6am, day 4 after surgery.
had a super soft easy bm earlier. Fell asleep around 4am, Woke up to eat at 6 -roast beef slices, applesauce, flax, almond butter, bluberries, orange juice, rooibos tea.
took ibuprofen, change drainage cloth, nothing new to report. super tired. Alarm set for pain pill to wake at 7:30. Cleaned tub, good night.

6PM, evening of day 4 after surgery.
TODAY'S UPDATE:
- The first BM of the day was A LOT of volume and somewhat thick, probably due to the increased fiber from the flax, brocolli, and carrots combined with the large volume of food that I have been eating. As usual, it did not hurt at ALL coming out. It actually feels kind of smooth and silky. It sort of slides out comfortably.
BURNING UPDATE:
There was a burning after this first BM of the day (just as usual), but the pain meds (which my wife went to walgreens and picked up my refill that I called in last night) made me hardly feel it. Everything is pretty much the same.
COOKING/DIET:
I get up and cook and walk around. Today, I made another shake upon waking (around 3PM) filled with the usual healthy fats are berries.
This was followed by blending some boiled spinach, carrots, and brocolli florets into a baby food mash. I then store this in some mason jars and will eat it througout the day in small amounts. I also made 3 eggs/egg whites. I drank 1 coffee, 1 mate tea, 1 green team, and about 4 full glasses of water (counting the water I mixed with the veggies in the blender.
STRETCHINE WAS ALWAYS WHAT HURT IN THE PAST:
So far, I have been able to avoid streching the area. The area feel looser down there for now due to the cut (If I recall, the doc told me that the cut he made was conservative. So, I think for now, the streaching is a bit easier to avoid (which I guess is the goal of the LIS.
But for me, my fissure alway seemed to give me grief due to the stretching that hurt me. In other words, I never really had an issues when the stool was hard or watery. I also never had issues from excersizing. It was always when a very large diameter stool required pushing that the blood and days of pain followed. I actually healed up nicely one time following an episode of diareah that I ad for about a week. However, then when that cleared up, the first large stool after that streched the small area that had been healing out, which started the setback. The GI doc told me that diareah makes the area too small. The CRS said that sometimes, the violent rush of liquid stool can hurt or agervatte the area. I also used to always eat peanuts and mixed nut a lot. I used to eat crunchy peanut butter. Now, I only eat creamy peanut butter and soft nuts (like pecans/walnuts) chewed excessively until its almost liquid.

