !!!!!! There is NO escape from that and I wish all sufferers can take it as a fact and never "stray" because so much unnecessary suffering could be avoided :(
No food tastes so good as a painless butt feels LOL
Wishing you super fast recovery and the best of luck with it all Looking forward for some extra

[StevePain]

Hey phil, how are you doing now? I'm just a day away from my surgery, any encouraging signs of you feeling better with less less pain would give me hope, I guess I'm just very afraid of the post-op pain, not the actual operation, either way I'm going ahead with it, I want my life back.

[Philber]

DAY 6
Feeling a lot better. I feel like I have turned a bit of a corner. The day started with two BMs that hurt a lot and the pain was severe for a few hours after. But then there was a long period - most of the day - when I felt no real pain. Pain if I moved, but not pain when I was just lying down. That was a great feeling. Same diet. Popping 2 Advils as soon as i open my eyes and then here and there as needed.
DAY 7
Still improving. The improvements are small, and the healing is slow, but I am much better today. I am still basically non-functional, but I am up and about and feeling pretty good. Again, the day started with two really painful BMs, and the pain lasted for a few hours, but it was less than yesterday.
I think that the surgery was effective. It must have been effective on the roids, because they're gone, and I am almost certain it was effective on the fissure, because I do not feel the kind of pain I felt before. I only feel pain from the surgical site, and the pattern of the pain is different.

[Philber]

Steve, I have only words of encouragement for you. I am so glad I had the operation I cannot describe how glad I am. My condition is still somewhat miserable, and I am not back to where I was before the operation, but I am getting better (and it has only been one week). For most of the time I can remember, my butt has been getting worse, so getting better is very exciting.
When I was waiting in pre-op, with my IV inserted and lying in bed in my surgical gown, there was a big delay in the OR. I was scheduled for 12:30. When 1:00 went by, I started to worry. When 1:30 came and went, I became despondent. I wanted the surgery so badly I could not contemplate it being cancelled. I was sick with worry. At 1:50 they came and got me, and I woke up at 3:20.
For me, the prospect of total relief from my butt problems, which my doc puts at 90%, is absolutely unconditionally worth the pain I am going through now and went through this week. This was the most painful week of my life, for sure, but we all get through it, and you do what you have to.
I think I was exactly where you are pre-surgery, and living like that was just not an option for me. And for me it was getting worse by the day. I was starting to wake up afraid of what the day would bring.
I had to get my life back, and this was the only way to do it.
All the best Steve. I hope it all goes well. I will be thinking about you.