First off let me say I pray for everyone with this awful condition daily. My fissure started a day or 2 after our home flooded with 5 feet of water in August of 2016. My anxiety was through the roof and my mom had just had fistula surgery and was recovering. They also had to evacuate their home to a shelter due to the flood waters. They ended up not flooding thank goodness. Anyway I couldn't imagine my mom sleeping on the floor of a shelter 2 days out of fistula surgery. Once I knew I could get to the shelter I made a quick trip to the restroom and pushed to hard and ended up with a fissure. I didn't bleed but something just felt wrong. I dismissed it and went to search for my parents. In the next days I kept feeling something just odd down there maybe a slight burning/tightness but no major pain or bleeding but it was scaring me to death on top of the flood anxiety. Anyway about 8 weeks later I go to my GP and he does an exam but doesn't feel anything and said maybe I just have a hemroid. That makes me feel alittle better but still didn't explain the new feeling I'm having down there. I have been taking fiber for years before this to help keep things moving so I was good there. Anyway the pain never went away and would come and go and was kinda vague but no bleeding ever. So in January of 2017 I go see my gastro and explain what's going on and he does a colonoscopy where he finds the fissure. He said it looked like it was trying to heal and prescribed nitro oitment which ended up being $450 so he called in some nifedipine and I started on that. Didn't do much. So over the next few months I met my deductible and tried the nitro oitment. Helped marginally. In all this time I ever saw blood twice 2 days in a row. So finally in like October of 2017 I saw a colorectal surgeon who said he thought I was healed yet I was still in pain and can't hardly sit... Sitting makes it worse. Bm get it burning then sitting will put it to the next level so I have had a standing desk at work a few months now. His orders were to keep at the nitro a month and come back if things still hurt. Well of course I went back and he saw the fissure that exam after I kinda guided him to it. He even said he made it bleed alittle although I never saw any blood. Orders that time were a month of nifedipine and come back if it still hurt and we'd talk about surgery. Well I'm there and am seeing another doc in his practice the 6th because she does Botox and he doesn't plus I want a second opinion. I started an antidepressant a few months ago and that has helped tremendously. Before I was physically ill with the anxiety/depression and pain this thing has caused and the medicine had helped significantly. I can't recommend it enough to help anyone struggling thru this. It will help the mental aspect of this hellish problem.

So I'm at a crossroads were I can get it healed enough that it is tolerable and I can somewhat enjoy life but one little wrong move, extra bowel movement that day or upset stomach I'm back in pretty major pain. I feel like the muscle isn't tight maybe not perfect but it's the burning!! My fissure is kinda right on the edge of internal/external and kinda feels like it runs out from the anus a half inch or so. So after 1.5 years I'm not gonna heal IMO unless someone reads this and can give me more things to try! Anyway we'll see what new doc says Wednesday. I have a new found faith and I have to turn this over to God. I'm so done with this issue and want my life back so I can be a great dad to my 5 year old and a great husband again. On the day's I don't hurt much I'm on cloud 9. This past week has been really rough and I have cried and cried. I'm just ready to have my life back. So crazy something so simple can cause this much pain/anxiety/depression.

Sorry it has taken me 1.5 years to post...I have been reading and this site has helped me thru some tough times. I look forward to being an active member and pray we all heal up. Any advice, prayers, comments, questions are welcome!

Hi, I feel your pain. I just made my first post today as well. What I discovered with trial and error was lower carb (about 50 gr per day) produces thin stool +magnesium citrate with every meal to make them soft. Take zinc and vitamin E to help the elasticity of your skin. Take L-Glutamine to heal your lining tissues. Make home made bone broth to get some collagen and other vitamins and minerals. Without a dense nutritional diet your body in general would heal wounds slower. Make green smoothies or green juices. My set backs always come after eating bread. My stool would become a little bigger although not hard because of the magnesium, but bulkier. Too much fiber can have the same effect, so go lower carbs and moderate soluble fiber. I ear meat, yams,. potatoes, avocado, asparagus, eggs. You can add more veggies of course but keep them moderate. No sugar, dairy (causes inflammation), gluten(causes hardening and bulking of the stool), nuts (can't be digested well and can cause scraping upon exit). You can test out some foods, but this is what works for me so well that if I stick with it I have no pain. The problem is to commit long enough until everything is healed and strengthened.
Oh, I didn't mention on my previous post, but I have been applying nitro for 4 weeks, that definitely has helped my muscles, but even with that ointment, if I eat bread, I will set back. Diet and daily form of laxative is MOST important. I found out that one without the other will NOT work. Strong will power is necessary. I hope that helps.

My latest setback came from hanging up Christmas lights on the house. All the up and down the ladder. I'm hard headed sometimes but just want a normal life. I don't see how folks say walking seems to help. Walking gets me burning. Also, I find a bulkier stool helpful. I eat meat some breads and veggies. Standing desk at work helps, solorcaine spray seems to help for a bit. Advil doesn't touch my pain... Haven't tried anything else. I drink a ton of water and 3 softeners a day with a scoop of metamucil at night. Stool is generally pretty soft. I find it impossible to keep things perfectly consistent. 1 bm a day is ideal but I'll have 1 to 3 generally. The worst is I usually wake up at around 3am with anxiety about the morning bathroom routine on work days. Toss and turn til the alarm goes off. Get up, get ready, bring my son to school then stand and suffer at work all day. May or may not have the dreaded work bm. Truly a miserable existence. I'm wondering if lis will fix me if my problem seems to be more burning then tightness/spasm. Any insight?

Hi,
It’s really awful living with a fissure, it can consume your whole life as your constantly thinking about your butt. I had mine for nearly 2 years and it was quite frankly hell.
I had Botox and it really helped with my pain but didn’t heal my fissure as mine was long and deep nearly 2 inch and down to the muscle. LIS did heal the fissure eventually but I have underlying issues.
It’s really up to the individual as to whether to try Botox before LIS, there have been quite a few members who healed completely from Botox and others like me who have gone on to have LIS.
Have you tried gabapentin for pain relief as that’s the only painkiller that has ever touched my spasms.
Good luck

Saw a second crs today about Botox. She said my fissure still looks acute no scarring or tags. Said it's probably just healing and retearing over and over. She said after 1.5 years lis is no brainer. It'll never heal medically. Botox would only help 4 to 8 weeks. She actually couldn't believe I've let it affect my life this long. Now to make the decision or not. Ugh.

My advice is that if you don't have any underlining issues go with Botox. That is a safer alternative to LIS.I've had Botox almost 2 years ago and I have fully recovered. I had AF for 1.5 years before that and it was extremely painful. Make sure that you drink plenty of water and take miralax. Good Luck