Hey Alpha - I'm so glad you are doing better today. You will likely not need the vicodin again. Try not to worry too much about the lack of urge just now. My fissure caused all kinds of problems with BMs - always feeling like I had to go and not being able to, not feeling like I had to go when I actually could go ... everything was basically messed up. I even got a referral to a GI because of IBS symptoms I developed. Everything went wonky on me. After the LIS, my general digestive problems and the whole BM process have gotten SO much better. I think that when the sphincter is spasming and there is so much pain, the whole system just gets messed up. Give it time. I'm sure your urge problem will go away. If it doesn't after your fissure is healed, then at least you'll know that it isn't fissure-related and then you and your doc will be able to determine the best treatment.

Hopetoheal, yes, my BMs are totally messed up. Yes, I do feel like this developed into IBS. And I am thinking to see a GI because of this.
So how long did it take for you to get normal BMs back after surgery?
What was your symptom like exactly?
I am having many different, strange symptoms...
1. Loss of urge from anus area. Seems like I have to wait at least 3 days with out going to feel the normal urge.
2. I feel sensation to go from my abdomen normally. When it happens if i go toilet and push, I can move bowel, soft, normal stool. So the stool is in the rectum and ready to come out, but just no signal.
3. If i ignore sensation from abdomen, i get bloating whole day until late that night.
4. If i go in the morning, no bloating.
Did you see your GI after all?
What id he say?
Or didyou talk about it with your CRS?

Hey Alpha – my symptoms started to resolve about 3 days after surgery. I was having loose/watery stools just about every day, sometimes only 1 to 3 times a day, sometimes 5 to 6 times a day. Eating caused a get deal of stomach upset, bloating, abdominal discomfort and gas. My intestines would gurgle and cramp a lot. I would sometimes get a sensation in my rectum like I had to move my bowels, but nothing would happen. All these symptoms have dramatically diminished.
I take Ѕ dose of Miralax (Restoralax) in the morning and another in the evening, and now my bowels move quite well – every morning usually first thing. Sometimes I go again in the late morning or around noon. I also don’t have the bloating and abdominal discomfort very much anymore. My doctor thought I might have post-infectious IBS (because all my problems started with a very bad flu). I haven’t seen a GI yet because it takes forever to see a specialist here in Canada. I tried to discuss my symptoms with my CRS, but he didn’t want to hear about it. He just got impatient with me and told me to eat more fiber (I was already on a high-fiber diet and had been taking Metamucil, which actually caused more problems).
When I move my bowels, the stool doesn’t just fall out. I do have to help things along a bit, but I don’t push. Instead I take very deep, slow breaths and arch my back, bending toward my knees. That gets things started very gently, and then the rest takes care of itself. I don’t usually feel sensations in my rectum that tell me it’s time to go. Instead I feel it in my lower abdomen. When I did have urge sensations in my rectum, I found that very uncomfortable, and when I get those sensations, that usually means I’m waiting too long and I have urgency. My stool has the consistency of toothpaste now, which I find doesn't create the same kind of butt sensations as hard or watery stool. It also doesn't come out quite as quickly either - hence the yoga breathing.
I admit I find your symptoms a bit puzzling. But I think it’s a good sign that you are passing soft stool. I still also think that perhaps your butt needs a bit more time to learn how to do its job again. Mine did! Even so, it would be a good idea to discuss your symptoms with your doc and CRS. It might be something easily treatable.
I hope you’re having a good day today :)

So, hopetoheal, you dont feel urge from your rectum often anymore? Has it been like that during before fissure days? Or did it started after fissure?
I maybe wrong. Myabe you are responding too early to your sensation? I mean, i think it is normal to wait until you feel urge from your rectum. If you do so, you may not need that breathing and bending action to move bowel.
Maybe Ive been doing wrong?
Can anyone chime in as to how they know when to move bowel and what, how they feel the urge?
Maybe I've ben trained in a wrong way regarding moving bowels?