DISCHARGE UPDATE:
The discharge (which sometimes has something that might be waste or maybe tissue/blood clotted up) is about the same volume (maybe quarter size spot on the tissue after an hour). I showed it to my wife, she said its on really pink, maybe a yellow with a little tint of blood red. Sometimes, it looks like there are little pieces of waste, maybe tiny tissue clumps, or small somewhat clotted blood. No real bleeding has been observed at all today (or yesterday if I recall). Even after bowel movements (including the first BM of the day today), patting/wiping only brings waste. The closest thing to blood that I see is some tint in the drainage. I really don't think there is any infection.
NO SIGN OF INFECTION:
Not sure, but we think the discharge looks fine. No fever, I am guessing not too much swelling (I can tell this b/c its easy to have bm and urinate). I still can tell that there was a lot of work in the area, but as long as I keep taking the pain med, there is no real pain. So, I think I'm doing fine.
MEDICATIONS:
I'm also still taking the ibuprofen. I am using light heat sometimes, but never cold anymore.
I set alarms to wake and take ibuprophen and the pain meds. The frequent eating, reasonable amount of both solubale and insoluabale fiber rich soft foods, healthy fats, and protiens seem to be giving me about 4 soft bowel movements a day. The only one that seems to burn a lot is the first one of the day. That seems to be because about 12+ hours pass since the last one (due to sleeping). But, its not bad as long as I don't use baby wipes after BM#1 of the day. I still use the baby wipes after all throughout the day. I also still soak in the tub.
I'm sort of out of it much of the day to the pain meds. This sucks because I'm taking a differential equations class that I would love to be using my downtime to study for. However, I'm not willing to try to get off them yet (after yesterdays attempt to reduce the pain meds resulted in a bit too much pain).
TO PUSH OR NOT TO PUSH:
An update on the pushing- I know (never push at all even a tiny bit) . It seems to be getting easier for things to come out down there (maybe the swelling is down). I still give a super light push to get things started. Then again one or two tims, when the flow seems to stop (and I don't really feel empty), I push very easy to keep things going. If that doesn't get things moving, then I sort of wait a while and see if any pressure builds up like from the waste advancing forward. The deal is that the waste moves on autopilot mostly (and thats the goal). In a perfect world, I wish things would move all by themselves with absolutely no push as soon as I sit, but for me that doesn't seem to be the case at this time. If I truly did no pushing ever, gas and waste would surely pile up. I think it depends on the person, the swelling, how large of a LIS cut was made, etc. But, I'm learning just like the rest of you all.
To clarify, I never strain at all. If that happened, I would get off the toilet and try water, laxitives, enemas or something. I learned that months ago after one night where I just felt like something was stuck and I was determined to get it out. I think that is the night when my fissure was at its worse. I probably ripped everything up bad. Anyway, I'm rambling again...
MASSAGING BELLY IN CIRCLES DURING BM TO MOVE THINGS ALONG:
Also, someone told me that they massage their belly at times buring bowel movement in large circles and they found that keeps things moving. This sounds like one of those quack ideas, but I can't see how it would hurt if it doen't work, so I have been doing it.
SOAKING IN TUB:
I now only soak in the tub for about 10 minutes (instead of the 20-30 that I used to shoot for. Its just that it doesn't hurt that much anymore and the pain med make it bearable. while in there, I try to use the laptop or phone, but sometimes, I'm a bit too uncofortable to focus or to sit sideways in order to reach the laptop on top the table on the side of the tub. I keep a towel on the table so that I can dry my hands in order to work on the laptop. Sometimes, I sit in the tub and write these diary entries.
CONTINUING RECOVERY:
Anyway, its now 6PM and I'm only 3 hours into my day due to my screwed up day/night schedule. But, I'm hoping for more boring uneventful updates as I continue to recover. I plan to skip the weight for today and try to basically it in the bed a lot. Thanks to my son, who played chess with my for hours yesterday to keep me busy while I zoned out in the bed on medication.
Anyway, I think I'm doing good. I hope that I can continue to manage the bowel movements like I have been doing and avoid constipation.
SPELLING/TYPOS:
Sorry for all the spelling errors. I'm on the pain meds and don't feel like spellchecking. Anyway, I guess we are all different.
Thanks for this forum. It helps me to feel like I'm not alone in this. I know that I enjoyed reading all the other stories before my surgery. It was like I couldn't read enough. I think that this is because, we really do have an effect on this condition that we have. Through out decisions about diet, surgery, etc. We could really mess things up or maybe improve our chances of healing based on knowledge. A forum like this that allows us to read and share really helps. I think that someone with this issue 30 years ago before internet message boards would have truly had to learn most things on their own. and a CRS doesn't have hours to educate everyone. so, thanks for this forum. Hopefully, my ramblings and rantings add to the effort of knowledge sharing here.
Bye

Ryan,
Are your hands tired from all of that typing??? I'm off of my AB now and trying to get my digestive system back to normal again. You must be smart if you are taking differential equations. My son took that and was good at math. When I went back to school (for the second time), I thought I was a smarty pants when I got an A in college algebra (after starting over with beg alg, intermediate alg). I had wished at that time that I might have gone into engineering. But stopped and didn't take trig (nor in hs). Everything worked out fine as I decided to not pursue getting certified in el ed. I finally got a career going in the business world and didn't need all of that math!! Good wishes for your continue healing. Wish me luck that my butt starts feeling better. I got sore yesterday after 5 BM's. Cutting down on my Miralax (while taking an AB) is always a challenge now to ramp back up and get to being comfortable again. Sometimes when this happens, I think it would be better to have a colostomy, but I know that it wouldn't be.

cherylk wrote:Ryan,
Are your hands tired from all of that typing??? I'm off of my AB now and trying to get my digestive system back to normal again. You must be smart if you are taking differential equations. My son took that and was good at math. When I went back to school (for the second time), I thought I was a smarty pants when I got an A in college algebra (after starting over with beg alg, intermediate alg). I had wished at that time that I might have gone into engineering. But stopped and didn't take trig (nor in hs). Everything worked out fine as I decided to not pursue getting certified in el ed. I finally got a career going in the business world and didn't need all of that math!! Good wishes for your continue healing. Wish me luck that my butt starts feeling better. I got sore yesterday after 5 BM's. Cutting down on my Miralax (while taking an AB) is always a challenge now to ramp back up and get to being comfortable again. Sometimes when this happens, I think it would be better to have a colostomy, but I know that it wouldn't be.

Yeah, I type super fast, so its not really tiring. Thanks for the good wishes. I hope you get a break from the 5 BMs. Wow! that must be exhausting.

