Hi all,
I've been dealing with a chronic on-and-off fissure for years and think I found something that works really well. I initially managed with dietary/lifestyle changes. (Lots of water, metamucil, beans, greens) These were variable in efficacy. Sometimes did nothing for weeks and then slowly go away. Eventually comes back.
I finally caved and went to see an MD. He prescribed NTG ointment, which I used and seemed to be slowly improving the situation, but I seemed to go through withdrawal when several hours out from an application. I haven't heard of anyone else reporting this, but since the NTG functions to dilate the muscle of the sphincter and blood vessels, when withdrawing, the sphincter seemed to contract and it was harder to pass stool. I went cold turkey and it was a difficult two-three days as I withdrew.
THE GOOD STUFF:
I read on the forums about Turmeric and Coconut Oil. First I tried Coconut Oil alone. This helped a little bit and eased the spasm after a BM. I then made a 'slurry' of the two. Coconut oil is solid at room temperature but quickly melts around 75 degrees Fahrenheit. A little bit of this stuff topically three times a day, along with Ibuprofen 400 twice a day, and my bum felt better than it had in years. I did the Turmeric/Coconut Oil thing for perhaps a week with great success, and stopped the Ibuprofen once I was over the hump. Wanting something perhaps easier, I decided to make it into suppository form. The coconut oil base was too difficult because it melted too rapidly, so I changed to Cocoa Butter (solid, melts around temperature of 98 degrees -- perfect body temperature) base with Turmeric. I've been doing the Cocoa Butter/Turmeric suppositories for 2 weeks now and have had some of the smoothest moves in a long time.
The only downside is that Turmeric is a yellow-dye and once that suppository/slurry melts, it'll look like you $hat curry on your underwear. The sacrifices we must make...
Good luck!

So it is just tumeric the herb that you use. How much half a tsp....... I will give it a try because coconut oil is the only thing so far that has given me a modicum of relief. Don't take painkillers unless completely unbearable. Have used wheatgrass cream with no effect. Thanks for the tip.

AFSufferer wrote:So it is just tumeric the herb that you use. How much half a tsp....... I will give it a try because coconut oil is the only thing so far that has given me a modicum of relief. Don't take painkillers unless completely unbearable. Have used wheatgrass cream with no effect. Thanks for the tip.

I was hoping you wouldn't ask me that. I don't remember. I did write it down somewhere for future versions, but I lost it. It was a good amount out from the bottle into the coconut oil (liquified up by placing near a space heater; doesn't take much to melt the stuff, as you undoubtedly know), mixed, and let turn solid again. Maybe it was 1 tsp of turmeric to 1 tbsp coconut oil?
Turmeric has been studied extensively as an anti-inflammatory agent, with multiple possible effects against chronic diseases and inflammatory states. Most forms of turmeric, however, are only minimally absorbed into the blood when taken orally. Fortunately for us with AFs, we can apply it topically and (maybe) derive its benefits. This is the most recent article which sums up a lot of studies on Turmeric: (remove spaces) ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/ pubmed/ 23143785

I second this! I've been breaking turmeric supplement capsules open and applying them directly to the anus and immediately surrounding skin including skin tags, along with vitamin e oil (oil helps it stick, and I also think the vitamin is helping).
I first make sure my hands are clean, then take a cotton ball and saturate one side with vitamin e, apply it VERY gently to the whole external area. Then, take another cotton ball and get one side covered in turmeric powder and again very very gently pat the area to get it all over. Then I put a little more vitamin e and turmeric on to make sure it sticks everywhere.
I've only been doing this for the past 4 days or so and I've already seen a significant decrease in inflammation, and this is the only change I've made this week. The first couple days though it seemed to almost be more swollen (like a balloon around the hole), but since yesterday it's looked much less, even after hot sitz baths (which is when it usually looks most swollen, from all the blood flow I guess). Most importantly, my pain has gone down from like 3 to almost 0. Though I think the decrease in pain may be more due to introducing magnesium supplements, which have reduced my spasming to almost nothing.
I had been taking turmeric orally 400-800 grams a day, but saw no real noticeable change until applying the powder directly to the anus. I'm not even putting it inside. I do use plain coconut oil suppositories at night though. My underwear are stained beyond repair, but I don't care!
kudos to turmeric!

