I think mine is on the 24th from memory unless I can miraculously heal before then!!! I know he is going to say Botox mind which will probably take place the following week just before I am about to take a flight... Typical!!
I think I would be depressed if I had to look at people's butts all day. My CRS is a nice guy actually, very polite and knowledgable and he puts my mind at ease.
Davo

Those unexplainable times. Yes, stress... I do wonder how the brain processes all stress and that maybe sometimes, our butt senses stress that our conscious self ignores. You know, kind of like how a dog senses people who are afraid of it?
There was a time, some days back, when I posted that I seriously wanted to end my life to escape the excruciating pain that I was experiencing. I actually went out on Google searching for info on successful overdoses with this new fangled narcotic that my GP had prescribed. The fact that this stuff is so new, and there's no body of information in that direction probably saved my life that night. That, and a Facebook friend who decided to pick that time to want to chat.
Yes, patience is a key, but it is maintaining that patience when your body is wrapped in the throws of pain, and your like that cartoon where a couple buzzards are in a tree, and one says to the other, "Patience my a**, I'm going to kill something." You are in such pain that a self inflicted sphincter removal with a kitchen knife begins to sound like a logical idea. It is all about how to maintain that patience, and therefore block the stress when it feels like the roof caving in on you might be a good thing. I wish that I had the magic answer to all this, I surely do. One thing to talk about, and entirely another to 'successfully' put into practice.
Good luck to you all, and may a peaceful tush accompany you tonight.

It's so hard to handle stress.
I wouldn't be surprised if I got my AF from stress. But the area was probably already weakened by childbirth..
I know when I am diligent about practicing deep breathing and that drop/release exercise for my pelvic floor, I have a better day.
I remember that post of yours rasmith. I'm sorry I didn't take it seriously! You're hanging in there til your surgery?
It will get better you know.
things change. They never stay the same, good and bad.
-Tanya

As I had mentioned previously, my concern at the time was that the drugs would be unsuccessful, I would awake to find myself strapped to a bed in some mental ward getting my stomach pumped and with only more pain to show for my effort. I was QUITE serious at the time, let me assure you. So yes, I know how stress can get caused, used, and amplified with this ailment. The other issues going on with me medically have not helped either.
To have all of this going on and then to be in such pain to boot put me over the top. A dear friend of mine from childhood returned from his second tour in Nam years ago, and several months later, I received the news from his family that he was dead. He'd left a note behind before taking one last glorious ride, and propelled himself into a tree along the "Dragon's Tail" in North Carolina. At the time, I wondered what could have driven him to do such a thing, but it was stress, just like what seems to either cause or contribute to our AFs, and then works to block successful healing.
I am in many ways concerned with my upcoming surgery. I've read a few stories of healing nightmares and folks having new fissures appear afterwards. I'd bet dimes to dollars that it is stress that brought along those complications, and if there is one thing I can guarantee, it is that as I come out of the fog of anasthesia on the 27th, all of the stressors from my other issues will be there to greet me. That has me worried big time!
So, yes Tanya, I should still be around on the 27th, but a lot of my initial excuberance that the surgery was going to be the end all - cure all for my rear end issues has faded.

You know Rasmith, the reason I think some of the LIS procedures are more successful than others, is that the person had spasms that caused a lot of pain. So when the procedure removes those spasms and the pain is gone, they feel such relief, that they are able to de-stress and heal.
So stop sticking that second Buddhist arrow up your butt!
:D
You'll be fine!
-Tanya

rasmith...
Do you feel deep in your heart, beneath the stress and worry, beyond the stories others tell of their experiences, that you are making the right decision for you personally with your surgery? If you really study the question, and put it to yourself honestly? Of course it doesn't mean going in with no apprehension at all... Any surgery is going to bring apprehension... But aside from that normal apprehension, does it feel like a correct decision when you put yourself to the question?

Tanya, Jr, thanks to both of you wonderful ladies for your support and concern. It is something we all need when battling this monster. Tanya, yes, I will try to keep that second arrow out of my butt, although I'm painfully aware that my other health issues will not be gone when the anasthesia wears off, in fact, the problem with my AF won't be over either, so I do know there is a tricky rode ahead.
Jr, yes, I have thought well and hard about it, and even though I am aware of the possible pitfalls ahead, and nervous about same, I do have both trust and faith in my CRS, and I think this is the correct route for me. This is my second meeting with the monster we refer to as AF, and it has been an extremely painful adventure. I do have concerns but I also have hope, and a lot of that comes from wonderful women like yourself, and the other participants on this forum, who even through their own pain have a kind word for a fellow sufferer.
Best wishes go out to you both.

rasmith...
That is all you can ask then... You have a doctor you feel confident in, you feel at peace about your decision to have the surgery with some very normal apprehension... So... When the pesky thoughts come to visit while you are waiting for the 27th to come, thank them for their service and gently dismiss them from duty... You've got it covered. :)

Gosh, why isn't there a Like (or better yet a Love button) by posts, as in Facebook. Thanks again jr.!
Rob

I think really you said it all in that last post, Rob... I would call that your heart's voice, and you are listening to it... If i were you I would copy and paste your response above somewhere you can easily see it, and when the chattering voice starts making you doubt again, re read it, breathe, and listen to your heart. It's all right there.