Hi all,


Long time lurker here but I figured now would be as good as any time to speak up.


As of 2 weeks ago yesterday, I underwent botox injections for an 8 year chronic fissure as well as a small fistulotomy. While I feel like the fistulotomy part is healing okay, I'm having a lot of doubts and concerns about the healing process with the fissure. The first week after the surgery was hell to put it lightly. Bowel movements consisted of a strong rush of pain to what felt like my prostate area and then just a struggle to get the bowel to actually leave my body. This last week, that rushing punch feeling has subsided a bit but I still have a real struggle getting the bowel to come out without a bunch of pain but I assume some of that is normal.

However, what has been happening that's been annoying/ discouraging is that I've felt some signs of healing such as itching and just a general sense of feeling better but then when I go to the bathroom, it almost seems like that healing is cracking open, and I'm bleeding again. Not a ton of blood, but I am seeing streaks on the bowel as well as on the toilet paper. Moreover, I feel like botox is making the situation worse rather than better.


So, I'm just wondering if this all seems normal and I'll see improvements soon or if I should be concerned that the botox didn't do anything at all. Also, is it possible that some of this is the result of the fistulotomy and not the botox? The pain after my bm's tends to reside at the fissure point and not the fistula site so my thought is that it is just the fissure. It's just weird because in some ways I feel like I've made progress and in others, a step back. I have a post-op appointment in 2 days so maybe I can get some of these questions answered there but I feel like this community is more useful for these sorts of things.

Many people on this site have found that Botox didn't help much or made things worse. It might make things worse in the short term but then improve in a couple of weeks. If you're finding that you're reinjuring the fissure every morning then maybe try to make your bowel movements softer and less bulky, but I know it can be tricky to find the right balance. Maybe ask your doctor what's the backup option if the Botox doesn't end up helping at all. Take care.

How are you doing now? I had Botox a year ago it improved my life but didn't fix it completely I'm booked for my second dose of Botox in two weeks time an I'm hoping it heals the last bit this time.