Hello all,

I’ve been suffering with an anal fissure on and off for about 7 months now. I used nitroglycerin during the early stages and it seemed to have helped immensely, but the retears are very frequent despite having a good diet and being on miralax as well as stool softener. I finally saw a CRS today who said that he’d like to see me continue conservative treatment for another month before we discuss the possibility of surgery. I’m hesitant, as I’m a 21 year old female who hopes to have a family someday. Would it be wise to even consider surgery at my age? Thank you all so much!

I am 39, post childbirth and had LIS surgery 10 days ago. I have IBS with diarrhea and I was terrified of not being able to control myself.

Then the fissure pain got so bad I no longer could function. That made the choice easy.

If I were in your shoes, I would wait the month if the pain is not debilitating. During that time I would stop using soap on that area. I would get a check up to make sure I did not have a yeast or bacterial infection as those can make skin tear easier as well.

If you are experiencing constipation, make sure you are eating enough fiber or taking a fiber supplements. Drink water nonstop.

Make sure to use wipes, not toilet paper on that area.

Hopefully your symptoms improve but if not, make sure you get a good surgeon who knows what they are doing. A second opinion never hurts either. Good luck!

It depends how much pain you are in. I also could not continue living in so much pain, so I had the surgery but I’m 38 and have had children already. You always have the option of a Caesarean if you do have LIS. 1/3 of births end up in caesarean anyway so it is very common and could be an excellent alternative if you are worried.

Thank you both so much for your advice. I guess I’ll wait it out a bit and if the pain does get to that point, I’ll go through with the surgery just so I can have my life back.

I suggest yo get the surgery so you can get completely healthy and be able to maintain good and healthy intimate relationship or marriage, as well as being healthy to take care of babies. You are so young that you don't have yo be scared of incontinence as your muscles will regenerate quickly.

My advice is give the cream a bit longer then after that ask yourself am I ok with this like can I live with it? If your answer is no then find a good surgeon an get it done don't worry but if you want to try something else before lis give Botox a go first if you want no harm in trying.