Hi Melissa,
Just want to send out my best wishes to you as you approach your surgery and the recovery to follow! I know all to well the hell that you've been through which has ultimately brought you to this crossroad...and I'm sorry for all of us who have had to endure such physical and mental agony...that being said, surgical methods are the the next course of action when conservative ones fail and I'm so happy to know that you've gotten through that challenging
decision and are now ready to rid yourself of this nightmare once and for
all! Recovery is definitely not as bad as we expect it to be, IMO, and I
think a big part of that is because we're mentally in a different state...we
know we are recovering FROM surgery to heal the fissure, not suffering
THROUGH a fissure, if that at all makes sense, I hope it does.
Please rest well tonight, and you'll be in my thoughts and prayers!
Best Wishes, Angel

Thanks everyone. I feel like I have so many new friends!
JR - He told me that I need to use baby wipes for the rest of my life. He said he wishes they'd do away with toilet paper. I've heard others use a little squirt bottle as well. I plan on GENTLY using the baby wipes (he said non-scented and no-aloe and try to get ones with no alchohol)...and then sit in the sitz bath and then hop in the tub. Seems like such a hassle, but I don't want to get an infection.

Sounds like a very good plan for aftercare! You're almost there! Yay!!

I am home...and it hurts like heck! At least with the fissure it only hurt when I had a bm and a little after...this is constant. I have 30 more minutes before I can have more pain meds...I'm looking forward to that. This hurts, I won't lie.

Home safe and sound!!!!! Congratulations Melissa!!!! Just stay on those meds as long as you feel you need to...they do offer much needed relief the day of and possibly the day after. I think by day 3, ibuprofin will do the trick, the horrible post-op pain doesn't usually last for too long :D . Stay positive in knowing your on your way to leaving your pain behind
Angel

Melissa,
So glad to hear you are home and made it through your surgery! The first days after any surgery are always the hardest and the time just seems to drag and drag. I haven't had fissure surgery but I've had 3 painful surgeries and those first days feel the absolute worst. Like Angel says, most people ive heard of start noticing marked reduction in pain within the first few days after fissure surgery. Keeping you close in my healing and most comforting thoughts.

1) How long after your lis did you do your first soak?
2) my discharge papers say Oxycodone, but my pill bottle says Percocet?!?!?
Pain meds aren't even touching the pain.

Hi Melissa...
I'm so sorry to hear about your pain :( ... I can't answer the first question as i havent had LIS, but Percocet is the same thing as oxycodone. Percocet is the brand name and oxycodone is the drug name. I would recommend calling your doctor, even after hours if the pain is too great for you to bear. There are other pain meds he can cocktail in with the Perocet to help control your pain better.

Hi Melissa,
Hope you're feeling better now.

Hello Melissa,
I had a bath the following day after LIS - it's advisable to have 2 or 3 baths each day if you can as this helps to keep things clean and avoid infection.
I was quite fortunate and didn't really suffer any pain but the statistics show that the first three days post surgery are the most painful.
The following is from the sphincterotomy.net website and it should give you an idea what to expect during your recovery:
Week 1

This is the week of patience as you will probably not see any improvement to your condition. In fact, you may still be in pain during this week. Taking care of personal hygiene is important during this time to avoid infection. You should also continue with medication prescribed by your doctor

Week 2

You most probably see some improvement during BM during this week. A key to recovery is to make sure you have enough of liquid and fiber intake to prevent hard stools.

Week 3

This is the week of healing. BM will be smooth and with little pain (or none at all). You could probably start doing some normal activities during this week. However, care should still be taken to continous healing.

Week 4 thereafter

After this week, you should be able to start work and your normal activities again. You should feel glad that you took sphincterotomy. BM is painless and spasms rarely occur. Although full recovery may take up to 2 months, with the right care, many sphincterotomy patients see recovery much earlier
Davo