So I'm one week into an anal fissure. That combined with a urine infection contracted after my gynecologist didn't give me antibiotics after a minor procedure...I am in hell!! I'm barely sleeping because I feel uncomfortable and full. BM are beyond agony to the point I'm screaming and crying during the process and there is sooooo much blood. I teach kids and I can't function like this. Please can people give me advice on what I can do to speed along the healing process/make BMs bareable?! I've already changed my diet to soften stools drinking lots of water etc...this is just making me want to have a BM that I not will wipe me out for an hour through the pain. HELP!!!!

Jenni, that sounds just awful. We all know you can't function like this - I was there once, and it consumed my life. It WILL get better, I promise you, but in the meantime you have to learn to live and deal with this awful pain.

You may have to stop working for a while. If you can take a week or two off, it will be better for you AND the kids.

Have you seen a doctor, or better yet a colorectal surgeon or nurse? You need a prescription for a cream that will relax your anus and also relax the blood vessels of the anus to promote healing. The creams you could get are: nifedipine, diltiazem and nitroglycerine. Please see a doctor and ask for one of those. If the one you get doesn't work, or makes you itch, go back and request a different one.

The two self-help things that helped with pain for me are:
1) ibuprofen (this did not make the pain away, but took the edge off, and saved my sanity).

2) heat applied to the anus. The heat relaxes the anus similarly to the creams. Some people like a warm bath. Some like a warm sitz bath (fits onto the toilet) but my preference was a hot water bottle, made not too hot.

Try to get to the point of having soft stools, not too big. Too much fibre can bulk up your stools, so find out what suits your digestive system. Keeping a diary of diet and stool size and consistency will help. Try to go at least once a day, because old stool is hard and dry. A laxative may help, and there are lots of different kinds. I like kondremul mineral oil. Some people take miralax, also known as movicol. Some take lactulose, some take magnesium citrate - it's a bit overwhelming when you look at the pharmacy shelves there are so many different kinds. The kondremul usually has to be ordered by the pharmacist, but it is not expensive.

I'm sorry, but there will be a period of adjustment and trial and error, but I do promise you that when you get your diet sorted, and start using drugs and heat, you will start to get better. Just don't think in terms of days, it's more like weeks. I know this sounds unthinkable right now, but hang in there! Don't give up! Come here and vent, ask questions, let us know how you are getting on. Last May and June I was where you are now. By July I was better, though not healed. By November I was nearly there, and now I am fine.

You can do it!

Thanks Scientist

I know everyone says this but it really does help knowing that I'm not alone. Unfortunately, I have already been off for a week due to having a bartholin cyst removed. The fissure appeared the day after the procedure and to add real insult to injury I was near collapse with a fever on Sunday. Turns out the Gynecologist hadn't actually given me any antibiotics just pain med so I'm also fighting a urinary tract infection simultaneously.

I actually live in Panama City, Panama and the school is very new so my being off is making it very hard on everyone else.

The doctor here gave me something called Doxiproct plus?!! I've also stocked up on vaseline, baby wipes and generally anything that might make even the smallest bit of difference.

Since yesterday my BM are softer and there was no blood. It was still agony but the pain recovery time afterwards was less than the day before. Not helping is the fact that a huge hemorrhoid formed along with the fissure and appears to be covered in small white pus blisters.

I know (pray) that eventually it has to get better but given the heat etc here it all seems so far away : (

The doxiproct is a mixture of three things:
Calcium dobesilate is for your hemorrhoid. It's a protective agent for blood vessels.
Dexamethasone is a steroidal anti-inflammatory drug.
Lidocaine is a painkiller.

It looks like a good treatment for your hemorrhoid (I'm not a doctor though - I just did some on-line research). However, it doesn't seem to have any muscle relaxant effect for your fissure, so if you can bear some mild heat to the anus, I do recommend the heat treatment. When you are in spasm after a BM, heat can be incredibly soothing.

If your BMs are softer now, that's great! A first step towards healing!
Let us know how you get on.