by Phil McCrackin » 12 Nov 2013, 12:27
Hi Stillhoping,
It's good that you've changed your diet. I think the most important thing is to chew each bite of your food to a fine paste before swallowing. It's difficult in the beginning but you can get used to it. It is annoying to have your meal go cold but so it is. If your food is already half digested before swallowing, it makes much less work for your stomach.
My pain free BMs have been happening over the last week, because I've finally convinced myself to stick to this diet and to continue chewing thoroughly no matter what I eat. Whereas before I kept eating other things or not chewing properly, sitting around too much, tensing up during and after a BM, etc. I have it in my mind to do this for the next few months. If I continue having pain free BMs I imagine it will heal without re-tearing.
Over the past 2.9 years I would have an occasional pain free BM but it would open up again as early as the next day causing a lot of pain. But as I mentioned before a fissure can be unpredictable and persistent, so I can only do what works for now and hope it behaves. And lately, given the completely pain free BMs, something is working for the better.
Today I had another pain free BM - during and after - and this is what I ate yesterday:
Breakfast: Buckwheat with rice milk, banana and a small amount of maple syrup. Two pieces of spelt toast with ghee and a cup of rooibos tea. 6 spirulina tablets with water.
Lunch: Green smoothy (banana, apple, avocado and oak leaf lettuce) (Everything blended in the mixer with apple juice).
Dinner: Quinoa risotto with fried mushrooms, peas and carrots (in olive oil).
Evening snack: dried apricots and liquorice pieces. And over the day I drank 2 litres of water. Everything chewed thoroughly!
Then today, very soft (although quite loose) small stools - barely felt them come out..
Yes, tensing up is something that needs to be overcome with relaxing down there. I just remind myself constantly to relax that area. I take a moment to 'feel' if I'm holding tension there - if so I let it go.
Good luck!