by Allthepain2 » 11 Nov 2019, 11:26
I don't know if you still check this thread, but I figured I'd share my experience with you since I just recently went through a pregnancy with an active AF.
Mine originally started after my first child due to severe constipation and breasfeeding. By some miracle, it seemed to heal on its own after a few weeks.
After the second child, it reappeared and this time NOTHING worked. I ended up trying some creams which helped some, but then fell pregnant with my third child before it actually healed.
With the third pregnancy, I had the fissure the entire time and could not get it to permanently heal. For most of the pregnancy, I tried to manage with diet (coffee and other things helped things to stay soft). It would constantly retear and bleed, but if I kept the stool consistency really soft, I could go a few days/weeks without pain. I'm not going to lie, it was really miserable. If I had to go EVERYDAY with that level of pain, I think I would have been begging the doctors to do surgery, but I did have some painfree days.
When it came time for delivery, I was REALLY nervous about tearing and making it worse (my fissure is anteriorally located). I searched the internet for other stories but couldn't really find much information about someone delivering with a fissure. A few weeks before delivery, I started using Miralax everyday to keep from retearing. I ended up having a normal delivery and did NOT have any issues with my fissure getting worse due to delivery. For me, the actual delivery itself seemed to have no effect on the tear. Obviously, I don't know if it will be the same for you, but I just wanted to let you know that it IS possible to delivery a baby without complications from the fissure.
All that being said, the breastfeeding once again made the fissure worse after I had delivered the baby. It got to the point that I would tear even with Miralax and I was in excrutiating pain everyday. I got some cream which seemed to temporarily heal it, but without Miralax, it would tear open again. I'm currently scheduled for surgery to remove scar tissue/skin tag, hemmorhoidectomy (I don't have hemmorhoids but my fissure is close to a vein that causes it to bleed more), and Botox. As some of you have said, my doctors all feel that LIS for women is a last resort so I'm going the Botox route for now and hoping for the best.
Ultimately, it's possible to get through pregnancy with a fissure, but it's obviously not ideal. Miralax was a lifesaver for me so I'd definitely recommend if you keep retearing. Hang in there!