by ryanman0 » 05 Feb 2013, 11:45
4 month update:
Still doing well. I haven't had any problems. I am starting to think (and hope) that this fissure is mostly completely healed up. Hopefully, this will be a success story for me. I haven't seen blood in my stool in the months that just passed. This fissure doesn't rule my life anymore. Since the area is doing well, I'll just focus this post on what I do different now.
The area is still stretching well during BM. I've been eating a lot of veggies and fiber. This has, at times, caused thick and frequent bowel movements. However, the area seems to be doing well even during this. I don't feel any real soreness. From time to time, the BM is watery. During these times I just try to make sure that it doesn't come up too fast and that I relax a lot.
As usual, there was also a time or two when I sat a certain way and thought I might have felt a bit of pain. This scared me and got me thinking, "oh no! not again". However, nothing ever starts hurting again.
Other than that, the most I have really had was some irritation of the area from wiping. Whenever I get this, I use that Balneol that this forum recommended. I still have the original 2 bottles that I bought online months ago (because I don't use much each time). I still go back and wipe again about 10-15 minutes after things aren't so tense down there.
So, one thing that I was concerned with was that I would forget to care for the area once I started healing. However, I haven't forgotten. I still don't think I will ever look at a BM the same again. I am still very aware of the area.
For example, I am always focusing on treating the area gentle during a BM. I focus on relaxing the area as much as possible during a BM. What I mean is that I don't strain a lot. Now that I am aware, I know that in the past, I used to strain a lot. I never paid attention to how hard I squeezed my abs. I even pay attention to how gentle I am when wiping.
Now, I catch myself now if I ever get in a rush and try to suck in a deep breath of air to increase the pressure and then strain using my abs. Now, I know not to do this. I don't strain. I breath out to reduce pressure and focus on relaxing instead. Once the BM is almost done, I may breath in and even press my arm against my stomach to add a little pressure. Regarding straining, the most I have done lately is just to add some slight pressure one or two times by pushing lightly with the abs. But even then, I take care not to push to hard. Also, this is very rare. I'm not perfect with this either. Its just that mainly, I now realize how fragile the area is.
Also, I notice the velocity of what is coming out when it is loose or liquid. I notice how well I am chewing hard foods like mixed nuts. I pay attention to how long its been since my last BM. I notice how sipping coffee all day and eating frequently produces more frequent BMs. I notice how if I increase the number of BMs in a day, the BM shifts slightly from dry to watery.
I'm aware of the area at other times also. For example, I sat on a weight bench with some heavy dumbbells and I realized that the bottom seat angle wasn't adjusted right. Because of this, the seat tried to go up my rear very hard since I was holding weights and had plopped down on the seat. I remember thinking how I need to be more careful.
At work, I still sit for hours. I also still spend hours at the gym. I'm back to going very heavy during regular workouts. So far, that hasn't caused any issues for the area. I strain during lifts every week. I do heavy bench press, squats, and deadlifts. I play basketball and attend step class. No issues with any of this so far.
Also, I made sure that in the new car that we bought, that it had heated seats (just in case). I find that most of the heat is directed towards the back. So, I figure the engineers never had a fissure.
I still put my feet up on the bottom shelf of a little table in our bathroom. Its kind of like a little stool and elevates my feet just a bit to put me in a semi-squat position. However, when at work or other places, I can't do this.
I still take lactaid before dairy and have had much less gas. I think this helps to keep the pressure down during BM. I don't want any explosive movements. I haven't really paid attention to how much water I drink. However, I normally drink a lot anyway. I do try to notice if the BM is dry or not. I have not taken any laxative. However, I am a coffee addict, and it does seem to have this affect on me.
So, from all this, I'm thankful mostly for the great job that my doctor did with the surgery. Also, I'm glad that there was this forum to come and learn and reach out for advice. Thanks to all of you for the replies and the company throughout this.
Hopefully, I will never have any more problems with the area. I think I read on here that the area will not be as strong until a year or two after the surgery. So, I know I'm not out of the danger zone yet. Also, from reading the stories, it seems that some people heal and then have problems again later. So, I'm going to be thankful for every day that I don't suffer with a fissure. I'm also glad I had the good health case policy from my insurance. With the new healthcare laws, my insurance plan is changed and I would have had to pay about $3k more for this surgery had I had it this year instead. Nevertheless, there was a time when I didn't have any insurance at all and I am glad I had insurance when this happened.
I'll try to post another one of these long-winded updates again in a month or two. If I'm still feeling healed without further problems, I might not have many new things to say. But, I guess that's a good thing.