Hi everyone. I'm new to the forum and thought that I would introduce myself and my situation. I haven't been to the doctor yet (mainly out of fear of the examination) and I'm not sure if my issue is a fissure, a hemorrhoid, or both. Thanks in advance for listening!
My issue began a few weeks ago. I was taking a codeine-based cough syrup for bronchitis. The pharmacist told me to take a stool softener along with it, but I still struggled a bit with constipation. Strangely enough, I had spicy wings one night and my issue quickly turned to diarrhea. I noticed stinging, burning, and general discomfort after that episode. For the next several days, every BM was followed by a stinging, burning sensation for a couple of hours. If I had any difficulty going, then it felt like little cuts were being irritated back there and it was pretty painful. After a few days of this, I mainly only felt itching for a few minutes after a BM, but nothing else. I began reading about the possible causes, and trying the suggested remedies. I have increased the fiber in my diet (raisin bran in the am, plenty of fruits and salads, a fiber one bar as a snack, and just yesterday added activia yogurt), drink plenty of water, cut out all caffeine, fatty, fried foods, chips, spicy stuff, etc. I use prep h wipes after every bm and I take 200 mg of generic colace daily. Except for the occasional itchiness, as long as the stools are soft, I don't have any problems. The important phrase there was "as long as the stools are soft" - lol.
I've had a couple of setbacks during this period...both were when I attempted to stop taking the softeners. I guess I'm just not ready for that, yet. During those setbacks, my body would tell me that it's time to go, but I would try and could tell that it wasn't going to happen without straining - a huge no-no. I would start back on the stool softeners, and wait for the miracle. I've avoided the fiber supplements because I don't want to overdo my intake, but I don't want to be on softeners forever. I keep hearing conflicting reports about dependency on them, but a painless BM is a bigger priority right now. I also want to mention that I really don't have issues with bleeding. I saw blood twice at the very beginning (both when having painful BM's), but none in the weeks since then.
It feels good to be able to talk about this! I've told my partner, but that's pretty much it. I've never given so much thought and consideration to the movement of my bowels! Thank you all for reading this. Any advice, opinions, thoughts, or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Hi there, sorry you're suffering!
If you're worried about dependency on medicines then why not try flaxoil, aloe vera juice and first thing in the morning pure fruit juice with boiling water. And prune juice! And if you vastly up your intake of fruit and cooked veg, then nature should take its course without medicines!

it sounds like you have a fissure - the bleeding in the beginning is probably the biggest sign that you tore something. also, the stinging and pain during BM and the itching afterwards is a good sign. you're right to treat this with conservative measures at the beginning, since yo'uve only had problems for a few weeks.
there shouldn't be a problem with taking stool softeners as long as you need them. it is definitely more important to have a soft BM every time, than to worry about dependency. it sounds like you're doing everything right as far as diet goes. i would STOP the prep H wipes though. those are for hemmorhoids, not fissures. There's been discussion on the board about the negative effect witch hazel can have on a fissure. so stop using those! try to take as many warm baths as possible in these first few weeks, and continue for at least a couple months.
you might even want to have a dr check you out to be sure. my dr didn't do anything besides a visual exam to determine i had a fissure. a lot of times it will be visible external. so there was no pain as far as the exam went. see a specialist though, not just a nurse practicioner. i was misdiagnosed as having hemmorhoids twice before someone finally figured out what was really wrong...9 months after i first noticed pain. i wouldn't recommend waiting that long!!! if conservative treatments don't work, there are many other options. look around the board for other people's experiences/treatments, etc.

Fortunately it sounds like your fissure hasn't gone "full-blown" on you, though I am not minimizing the misery you have already gone through, including the mental stress.
Think soft foods, and don't worry about dependency on stool softeners. It's the laxatves that are believed to be the problem in that respect.
Don't overdo the fiber, either...or you'll get firm bulky stools! Ouch!
This board is brimming with good advice, if you have time to look it over. I'd like to go ahead and second both Juney and Val's good advice!

try non medicated wipes without witchhazel. witchhazel if used too much can cause issues..too many to list. Could cause a boil.
Use the wipes like non scented wipes ...baby wipes or the flushable kind.
The medicated wipes tend to be overkill from my experience and others that i have seen on the posts on this site experience the same issues.
Best Regards
Bernard
Aloe ointment before and after BM's works good for me. It comes in a clear tube..you wipe it on not take it internally.

sorry to hear you're going through this.
You have the right idea, in that keeping the stools soft is an absolute must at this stage, do whatever it takes :)
Colace, I believe is what we call movicol in the UK and you don't become dependent on it as it isn't a stimulant, it just draws water into the colon.
Good luck with your healing :)

Hi everyone! Thank you all for all of the suggestions and advice so far. I'm definitely going to stop using the wipes with witch hazel. I'm still using the stool softeners 2x a day, but for some reason they don't seem to be working as well (maybe it's just a fluke) the last couple of days. So, in addition to those, I drank prune juice yesterday and today. That seemed to work (stool was kinda liquidy) but once again, I don't want to overdo it and end up with diarrhea. How do I regulate this? How on earth do I know whether the prune juice on its own will work without risking a hard stool by stopping the softeners? Is it problematic to rely on a daily glass of that with its laxative properties? It's just frustrating, I guess. I know that I'm lucky so far because I'm pretty much fine as long as my stools are soft, I'm just obsessing about keeping it soft. It's only been a few weeks and I really don't want to go to my doc if it can heal on its own; at what point do I give in and go? Thanks again for listening - this forum is truly a godsend.

It took me a long time to get it perfect and I think it depends on if you get constipation or not-I didn't so consequently if I had too much of anything I was in the loo for hours!
Try small amounts and work up to more. I find boiling water with pure juice in the morning will trigger going. I take a teaspoon of flaxoil, 2 tablespoons of aloe vera, both twice a day and then 2 teaspoons of MOM just before bed.....perfection..(for me!)

Getting your stools the right consistency takes trial and effort and it is not a science! It generally requires "stumbling" upon it and then sticking with that.
For instance, maybe try 3/4 to half the prune juice and see if your stools are more formed , but still come out easier...

A couple more questions...please bear with me! You guys advised me to stop using the wipes with witch hazel - duly noted. Any particular types that are better than others? I looked in CVS and saw tons of wipes, so I thought I'd seek a little guidance first.
Also, since I don't have too many non-BM related symptoms (thank God), is there anything that I should be putting on the area to promote healing? (Remember that I haven't been to the doc yet, so I'm going under the assumption that this is a mild fissure.) Someone mentioned aloe vera gel...
Finally...can you usually see a fissure? I tried to gently examine the area, but haven't been too successul. I don't see anything out of the ordinary, but I'm afraid to aggravate anything by fiddling with it too much.
You're probably going to get tired of me, but I appreciate your suggestions so much!