Hello, I am 7 days post op from having LIS surgery and removal of two tags. I am also 19 weeks pregnant. I developed a horrible painful fissure about 5 months ago, and it as you all know, it will debilitating. My GI doctor recommended LIS for me. I was really hesitant at first, because of my pregnancy and also reading the horror stories of recovery. However my doctor calmed my nerves and said that in the long run, I would be thankful I did it. So with that said, I went through with the surgery.

A few hours after the surgery, the numbing medication wore off and I was in the worst pain of my entire life. I couldn't sit, lay down, walk or anything for about 12 hours. All I could do was cry. Since I am pregnant, the only thing I could take is Tylenol (which, let's be honest, doesn't do anything). I tried to relieve the pain with sitz baths, but still didn't really do anything.

The next several days the pain subsided and I have been getting plenty of rest, drinking fluids, metamucil and dulcolax, and eating fruits/veggies. However, about day 4-7 (today) I am still having horrible pain with my BMs. The pain is worse than the worse pain I had from a fissure and the spasms lasts for hours afterward. I take sitz baths about 3 times a day, which help a little bit, however the spasms are just like the ones I had before surgery. I can't walk around, drive, or go back to work. This is affecting my life dramatically, and I really do wish I never went through with the surgery. I wake up in fear about going to the bathroom. I have to bite down on a towel each time. Just not a good way to live. I am trying to find a silver lining, but I just feel hopeless and full of regret for this stupid surgery. Anyone feel the same? Any success stories? How long until I am not in excruciating pain during/and after a BM?

Thank you, and sorry this is so long.

Hi there and welcome to the forum (nobody really wants to be a member of). I'm sorry to hear about the pain you are still in but let me tell you that many on here (myself included) had a similar response to the surgery. It DOES get better. It's likely that your internal sphincter is spasming because it was cut and the injury and inflammation from that can be very painful. Also, the incision site may be causing the spams as it's basically like having another fissure. As it heals though, it will get better, slowly. For me, the debilitating spasms went on for 2 weeks and then very gradually improved. I am not your typical case though and am still having complications over 6 months later (I had an abscess and required a second surgery for it). Others on here have found it can happen quite suddenly that it just stops hurting to have a BM and then rapidly improve. I am sure you will be one of them. Just hang in there. It's too bad you aren't able to take any better pain medication. Are you able to take ibuprofen when pregnant? That was a lot more helpful for me. Or do you have any of the fissure ointments?

Thank you so much for the reply and words of encouragement. I can't take ibuprofen while pregnant and my doctor said there weren't any ointments that were approved for pregnant women to take. I think this whole ordeal has given me depression. It has dramatically affected my life and because of the constant pain I have been in for months, I cannot fully enjoy my pregnancy at all. I need to return to work, I am hoping tomorrow, because i need to save my PTO and sick for maternity leave, but how can I function if I am in constant pain? I am lost and just really sad at this whole ordeal. I am trying to stay positive, and understand it can take time to heal, but I just wish this never happened to me. The pain is so bad when I have a BM that I shake and sweat. I almost feel like I am going to pass out. Sorry, don't mean to whine...

I know exactly where you are coming from. I had so much pain I was wailing 'what have I done'! After my second surgery, where the CRS had to remove a patch of skin over my chronic infection, I thought my BMs were going to kill me. I would almost pass out and come very close to throwing up from the extreme pain. I was also shaking violently. I actually think I have PTSD from the whole ordeal. No joke. It is unbelievable how much pain one can have down there after surgery. But it DOES get better. While I am still in pain, my fissure has long since healed and I am left with pelvic pain and a surgical site that it very slowly healing but the pain is not as severe and I am thankful for that. I'm not sure yet whether I regret getting the surgery as I am still hopeful things are going to turn out in the end. I truly did try everything before I got the surgery.

Try not to get too down. It will heal and you will soon forget about all this. This forum is full of success stories but the beginning can be rough. Our Doctors don't do us any favours by not telling us what we are in for in terms of recovery but it is very common to be shocked by how awful the initial recovery can be. My CRS was very unrealistic, for me at least.

If you find heat helps, maybe you could take a heating pad or hot water bottle to work? Maybe even ice would help?

Have you happened to look down there yet? Do you have a lot of swelling? Are you bleeding?

The heating pad is a great idea. thank you. I haven't taken a look 'down there' yet. I have tried, but it's hard because I am so sore. Also, because I am pregnant it's hard to bend over all the way. I do really want to take a look though, but can't find a comfortable position. I feel swelling, but I can't tell for sure. I only bleed now first thing with my BM in the morning, which still freaks me out. I almost just want to stick to a liquid diet of soups and my Benefiber. Do you think that will help? By the way, thank you so much for your words of support. Reading these posts and seeing the support really does take my mind off of the pain.

Very glad to be of help :)

I have been so tempted by the liquid diet myself. Still am ;) but I never did it as I also have IBS and have to keep my system moving. I know it's painful but the last thing you need right now is to get constipated. Many on here have gone on a soft diet afterwards (light hearty soups for example) and I, myself, cut down on things that would make a lot of volume and stuck to nutrient dense foods like nut butters and other proteins. You really need protein to heal. Also, because you are pregnant, I shudder to think of depleting your growing baby of what it needs. It sucks so bad that you have this as stress isn't good either for your baby but hopefully this rough patch will be over real soon for you.

Bleeding is totally normal at this stage of the game as that area is so vascularized. It's actually a good thing because it means there is lots of blood flow (the lack of blood flow is what makes fissures chronic in the first place) so the conditions are right for healing then.

As for looking down there, I still haven't. It's been over 6 months and I can't bring myself to do it (I am prone to anxiety and know it would feel worse if I had a picture in my mind of it). My dear husband looks for me, which is good as when I went through all the business with the infection I needed frequent observation down there. Many on here have used a camera to 'see' what is going on down there. Some have even posted pictures to get some feedback. Maybe you could have someone look for you or take a picture. It is important to be able to ensure something more sinister isn't happening down there. Infection is VERY rare but since it happened to me....I have to be the cautionary tale.

Thank you again, it is really calming hearing from others who have gone through the same ordeal as me. I really appreciate it.