Hi, thanks for this board, its helped me immensely, never knew so many people suffered the same condition, heres my story, would be grateful for any advice or suggestions.
Female, 49 Years old, hectic lady, works 60+ hours a week, not got time for sore bottom, hardly ever been constipated, regular as clockwork, every day at 7.30am, out it slides, down it gets flushed, and on with the working day ....................until......................
April of this year it all started, at first with a tiny sting after i had been on the throne, never used to last long, and by the time i had showered and got dressed, i had forgotten about it until the next day, and the same would happen.
This went on for a few weeks, til i gave in and purchased some Anusol from our local chemist, , the stinging that occured when i used this I can only describe at how it would feel if you shoved curry powder in your eye, or a chilli pepper up your nose! OW, Ow, Ow, the cream went in the bin and I decided to take the self help contortionists option, grabbed a mirror and tried to see what was causing the problem.
All I could see was a tiny red lump, smaller than a pea, just on the edge of my you know what. It wasnt hard, it wasnt soft, it was sorta mushy, and under the skin, so i dolloped some savlon antiseptic cream on it and presumed it would go away .
A few days later, on using the loo, it felt as is I was passing slices of broken glass, razor blades were hitting the pan, and all of this was joined by several blobs of bright red blood.....................pretty scary, and I made a docs appointment, couldnt be doin with this hassle.
That was in June, and I was diagnosed, WITHOUT any inspection, as having an anal fissure, handed some steroid suppositories and told to use two a day, and see how I got on .
Yes, they worked, within about a week, the pain was back down to mild and how it used to to , although there was still some blood, and the odd bout of itchy butt.
However, by the end of June, Freda The Fissure returned, this time much worse, accompanied by burning, bigger razor blades, and more blood.
Back to the docs, still no examination, 2 weeks worth of steroids suppositories this time, asked if i was ever constipated, which i have never been, and sent off with a pat on the back .
By the time i got to the second week on the steroid bombs, it was agony to insert any, and my poor little bum was so red, swollen and sore, but, as ordered by the doc, i continued to use them, believing that she was the doc, not me, what the hell did i know ??
To cut a long story short, the bombs didnt help this time, and i resulted to warm baths as often as i could, nurofens, nd basically put up with the pain.
On further examination of myself, it could now be seen that the little red lump had grown, wasnt red anymore but skin coloured and was twice if not three times the size, although it didnt hurt, it was what was beyond it that hurts, hell knows what that is??
So, this morning i went back to the doc, and this time i was actually examined, although not internally, as I am too sore, yet she did say she could see a couple of cracks from the outside. A COUPLE???
How many more of the little buggers are hiding inside? Is that possible?
Hence, i have been referred to a specialist for what they call 'stretching surgery', I gather this is the dilated job thingy, and given one months supply of steroid suppositories to help me along while i wait!!!
Am in two minds to throw the bombs in the bin, and carry on with the warm baths and the nurofens, dont particularly want surgery, dont have TIME for surgery, yet I am sore, burning, itching, and every poop I now dread, surely there is another way to resolve this ?
Any advice would be adored
Thankyou xxx

Diet is a big thing that needs to be considered.
Other options include the BP creams (nefedipine and diltiazem) which are compounded into a cream and apllied to the area.
There is the nitro cream, but many people find the headaches are too severe to use it.
Botox is an option, though it is not often covered by insurance.
LIS surgery is the last option, though it has a stated 97% success rate.
Keep in mind that a chronic fissure can last months, even years? Are you prepared for that?
Google any of the above treatment options along with the phrase "anal fissure" in quotes and you will get many hits and plenty to read up on. Hope it improves rapidly!
Kim

Thankyou for your fast reply Kim, diet is something i am careful with, always scoff fresh veggies on a daily basis, and as I am in the UK, the treatment here doesnt look as advanced as it is in the States, I have scoured your forum and been reading for ages on all the diff treatments, gonna give homeopathic a go I think before i even contemplate surgery
xx

Yes, do try any and all available conservative treaments first.

Hi Stinger,
I wouldn't put any more hydrocortisone on the area which is probably what they are prescribing. It isn't very helpful for fissures but it is prescribed a lot for all sorts of anal problems and can weaken the skin and make it harder to heal.
It sounds like you may have had a thrombosed external hemorrhoid. It is crazy that no one examined you until recently!
Feel free to wander around here-we have lot of posts that can help inform!

Hi there. I wonder if you might have an abscess. That would explain why the pain has gotten worse and your bum is not healing. Perhaps the doc can check for that before you go in for dialation surgery. I had a little bump that would grow and shrink, hurt and not hurt, and I had a fissure that would not heal because of it. Finally, after 7 mos of this, I pressed hard on the lump and out popped puss. I don't recommned doing that, but having the dr check it out thoroughly might answer the question for you. Maybe all you'll need is a bout of antibiotics.

Thanks for your replies, buttgirl, i havent used steriod cream the doc prescribed, or the suppositories, as last time they made me worse.
Over the last few days I have applied nothing to my butt, and the burning sensation has gone, although I still feel sore, what helps me at the moment is a warm soak in the bath after a BM and another one before i go to bed at night. I also take two ibuprofen and a small brandy before i go to sleep, and this helps me to sleep thru the night as before I used to wake up every hour or so, and panic and stress about the following mornings BM . I would look at the clock and think, oh hell, only 3 more hours til i have to go through all that again, and am sure the stress of it made me worse.
I run the bath as soon as I wake up, so as its ready, settle on the loo, and brace myself for the dreaded cutting feeling, oddly enough since i stopped all medication it hasnt been quiet as bad, how odd is that ? Then i get into the bath to stop the spasms, and after 5 - 10 minutes it feels a whole lot better.
Fortunately, I only have one BM a day so life isnt too bad, all I am suffering with atm now is the feeling of carrying around a sharp splinter inside my butt and a tightness. This gets worse an hour or so after my bath and put it down to 'drying' up and the fissure trying to heal?
As soon as I soak in the tub again, it feels better, am I doing the right things here?

That sounds like a perfect plan. I soak right after I go and also at night to help keep things relaxed to promote blood flow.
There is another UK boardie here who uses an ointment like the diltiazem and nefedipine called Anoheal. I believe it has the same ingredients of the diltiazem which I use.
I am also a big proponent of using aloe vera on the area too.

Hi, I'm the other boardie from the UK! We don't seem to have as much medication available as in yhe US and our doctors seem totally unsympathetic and unknowledgable, my doctor treated me for piles and then gave me painkillers with codeine in! None of the chemists stock the anoheal(which is diltiazem) it's a special order and you have to wait up to three weeks for it!! Can you believe that? Apparently, it's a really new treatment and not many people have heard of it.
I'VE ACTUALLY HAD SIX HOURS OF NO PAIN!!
I'm so excited because the last week has been hell on earth. I suppose now I've written that, I'll have another awful day tomorrow!

Hey Val,
Sorry to hear you've been having so much pain, but hooray for the six hours! Maybe that is the start of something good!
Stinger, as Lecia indicated, hot baths, up to four a day, are excellent in bringing blood to the area to help healing. It also helps with the pain afterwards, sometimes more than others..