Anal Fissure Support Forum

[Guest]

First I would like to thank everyone for the good info. Well I finally know what pain is. The broken bones, hernias, tennis elbow, pnuemonia , divorce,etc, nothing compares to this pain. I have had some issues for a while.I can narrow it down to when I started having trouble. I had bought a huge container of dried fruit and nuts and ate it in a couple of days. I wonder if that was the reason. I never went to the doctor because I thought it was hemroids and it always went away. The pain was getting real bad so I went to my family doctor and she said I had a fissure. My sister told me about Diltiazem so I asked my doctor and she never heard of it. She had me use Anusol suppositories. The pain got worse. After two weeks of feeling like there was a sword on fire up my butt I went to see a Colon and Rectal doctor. He said I had a fissure and gave me Diltiazem 3 times a day and Analpram HC that has individual servings with a long applicator that I apply before bedtime.Also warm baths. The Diltiazem is by far the difference from having little pain to driving off of a cliff.Sometimes it doesn't help. I have been taking in a lot of fiber, stool softeners,Metamucil, fruit , vegetables, etc. I had 3 real good days and then yesterday the BM was so painfull. It seems the initial start to the BM is the worse. Does this mean you start at sqaure one with the healing ? Just when you think it is healing you have a bad day. Once again thanks for the advise.

[Guest]

Hi,
Welcome to our forum-I am so glad you have found some information here you could use. I am sorry you are having to go through this. The pain is humbling, debilitating and frustrating and the healing never follows a linear path. You will have many times when you feel like you have taken a pitfall as it is very much a two steps forward, one step back healing process.
So, no, I don't think you are back at square one. I often wondered that too though when I was going through this. It took me 4 months of diltiazem for the fissure to heal but I still had pain in the sentinel pile that was left behind for about 6 weeks after that.
Probably the best thing you can do is to keep your bms soft and predictable by altering your diet and using stool softeners if needed. I also advocate coating the area before a BM with a protecterant like A&D ointment.
I love your user name-that is too funny!
Lecia

[Guest]

Thanks so much for the words of encouragement. You all are very nice to do this.
I am so afraid to go to the bathroom. I am loaded with fiber stool softeners,etc. but have no desire to go.I wonder if too much is working against me.
This has taken over my life. I have a wedding to go to Sunday only an hour away but I got a hotel room just in case I need it. Next weekend I am going to my sons college for parents weekend and am already worrying about what my happen.
As far as the user name goes, I would have joined a day earlier but it took me a day to come up with something funny.
thanks

[Guest]

You are cracking me up! I just used my name-see how uncreative I was! I had never posted on a board before this one so I didnt know anything about usernames-I just entered mine without even thinking!
I can totally understand the fear of going to the bathroom. I can get pretty anxious too wondering what condition the mornings BM is going to put me in.
Yes, it can so take over your life where you dont enjoy everyday things anymore and trips out of town can be troublesome because you have to worry about the bathroom and sitting and controlling the pain.
I do want to give a shout out to Ibuprofen which was a way I could control pain. I had to take (4) 200 mg liquid gels which is the equivalent of one prescription strength pill to help quell the pain a bit. You might also ask the doctor about ultram or tramadol which is a non-narcotic pain reliever. I use that too. They even have is in extended release. I think if the doctors did better with helping us control the pain while healing we wouldnt feel so desperate. You might also ask about lidocaine ointment. I didnt find it too helpful but I know others do.
Hang in there, uranus!

[Deleted User 5]

Uranus, you sound like you are doing many things right. The diet, water, baths, diltiazem are all working in your favor.
Please, never avoid going to the bathroom, as this will dry out and harden your stools and make the next trip many times worse! Never hold off! It's the mantra of all AF sufferers (those who know, anyway!)
Many including Lecia above find that about 800 mg of ibuprofen will help with the pain. How long does your pain last after a BM?

[Guest]

It seems that I always have to push to get started, and thats the pain. After that things come out ok. Then the spasms and
before the Diltiazem the pain would last a good 10 hours. Now, except for yesterday, the pain has been bearable and only for a few hours. A big problem that I have is that I commute to work so sitting on the butt for an hour every morning adds to the pain. I also leave my house at 5 am so I have been waking up at 4, having a coffee to get things rolling and sitting in a tub before and after BM. This morning nothing happened so tonight should be an adventure.
This THING, its controlling me. I am sick of vegetables, rubber gloves, trying to drive while standing, PAIN. I want to go to my favorite Mexican Restaurant again and eat mucho salsa and chips.

[Guest]

Wow-that sounds terrible that you have to drive on this thing. I don't suppose you could telecommute for awhile?
I am lucky that I work from home-if I had to manage around people with my butt problems I would be a real a-hole! (pun intended)
Please try some pain meds-don't try to tough it out. I know some people swear by heating pads if they have to sit. And when you get home try to stay off the bumcheeks as much as you can. You must be so exhausted having to get up so early to manage this.
I see you are in CT-my favorite CRS is there! I have seen quite a few over the years and have always like M. Christine Mirth. I don't know whereabouts you are but here is a link for her office.http://www.ccrsurgery.com/surgeons.php?id=mirth
Lecia

[Guest]

I am an operations manager for a large building so I need to be here. I know what you mean having to deal with people in this mood. The people in this building are very demanding and it is sometimes a challenge to smile. We have a seperate building with our a/c system that I have my own bathroom so I am able to get away for a sitz bath and medicate now and then.
I have tried ibuprofen but not on a regular basis. I think it has helped.
I am in Danbury, my doctor is out of the Danbury hospital and luckily has small fingers.
http://www.danburyhospital.org/DH_surgery_layout.cfm?id=825

[Deleted User 5]

Dennis,
Sadly, given your commute and work schedule, getting the AF to heal is going to be very difficult.
It is good that you have moved from 10 hours of pain to just a few, though.
I know you said that you used the warm bath, try to do it as often as you can up to 4 times a day. It may not seem like it does much, but it brings healing blood to the fissure site, so the more often that happens, the better.
As for the veggies, you need to learn to like 'em, guy! Are you eating them raw as in a salad. They should be cooked and soft, really, to aid in having a softer BM. And they can be cooked to be mighty tasty!!
Kim

[Guest]

I have been eating salads and raw veges. Didnt realize cooking them made a difference. My wife made a real good black bean soup plus she always has fruit and vegies around. I tend to go for the high fiber breads and cereals. I even ate split pea soup for the first time.
I have absolutly no pain today and I have been sitting all day. Probably in the last week I have had 3 bad and 4 good, so things are looking up. Its when the bad day comes you feel it is starting all over.
thanks to you guys for taking the time and caring about people that you don't even know.