8PM (4 days post-op)
BM update: Wow. that BM was different. Ok. yesterday, I took a few extra scoops of flax, ate some boiled/blended veggies (carrot, broccoli), some canned squash & squash, etc. In other words, I guess I increased my non-soluble fiber. The result is a lot more volume of BM today. Even though my first BM (just a couple of hours ago) was of a high volume, I suddenly had the urge to go again. I was standing right in the bathroom, so I figured I would just sit down and try to see if the pressure would take it out without ANY pushing. It worked. It didn't blast out too fast. Instead, it was smooth, slow, and consistent. No pushing at all. When I was finished, I looked down and was surprised to see another full load.
As many of us probably do, I examined it a bit. It was soft and formed. Then the burning started. Its almost 4 hours since my last PM dose and the pain started coming quick. I had stood up and was trying to finish urinating (because ever since I got a fissure - by bladder is hypersensitive and the slightest bit of urination urge drives me crazy) and I kept wanted to jump in the tub. The burning wasn't too bad. While dabbing with Toilet Paper, it wasn't really burning too much. It just started to burn after. It just felt like things were tensing up and I hoped the hot water of the tub would help.
However, I had not filled up the tub. So, I finished urinating (felt like it took forever) and then jumped in the shower. I let the warm water run over the area and did some splashing. As the shower progressed, the burning went down. Overall, not to bad. Still no blood.
By the time I got out the of the shower again, I wiped again with the toilet paper. There was more waste; however, it didn't look like any blood. I think the shower had relaxed things and opened things up more. So, I was now able to clean a bit better. I didn't use any wipes. Now, its not hurting much and its Pain Med time.
FLUIDS:
I'm still drinking tons of water and it drives me to the bathroom like crazy. I drink this African Rooibos tea and I swear I think it helps with the pain. I had some last night and the some slight pain that I was having seemed to go away totally. It makes me tired (and has no caffine).
VITAMIN E/A, calcium
Had to stop this pre-op per the doctor. I think they said its a blood thinner. I took one of each yesterday since I'm not seeing any blood. I won't start taking one every day again (GI doc had originally recommended). Also, I'm taking calcium each day.
ACTIVITY:
- I did about 3 reps of several exercised just to keep moving. I moved my arms in circles. I also did some little mini weight free squats and bent over slowly a few times. I'm going to skip the exercising today (other than what I just mentioned).
- I made the mistake of carrying a clothes basket about 5 feet. I didn't like that. Its hard to remember that I have to ask for help for anything strenuous.
I'll probably cut back on the eating a bit tonight and lower the fiber, since I'm probably mostly empty down there and could use the break from BM for a while.
So far, so good. Bye.

Sounds like little by little you are getting better. Keep up the good work!

OMB x

Thanks for all the encouragement. I agree that my recovery seems to be going very well.
5PM- 5 Days Post-Op
A BIT OF BURNING LAST NIGHT. NOTHING MAJOR
- As mentioned before, the last BM of last night (I think was around 8 or 9 PM) was followed by some pretty good burning. However, it was nothing like before. I just couldn't wait to get in the warm water to relax things. I'm not sure why it burns sometimes more than others. I am guessing it has to do with the things I eat at times (like maybe orange juice or spicy foods) OR the strength of the effect of the pain meds (how long since last does & was stomach empty when taking it). But, it might be that things just tense up down there after a BM and sometimes I don't really feel it (either due to the pain meds OR a less irritating BM). Anyway, the longer a period of time that passes since a BM, the less I usually feel the area. In that sense, its a lot like the original fissure issue. Heat also helps (just like the original fissure).
NOT MUCH PAIN SINCE LAST NIGHT. NO RECENT BM.
So, right now, I don't really feel much. I have been taking the pain med dose regularly (on an empty stomach), taking ibuprofen, using heat. And due to my cutting back on how much I eat (in order to give my bottom a rest from BM), its been quite a while since the last BM. I sat on the toilet early this morning for about 5 minutes to see if any urge to go would build up. It did not, so I got off.
DIET
Last night, I ate some junk food (egg, sausage, biscuit, hash brown form Whataburger). Basically, just gave in to a craving and asked my wife pick up some junk food for me.
Today, I ate some flax, blended/boiled carrots & broccoli (looks like baby food), buttermilk, coffee and a sandwich. I slept until 3PM.
OVERALL, NO PAIN AS LONG AS I STAY ON THE MEDS
There are times when I go to get out of the bed and I move the wrong way. That can send a sharp pain and I quickly correct the situation. I still don't like to sit for long periods of time, on hard surfaces, or without leaning to the side.
DRAINAGE:
- still not too heavy. Still some solids sometimes. Sometimes, they are slimy (like the tissue from a brush burn that has been kept covered and wet), sometimes it looks like waste has leaked a tiny bit, sometimes it looks like some blood clumps. But, never more solid than would cover the tip of an eraser. Volume of liquid seems to be slightly down.
NO REAL BLEEDING, RIGHT NOW:
Overall, no real bleeding. When I had my fissure I would sometimes have blood with no pain, pain with no blood, etc. There were times when the water was basically red and large clumps of dried bloody tissue would been seen on top the waste in the toilet. However, at this point, there is nothing more than some spotting of blood after a bm.
CLEANING THE AREA:
- I finally got some of the Balneol lotion that you all recommended. I had the worker at Walgreens on the phone walking around looking to see if they had it; however, he didn't find it. So, I ordered 2 bottles from Amazon. I didn't use it yet.
- I change the toilet paper and then use the baby wipes to clean all around the area. I seem to have to be a bit less careful now (in other words, I can wipe a bit more and have to dab less). I try to clean a little deeper than just the surface by spreading just a bit as I wipe. Then I dry with the hair dryer and put a new toilet paper in the area.
Overall, I'm feeling better. Not much pain today unless I stand for a long time, sit the wrong way, try to get out of the bed wrong, or cough. Of course, I anticipate a burning and general irritation after the first Bowel Movement. I'm currently sucking down water like crazy in case that will help me to avoid constipation. If the next bowel movement goes well and I can stay on the medicine, I think its going to be a good day. The pressure is starting to build up (maybe since I upped the fiber and food volume I ate a bit earlier today).
If things go well, I might move up to 30 lb. dumbbells for and work out my upper body again.
I can't wait to get off these pain pills so I can think clearly and get some studying done.
Recovery seems to be going well so far. Hopefully, I can avoid constipation or any other avoidable mistakes that might result in a setback. Thanks for all the best wishes. I will continue to update and I hope my updates get more and more boring as I continue to heal.

