Hi,
I'm happy to report that my life is slowly getting back to "normal". Normal being that I do not have to brace myself anymore each and every morning and BM, stand, kneel, squat, pace the floors and tense up! That is HUGE for me! I am still adapting my diet and learning what makes good poop but other than that, my BMs slide ride out without me thinking about it, without FISSURE pain or AFTERWARDS for half the day! I no longer have to take ibuprofen either.

I do have some itching and mild irritation but I can sit now without having to get up and walk around because of the ache or discomfort after a BM.

I have applied some coconut oil and some diaper rash ointment as I was feeling a bit tender between the cheeks from all the washing after going I suppose. I hear this is normal and wondering what I can do for the itch???

Otherwise, I am doing GREAT and highly recommend if you are contemplating LIS surgery, do not hesitate, do not let fear stop you...After suffering for THREE years with FISSUREs, I have to tell you I should have done this much sooner.

I also had two skin tags removed. The swelling is way down and less tender. I think that is what is causing the itch because I do not even feel my LIS at all. Seems they are healing well.

Some tips for that first week post surgery:

Keep your BMS soft and your meals light. Eat plenty of veggies, fruits, juices, soups, purees, beans are also ok, then graduate to fish, chicken and turkey. Stay away from white rice (though I did indulge but I doubled up on stool softeners), oatmeal, protein shakes, and eggs.

Take your stool softeners and your fiber pills or Miralax. I take ONE fiber pill each evening. It has psyllium husk which for me works well. Miralax is too strong for me and gives me the runs.

Use the hair dryer to dry your BUM. After I wet, I pat dry with towel and finish with the blower. The heat actually feels good!

Take your painkillers (Percucet, Oxycodedone) only if you need it as they will constipate you. I only took three from the entire bottle. When I did, I doubled up on the stool softeners and drank prune juice or ate prunes to help with the constipation.

You can take tylenol or ibuprofen for the pain though my nurse told me not to take ibuprofen. It may delay healing but hey, I preferred ibuprofen to being constipated on Percocet.

Walking actually helps with recovery. Don't overdue it but it helps everything heal faster and actually feels better than sitting or laying the first few days.

I used an incontinance underwear the first few days after surgery because I had bleeding from my skin tag removal, and also I hated the tape and gauze they used up my butt. Yes they taped my butt and I hated ripping it off. I had tape glue for days afterwards. lol I graduated to overnight feminine pads. The incontinance underwear made me feel safe and kept my sheets clean after surgery.

I was out 10 days (including the weekend) from work. I started working on day 11 but from home, which was a godsend and today feeling pretty good to go back on Monday.

Do your sitz baths after your BMs. It will help with swelling and pain. I also have a bidet which I used in lieu of the baths. I could not put any Epsom salts in my baths. Epsom salts has magnesium in it and gave me the runs so no espom salts for me.

So, so far, so good. Everyone is different and it will be up to you to experiment with what works for you but I thought I'd share my experience because I was so TERRIFIED I could not stand it before the surgery and in hindsight this forum finally gave me the push and courage to proceed with it.

Thanks all for your positive thoughts, prayers, and support. It really helped me through this and I could not have done without.

Good luck to all and I hope to be posting more updates as I go along and recover.

Cheers and enjoy your weekend!

Yeah for you!! I'm so happy for you. I'm most likely heading for surgery as well so thanks for the post surgery advice too!

How are you feeling? Did you get any setbacks? I got one today after two months and feeling down.

I’m due for surgery next week, how are you now? Any incontinence issues?

Great to hear! It's been over three years for me and things are great. The only minor thing I have noticed is that sometimes after a BM if I am active walking, I will start to feel an itch in my rectum which always turns out to be a little stool but it's a tiny amount (I know that sounds gross) that is more like when you are just about done wiping. A mere nuisance. One quick wipe (or blast from my bidet) and good to go. Other than that life with BMs is totally fine and normal!