Hello, this forum has been helpful in seeking a way out of this medical predicament. I have comfort in knowing I am not alone. It's not something you can not talk about openly. Thanks

I have chronic hemorrhoids and an anal fissure. I’m 65 and 4 months from retirement. Since June of this year, I have suffered from what I felt was an intestinal blockage, so I had a colonoscopy done in July. The GI Doctor said he didn’t find a blockage, but he stated that we humans have had hemorrhoids since man began to stand upright. Not encouraging. I drive a tractor trailer and continued to suffer more and more until he referred me to a GI surgeon. The surgeon’s anal scope was too painful to insert in my rectum, so he ordered a CT with contrast and a surgical exam under anesthesia where he verified the fissure. He too found no obstruction although I cannot make a stool unless I push past some obstruction.
I even have to bend way over just to pass a little gas. The surgical exam was done in November and in a follow up the doctor continued to draw me a simple picture and told me it’s not a blockage, it’s a spasm in the sphincter. He told me to come back next year. I even got the overpriced Nitro ointment, it didn’t work. I’ve done the sitz bath with Epson salts, witch-hazel, or coconut oil two or three times a day. I eat oatmeal for lunch sometimes and cut out most meats. I also drink a lot of water, which comes right back out. I’ve also done some of the things I have seen on this forum: Manuka honey, Lysine supplements, Collinsona root and recently ordered Forces of Nature Fissure Control. Nothing is working so far. I even had to stand up to write this post.
If it were not for the Advil in the afternoon, I wouldn’t make it. The pain for me comes after the stool and it is unbearable. So I sought a second opinion from another GI surgeon in a totally different hospital system and have been assigned to a PA, whom I don’t can do anything for me because she’s a physician’s assistant. I was seeking a cutting-edge minimally invasive procedure that won’t leave me in a diaper for my retirement years, which my original surgeon haphazardly admits he has done to some female patients in the past. I’m still in pain but remain optimistic.

Sorry you are suffering and can't find a competent doctor to help you. GI doctors are mostly useless when it comes to treating fissures. The specialty to look for is a Colorectal specialist (CRS). Don't accept being shuffled to a PA, but please try and find a CRS instead. The original surgeon sounds terrifying with his poor surgical skill.

Thank you so much. The doctor's secretary made an appointment for me because I was not going back to that doctor. I also canceled with the PA and I'm rescheduled with a real doctor at another hospital system. I am going to take the appointment tomorrow and explain to the hospital administration and him that he talks instead of listens and never takes notes. He answers you while you're still talking. I will also request a CRS Thanks again.

Good for you. I'm very impressed by your ability to do that. I would love to say things to some of the doctors that I've had in the past (not my CRS - he's just fabulous), but I'm a coward, who avoids confrontation. Hopefully, this might make him think twice about how he treats patients in the future. Good luck with your next doctor, I hope that he/she will help you more.