Happy
Maybe some of us just have to live with our tight a.? My CRS will not do LIS on me at this stage, maybe never. Given my history with my celiac disease, and the fact that I have given birth twice I guess I should be happy that he's not jumping to LIS at once.
What you say about eating healthy most of the time and then enjoy fast food/bad food sometimes makes sense.... It is what you eat most days that will keep you well and healthy. I've lost over 18 kilos on this diet, which was good - for me at least :)

Kim & Happy
Did you use stool softeners and/or laxatives when you had fissures? Do you still use it?
Why/why not? What are the pros and cons do you think?
Corsica

I used Colace, a stool softener but switched from pill form to the liquid as I found that more effective. Well, I used it because stool softening is a first line defense when you have an anal fissure. I ceased using it 1 month out from my LIS surgery because I felt I needed to get back to "normal" as soon as possible and toughen my anus up a bit.
I only used a laxative once, immediately after surgery on the advice of my CRS when I was unable to have a BM after 3 days. It worked.
I can only speak for myself as to the pros and cons. The liquid colace was safe for long term use and very inexpensive and effective, For me. There really were no negatives. The gel cap form was not as dependable, I found.

hi corsica,
i am happy to live with a tight ass. my ass is still tight! but i won't fret.
i am happy to say that my fissure is gone and the only people left in the vicinity is laverne and shirley, my skin tag. l&s have been good most of this year so i am very pleased over all.
**
i did use colace (ducolax) and bought the generic brand at target. i used this sparingly. i think for me, it didn't stick in my routine because i already take pills for other things and it was just adding one more pill.
for me, i found the magnesium citrate pills were more helpful to me than the colace. however, after about a month of taking it at about 600 mg, i started having sensations in my abdomen that i hadn't had before and i associated it with the magnesium citrate. so i stopped that.
i also did dabble into benefiber and citrucel for a bit until i found myself an all bran bran buds devotee! i preferred having the cereal with fresh raspberries, blueberries and blackberries with soy or rice milk. i also liked including it (a cupful) while i cooked my oatmeal.
i also used to eat lots of raisins - either by themselves or with my cooked oatmeal. i truly believe that for me, the raisins would end up making my poo very rubbery and challenging to pass. i have stopped eating raisins and i think i have been constipation-free for the longest time since i haven't eaten them in a long, long time.
**
in the end, as you can see, i ventured a lot with over-the-counter stuff because my CRS never prescribed the nitros or other creams to take, despite my being in absolute agony. of course, maybe i didn't stress how much suffereing i had been going through that he didn't think it necessary but as with all these over the counter stuff, he didn't recommend it long term because he agrees with me to be adding more healthy food choices and mind the diet and exercise to bring a balance back to the system rather than adding more chemicals to the body over the long run.
he didn't like the magnesium citrate idea either.
but despite this, i tried them anyway and this was all before i dabbled into macrobiotics.
macrobiotics really helped me get a grip on my situation and helped me overall. but i also believe that going through a colonoscopy to ease my fears - in essence, helping me reduce my anxiety of why i had this fissure...was it because i had colon cancer? - i think that helped me reduce my stress load too. plus having the doc look inside to make sure there wasn't a fistula either really helped and he said i had healed from that as well. (i personally don't think i ever had a fistula but he saw it and we scheduled an LIS and fistulotomy and colonscopy all together).
how macrobiotics helped me reverse the LIS and fistulotomy situation is beyond my understanding, but it did.
**
now i am trying to find my way back to macrobiotics as i really find it a healthy and cleansing way to treat my body but with work and being surrounded by lots of dipsticks there, i am just eating my way through the day and just getting a fat cat ass!!!!
i think if you want to use colace or fiber-supplements, do it on a short-term basis....say six to eight months while you are adjusting your diet. start slow and taper off too because you are adding something new to your body that you will also eventually take away. your body will get use to that help, and you really don't want to create that physiological dependency.
**
i am an advocate for try it but try it to help you adjust your diet and exericse and stress levels. once you get those sorta in control, then it's time to let go. it's like training wheels, once you have learned to peddle and not fall down, you can take them off!
:bathtub:

