so basically to cut a long story short i've had an anal fissure causing me pain on and off for over 4 years. i kept putting off surgery because i thought i was healing (and fear of the surgery itself). however it went like this, 1 month would be good then the next would be hell. and then it got to a point where it was continuous pain for many months.

omg the waiting time was an absolute joke, 6 hours waiting in hospital before i got put through to the actual surgery. the boredom was real, magazines, books and phones don't even pass the time imo because all i kept thinking about was the surgery, couldn't focus else where.

i was so nervous but the surgery itself was fine because i was under general anesthetic.... before hand the surgeon said he didn't want to remove the skin tag but when it came to it, he said it was quite large which is why he removed it

it was like i blinked and an hour had passed.

anyway surgeon gave me pain killers and told me to keep my stools soft and drink 3 litres of water a day (easier said than done when sometimes randomly the tip of the stool likes to go hard usually just before my period starts)
he also said my fissure is healing anyway (which was hard to believe coz occasionally it feels like i'm passing through a knife in my backside)...

so i just wanna ask for anyone else that has been through this, any tips?? i'm just really scared about the after pain and not healing. i've heard so many bad experiences about botox. is there any hope?

well it's day 2 and the pain is horrific. when i fart (sorry to sound gross) it's like someone is stabbing me really deeply. i haven't done poo yet and i'm so afraid especially because the side effects of these pain killers is constipation. the pain killers only help the soreness, they do nothing for the stabbing and random needle pains. i am still bleeding but was told that is normal. showers help, the hot water relaxes that area. but as soon as i get out, it's back to being awful. just drinking loads of water, only eating fruit and veggies, and praying for the best

Hi there. So sorry to hear of the pain you are in. Skin tag removal is very painful. I recall the stabbing pain with gas. How awful. Your sphincter may be in spasm and amplifying things. Do you happen to have any of the fissure ointments you could apply to help with the spasm?

It's good you are taking baths as keeping the area clean is important. The first few days are the worst. Have you tried any ibuprofen for the pain? I used this as I avoided the constipating meds too. Ibuprofen is good for keeping inflammation down, which is a big source of pain after surgery.

Are you taking a stool softener/fibre? It's good you are eating lots of fibre but too much can bulk up your stool and a large BM will not be your friend right now. Also, protein is important for healing so making sure to get some of that in your diet is a good idea.

Botox takes a while to kick in so hang in there. It will get better. Keep us posted on how you are doing.

thanks so much for your reply.

didn't take ibuprofen because that's also said to may cause constipation? just been taking the prescribed pain killers.
as for stool softners, i can't take movicol because that makes me vomit. so i never knew if it would have worked for me or not. lactulose has no effect on me. before surgery i was taking magnesium and that worked as a stool softner for me. so i have been continuing to take that and hoping for the best.
day 3 and it's difficult to eat much as i have to drink 3 pints of water.... it seems to be getting worse which i didn't think was possible. it's hard to sleep, the pain keeps waking me up. it's absolute torture!!

That's too bad about the Movicol. Magnesium also works very well. Glad you are using that.

Ibuprofen is not likely to cause constipation. Do you know where you heard that?

The first few days are the worst because inflammation peaks at 72 hours. The good news is it should get better from here, albeit slowly.

Did you have a large skin tag?

What about the fissure ointments? Did you ever have one of those?

i have stopped taking the prescribed meds and am now taking ibuprofen. i had read a few times that it could cause constipation but didn't realise that that was an uncommon symptom.
yes the skin tag was very large as it had been there for 2/3 years.
used to take rectogesic but had no positive effect on me so gave up after a few months of using it. so i don't have any fissure ointments.
it's day 4, the pain has decreased and is sort of bearable. thank god. yesterday i couldn't even walk or sit down.... however i'm really concerned that i haven't pooed yet, it's been 3 full days. i think it's a combination of not eating much and the constipating pills. although i don't feel like i'm constipated.

Yeah it's tough when you don't want to eat because if you don't you can get constipated. You need food regularly to keep the bowels moving. 3 days post surgery without a BM is not that unusual though. You could increase your magnesium to get things going if you are concerned.

I have never heard that ibuprofen causes constipation, especially not compared to opiates. I think even acetaminophen says it causes constipation in the product monograph but this is likely extremely rare and they just mention it to cover their butts.

last night i pooed and surprisingly no pain! stools were soft. thankfully the pain killers didn't cause any constipation. it's day 5 and i'm a bit sore but it's bearable.
just want to say thank you once again for your advice and help.

Yay! There is nothing like getting that first dreaded BM out of the way and it not hurting. I am so very glad for you.

You are very welcome. Keep us posted on how you are doing.

the last 2 days i have been getting random mild needle pains but when passing gas it felt like my skin was slightly ripping. ouch.
had a bm today and the first part of my stool was a bit big and slightly hard. i was so scared it was gonna give me a new tear. but fortunately the pain was bearable, nothing too terrible. i'm feeling worse pain after, can't really sit down.
...the only thing i can think that caused the first part of the stool to go hard is the ibuprofen tablets, because nothing else in my diet has changed.

sigh.