Tabby,
Thanks. That is me of course with the pilot of our small plane prior to departure for a flight to see some glaciers in Alaska while we were on a cruise (but obviously on land at that time).
Cheryl

Its a great photo, Lovely memories im sure :)

i love Ensure. vanilla is my favorite and i think they make chocolate and strawberry too.
i haven't had it in a while....the last time i had it was when i was a bit on the low side of immunity and had a freak out.
it definitely is good for people who are not eating correctly or able to get all their nutrients on a daily basis. also for those who can't eat solid foods.
i think it is lactose free.

i love Ensure. vanilla is my favorite and i think they make chocolate and strawberry too.
i haven't had it in a while....the last time i had it was when i was a bit on the low side of immunity and had a freak out.
it definitely is good for people who are not eating correctly or able to get all their nutrients on a daily basis. also for those who can't eat solid foods.
i think it is lactose free.

Thanks for all of the feedback on Ensure! I plan to purchase some and try it.
Just a thought--what about people in Iraq with fissures? They no doubt do not have a support group nor Ensure nor some of these products/anecdotes we discuss here. I guess people there just concentrate on trying to stay alive day to day.

Cheryl -
I am so glad I am not in the military anymore. I always think about what I would do in Iraq with my fissure. I orignally got my fissure last year about two weeks after I seperated from active duty. I also used to want to try out to go on the show, Survivor, but now with my fissure problems, I could never live without my products for any length of time!
Why are you having the manometry test done? Is it for a possible LIS? It is from my understanding they do those to test the sphincter tightness prior to LIS.
I have never liked boost, ensure, slim fast or any of those drinks. However, I have bought them for my 17 month old before. Ensure makes a drink called pediasure and it really is pretty much the same, but I believe it may be cheaper. You should check it out.
Jen

Hey Jen,
No matter how one feels about our current wars, you guys and gals in the military (and those of you who are now out) deserve a whole lot of credit for defending us!!
The mamometry test would check my pelvic floor pressure. I don't think it checks the spincter tightness, but maybe it does. I want to try to continue to heal this fissure for awhile longer b/4 having anything new stuck up my butt. A balloon is inserted and inflated for the test. The idea is to retrain the muscles by using biofeedback and possibly afterwards get off of laxatives. I had that balloon for my barium test, and that part of the test really wasn't that bad. How are you feeling these days???
My avatar is a picture of my son graduating from his residential school. I prefer to show pictures of him instead of myself, but I am going to put up one of my mother as a little girl sitting on her grandfather's lap.
Cheryl

We actually had someone join last year for a short while who was stationed in Iraq at the time with an active fissure. I felt so bad for her. She did make it back stateside soon after though and we haven't heard from her but I cannot imagine having to deal with those conditions with a fissure or even without.

I haven't had manometry but I have had nerve conduction studies done for my pelvis where they apply shocks in the vagina and rectum (yeah, fun!) to time the response of the nerves and recruitment patterns. I have heard of the balloon procedure for use with interstitial cystitis.

Guys,
I bought vanilla Ensure today but have not yet tried it. One thing is for sure--there are really a LOT of fiber supplements on the grocery store shelves--seems like a very lucrative market for fiber products!!

Cheryl -
Good luck with your test! I am sure a manometry test does several different things, but my first CRS was going to use it on me to test my sphincter tightness prior to LIS. She does this for all her LIS patients so she won't operate on a sphincter that is too loose. However, since I never got LIS, I never had this done either. Are you feeling well enought to have this done with your fissure?
I am doing pretty good. Thanks for asking! I had an appointment with my CRS last week and he says everything looks great but he wants me to stay on the nitro ointment for a couple more months. I am pain free, but I am still in denial that this thing is gone yet.
I could not imagine being in Iraq with a fissure! Poor girl! :( I am sure she is better now since she has not posted in a while. I loved the military so much - I thought I would never leave, but the war happened and my baby came - I can't even bare the thought of leaving him. So now I have to work on a different career.