Hi Patty,

Thanks for asking!

I am doing alright. My original fissure is still healed (knock on wood), though it is more sensitive than the rest of my butt. I know it's healed because it doesn't hurt; it just tingles every now and then, so I think the nerves must be growing back after the incision or something.

Unfortunately, I have the same problem that Lecia does. The hemmie that was irritated by one of the the injections finally turned into a small fissure. That is healing slowly, but healing nonetheless. I just have to remind myself to really lube the area before going and to go when I first feel like I have to go. The good news is that it's not nearly as debilitating as the original problem. I actually went camping this weekend. I felt a little panicky without my sitzbath nearby, but there was running water, which it turns out I didn't need.

So I guess the short answer to your question would be that I'm still doing better than before, though I do have a bit of annoying but not crippling pain.

Glad to hear that you are still doing well.

Hi everyone,
I was doing fairly well. I've been on Nifedipine for 6 weeks now. I had a run of 10 days with no pain, no blood but this morning I had a retear. No blood just a little pain during BM and now general discomfort down there. So fustrating and depressing. Praying that its only a slight set back.
I've basically had the year from hell (in order):
My Dad dies
Depression Follows
I Get Sick (gastro)
Sickness causes Constipation
Get internal hemmies
Get fissure
Girlfriend of 7 years dumps me
Here I am. I'm so tired, I just want this to be over. I figure I've paid my dues. Better days have to be coming my way. PLEASE!
Sorry really needed to vent.

I am sorry-what a terribly horrible year you have had. Gosh, you have been through a lot. That has got to be so difficult. :(
It is always the darkest before it is light. I know that sounds cliche and well, it is. But it is going to end. You will slowly wake up from this nightmare and little by little you will start to see pieces of yourself that you thought were gone and the heaviness in your heart start to lift.
I am so sorry. I am glad overall the fissure is better.
You are tough!

I feel bad for you bum issues..Two years ago I had similar issues! I had a stomach pain every day-all in my head they told me..Then I had a car accident (totalled my car) of course it had to be my fault..then my dad passed away a few weeks later..My year from hell. But things have gotten so much better so I hope better days ahead for you!

Lecia thanks for all the constipation tips, I will look into some of them..I am kind of exhausted though so I will see what I can do..but thanks for being such a nice person!

Hello,
We all have paid our dues and we have to think positive. I go for my post-op appt on Thiursday and I hope I have made some progress. Please everyone feel free to vent to me anytime. I have been thru some crappy stuff this year on top of the fissure. I want this fissure healed by the holidays and I want everyone to feel better. Just remember stick to your routine. I really thinks this helps.
Thanks Patty

I am sorry for your loss too Noelle. It is amazing how much we all go through, isnt it? Sometimes it seems like we can be all alone in our pain yet we all have our issues that we are dealing with.
A few other things I wanted to mention to you Noelle, was maybe taking some Senna leaf supplement. It is a stimulant laxative so I wouldnt want you to do it for very long but it will help things get moving and my CRS prefers that to Miralax (which I thought was weird since Miralax is not a stimulant). The other thing I was thinking of and please, dont shoot me, but maybe an enema might be helpful or a glycerin suppository. They have child size glycerin suppositories that are easy and small to insert and it signals the body that there is a need to expel and the glycerin helps to coat the area too.
There has got to be something we can try to get you normal again.

Hey, Patty, *I* want your fissure healed by Halloween, at the latest!

Kim,
Hey you got it. That is my favorite holiday. I go all out. Last year we went thru 26 bags of candy. I will be healed by Halloween! :D
Thanks
Patty

My status... I still bleed basically every day. Sometimes it's a few flecks on the TP, sometimes it's nickel-sized splotches with long red streaks on the stool. I experience occassional mild burning / soarness / itching / stinging after BM or throughout the day. It's usually not too bad (especially considering the amount of blood). I've ditched a lot of the things I was doing (nifedipine, metamucil, strict anti-dairy / anti-alcohol policy, squatting on the toilet, flax seed oil, calmol-4, A&D ointment / vaseline). Although these things have helped many others, none of them seem to help me. In fact, I think I developed a second fissure.
I recently increased my colace to 600mg. In the past week, this has helped keep my BMs softer than usual. We'll see if it helps long term. I also still use sitz baths, but only after a BM, and for about 10 min.
I'm going to meet with my fourth CRS in 2 weeks. Because my pain is not too bad, I am not considering LIS right now. And since my problem seems to stem from constipation, I don't think it (nor botox) would help with the tearing/bleeding anyway. However, if I get the hard BMs under control and decide to take the next step and do something surgical, it will probably be anal dilitation as performed by Dr. Sohn in NYC (he has solid success rates with very small complication rates).
Honestly, I'm getting used to crapping blood every day. I'm just thankful I'm not in debilitating pain like many others.
Hope you all feel better!

Wow. God bless everyone that shared their tough times. Life can be so hard but it's amazing HOW strong some people really are. They lose everything but they still have so much-their strength, their compassion, their love, their fearlessness, their hope, their faith, etc. Wow.
About my status, I still have my fissure haha I don't know if I still have 2 - at times I feel like I'm healing and I'll have painless BMs without Miralax or anything -- but then a few days later I'll have a painful one and I'll have to start taking Miralax again to avoid pain or reinjury. My bleeding will stop for so long but then I'll see a little pink if I try to clean myself too much with toilet paper. Usually I don't bleed much, if i see any blood it's just a tiny bit of pink after irritating myself with toilet paper. I get a tiny bit itchy at times but not much, cause I'm not really using anything to heal myself!
I've gotten lazy in my routine - I use toilet paper now instead of wipes and barely use any medicine just because I don't have time. I'm not sure how I expect to heal - possibly just a good diet and time? I haven't even been soaking, bad bad bad me! I hate it when life gets so busy that you don't even have time to look after yourself. I need to get back into routine. My eating routine is still good, I try drinking water, having lots of spinach, eating fruit, etc. It stays alright. Just wondering when/if this fissure will go away. Maybe I should just get back into using aloe vera and having insane itchies....
Bless everyone. It's inspirational to see others heal.