Dawn, that is good to know about the leakage. Right now I wouldn't say it's a whole lot and I usually have a 4x4 gauze still in place, so I think with what you said, I have a good chance for everything to be fine down the road.
Val- LOL with you needing to make a correction about how the tightening up freaked you out. That did read weird. I got a giggle there.
Hope- Yayyyyy about the new antibiotics working well. Thank goodness!!!

Rosey,
I totally know your fear. I think no one in the history of the planet was as terrified as I was when I heard I had to have surgery. In my mind, I envisioned the worst constant pain and suffering. I will honestly say though, although there is pain and some bad days, it was not anywhere near as bad I had pictured. I am almost two weeks out of surgery now, and I am feeling much much better the last 4 days or so. They give you plenty of painkillers too, so you can always use them to help out.
I will give you a little info about my situation. I had had a badly inflamed skin tag since February and then developed a fistula. When I went to see the surgeon, he also said I had a fissure. He could see it just by a visual in office check up. It wasn't that unfomfortable. I just went "Ow!" if he touched the wrong place too hard. lol He could also see it during the colonoscopy.
The colonoscopy is a piece of cake. Don't worry about that at all. No blood involved and they put you to sleep, which is a very peaceful feeling and it's done in no time. I have had two of them. The only yucky part of the colonoscopy is the prep BEFORE the procedure. Usually the day before the colonscopy they have you drink some stuff that will make you go to the bathroom and clean you all out. You will have to stay home that day, since you will go often. The drink is not the best tasting, so I just gulped it down or used a straw to make it go quicker. That is, in my opinion, the only bad part of the colonoscopy. The actual procedure you don't feel and you shouldn't have any pain after.
I also had an in-office muscle test called an anal manometry (I think). That was done just in his office with no need for anesthea (sp?) or anything. It didn't hurt at all. He just suck a small probe just into the opening of the anus and had you clench or push on his command. It was a little awkward, but not painful at all. This let's him know what kind of shape your muscles are for the surgery. Not all doctors do the same tests, but that is what I had. It was over in like 15 minutes or so. Very easy.
The day of surgery, they give you some medicine that really relax you, so you aren't laying there feeling stressed out waiting. lol Good stuff! He did some exploratory surgery right before he got started. I got a fistulotomy and a hemrroidectomy. I think he took a skin tag off also, and I am not quite sure at the moment if he did something with the fissure or not. lol I really never felt my fissure was as bad as some on here, so maybe he didn't do anything to it for now. I will ask when I go back in. A fistulotomy, skin tag and hemorroidectomy was enough. lol
The first 3 days after surgery weren't so bad at all, since I didn't go to the bathroom. Day 4 and 5 were rough because I got really constipated. I think my mistake was taking a lot of painkillers and not drinking enough water an having enough fiber. Definitely follow directions about that and stool softeners. I took some Milk of Magnesia though and that helped my constipation. All in all though, it hasn't been too bad...mostly sore, irritated, or achey pain rather than sharp or severe pain. If I can make it through, you will be just fine...since I was such a big chicken. I have been lucky to have been able to rest a lot too, which is nice. I am taking about three weeks off from work.
Anyway, you will be fine, and the fear of the unknown was the worst part really. Once I had the surgery, you knew you were on the way to getting better. It was all the worry pre-surgery that was hard on me. It's not fun, but it's definitely something you can handle.
The other posters on here have been a huge help to me. So read some of their stories...everyone is a little different. Good luck with your doctor's visit.

I am having a bit of a down day. I had just come off of three good days where I felt like I had turned the proverbial corner, but then I got constipated. I took some Milk of Magnesia last night and this mornig (along with my stool softeners) and finally did go today, but now I am in pain,since I did have to strain some. I was going to start not taking any pain killers today(due to fear of constipation) but I have been in a lot of pain and took the works! I am not sure what the pain is, kind of a aching throbbing pain (is that a spasm?) that doesn't stop.
I have been staying at my dad's since my fistulotomy and hemorroidectomy, and had planned to go back to my apartment today, but I might stay one more day. It's just such a bummer, since yesterday was the first day I got out and ran some errands and felt like a normal person again, and now I feel like I have taken steps backward. I had to strain some to have the BM, so I hope I didn't cause a new hemorroid or hurt anything. Anyway, I am just feeling sorry for myself a bit. Have you all ever experienced that...where you felt things were going along well and then a bad day? I hope it feels better later and that it's just a temporary thing.
The painkillers are quite the vicious cycle aren't they? You need them when the pain is bad, but then they can cause pain by making you constipated. Bleck! Oh well, hopefully I won't need any more and I can quit taking them tomorrow.
I have some Miralax powder I just got. Should I take that tonight if I took Milk of Magnesia today or wait until tomorrow? I don't want to overdo it.

