If my fissure cannot heal, is it to take this ointment until I die? It helps me so much, it actually healed me 60% so far even tho its very painful still its nowhere near as painful as it used to be.

I already did 6 weeks and I am running out of it, should I do another 6 week course?

I purchased 0.2% and am thinking of getting 0.4% this time or even getting 0.5% nifedipine which I read is far better.

My fissure would have healed if not for the hard hard dry feces that kept tearing it over and over. But now I am on Docusate Sodium 3 times a day and it is working like magic even after milk of magnesia failed to help me, is it safe to take this for a year?

Hi berzerker!

I took nitro for 5 months then opted for surgery- sphincterotomy and it has been a real game changer. I've been pretty much pain-free since day 1 post surgery. I am only 13 days post op so am not fully healed yet but I have zero pain when going to the loo and zero pain all day. Have you spoken to a surgeon about this option? Going on nitro for life might be harmless but it might just be like putting a bandaid over it rather than healing it.

tightbutt5678 wrote:Hi berzerker!

I took nitro for 5 months then opted for surgery- sphincterotomy and it has been a real game changer. I've been pretty much pain-free since day 1 post surgery. I am only 13 days post op so am not fully healed yet but I have zero pain when going to the loo and zero pain all day. Have you spoken to a surgeon about this option? Going on nitro for life might be harmless but it might just be like putting a bandaid over it rather than healing it.

I am afraid of something going wrong with surgery. Next thing you hear I have to wear diaper for the rest of my life and with no way to work and earn an income I would end up dead.

The Nitro does wonders for me, hoping it works.

Can I ask, for the full 5 months how much % did the Nitro heal your fissure and was it 0.2 or 0.4%?

What I mean is did it continue to improve your situation every month for 5 months or did it only reach a certain healing at 2 months then stopped?

It only really reached a certain point then I don't think I could have healed more with it, unfortunately. When I had surgery, the surgeon told me it was a deep fissure and no cream would have healed it. I am so happy I did surgery and haven't had any incontinence. You will find that the risk is extremely low. I put off surgery for a while for that reason before realising that with a good surgeon, the risk is almost zero. Nitro does indeed manage to help some people fully heal though, it just wasn't my case.

I think I was on 0.2%. I don't know much I healed to be honest. I think it was more a case of just putting on a good bandaid with nitro, good diet, baths and self dilation combined.

There are reports about nitro or nifedipine causing the skin of the anal canal to go thinner and thinner so be careful and do not take it for too long.

tightbutt5678 wrote:It only really reached a certain point then I don't think I could have healed more with it, unfortunately. When I had surgery, the surgeon told me it was a deep fissure and no cream would have healed it. I am so happy I did surgery and haven't had any incontinence. You will find that the risk is extremely low. I put off surgery for a while for that reason before realising that with a good surgeon, the risk is almost zero. Nitro does indeed manage to help some people fully heal though, it just wasn't my case.

I think I was on 0.2%. I don't know much I healed to be honest. I think it was more a case of just putting on a good bandaid with nitro, good diet, baths and self dilation combined.

How did the fissure manage to be so deep? and why does surgery allow it to heal?

even if there is no spasm after surgery wouldn't it still tear every time you pass stool? how then could it heal so quickly?

So far Nitro seems to be working for me if it still doesn't heal I will look into surgery. I will have to resort for public hospital for surgery for free since I can't afford private. But so far I have seen a massive improvement with the Nitro and for some reason yesterday and today its been improved even further I actually feel about 80% better today I just pray it keeps up because in the past I was 95% better then everything was undone by just one bowel movement.

Doctor told me leave surgery as last resort and do the cream first, so far after 5 weeks huge improvement with the cream so I will continue as of now for a couple more months again and hope for the best.

I don't know how the fissure got so deep, I guess I just tore it pretty badly. Surgery simply allows more blood flow to the area to aid in healing. You can google lateral internal sphincterotomy (LIS) for lots of info.

It could still tear after surgery which is why I am keeping stools soft until I have fully healed. LIS isn't 100% success but it is about 95% success which is pretty decent. It is the best shot at trying to heal if the fissure is chronic. Full healing after surgery is usually around 6 weeks.

It is great that the cream works for you! Keep at it and look after the diet. You still have a good chance of healing that way. But also know that if you need surgery in the end, it isn't scary at all. I am so happy I did it :)

@tightbutt5678

I went to the doctor and she gave me 0.4% Nitro cream as a second course to continue treatment, she said the 0.2% I am using is not recommended for chronic she said 0.4% is needed.

This has me very hopeful because of 0.2% has done so much progress for me imagine 0.4%

I just wish I could get soft stool, nothing I do ever softens the whole thing the first 2 inches is always hard.

I hate the hard tip. I found that slightly increasing stool softener (movicol or miralax) and drinking more water fixed that issue.