Hi everyone,
I'm a thirtysomething male living in a major city in the United States. I'm about to leave to go to the hospital for my LIS.
My story is a little different, in that my symptoms have never been severe. I'm vegan, so I don't get constipated. Probably about 6 years ago, I had some discomfort and passed a little blood a few times. I bought hemorrhoid ointment, used it, and the problem went away.
About a year and a half ago, I noticed what I now know is a large sentinel tag. I would occasionally have discomfort, never severe and never for long, after a movement. I went to my primary care physician, who said I had something called a "hemorrhoid tag," and sent me to a surgeon to have it removed.
The surgeon diagnosed a fissure. He put me on nifedipine for 6 months. My symptoms went away, the tag did not. Since the surgeon had left his practice, I made an appointment with his partner to have the tag removed.
The new surgeon said the fissure was still there. He prescribed hydrocortisone suppositories and sitz baths for a few weeks and told me to come see him again. After I did this and went in, there had been no change. He described the technique and potential risks of LIS, and told me to think it over. By the way, he is a general surgeon but has had decades of experience and is a clinical professor of surgery at a major university. He says he's performed hundreds if not thousands of these, and he's never had a patient become incontinent.
So I thought it over, and considered the fact that my symptoms have never been severe -- not nearly as severe as anyone who has seen fit to post here, in fact. I presented to my primary care doc because the tag was an annoyance, not even knowing what a fissure is. Still, I was concerned that things would get worse if I didn't get the problem solved, and I did have occasional discomfort. I scheduled the procedure. They told me to come in at 10 for a noon surgery, and to have someone pick me up at 4.
Yesterday, they called me back and told me to come in at 6:30 for a 7:30 surgery, and to have someone pick me up at noon. This will give me longer to recover.
Speaking of recovery, I have no idea what to expect. The doc told me I'd be back to work (possibly even on a bicycle, as I ride every day) by Monday, and most of the patient information websites out there say a return to normal activities is possible in a few days. But the folks on this board (many of whom had worse symptoms and more complicated surgeries than I'm facing) have talked about weeks and months of recovery. I'm in no rush to get back to work, but I'm scheduled to drive a few hundred miles with my wife a week from tomorrow, and concerned I might have complications when I'm not near my own doctor.
I'll discuss all of this with the doc this morning. If he decides to cancel on me, I can't say I'll be terribly disappointed. But it would be nice to stop thinking about my *ss so often.
Wish me luck?

Gosh Buttmachine !!
I am wishing you all the luck – You are going to be just fine – You have good experienced surgeon and that is most important !
I am right in thinking you will have LIS and tag removal ?? Best all round I say –
Regards the recovery time – It can vary from each individual – I have never had LIS so I cannot give any advice there but will say to continue high fibre diet and maybe a stool softener while you are in recovery.
We have lots of members here that have had the LIS and I am sure you will find the support you need here !
Goodluck and Welcome Buttmachine

Recovery time varies widely from individual to individual. I was able to return to work in a week and a half, although I had LIS only, no ST removal.
It took about a month for my butt to feel "normal" again, however.
Most likely, you will recover on a similar if not faster schedule. Those here who require "months" of recovery have larger, much more painful fissures than yours seems to be, as you state your symptoms are not so severe. That's a great sign and I see no reason why the fissure healing up and "going away" 4-6 weeks after surgery.

I think regardless of how severe your symptoms are you will still need some time to recover. I really can't imagine that your doctor would think you would be able to bike on Monday. I have found that doctors tend to underestimate the amount of time for recovery. But perhaps it would be the case with you. Everyone is different.

But considering you are having two procedures you will have 3 wounds to heal from. The tag wound, the incision and the fissure itself. I think you will probably feel worse before you feel better. But this might grant you the opportunity to heal once and for all though.

I wish you the very best of luck and welcome to the board!

Hi there,
I also think the recovery time is underestimated. If you have the tag removed, you may have stitches (i did) and they could be sore for a while afterwards - i certainly couldnt imagine biking just a few days after! But you should feel better fairly quickly - everyone is different. Its not too bad to recover from!
Best of luck!

Hey everyone, I'm back from the hospital! Resting on the couch at home, and surprisingly coherent considering they gave me a general anesthetic.
The procedure was pretty quick. They did LIS, fissurectomy and tag removal, which the resident told me when I first woke up, but I forgot and he had to tell me again about a half hour later. One suture, and a gauze packing that comes out tomorrow when I take my first bath. I would say it was barely three hours from the time they wheeled me in until I was in my own clothes again.
I woke up feeling some soreness in my legs, oddly. I also had a killer caffeine withdrawal headache, so the nurse kindly gave me a Percocet. Now that the Percocet has worn off, I'm definitely sore, but it's not unbearable. Because of the surgeon's warning about the painkillers causing constipation, I'm going to stick to ibuprofen and see how that goes. Honestly, I expected to feel worse than I do.
I am definitely less comfortable than I was when I left the house this morning, but I feel less pressure in that general area. Because of my general lack of symptoms (described above), I wasn't going to be one of those patients whose life instantly improved after this was over anyway.
As far as the usual bodily functions, they don't let you leave the hospital until you can urinate on your own. And I've had NO sign of any kind of incontinence. Even as far as wind, I was able to keep one in and let it go as I saw fit. That's a good sign.
We'll see what tonight and tomorrow bring. I have no commitments I need to worry about in the next few days, and on the whole, I feel ok. I have a follow-up with my doctor a week from tomorrow, as it's my last day in town before the road trip. He said as long as I take breaks and stand up once in awhile, the drive should be fine. In the meantime, work has been super-understanding, and I can work from home for a few days if I need to.
Thanks, everyone, for your support.

It sounds like you are doing very well!

Jo

You'll be up and at 'em in no time. But if you are more sore tomorrow than today, understand it'll be from the wearing off of the Percocet and GA. If your fist few BMs go off without too much of a hitch, then you should be back on your feet in no time!

Another word of caution, after my hemmie surgery I felt great...until the local anethesia (numbing) wore off later that night. Hope that doesn't happen.

that's impressive buttmachine!
i am in awe that you had all that done and you are feeling very good.
excellent.
keep up the good work and allow your body to heal on its own time table.
cheers,
happy