Well it's been 6 months since my LIS surgery (after dealing w/ a irritating fissure for 2+ years) and I still am not out of the woods. Hard to say whether there's been any measured improvement. I've posted (more like vented) several times over the last couple of months. My fissure and post op healing never really gave me any pain. I suppose that's a good thing but the irritation following a BM can be awful. The last month or so I've cut way back on coffee (as well as irritating foods such as popcorn) and significantly up'd my water and fiber intake. As a result, my BMs are more manageable (not as sticky so easier to clean afterwards) but I'm still struggling with some irritation afterwords. The irritation seems to be a result of some leakage so sticking some toilet paper in there afterwards sometimes, but not always, helps. What's more disconcerting is I still get some blood spotting on occasion following a BM. Not sure if this is a result of a new fissure, the existing one healing, or what. It's almost as if the skin down there is very thin and fragile and breaks easily. Any thoughts out there in fissure land?

Hi sadies-day
My anus didn't settle down until about 8 to 9 months after the LIS operation. I'd read accounts of people being back to normal within days or weeks of the op and wondered what was wrong with me. However it did get better - I just took a bit longer. What does your CRS say?
As for bleeding, I'm 20 months post LIS now, and have had very small shows of blood with large bowel movements recently. I don't think this spotting is anything to worry about. The lining of the rectum injures more easily than external skin because it has to be permeable to water, but it also heals faster as well (except for those of us who've experienced chronic fissures - but the LIS fixes that). I think everyone gets spotting from time to time when suffering minor damage from large bowel movements. Although I get spotting from time to time, it doesn't hurt and just heals back up again now that I've had the LIS. It doesn't bother me throughout the day.
As for the leakage, I imagine this can cause soreness. Can your CRS recommend anything for that? I get a bit of leakage compared to before the op, but this might be because I clean after bowel movements with the power shower, hand held and trained on the area, so as my anus is more relaxed now I've had the op, I think some water might go up there - then come down as leakage later (sorry if this is TMI!). It rarely causes irritation though. Would wearing pantyliners abosorb it for instance, and keep the area drier?