I had Botox the day before Thanksgiving. You can find my post Botox post here in gory details. The simple answer is yes - it got much worse for me before it got better. I had days where I had to crawl to the bathtub after my morning BM two weeks after my Botox because the procedure injured me so badly.

However, I am now ten weeks post Botox and I am beginning to think the C word: cured.

Hang in there - it took eight weeks for my fissure to heal enough to where I could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Count your recovery in weeks and not days - and stay positive. Post here regularly- it will help you. We are all here to help. It will get better.

Thanks for the response. I don't remember the doctor telling me that it would take a while to work... I wish she had. I was doing ok before the procedure so it was really disappointing when everything got even worse.

I've started using Diltiazem to help until the Botox kicks in. I'm so glad to hear that it seems to be helping you! Hopefully I'll start feeling better soon too. Are you taking Miralax or anything or is the Botox working all on its own?

I apply nitroglycerin every morning when I wake up to create the stretch necessary for a great morning BM; then that’s it - the Botox creates the resting pressure needed to be pain free and for the fissure to heal the rest of the day. I don’t think the nitroglycerin is necessary any more but until this thing is completely healed I don’t want to change anything about my routine.

I take acacia fiber twice a day and one stool softener capsule at night before bed. Again, I don’t think this much fiber is necessary and I don’t think I need the softener any more, but I don’t want to change anything since what I’m doing is working.

Remember the point of the Botox is to decrease the pressure in your rectum and anus to allow the fissure to heal - it’s not a miracle cure - it’s just creating the right circumstances to allow the fissure to healz

Are you going to slowly try and stop the stool softener and other things that you take? I reached a point where I was only having retears every few months (which is actually great compared to how I was), BUT I had to take Miralax everyday. I tried to wean off of it, but it always ended with me retearing. I've now reached a point where I'll likely have to choose Miralax long term or continue trying things like Botox and maybe eventually LIS.

My plan is to slowly wean myself off of everything. I’m down to just one softener now but like I said, I’m very cautious of changing anything. At some point my nitroglycerin is going to run out and I’ll have to make a decision - probably a couple of months away.