oh my godddd it hurts so bad today! it hasn't hurt like this since before the 2nd surgery! :( it rips and stings coming out and for so long afterward, even with a hot bath. i had a bm an hour and a half ago and it's still stinging and sore. the past couple weeks have been pretty normal and now THIS. i feel like i've completely set myself back. or maybe i have a 2nd fissure?! aside from continuing my stool softeners, using MOM, neosporin, etc i don't know what else to do anymore.

i'm having my uterine surgery tomorrow and i know i won't be allowed to take baths for at least a week after that. does anyone have any suggestions for something that will be as soothing as a hot bath? i've never tried a heating pad. do you just sit on it or hold it against your bottom while laying down?

Gosh, that is awful. I have folded a hot wet washcloth and put it down there when I couldn't take a bath, but maybe a heating pad would work just the same. They do have these gel packs that you can heat in the microwave and see if that helps.

Are you allowed to take anything for pain prior to your surgery? I take 4 advil when things get really tough.

Do you think you need to postpone your surgey until you can get this checked out? Are they doing an embolization on them?

Do you have any blood at all?

I have found sitting on a heating pad or reclining on one is helpful. It's not quite a bath, but has been a savior for me at work or while driving.
Can you still take a sitzbath?

I like the heating pad idea, seems like it would help bring more blood to the site for faster healing.
I am so sorry you're going through this again, Juney! I know what it is like. It is horrible! Hang in there, it WILL come to an end, I pray sooner rather than later!
Kim

thanks for the suggestions guys. lecia, no, they're not doing embolization. i believe they'll just try to cut out whatever fibroids they can get to. there's no way i can postpone this surgery, i've been waiting for it forever!!! i bleed so much from the fibroids every month that i've become extremely anemic. i'm hoping removing them will make a difference.

buttgirl, i don't think i can take any kind of bath after i have the uterine surgery. i think the stagnant water can cause infection inside. i'll definitely ask my dr tomorrow though.

there's no blood coming from the fissure. just the horrible stinging pain and soreness. it's been 3 1/2 hours now since i've gone to the bathroom and it still hurts incredibly - sitting, standing, walking, everything. it hasn't felt like this in i don't even remember how long. and the most frustrating part is that it kind of came out of nowhere again! i feel like maybe the dr damaged it when she looked the other day. it hurt more than usual on her inspection.

I'm so sorry for you. I once had a surgeon who set me back pretty far by looking at it. Afterwards (actually 2 mos afterwards when I had healed some) he said that hee could see the white muscle fibers the time before, and I just thought to myself that's because you ripped me before when you insisted I bear down for insertion, you jerk!
Maybe when the fibroids stat to clear this will clear more quickly too. It's so hard to heal when you're anemic.

thanks BG, that's what i'm hoping. once i get my blood levels up and can stop taking iron pills maybe things will be softer too.
some drs are SO simple-minded. they have the nerve to stand there and ask you (after almost 2 years of a fissure!!) if you're getting enough fiber. i get more beneficial "living with it" info here on the forum.

when you've had setbacks in the past, BG, how do you get yourself back on track???

I usually take 2T of MOM per night for a couple of days and be sure to eat soft fiberous things like beans and peas. Sometimes I will make myself soup and have that for a couple of days. I also do a lot of soaking.

i think i'll follow a similar regimen and hopefully this week won't have set me back too far. it's worrisome though because the pain is lasting all day and feeling like it used to a few months ago. mon. was bad, tues. was a litle worse, but today is horrible! i thought i was past this :(

has anyone had what feel like debilitating setbacks, and then relatively quickly bounced back and continued healing??

I have had those too. It's just a matter of getting things under control again. I also find that there really is something to reacting to tension in life in general. Whenever I'm tense or upset, my butt hurts. whenever I have to pee really bad my butt hurts too. I guess I'm just a clencher.