Hi all! I'm completely new to this forum and actually new to posting online! I normally read what others say and make up my mind but this time I need advice.

I've head a fissure for over a month. Tried all the tested and guaranteed treatments, did Rectiv, the other ointment and also some steroid foam. Tried Aloe, coconut oil suppositories, witch hazel, sitz baths,... Went to proctologist twice. Nothing helped.

Last week the spasms stopped lasting for 6 hours which I thought meant improvement however I developed 2 skin tags that are swollen and feel like they will burst and I still have blood during BM and pain but again the pain is a tad less dramatic. I do feel burning for hours after BM but if I lay right it's ok. Before I couldn't find a comfortable position after BM so I think the spasm is gone or not as bad but I really don't know. I think the tags are swollen because i must be very tight all the time.

My doctor suggested surgery. He prefers LIS and I opted for Botox with fissurectomy. It was scheduled for the upcoming Tuesday but I cancelled it after reading about it and also because of the spasm improvement.

I don't know what to do. Should I wait a little longer? How do I relieve the swelling? I tried ice but it didn't help. I had a hemorrhoid surgery 12 years ago (using staples) and my doctor thinks they made it a little tight there.

I work from home but can't sit for more than 15 minutes. I don't go anywhere anymore because the tags are so uncomfortable and painful. Is the surgery a good idea and which one would be the preferred one? I'm so frustrated, exhausted and just done. I want my old life back (the one I was not very happy with because I didn't know how nice it is to not have an AF!!! I feel like I got this because I was ungrateful for having a pretty normal boring average cozy life!!!) I was also diagnosed with Grave's disease 2 weeks prior to developing a fissure which was a huge shock to me. Somehow it feels like it's related. Please comment. I will welcome any opinion. Thank you

Hi, sorry to hear your suffering but glad it is starting to improve.
Wish I could give you loads of great advice but all I can say is do what you feel is best for you. If you feel like your improving then you can wait n see. Try more sitz baths add coconut oil and oregano oil to the baths. Use coconut oil to soothe the area.
I like to soak cotton wool in colloidal silver as I find this really helps my hems and skin tags when they are swollen.
I have had Botox with a fissurotomy and it was great gave me a good pain free weeks but as my fissure is quite severe did not heal it so I'm now waiting to have LIS.
This is an awful thing to have many have healed without surgery many have needed it. I guess it really is down to you...at my worst I was having spasms for 10 hours after a BM so if someone had offered me LIS then I would have jumped at the chance...my spasms are nowhere near as bad now but I remember that agony and know my fissure is not healed by a long way so I'm going to have the LIS.
Good luck

Hi Kacenka,

When I first developed my fissure it took several months for it to 'heal' so if you aren't quite comfortable with surgery being an option just yet, know that it might take some more time to see any real improvements. Has your doctor diagnosed the fissure as chronic? Once it becomes chronic it becomes very difficult to completely heal and in most cases you will continue to deal with it off and on, indefinitely. This was my life for five years. I would go for long periods where I wasn't in pain but eventually the fissure would flare up and it would take months to heal again. Finally mine became so bad and was not healing at all that I finally had a fissurectomy, botox, and skin tag removal and I've been living a fissure-free life for over a year and a half now. I, too, was petrified of surgery, especially given all of the horror stories you can read about the recovery but my doctor assured me that the surgery would not be more painful than what I was already dealing with and she was right. If you click on my name you can find my 'success story' and read more in detail about my surgery. But in short, it was a cake-walk compared to the suffering of the fissure.

I hope you find some relief soon!

Hello guys! Thank you for your replies.

The pain kept getting worse and the skin tags bigger so I opted for fissurectomy with botox and tags removal. I just got back from the hospital. I don't feel anything yet but I am scared of the pain that is coming. The doctor told me I had 2 deep fissures which would not have healed with the ointments. I hope this works.

I'm hesitant to take Metamucil which the doctor wants me to take. I'm afraid it will make it big and painful to pass. Maybe fiber from food would be better.

Well, I will update my progress. Hopefully I will have good news!!!

Thank you for responding!