So...yesterday 8.00 am I went to hospital. The senior ward sister, Sarah, looked after me and could not have been nicer or more reassuring. I asked her some questions and she told me that it wasn't entirely clear from my notes exactly what was planned but, not to worry, I would be able to speak to my CRS beforehand and she would also make sure she knew what was being done. Bless him, my CRS whizzed into the room, said 'hello, you're second on the list, sign here please, see you later'. He's (in)famous for his communication skills.
It may sound odd that I wasn't sure of what was due to be inflicted upon me but I had only discussed the procedure once, last July, on my first visit. The actual 'oh I've got to go ahead with this' was via a phone call less that two weeks ago. Anyway I was taken to theatre at 10.20 and was chatting away when I said I really wasn't totally sure what was planned. Sarah patted my hand, left the room and returned 30 seconds later with the CRS. He then explained that he was intending to excise the fissure and not perform LIS. Well you could have knocked me down with a feather. Which is basically what happened only with a wiff of gas.
I came to in the recovery room an hour later and dozed off and on until they took me back upstairs to my waiting husband about 11.45. My CRS came to see me a little while later to tell me that all had gone according to plan. He had removed a 'large' amount of scar tissue so I would never have healed by myself no matter how careful I was. He also said that I had a prolapse in the anus and that would have given me additional pain, caused more spasms. And what do more spasms mean? You get the picture: the AF cycle show was set to run and run. The upshot was that I should heal well but needed to ensure really soft BMs to allow the prolapse to heal. So I've got Movicol two times a day for two weeks. He also confirmed that there were no stitches and no dressings to worry about. 'See you next Friday'.
Pain? Well after I came round I was given 2 paracetemol to top up what I had been given in theatre. I wasn't pain free but it was a 1/10 or 2/10 at that point.
Lunch arrived, which always cheers me up, smoked salmon sandwich, a fresh fruit salad & tea. I hadn't been allowed to drink since six that morning so I had been drinking water after the op but the tea was wonderful. My other half assures me it wasn't really but I don't care, I thought it was bliss.
After lunch I was trying to get a little more comfortable when I looked down and loticed quite a lot of bright red blood. It took me several moments to realise that it was coming from my hand and not my rear end! I had managed to remove the canula by getting it entangled in the bedding. The nurses quickly sorted me and the bed out and I was thanked for adding a little excitement to their day.
I went to the loo as requested and got dressed. I then noticed a bit more discomfort so was given ibuprofen and asked if I felt well enough to go home or wanted to wait. As I only live a two minute drive away I wanted to go home. I got various bits of paper and a bag of Movicol, paracetemol & ibuprofen. That was that.
I took paracetemol & ibruprofen as instructed during the evening but the pain did rise from time to time and I was bleeding a little all the time. I hadn't been warned about that but have a memory of another doctor saying that as I was a readhead I'd bleed well!
I had a fairly good night (although I think it's time to go back the summer duvet as I got very hot).
I got up about six and used the portable bidet bought last week (thank you to whoever suggested this). I was quite uncomfortable but didn't like to take anything on an empty stomach. So I waited for tea & toast at eight.
Today has been not too bad. I'm taking the pain killers regularly. I'm still bleeding but the pain only occassionally gets up to 3/10. I'm eating quite lightly, drinking lots of water and taking it easy.
I await my first BM with trepidation. I imagine blood & pain to be honest; but it can't be as bad as before. I'll keep you posted.
My biggest discomfort of the day was watching Scotland play Italy in the Six Nations.
Linda

Best of luck Linda. Good that you are writing it up for us all. Thinking of you and wishing you all the best in a speedy healing. At least Wales beat France at rugby :D

Glad to hear you are on the "other side" of this. I'm not sure if you guys have these across the pond, but we have something called Tucks Medicated Pads. They are little round things, soaked in witch hazel. You insert them between your cheeks and they seem to have a cooling, relaxing effect. In addition, they soak up any staining. I do find that I need to use a maxi-pad with them, as they are a bit on the wet side themselves, but they do provide comfort and relief. My CRS recommended replacing them out at 2 to 4 hour intervals.
Good luck with your healing.