8PM (5 days post-op)
- about to have a BM (I think). If I remember correctly, its been almost 24 hours after my last one. This is because I really had a lot of volume in the last 2 BM from last night. Then I cut back on the fiber and volume of food to try to give my butt a rest. It obviously has worked; however, I must admit that I am a bit afraid since its been 24 hours with no BM. I have been drinking water like crazy since I woke up (in case it might help). So, I am always going to the bathroom today.
I'm 45 minutes overdue for pain meds. I was waiting a little while longer since I just ate. This was in order to try to take the Pain Med on an empty stomach since it seems to work better. I'm not really taking the ibuprofen as much any more.
The tub is cleaned and full of hot water. Ok, here goes... BM started, tiny little push just to get the processes started. As I feel the BM moving down, no pushing needed. It is flowing on its own now. Ok, not bad. Smooth, soft... There was a good bit of volume. Overall very good.
Here comes the burning. Again, not very, very bad. I think that anyone with an anal fissure is used to burning after BM. So, its nothing new. Any I never used any pain med at all when I had my fissure. Plus, this pain is mentally better. In other words, I feel like it pain that I go through to help me recover. The other pain was just setback pain. It felt like I was moving in the wrong direction.
so, its just that I have no pain med in my right now. Taking the pain meds now and mostly on an empty stomach (except for water/tea). I just haven't had any empty stomach irritation when taking the meds. Lucky me.
As the BM is over, the burning starts to increase. Then I wipe. It more of a dabbing with Toilet Paper. But, I was very thorough. It seems I can wipe forever and keep getting waste. There doesn't seem to be any blood. Pain keeps growing, but nothing more than typical fissure burning.
Damn, I have to urinate again from all this water. As I urinate, it causes tension back there and the burning grows. I really just want to get in the tub right way. This would really suck if I was at work and couldn't get in the tub. I guess I would have to try to schedule my BM around work OR maybe run to my desk to sit on the heating pad when done. I am so glad that I am off work. I think the pain spikes after a BM and then passes faster if I use heat to relax the muscle. But, who knows -- just my guess based on what I feel...
5 minutes in the tub and the burning has gone down a bit. Damn, I have to pee again. As I sit in the tub, I lean to the side so that my butt isn't spread apart or taking direct pressure. Between that and typing, it makes it kind of uncomfortable. The pain pulses up every now and then, but I'm truly ok and not unhappy. It seems that the discharge is remaining consistent (or maybe down a bit), the pain is steady (at least its not getting worse), and I'm able to move around better today. I'm certainly not stuck in the bed; although, anything more than 40 minutes of walking around, cleaning the tub, cooking, etc. is soon followed by an hour of laying mostly on my side in the bed.
I'm also sleeping well and a lot. Although, the BM seem to have adjusted my schedule to where I am up until 3 or 4 AM. Its like a routine
- eat/drink water
- prepare for BM by sitting on heating pad (which I am using higher temps now)
- clean the tub/toilet really good (including rinsing to avoid chemical irritation when I get in)
- have BM, clean up
- get in tub for 10-30 minutes
- clean the area some more, dry with hair dryer
- sit on heating pad
- then sometimes, I get the urge again if I didn't empty completely (because I don't really push and sometimes this seems to result in me going again soon). If I have to go again, repeat this process over again.
Anyway, there was no constipation or hard stools. There was no blood. Oh yeah, when I get out of the tub, there is some waste in the water. So, I guess this is normal and expected. The pain is manageable. I'm not sure if the pain is the same as yesterday. It feels about the same; however, I'm 4 hours post pain med dose today. So, its hard to tell. Anyway, I guess as the days pass, the pain will get less and less???
I'm walking straighter today. I'm drinking more water even as we speak. And I've had a bunch of antioxidant coffee, mate, green tea, rooibos in addition to the water.
If I had to go to work today, I could have managed. The only problems I see with going to work today would be
* my sleep schedule is reversed where I sleep a lot in the day and stay up at night
* I would prefer to remain on the pain meds instead of having to think clearly.
* I have not yet riden or drove a car, so my long drive to work might be a challenge. Perhaps I could lay down and get my wife to drive me
* I would really not like the burning sensation after BM without being able to get in the tub. I guess I would try a heating pad
* I manage what I eat. Again, I'm not sure if I manage it properly since I am not an expert -- however, whatever I am doing seems to be keeping the stool nice and soft. Managing what I eat at work might be harder. I would have to plan ahead the night before.
No unexpected gas outbursts today, so that would be good for work. lol.
I think I'm doing fine. I guess I was worried about this BM for nothing. I'll just take it day by day and try to relax. Bye!