Thanks boys :)
That you are happy with your tight ass gives me hope...I really do think I am too tight, and if this heals I will have to deal with this tightness...
[quote="happyass"]i am happy to live with a tight ass. my ass is still tight! but i won't fret.
in the end, as you can see, i ventured a lot with over-the-counter stuff because my CRS never prescribed the nitros or other creams to take, despite my being in absolute agony. of course, maybe i didn't stress how much suffereing i had been going through that he didn't think it necessary but as with all these over the counter stuff, he didn't recommend it long term because he agrees with me to be adding more healthy food choices and mind the diet and exercise to bring a balance back to the system rather than adding more chemicals to the body over the long run.
he didn't like the magnesium citrate idea either.
macrobiotics really helped me get a grip on my situation and helped me overall. but i also believe that going through a colonoscopy to ease my fears - in essence, helping me reduce my anxiety of why i had this fissure...was it because i had colon cancer? - i think that helped me reduce my stress load too. plus having the doc look inside to make sure there wasn't a fistula either really helped and he said i had healed from that as well. (i personally don't think i ever had a fistula but he saw it and we scheduled an LIS and fistulotomy and colonscopy all together).
now i am trying to find my way back to macrobiotics as i really find it a healthy and cleansing way to treat my body but with work and being surrounded by lots of dipsticks there, i am just eating my way through the day and just getting a fat cat ass!!!!
i think if you want to use colace or fiber-supplements, do it on a short-term basis....say six to eight months while you are adjusting your diet. start slow and taper off too because you are adding something new to your body that you will also eventually take away. your body will get use to that help, and you really don't want to create that physiological dependency.
i am an advocate for try it but try it to help you adjust your diet and exericse and stress levels. once you get those sorta in control, then it's time to let go. it's like training wheels, once you have learned to peddle and not fall down, you can take them off!
I do agree with you about the chemical stuff...I would rather do things the natural way. I have started using Miralax now, but I don't like taking it - it smells like glue!
It's just that I feel that I have to take it since I'm producing formed BMs, and the lactulose gives me terrible gas...I have no choice, but I will do it short term!!
I haven't tried macrobiotics but I read about it after I read one of your posts a while ago. It's about enjoying food, chewing slowly, beans, veggies, fruits, berries???
Fat cat ass? You look good Happy! Post a picture of your butt so that we can rate it :D
I do think I eat healthy...but I miss indulging every now and then
Would you have chosen LIS if you were given that option (when you were in pain)?
Is magnesium citrate the same as MOM?
I see that quite a few on the board use soy milk or rice milk. Is this because you are lactose intolerant or because there is some kind of health benefit ? I am lactose intolerant, but haven't really used any of them.What do you think of the taste?
Corsica

I actually did chose LIS. I got to the point after almost four years of insanity - I would beg God to take this thing away but it didn't quite happen as quickly as I wanted and I just couldn't deal with being consumed with fear and disstress every time i would go to BM - i finally gave in. it was one of those things that i didn't want to do but it seemed that i had tried everything under the sun (this was before stepping into the macrobiotic direction), that i finally gave in and asked the doc to do it.
and since we had been seeing each other for a couple of years, he agreed because he never pressured me into doing it as he wanted to give me the benefit of the doubt that i could correct it on my own.
so as we booked the LIS, he also found the fistula and that sent me to a new depression and even higher level of desperation after i saw a video on the web on a fistulotomy procedure!!!!! i was freaked out!!!
**
Magnesium citrate is not the same as MOM- milk of magnesia, although they may have magnesium in common. The magnesium citrate is good for helping to relax your muscles and if I remember correctly, also aids in reducing constipation or helping to eliminate BMs. it came in tablet form. There is also a very yummy liquid form - that resembles soda pop in cherry, lime, and orange flavor - and I prefer that. I actually have one in my fridge as a back up but it is also just a left over from that period of time.
**
I break out with bronchitis every new year it seems and a while back when i got rid of all dairy, it seemed to help in reducing my chances of coming down with it. With macrobiotics, milk and dairy are not recommended and it was suggested to replace it with soy or rice milk. Eventually, you let go of it all and you enjoy amazake on occasion.
It's hard to get amazake around here so I just keep having rice milk now since i eat tofu and i didn't want to overindulge my body with soy.
**
I love Silk Chocolate Soy Beverage - that is like almost having the real chocolate milk!!! so if you miss chocolate milk, i definitely recommend that.
I prefer skim milk over regular or 2%, so I don't really enjoy the regular Silk brand of soy milk because it is very creamy to me.
However, the Whole Foods 365 brand or even WestSoy seem to have a nice, light soy milk.
Rice milk is yummy too. I actually have been using that more now than before.
There are other plenty of "milks" too - almond, oat, hemp, multi-grain, etc. You can experiment and find one that you can enjoy.

