Hi all! I’ve been suffering for 5mo and this month it was the worst. I think it got so bad because I had days I drank less water and ate the wrong thing.
So frustrating after feeling better then feeling horrible.
I am not opting for surgery, just need to figure out self care and pain relief and understand for those of you who have horrific long lasting spasms, what you do or would do, and how long they lasted (weeks, months?) and how they went away in the end. Thank you SO much!

ESun, welcome and I just wanted to let you know I feel your pain. I got my first fissure shortly after the birth of my daughter from constipation probably due to breastfeeding. Hate to say it and I’m not advocating for you to stop breastfeeding, but my AF went away after I stopped BFing. It also helped my pain to get stools softer with magnesium that time. Now I’m almost 35 weeks pregnant with an active fissure that bleeds a lot and even makes urination painful in the hours after a BM. My OB okayed the Diltiazem that my CRS prescribed and I think it’s finally starting to relax my sphincter a tad after taking it for 3-4 weeks. We’ll see. I’m also thinking I’ll do LIS after I give birth because I spend way too much time in pain and I don’t know how I’ll take care of my newborn if I can barely move around the house. Plus we’re done with babies after this one.

PreggoAF I hear you. I can’t stop BFing I don’t think because I’m a single mom and it’s such a part of us at this point
I’m trying physical therapy now. I do take Mag Citrate at night. I keep things pretty soft. I drink a ton and take other supplemts and drink blended smoothies and soups. I take a lot of oils to get the calories I need. I’m so glad we have each other to talk to. This is so difficult.

Physical therapy sounds awesome. Are you doing it for pelvic floor disfunction? I also have been relying on lots of oils to boost my calorie intake. I’m still pitifully below my target weight for this pregnancy and hope the baby is not negatively affected. How’s your milk supply doing? I remember having a hard time with that after I got my AF last time.

We are fine milk wise.
I don’t seem to have an “active” fissure as it doesn’t hurt or bleed to Poo but afterward I have pain and discomfort (spasms and tightness) for hours. It’s awful. It brings down my day.
Do you experience this? (Or others reading this?) what do you do?
For me diltiazem is pointless, I just use Advil (I’ve also found some meditation tracks) and now have physical therapy that gives me tools for self massage and stretches (I’ll see the therapist for the next two months).She has worked with others who have experienced this.
Can you get your doc to get you a referral for a pelvic floor specialist? It’s totally covered for me.
As for healing and keeping soft, I recommend blending and also taking a probiotic and a fish oil.
I take so many supplements!

Lol omg I take so many supplements too! I have like a whole container in my kitchen it’s ridiculous. A pelvic floor specialist sounds like something I could benefit from. I’ll see if I can find someone around here. My husband’s job is moving us overseas to Indonesia in mid-June so I really need to get this issue under control before our move.

And it’s awesome that you don’t get pain or bleeding during BMs. Sorry to hear about the spasms though. I’ve read other people report similar things on this forum and wonder why they’re still in pain if the fissure isn’t active. I remember someone writing that it can take awhile for the sphincter to relax properly after it’s been malfunctioning for too long with a chronic fissure. I hope the pelvic floor therapy helps your problem! Do you think you’re still too tight? I’ve heard of people doing dilation to help with loosening the muscle after their fissure healed

Jumping into this convo! I am 12 weeks postpartum and got an AF at about week 3 pp so I've been miserable for 9 weeks. My BMs don't hurt really at all, using fiber and softeners to make everything go smoothly...then about 30 mins after BM...BAM, spasm pain that lasts for HOURS. Especially if I'm sitting. Which is constantly between breastfeeding and my work-from-home job. I'm no longer bleeding, but the spasm pain is sucking the life out of me daily. Baths sometimes help, but I have a life and I can't spend every day in the tub I am still breastfeeding, and really don't want to stop. It doesn't make me constipated. I'm getting depressed with the constant daily pain. I want my life back! My gastro doc put me on nitro that I put on 2-3 times a day. Honestly, I don't notice it doing anything at all, but everyone claims it works. I'm open to any tips or tricks to get the pain to go away!! I've started doing kegels to bring blood to the area...that sometimes helps.

How long have you been using nitro? I believe it can take several weeks to work. Im 2 weeks postpartum and 3 weeks without blood or pain or spasms. I had my AF actively for 7 weeks before it let up. Now I’m terrified of it coming back because so many women get them postpartum!

Also, what caused yours to tear?

I've been using Nitro for about 6 weeks (I think. Definitely at least 5 weeks). At this point I can't tell if time or the nitro is doing the healing. I'm pretty sure a rough BM about 3 weeks postpartum did it. But I had no idea what was causing the pain (I thought it was hemorrhoids for awhile) and was finally diagnosed with an AF at my 6 week check up. Looking back I would have done fiber starting day 1 pp to keep everything nice and smooth.