Aw, Summer - I know how you feel.
I don't be too discouraged, though. The healing process is up and down, and I often felt like I was taking two steps forward, one step back. A number of the surgery vets here say that we have to measure our progress by weeks, not by days, because recovery is uneven and gradual. I really understand how it can get you down. Try not to think so much about the things you want to do, but can't just yet, and instead think about the things that you can do now, that you couldn't have done before the surgery.
I'm not sure what you should do about the MOM and Miralax. I'm thinking that since Miralax can take a few days to start working, you might be fine taking it tonight, even though you've already had some MOM. I'm thinking it might be better to have loose stools than have to strain. But I haven't used MOM, so hopefully somebody with more knowledge can chime in.
Hang in there, Summer! We all have bad days during recovery. You're not alone there. Things will get better, and very soon they will start to get significantly better more quickly too.

Ah Summer, I know exactly how u feel! Like Hope says hang in there! I for one know it's easier said than done.
I have found that on my constipation bouts, I take the miralax/movicol and if it's being slow, I take lactulose 10ml at night to get things moving quicker! It is though a learning curve isn't it. What works for some don't work for others..Good Luck x

Thanks Hope and Places. Yeah, it was a sucky day. I did finally go, but had to strain, so that has caused pain all day. It's just now in the last few hours getting better...more sore than throbbing. Since I just took the MOM this morning, I might try and wait and do the miralax tomorrow, just to make sure I don't get constipated again. I still have some mineral oil and stool softeners the doc prescribed so I took that too tonight. It's so tricky, isn't it? You don't wan to go too much, because it makes your bum sore, but you don't want to NOT be able to go either.
My doctor didn't mention anything about soap. When did you all start using soap again? So far I have been just doing baths and then saline solution and some gentle wipes after BM, but I long for a bar of soap! lol Has anyone used preparation H wipes after surgery? The doc said the witch hazel would make my bottom burn, but just wondering (since I had purchased nine million packs before surgery lol). Right now I think it's the Charmin wipes I am using. I hate to wipe at all, but the handheld shower wand doesn't really do the trick.
Hopefully tomorrow will be a happier day! Thanks again for the support. Hugs to you both!

Hey Summer - it is really tricky to get the right combination of stool softeners, fiber and water. It doesn't help that surgery messes with the BMs too. :( Things should settle down from the surgery soon, and that'll make it easier to develop a routine with stool softeners, food and fluid. It is frustrating, though. I had loose/watery stools a lot and that wasn't much fun either. I know this sounds a bit gross, but have you tried squatting? It's a much more natural position for pooping and it really helped me when things started to slow down and I found myself straining.
As for soap - I would definitely AVOID it!! I'm sure a couple of boardies mentioned that their CRSs told them not to use it. It can really dry things up down there and cause a lot of irritation. The same with hemmie wipes and witch hazel. IMO the butt is designed to handle its business and I wouldn't want to mess up the natural ph balanace. I know it's difficult to keep things clean and the shower wand doesn't really cut it. What I do is wet down TP or baby wipes with warm water and gently dab my butt. I squat over a mirror so that I can see what I'm doing - that tends to reduce the number of dabs needed because I'm not going in "blind". After dabbing the butt, I take a bath, and then use a mirror to dry the butt and double-check that everything is clean and dry. The trick is to dab and not wipe.
I know how exhausting the whole butt routine is, but it gets easier when you get a routine down, and when the pain subsides.
I really hope you have a better day today!

Hey Summer,
I don't have much time but just wanted to add- definitely don't use soap,or prep-h wipes. If you use wipes be sure they don't have alcohol in them. I always rinsed my wipe with warm water when I had to use them. The shower wand was and is my best friend. I have a good one and spray it like a fire hose down there,Lol.
It's just so tender down there after surgery and all the wiping has to irritate things worse. Cotton is much softer and would cause less friction than wipes or TP.
I would take the Miralax religiously everyday and try not to have any hard stools. It's tricky figuring out what works, but once you do things will be smooth sailing.

Thanks Dawn and Hope! Yeah, the keeping clean part is driving me nuts. LOL@your shower head like a fire hose Dawn. Mine unfortunately is not that strong, so I don't think it helps much at all. I have been using Charmin wipes, and they seem to work pretty well. I will have to check, if they have alchohol. TP tends to break apart more, so that is harder for me. As for the squatting, I have bad knees, so that's probably out. lol Thanks again for the help!! Have a great day. Today is a bit better for me!

No, definitely don't use soap Summer! It's a really hard habit to break - I hated not using it, but it wont do a healing butt any good at all.
Glad you're having a better day today.