4 years! That's a long time to have suffered. Were you able to work and have a normal social life while having the fissure? I think it is a challenge living with this...in so many ways! Marriage, social life, etc...
I read your "newbie thread" and I saw that you joined the AFSF when you were healed - I see why your nick is Happyass. Have assumed it was irony before :)
You have really been going through a lot with your fissure and (correct me if I am wrong) also having to deal with the HIV virus.... You seem to be positive, and maybe that is key when dealing with different types of health problems.
I will try soy and rice milk...love smoothies, and I guess I could use it in smoothies.
Take care Happyass & and good luck with your marathon!
Corsica

well i joined the board i believe right at the time i was dabbling in macrobiotics (or maybe just a little bit before then)......i was participating on another fissure yahoo! board but it was getting really ridiculous and not supportive at all......it was negative and harsh with some people and that wasn't a place where i wanted to be. we need to respect all our differences and be open to work with new ideas and in the end, share and not push anything on anyone.
**
corsica, if you have a whole foods nearby, you may want to try the acai by sambazon and put that in your smoothie. definitely, use the soy milk for a thicker smoothie or rice milk for a less thicker smoothie.
you won't notice much of a difference and it will be dairy free!
**
going back to when i joined, i believe right after i joined here, i was diagnosed with the fistula and it was with kim's and lecia's and some other new people's help on the board, i got through the fear of the colonoscopy as well.
phew....seems like a long time ago but it is coming up two years.
**
living with my fissure was trying because you never knew if you were in for a good day or a bad day. it got to the point where i would get these horrible pains in the bum as if someone was sticking in a huge knife every 10 seconds and well, that was really really horrible. the other pain that i hated was having to go BM. from just even wanting to go, that would hurt and fear would set in..panic. and then afterwards, it was that long four-five hours of non-stop, uncomfortable pain that would hang around. until your next bm.
it was awful. but i don't need to tell you as you have had those days too!
i tried doing things like going to the movies but it was a bad experience. and church was hard. and driving. i remember driving to texas one summer and it was bad because i would drive all day, then find a visitior spot to sleep at but right before, i had to go BM and then i couldn't even sleep comfortably in the car that night and it was horrible the next day because i wasn't well rested. and it takes like 2.5 days to get to my mom's house.
**
thanks for the marathon wishes....i will need them. i haven't really done much since my last long run two wendesdays ago. yikes!!!! i have to buckle down these next two weeks.

i tried doing things like going to the movies but it was a bad experience. and church was hard. and driving. i remember driving to texas one summer and it was bad because i would drive all day, then find a visitior spot to sleep at but right before, i had to go BM and then i couldn't even sleep comfortably in the car that night and it was horrible the next day because i wasn't well rested. and it takes like 2.5 days to get to my mom's house.

Man, I remember it being like that. Just getting in my car and driving a few blocks to work was so scary! For seven months, I barely left my hometown!!! I actually stood in church, and everyone knew why (pretty much). I had to drive upstate to Atlanta once, and I felt my anus just swell and swell!! It was horrible!

You know, we are way behind you when it comes to healthy foods and the selection you have. It is getting better, but slowly... The understanding of people with intolerances/allergies is slowly improving as well...

happyass wrote:corsica, if you have a whole foods nearby, you may want to try the acai by sambazon and put that in your smoothie. definitely, use the soy milk for a thicker smoothie or rice milk for a less thicker smoothie.
living with my fissure was trying because you never knew if you were in for a good day or a bad day. it got to the point where i would get these horrible pains in the bum as if someone was sticking in a huge knife every 10 seconds and well, that was really really horrible. the other pain that i hated was having to go BM. from just even wanting to go, that would hurt and fear would set in..panic. and then afterwards, it was that long four-five hours of non-stop, uncomfortable pain that would hang around. until your next bm.
it was awful. but i don't need to tell you as you have had those days too!
i tried doing things like going to the movies but it was a bad experience. and church was hard. and driving. i remember driving to texas one summer and it was bad because i would drive all day, then find a visitior spot to sleep at but right before, i had to go BM and then i couldn't even sleep comfortably in the car that night and it was horrible the next day because i wasn't well rested. and it takes like 2.5 days to get to my mom's house.

I so relate to what you write here...it's sad to read and relate.
How many dogs and cats do you have? I have three cats. All of them are cats from cat shelters/supposed to be killed because nobody wanted them. I love them to bits
Corsica