Last updated: July 18, 2016

Hi everyone, I'm SO happy that I found this forum!

I can relate to so many of the stories here as I have experienced many setbacks and felt like I would never be happy again.

I've had issues with constipation/hard stool for months (probably due to bad diet, taking ACV pills, and Align), but it didn't turn into a fissure until I was under extreme stress from a friend not paying me back $XXXX as she said she would which created financial problems for me.

After discovering this forum, I started listing out what worked for people (about ~100 solutions) and narrowing it down to 10-20 that I wanted to try.

I know a lot of people have had success with miralax, but I want to fix my stool consistency the natural way - i.e. through diet, so I can maintain it forever.

I've had some really bad days over the past 2-3 months - streaks of blood when wiping and on the poop, post-bm pain, and depression, but the symptoms have significantly reduced with my current routine.

So far this is what I do:

1) 2-3 tsp extra virgin coconut oil - with meals

I started trying this after reading a post on here by sadie22 ( http://anal-fissure.org/eating-coconut-oil-helps-t10638.html )

I tested coconut oil without food and it made me have a second bm hours later. I just want 1 bm per day! So then I started taking it with meals and it made my stools oilier, thus more comfortable to pass. It didn't bulk up my stools like flaxseed did.

I did notice some die-off symptoms when I first started (headaches, itchiness, acne), but it has gotten better after a week.

I'm going to be taking this forever if the oily stools keep up!!

I don't know if I can post external links, but you can google "healthboards soft stool a must" if you're interested in why oil can prevent a hard tip.

That thread made everything click in my head. I've been really good with water + fiber, but neglected to add oils to my diet. The key I feel is taking it with food, not without food (the latter just makes me have a faster bm not create softer stool).

Update: I've also started taking olive oil again, this time with meals.

2) 2 magnesium citrate capsules (150mg each) - once in between lunch and dinner, once before bed

I read somewhere that it only causes loose stool when there's an excess, so if you're deficient, your body will use up the magnesium. I must be deficient as 2 so far does not really give me watery stools.

I tried Natural Calm, but it didn't soften my stools (it only helped with peristalsis). Also, taking 2tsp of it made the part under my tongue swollen the next day. Weird, I never read about this in any of the magnesium posts.

I don't really plan to take 2 long-term; I think I'll eventually just take 1 and increase my oil intake.

The great thing about magnesium is though, it definitely reduces my menstrual cramp pain! It works within 30 minutes.


3) BM routine

I used to wipe with wet wipes after my bm (the one with Aloe + Vit E felt great!), but now I just take a shower after.

Pre-bm, I used to apply avocado oil, but now I've gone back to applying Vaseline about an inch inside.

I read a thread here about someone cutting off the fingers from disposable gloves and using that when applying vaseline/cream. Great idea!!! Pro-tip: the gloves from the hospital are really good (and free).

I also tried squirting water up with a syringe, but didn't feel it made my bm's any easier to pass.

After reading about the benefits of squatting, I changed to a squatting position to poop (I use a step stool). Doesn't solve everything, but it does help with a more complete elimination.

During bm, I breathe in, and on the exhale - I visualize my sphincter muscles opening up. This has made my poop come out way easier! I try to push it out by breathing like someone just punched my gut, and not strain using my muscles down there.

4) Apply Sudocrem mixed with Polysporin (the one with 2 antibiotics; not sure if the one with 3 is better)

After I shower, I sit on the toilet, lean slightly forward, and apply sudocrem that is mixed with a small pea size of Polysporin about 1" inside...I swirl it around as I stretch my sphincter muscles.

My lip cracked at the corners of my mouth one time (very painful and bloody), and I applied Vaseline but it didn't help and wouldn't heal... that is, until I tried opening my mouth really really wide and stretched the cracked part - and then applied Vaseline. That healed it within 2 days!

So I figured if a fissure is a wound, it would probably help if I stretched it while applying the cream.

Sudocrem is so soothing and really eased the pain when I had painful bm's, but on its own I didn't feel it helped with healing.

And Polysporin on its own was really hard to apply because my finger would just not slide in.... but mix it with Sudocrem, and it was 10x easier! I really like this combo.



