Well as luck would have it, between the time I posted my earlier message and now, I had a terrible BM. The fissure hurts like bloody hell right now, can't drive, can barely sit down, and any movement just brings severe pain. The stool itself was loose (the more graphic description is that it's the kind that comes out in a bunch of little tiny pieces like a cloud), so I don't know what the problem is anymore. Maybe it's the irritation from yesterday's exam, maybe it's the ibuprofen or the Valium, I don't know anymore. Still more pain to come too, for some reason my stomach is really upset today.
I've got a chronic case of costochondritis that's flaring up now too, I think I stretched my breastbone a little too much earlier and now my chest hurts like some alien is about to burst out of it.
I've just got to get this whole thing figured out somehow, I'm kind of teetering on the brink of sanity now. Seems so damn hopeless to ever be normal again. I just want to crawl into a hole and die. Times like this I just wish I'd never existed, you know? Thank you guys for being here. Without my wife being as sympathetic as she is, and without understanding folks like you guys to whine to, I think I would've done something drastic and regrettable a long time ago.

I'm so sorry NG. I know what you are feeling. Please hang in there. I am not sure what could be causing the stomach upset but know it's probably the watery poo acid irritating the fissure. Can you get in the bath and try to calm it down?

NG !
Do you take any probtioics ?
Watch for ibuprofen sweetie, maybe try paracemtol as it is kinder to the stomach :)
I hope you are feeling a little better today

Hey Tabby,
Thanks! I actually just got out of the emergency room, it's a long story but basically I was having pain unlike anything I've ever had prior, it was orders of magnitude worse than any other pain I've experienced and multiple ibuprofens didn't even begin to touch it. I ended up being carried to the ER by my wife and coworkers in tears and was put under anaesthesia for some exams, still pretty drugged right now. Walked away with a prescription for Percocet (oxycodone painkiller) and a recommendation to do a colonoscopy because the doctor saw some small ulcerations near my fissure that could possibly suggest ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease.
Still groggy and not thinking straight yet, going to take the day off from work tomorrow and try to figure it all out.

Oh NG !
I am sorry to hear your pain :( ER is no fun you poor thing
The colonoscopy will give you some answers NG, Will it be done quite soon ?
Rest up and try to flush out the anesthesia, plenty of fluids today OK !
I hope you feel better very very soon

Thanks Tabby I appreciate it :)
Not too sure about the colonoscopy just yet, I need to see how the fissure behaves over the next few days first. The pain today (well I guess yesterday now) was unbearable, and I'm still not quite sure what caused it. It was the worst searing pain accompanied by wave after wave of crazy spasms like I've never felt before. I couldn't walk or sit without having massive pain and had to be carried and wheeled in. The painkillers I was given will help me manage it the next around, but I still don't know if and how I'll be able to avoid or at least minimize it in the future, so that's definitely a first priority before I can even think about anything else!

Oh Man my bum bum flutters to hear your intense pain :(
You are very wise NG !

NG,
My son has Crohn's Disease and had 3 ulcers in his colon when he was diagnosed via colonoscopy 4 years ago. He also had one ulcer near his rectum, but the doc thought my son had caused that one himself.

cherylk wrote:NG,
My son has Crohn's Disease and had 3 ulcers in his colon when he was diagnosed via colonoscopy 4 years ago. He also had one ulcer near his rectum, but the doc thought my son had caused that one himself.

Yeah it's looking like I might be heading in the Crohn's / ulcerative colitis direction... The doctor only did an anuscopy, so he couldn't see too far up the rectum, but he said he saw a couple (I think he specifically said 3) small ulcers pretty close to the fissure. He says it's either irritation related to the fissure or possibly Crohn's or ulcerative colitis. He advised at least a sigmoidoscopy, but when I do it I figure I may as well opt for the full colonoscopy. Just have to pick a good time, after that crazy debilitating pain I need to somehow get the fissure under control as much as possible first.
If you don't mind my asking, how old is your son? And how did the doc figure an ulcer in the rectum would be self inflicted? (just seems like an unusual thing to cause incidentally)

Oh yeah since the doc had me sedated when he did the exam, he was able to visualize exactly where the fissure is. I asked him if it's in the usual location for male fissures, and he indicated that it's close, but not entirely in the usual expected location. Apparently it's off by about 5 degrees or so. So that supports the possibility that the fissure is secondary to some other condition, too, I suppose. I hate how this thing just keeps getting more complicated
Only bit of good feedback I got was that my external hemorrhoids don't seem to be very active anymore. Hooray for small victories!