and all is well, except for internal hemorrhoids, which I already knew. Doc says I will probably be able to control with a high-fiber diet.
I apologize for the lengthy post, but I am really confused here.
The strangest thing happened though....she could not find a fissure. A CRS did an exam with an anoscope and diagnosed the fissure on Aug 7, 2007 and recommended surgery and would offer no other treatment. I truly believe I have a fissure because of the pain on BMs and bleeding, although the pain is very insignificant now, except for the itching and burning.
I decided to see a gastro on Aug. 27, 2007 for other treatment options, and she gave me nitroglycerin. I have only been on the nitro for a couple of weeks. She never examined me because she said she would be able to see better with a colonoscopy. Today, when I talked to her before the procedure, I asked her to tell me how deep the fissure is and the size and see if she could tell if it was healing. She replied, "Often we cannot visualize fissures with a colonoscopy." This is totally opposite of what she said a couple of weeks ago. I was so week from the prep that I didn't argue with her. Afterwards, she said I have pretty significant hemorrhoids, but she found no fissure. She stated the fissure could be hid. What the heck does that mean. It is supposed to be posterior. Could it have healed so quickly. It was supposed to be chronic and deep, but not that large.
Thanks so much for all the help and good luck wishes.
Jennie

Hmmm....strange. I can see why you are confused. At one point when I was dealing with my fissure last year, my dr. could not find it, though it pained me greatly. He suggested it might be due to the hemmorhoidal tissue in the area and sent me to the surgeon. When I saw the surgeon, I felt the fissure retear as he examined me and he found it. He also said that the hemmorhoidal tissue there was really insignificant, smaller than the hole in the smallest of the bands. So as it turns out, my first dr. really was not able to find the fissure because it had gotten smaller, and so he explained the pain as inflammed hemmie tissue.

So the lesson that I take from your and my experience is that when fissures are mostly healed or really small, they are difficult for the drs. to see. Often they can not find one even if they or you know it is there. If a hemmie prolapses even a bit, it can fold over and cover the fissure or the fissure can be in a skin fold in the anal canal.

If I were you, I would keep on doing what you have been doing, especially since the pain has been reducing for you. If the pain is reduced and the dr. can not find the fissure, odds are it had healed significantly, and I know from experience, that area can really heal quite quickly when given the chance. The hard part is finding a way to be able to giving it a chance (what with clenching sphincters, hard-tipped poo, and all).

Guys and gals,
Not here very much anymore, but I wanted to share that I had a colonscopy yesterday, and everything went well. My GI doc uses versed and demerol for sedation. I slept through the entire process and felt absolutely no discomfort after the procedure. I know many are fearful when a colonscopy is ordered, especially if an AF is active. The only downside was that my BP went sky high right before the procedure began, but I started calming down after the first drug was given to me. (I could feel myself getting less anxious almost immediately.)