What didn't work for me:

- pecans (made my stools too bulky)
- prunes (I only tried taking 3 per day.... didn't like how sweet it was)
- vitamin C (took up to 2000mg a day and it still didn't loosen my stool)
- flaxseed (made my stools soft but MASSIVE which led to tearing. I was taking 1-2tbsp soaked in water.)
- gold bond ultimate healing cream (I read on a men's forum that it helped with penis tears, LOL, so I tried applying it but the problem is it would not stay on my finger and I didn't think it could reach my fissure)
- light olive oil (tried internally and externally; internally I can't digest more than 2tsp...it also makes my poop yellow, and externally my finger would just not slide in)
- drinking more water (this just made me pee more; I still drink about 8 cups, but I don't try to drink anymore than that as it doesn't affect how soft my stools are)
- walking 30 mins a day / exercising (had no effect on stool softness)


Will be trying:

- tight pelvic floor exercises
- extra virgin olive oil (tried it only once)
- acacia fiber (I read that it doesn't make stool bulky - post120889.html)
- castor oil packs (I read that it loosens any stool that's stuck)
- cod liver oil & flaxseed oil (just to add more oil into my diet)
- chia seeds (helps with constipation)
- ghee (has vitamin A and E)
- chlorophyll (someone said it makes bm pain free)
- aloe vera juice


Right now, my stool could be a bit softer at the tip and a bit smaller. Still have some blood when wiping, but my bm's are very close to painless, and most of the day I feel nothing. I wish there was a way to make it heal faster! Like some miracle healing cream.

Sorry this was so long... writing this also for my own reference! I can't wait until I heal and can have a normal love life! :-)

I wish a fast recovery for everyone!

That's so informative thanks a lot for sharing. I had given up on coconut oil with meals will try it again. I have been taking magnesium oxide pills and it helped a little at first . I am not fully healed myself and go through the cycles of heal and re tear despite being very careful ( for the most part) with diet. I like apples - they help me a lot . Peas also work.
Acacia fiber was no not effective than psyllium.
Thanks so much for the detailed post.

I'm so glad you found it informative, thanks for replying! Hopefully the coconut oil can help you break through the cycle of healing/retearing. Why did you give up on it earlier?

I read that someone tried magnesium oxide pills and it worked well for a while and then it didn't. Think it might be because it is not absorbed, and your body eventually adjusts and goes back to your normal stool consistency (whether it is soft or hard).

Magnesium citrate is better absorbed by the body, though I find there are side effects at least with the brand I am using.

I haven't tried psyllium because I read that it would make my stools bigger (this leads to post-bm pain for me). What kind of effect did acacia fiber have on your stool?

Mini-update: I searched "tight pelvic floor" on Youtube and watched a couple of videos. I've learned that tight pelvic floor muscles can cause constipation and many other problems.

I suspect mine are very tight from doing heavy barbell hip thrusts (to make my butt bigger).

There's a simple breathing one where you lay down with knees bent, and you breathe in until your lower gut rises like a balloon (this supposedly relaxes the pelvic floor muscles?), and then you exhale.

I'll try this before I sleep and report back if it helps moves things along!

Hi! I used to use acacia fiber four times a day. Sometimes in desperation I keep doing things hoping more is better than less. However at one point I felt that despite hydrating a lot and eating right I was having trouble keeping stool soft. So I have backed down to twice a day. It does not bulk me up too much but then the psyllium seems ok too when I use one teaspoon twice a day. The mag oxide did seem to make it slip right out at first - now not so much, I guess I will try citrate.
I was using coconut oil externally for awhile and tried taking the coconut oil by mouth twice a day - it did not seem to do much but I read the website you referred to and then it made a lot of sense - emulsified food and oil in the belly - so now I just started taking it with meals as you do. I find hydration helps me - I drink 3 liters a day but spread it out and one cup of warm microwaved water as soon as I wake up. Mostly my stools stay soft. On some days I get the "plug effect" though and then every day back means 5 -7 slow days of catching back up to progress
Take care
HTD

How much coconut oil were you taking? I've been gradually increasing my intake... I am up to 2.5 tsp total (1/2 tsp with breakfast, 1 tsp with lunch, 1 tsp with dinner) while decreasing my fiber intake a bit (to make my stool smaller), and noticed on the bristol stool scale, my poops are now close to 5!! :)

I've even stopped taking magnesium citrate (though you can definitely try it out, it might help with the plug effect?).

Yes, that website I referred to really makes sense. I believe oil is not as easily dried out (or at all) as water would be in the colon. If you take some oil with *every* meal, then logically your poop should be a mix of water and oil - and should stay soft and easy to pass all the time.

Add in some fiber to give it form, and that should make a near perfect stool that doesn't causing tearing.

Take care as well, I know we can both fight the cycle of retearing easily with the right diet adjustments!

Hello I was and will be taking 2 tsp a day one in am and one in PM. Same with acacia fiber. Today was a really good day with internal and external application of coconut oil. BM was perfect ( almost too perfect) and I know I can't hope for the same everyday - let's see. Wishing you the perfect BMs as well.
Thanks for all the tips.
Best
HTD

"I know I can't hope for the same every day": I know all about that! But it's oh so wonderful when your bm's come out near perfect. It really makes the rest of your day better and brighter. I hope yours have continued to be good.

I added in olive oil to the mix as recommended in the healthboards post - and the bm's are staying pretty soft from tip to end.

I have started to have a completely different problem, but will start a new thread for that.

Thanks for your wishes... staying hopeful!!