Hi Linda,
So i am presuming you just had fissurectomy? Sometimes a CRS will carry out Botox or LIS at the same time but fissurectomy can also be carried out on its own. I am presuming he thinks you will be able to heal yourself without LIS or Botox and the non-healing problem you had was linked to a skin tag and thickened fissure edges?
Do you have a prolapsed rectum? Was your bowel protruding from your butt before the surgery? If so i guess i can understand why he would not operate
Paracetamol and Ibuprofen seem to be the standard pain killers offered by most hospitals, i actually bought some myself in case i was not offered any prescription drugs at the hospital.
Anyway glad to see its over and done with for you, i will be following your posts with interest from now on
Well Done!
Davo

Hi Linda, so glad to know that all went well and your on the road to life as it should be, fissure free! What a blessing that you decided to go ahead and have the surgery, considering the other underlying issues that were found you were sure to be suffering all for nothing had you continued to try and heal on your own! So happy for you and wishing you all the best...angel

Thank you all. :D . I will bring you upto date later.

I am glad you're feeling better. I have my Botox in 2 days and it is nice to see someone have success! Sets my mind at ease!

Day 2 - Happy birthday to me, I've done more than a wee, done a poo-oo in the loo-oo, happy birthday to me.
Woke up this morning at 5.30 in a bit of pain, had a warm wash/soak and a couple of paras and went back to sleep 'til 8.30ish. Had a cup of tea and slice of toast so I could take ibuprofen as I still felt a bit sore. I decided to go for another soak. As I sat on the loo beforehand I realised I needed to poop and 'braced'. What can I say? It was mildly uncomfortable and there was no real blood. My very own b'day pressie to me. Did the soaking and washing and soaking and washing thing.
The pain did begin to build after about 30mins and I went for another soak in my portable bidet but before I did I had poop No2! The pain eased off afterwards quite a bit. I have continued to take the paras & ibuprofen throughout the day. I have had some discomfort now and then but no spasms and less bleeding than yesterday.
I hope it continues in this vein. Lots of water & careful diet I think.
To answer Davos questions - yes the AF edges were thickened & yes it was prolapse of the rectum with bowel protruding but at the spincter not all the down to the open air! Neither the CRS nor I had any idea of that as I really hadn't been examined that often or that deeply as I was always in far too much pain. I'm hoping that the excision will be enough to 'cure' the problem.
So Day 2 nearly over and feeling positive. I hope that me 'bearing my all' helps you as much as it does me :oops: I'm sure most of my friends would fall over if they knew I was discussing this with strangers. Although you are not really strangers as we have so much in common.
Linda.

hi linda, so glad to hear your pain level is not at all unbearable, that's a great sign after surgery and exactly what should be expected, nothing at all like the full on fissure pain! I must tell you that in the beginning of my fissure experience, when I first found this forum, my husband COULD NOT BELIEVE THE DETAILS OF MY BM'S that I was discussing on-line with my new found friends here on this site...at this point it is second nature to him as it is to me, but it is kinda of funny if you really think about it how are conversations revolve around the size and consistency of our bm's which seems to be really the most common thread that we all share and care so much about! It's great to have friends who have first-hand knowledge and understanding of this condition....here's hoping your day 3 proves to be a little better, and each day after a little bit more.....best wishes, angel

Linda, so glad to hear that everything has gone as smoothly as you describe. I think it is quite natural to be anxious about that first "movement." It has been a pretty universal topic here. It's the anticipation of it all, and as we've all suffered so much, we expect great suffering once again. Although I noted some pain my first post-LIS BM, it was nowhere near what I'd experienced beforehand, and it was nothing that a couple of Ibuprofen tablets wouldn't help. Now, I'm at a point of what I would describe more as discomfort than pain, although my mind is still revved up to expect the worst. This too will pass in time.
Like yourself, I also felt just a bit strange discussing this on a forum of folks I'd never met before. I was so glad to find that people shared and cared. I was also extremely ecstatic to find the wealth of good, helpful information this forum provided, but it was the unabashed empathy that hit me most.
Again, glad to hear you are doing so well.