Anya324 wrote:

ryanman0 wrote:Hi Anya. Best Wishes to you on a quick recovery. I'm 5 days post-op and no regrets on the surgery. Hopefully, you don't worry as much as me!

I hope I don't worry as much as you either!! LoL!! I've kept up with your posts and they've been an eye opener. I think I'm more prepared for this surg than ever before thanks to your posts! I wish I had it in me to eat as well as you do...

Thanks Anya. I felt this forum was very helpful to me. So, I figured I would try to give something back in the hopes it might help others. So, I'm glad if it helped you. You know I am long-winded, so here goes my long reply...
The only thing is that I hope all my advice that I give to myself (and post publically) is mostly correct. In other words, I know that I may not know what I am talking about sometimes, but I share my thoughts anyway (just so others know they aren't alone in trying to figure out what is best to do). I just hope others don't mimick me (for example my eating habits) and then find out I was eating something bad for fissures or using heat/cold when I shouldn't. Then there is the fact that everyone's experience, surgery, bodies, ages, conditions, history are all different. So what works for me might be horrible for others. But, I guess all we can do is share our thoughts and experiences and make our own decisions. Since a lot of people shares their stories, I figure we can all learn from the large collection of stories what things seem to work for a lot of people.
I've always been paranoid when it comes to medical issues. But, I think I know why I was so scared this time. I think that I have come to expect frustration and roadblocks with this condition. In other words, the whole fissure experience is frustrating. You heal, you get better, you get optimistic. Then BAMM!!! you end up waking up one morning worse that you started. Once this goes on for so long, the problem keeps escalating and you get used to expecting the worse. While, this could certainly be the case for me tomorrow, it has certainly not been that way so far. The doc tells me that surgery recovery odds are in my favor. I think that is different than the odds I was facing before.
Anyway, I hope my paranoia hasn't caused you to also become scared. After all, it seems that my fears have so far been unfounded as I appear to be doing good in the long run. Thanks! Ryan

9:20PM - 5 days post-op
I JUST USED THE BALNEOL
- So, I forgot to put the tissue up there after the last BM. It happens sometimes. Other times, it falls out. That would be extremely embarrassing at work. "Was that a soiled bloody tissue that just dropped out of you pants?" Anyway... when this happens, I use the baby wipes. It really didn't burn to much to use the wipes even though it is not too long after BM. So, I then use the Hair dryer.
Well, after that, I put some of the Balneol onto the area using toilet paper. I ordered it from amazon the night it ws recommended and it arrived already. It did not burn. I also still placed a tissue up there, even though there was lotion in the area, I'll leave that on for a while and then go back to the dry toilet paper bandage.