12 days post op- 6PM
I've had a lot of discomfort and a bit of pain today. But, its not too bad. Definitely a setback from yesterday. At one point, I considered at least an ibuprofen. There was also some darker red discharge observed, but no bigger than a dime.
Anyway, I kept drinking tons of fluids and eating frequently. I just had another BM. It was much better.

I think the key is to keep things SOFT and as small in diameter as possible without going over to being runny. I think that you are through the worst part. You may have some setbacks, but I think your overall trajectory is in the right direction. Good luck!!

Thanks Cherylk for all the encouragement! I think today is off to a much better start.
13 days post-op update: Last nights BM were softer and much better. Drainage was heavy yesterday (Quarter size in an hour) for a while. But this morning, it seems light. Pain is also less today. I haven't had any BM yet today. I'll be loading up on water, Colace, soft fruit, energy foods, and a bit of fiber. And work seems a little slower, so I may be able to focus more on the water & diet today without so many distractions.

It's difficult to focus on one's butt when there is work to do!!

13 days post-op, 4PM
- nice, soft, loose, thin, and low-pain first BM of the day today.
- tons of water, Colace, soft fruits, energy whey/fruit shake, eggs, some wheat toast, prunes, tea
today is a good day!

13 days post-op 7:30PM
Ok, prunes, Colace, and water overdid it now and I ended up with diarrhea. So, I'll try slow it down a bit. But, the diarrhea never bothered me before anyway. Much better, for my particular issue, than the large hard stool I had yesterday morning!

Like I indicated previously, it can be difficult to regulate the stools to have them always be "just right."

2 weeks post-op, midnight
- Ok, went out to eat at ihop. I was feeling good After I stopped at the gym (which is across the street from ihop) with my son. No weights, just figured I would play a little easy going basketball.
Our friends that we usually play with (who I haven't seen since before the surgery) were there and I decided to try to play a game. The first game I was taking it easy (as planned). However, the surgery area wasn't hurting (probably endorphins?) and next I got caught up in the second game and started playing hard (a lot of jumping and running). Each game was about 20 minutes of half-court.
We finished playing an hour ago. I'm not hurting and there is no blood or discharge. I also just had a normal BM with no pain. Passing gas also gives no pain. Overall, I feel better than before I started playing. I guess I'll know tomorrow if hurt myself or if I am fine.
Yes, I'm hard-headed sometimes. I was just so used to being very active before.

2-weeks post op, 4PM
- very little pain, very, very minimal drainage (probably don't need the pad anymore), very tired, watery stools (for which I am grateful), slept about 12 hours.
I still don't like to sit for long periods of time. I seem to be able to hold my bowels for a while if needed. I have a little difficulty telling gas from stool when I feel pressure; however, I haven't had any real accidents b/c I can sort of tell once I am about to actually pass it (I mention this b/c its a common symptom I see listed)
- Since no injury symptoms followed last nights basketball, I'm considering going to a fitness class tonight. Its 1/2 hour of step aerobics and 1/2 hour of light weights. I used to go every Thurs. before the surgery. I plan to move the step down 2 levels, take it low and easy on the kicks, and choose the lightest dumbbells.
Overall, 2 weeks and I feel mostly healed. I'll find out for sure when I go to the doc on Monday.

As mentioned before, I see my CRS on Monday. The CRS doctors time is valuable and I always forget what to ask him and update him on, so I wanted to have a list ready. In addition to finding out how the healing appears to be progressing (faster or slower than normal) and how things look down there, I am generating a list of questions for the doctor. Below is what I have so far. Anyone have any additional recommendations for questions to add? Is this already too much? If so, what should I shorten?
• Do you recall any details about the 2 fissures (near each other, thickness, scar tissue, length)
• When you cut the 2 fissures, did you cut them both out at the same time in one big cut or individually? Was everything done on the left side (as it feels like it was)
• Was the LIS procedure open or closed? Blade or electrical?
• What areas have stitches? Do they dissolve or have to be removed?
• Any heat used? Any graphing of tissue over the area?
• Any experience with other people working out with weights or aerobics. Any recommendations about returning to those activities. Any comments on the exercising I have done. How long before I can go back to very hard and heavy weights?
• Was the sphincter extremely tight?
• Was the sphincter cut on the left side?
• You mentioned that I could start using the NIFEDIPINE again. When? In other words, do I wait until the sphincter starts to regain strength?
• Based on what you found in there, do you think surgery was the correct path? Were either of them healing?
Do you think I point him to this post in case he is interested in seeing how one patient progressed (and has tons of free time to read this)?
Here is the update I will provide him
• Recovery, so far, seemed to take about 2 weeks.
• The first 5 days were the worse
• I had a small BM the first day and a larger one later on
• The only major issue was inability to urinate caused by bloating constipation and major pain following one of the BM in the first couple of days post-op. I had to push to get things to come out.
• Post BM burning continued for 2 weeks, slowly fading in intensity. No real burning now except the thick BM I had. Runny BMs don’t bother me.
• Stayed very heavy (maximum prescribed dose) on the Pain Medicines for 1 full week
• I had a large thick stool about 2 weeks after that caused me some grief. Other than that, I think the BM were managed well.
• Drainage appears to have almost gone away after 2 weeks. I still don’t like to sit for over an hour and driving or riding in the car sucks.
• I ate lots of fruit, boiled veggies, healthy energy foods, vitamins, Colace, teas, protein, healthy fats, and TONs of water/fluids.
• I returned to work after 10 days, but only working from home. I could have returned to work if needed after 8-10 days; however, it would not have been easy or fun. Working from home 4 or 5 days after surgery would have really been problematic and difficult. This is due to long car ride to work, painful burning BM requiring tub soaking, heat, and various supplies/procedures.
• I started using very light upper body weight workouts almost right after the surgery and returned to fairly moderately strenuous basketball play after 2 weeks.
• Baby wipes (with no alchohol) burn like fire. Instead, I used balneol and cotton squares for cleanup and drainage.
He has probably done tons of surgeries since the 5 he has scheduled on my surgery day. So, I’m not sure if he will even recall these details from 2 weeks ago.