the reason why coconut and tumeric seem to help is becouse it kills yeast/candida.
most AF's are from yeast/candida but you have to kill the fungas/candida thats living in the intestine or the AF'S will just keep coming back.get to the root of the problem not the bandaide solution.

saintkilledher,
Fungus/candida is one of many possible causes of anal fissures, but I have not seen any research to suggest that it is the cause of most. I know what is the cause of mine, and I am now healing because I've gotten to the root so to speak. Getting to the root of the problem is always the solution, of course, and if candida/fungus was not the cause of the anal fissure, then that is not going to be the solution either. If turmeric and coconut oil help relieve the symptoms, then I see no reason not to use them in conjunction with effective treatment.

crayon true tho alot of people blame constipation not knowing that candida is a major cause of constipation and dirarrhea.antibiotics can cause hard/to soft stools and candida and vise-vers..huge link between antibiotics that cause candida then celiac and then magnesium defientency and then AF's..just read a doctor manual on AF's and his top 5 were candida,childbirth,indury,weightlifting and dehydration.

Ok, so I really like the idea of mixing my coconut oil with the tumeric- so it is safe to put inside ? I mean, does it burn? and how do you get it inside?

Hopefulbutt: As far as safety goes -- no controlled, FDA-approved trials that I know of to say one way or the other. Like any other "homeopathic" regimen on this forum, you take anyone's advice at your own risk and should do your due diligence.
I have, as stated, moved away from Coconut Oil and make my own suppositories with Cocoa Butter and Turmeric (again because higher melting point makes it easier to insert, but it surely will melt). I have a second mixture of Cocoa Butter/Coconut Oil that I use for lube because the plain Cocoa Butter suppository otherwise won't slide in easily because it melts slower. For my underwear's sake, I often just use plain Cocoa Butter suppositories without turmeric as long as there's no warning/red flags for impending re-tear, and this generally works well. WIthout the turmeric, it doesn't stain. Also still using metamucil each morning with a lot of water. If I sense tightness or red flags for re-tear, I also will pop some Ibuprofen (orally). I'm not perfect and I've had a few re-tears, though usually because of some aspect of non-compliance (ie: too much alcohol, several days without metamucil, several days of not drinking enough water). Otherwise this regimen works well and I generally eat what I want within reason. The 2-3 re-tears I've had since my original post have been very mild and have gone away within ~3 days of improving my compliance.
For the turmeric, while I started with the OTC powder, I've now switched to using capsules of the concentrated stuff that come in an oil base, so it mixes in fairly well to the melted Cocoa Butter when I'm compounding them.
Re: burning. I haven't had any. Usually feels much better once in if there's any irritation. It's a suppository so it goes in the same way any other suppository would
Best of luck!

phtgrphr18 wrote:Hopefulbutt: As far as safety goes -- no controlled, FDA-approved trials that I know of to say one way or the other. Like any other "homeopathic" regimen on this forum, you take anyone's advice at your own risk and should do your due diligence.
I have, as stated, moved away from Coconut Oil and make my own suppositories with Cocoa Butter and Turmeric (again because higher melting point makes it easier to insert, but it surely will melt). I have a second mixture of Cocoa Butter/Coconut Oil that I use for lube because the plain Cocoa Butter suppository otherwise won't slide in easily because it melts slower. For my underwear's sake, I often just use plain Cocoa Butter suppositories without turmeric as long as there's no warning/red flags for impending re-tear, and this generally works well. WIthout the turmeric, it doesn't stain. Also still using metamucil each morning with a lot of water. If I sense tightness or red flags for re-tear, I also will pop some Ibuprofen (orally). I'm not perfect and I've had a few re-tears, though usually because of some aspect of non-compliance (ie: too much alcohol, several days without metamucil, several days of not drinking enough water). Otherwise this regimen works well and I generally eat what I want within reason. The 2-3 re-tears I've had since my original post have been very mild and have gone away within ~3 days of improving my compliance.
For the turmeric, while I started with the OTC powder, I've now switched to using capsules of the concentrated stuff that come in an oil base, so it mixes in fairly well to the melted Cocoa Butter when I'm compounding them.
Re: burning. I haven't had any. Usually feels much better once in if there's any irritation. It's a suppository so it goes in the same way any other suppository would
Best of luck!

How do you know when you have re-torn your fissure? Is it necessarily painful?