Things are gradually returning to pre-fissure conditions. I usually go when I feel the urge in my lower abdomen. I don't have to strain or anything. One or two deep breaths usually gets things going, and everything else follows smoothly from that (I would bend when the fissure was bad and just after surgery, when getting things going was difficult). I would feel the sensations to go in my rectum too, but only if I held off going after I felt it in my abdomen. Maybe I go too early, but I just find waiting gets uncomfortable. (I also read somewhere that not going when you feel like you should isn't good - for BM and peeing; but I don't know reliable that source is.) I also find that my ideal stool (the soft stuff) just doesn't create the as much of a sensation in the rectum as hard or watery stool. But people are all different.
I wonder how others feel the urge to go too

So hopetoheal is that how it worked with you before fissure?
Well, this is how I did before fissure. (my whole 40+ years of life).
I always felt both from abdomen and rectum. The sensation from abdomen is dull, and sensation from rectum is kinda sharp. Thats when i know i have to go.

Wow - that's really interesting. It never occurred to me before that people have different "going" sensations! I wonder if our bodies are speaking in a different language to us now since our fissures ... maybe others here have had similar experiences ...?

alpha wrote:So hopetoheal is that how it worked with you before fissure?
Well, this is how I did before fissure. (my whole 40+ years of life).
I always felt both from abdomen and rectum. The sensation from abdomen is dull, and sensation from rectum is kinda sharp. Thats when i know i have to go.

Talk to your doctor, alpha. It is true that after having LIS, your sphincter muscles have to sort of train themselves to behave a bit differently, since you now essentially only have the one muscle (outer sphincter) doing all the work. Try not to stress over it -- as long as you are able to move your bowels without feeling like you are passing shards of glass, that's a good thing!!
Stressing over the lack of sensation (or consistency of sensation) could very likely hinder the healing process. Are your stools still very runny? If so, try bulking them up with natural foods. I eat about 1/2 cup of Fiber One cereal every day, and a couple of apples and an orange spread out through the rest of the day. I don't want to come across as sounding like a weirdo, but my bowel movements are absolutely heavenly because of my diet (not a lot of meat, maybe a total of 6 oz. a day, if that, all lean). Just try to relax, concentrate on healing, and celebrate the successes (no more pain at bowel movements).

I'm with Matt on this Alpha. Try not to stress. You just had the surgery and your butt is probably swollen.
I always have the urge to go in my rear parts too, Lol
My husband says he feels it in his stomach more. I don't really feel it there unless I'm sick or something explosive is about to take place
Just try to relax if you can:) There were times right after my surgery that I wasn't sure if I needed to go or not. Everything just kind of fell into place and started working like it did before fissures or LIS as time went by.

Thank you guys. Yes i am trying not to stress myself over this but it's not easy to do so.. If I dont go in the morning, i have so bad feelin for the rest of the day like bloating etc... So wehn I get up in the morning, the first thing i think of is that if i will be able to go or not... So wait for that urge all morning. It totally took up my mind in fact.
Anyway, I experienced a strange thing this morning.
I only felt it from abdomen and it was enough signal for me to move bowel. I did not feel any from rectum.
I had real pleasant and complete BM and I feel so good now. So i am somewhat confused now. Maybe we dont need sensation from rectum to move bowel? Maybe My peristalsis has been very weak?
On top of it it looks like my constipation is improving. I only took a cup of prune juice and 1 dose of metamucil yesterday, but i had very runny stool today. I also had to go second time short after the first BM. The second BM was more watery than the first one.
Usually, i needed two cups of prune juice to move bowel along with a lot more metamucil...
It seems like I may not need any laxatives to generate normal stool. So, instead of completely quitting laxatives (because i dont want to take the chance of constipation now) I am going to lower prune juice intake and see how it goes.
God, I really need constipation gone and urge bak!!