I have been reading this board for a long time and it’s the first time I am writing here. I am male 32 years my story starts when last summer I have problem sitting on hard surfaces. I visited couple of time to my primary health care doctor but she said you have constipation take fiber it will be ok. After 3 weeks problem persists I do have constipation in my family so it was not a big deal for me. I was doing as a usually do and keep ignoring what I have. Finally after 3 weeks my rectum got real swelled and I rushed to the doctor. She refers me a GI. He looked at me and did not tell me what I had just given me polythene glycol and rectiv cream to apply inside. This cream changed my life so much that I cannot imagine. The side effect of this cream to me was depression come with anxiety. 3 weeks using a little amount every night and the pain from sitting was un explainable. I am a driver by profession and I almost sit all the time. By searching online by the name of rectiv I have come to know that I have an anal fissure. I stop using rectiv because of the depression and try to cure myself through dieting and taking lots of fiber. Finally I have done it I cured it but still I was not able to sit straight. I try to sit straight on my job and guess what I got spasm again. The depression went away after month but anxiety stays. I went to see therapist and finally got anxiety medicines. The GI checked me again and said your fissure is healed but it’s very tight in there. He gave me another cream to apply. Now I have anxiety all the time that I will never be able to sit on hard surface again in my life. After the spasm I got another fissure. So go back to square one. I am writing here and happy that I am not alone. You guys are here as well.

Hello and So sorry to hear about you pain! Anal fissures are very painful. I am 3 days post LIS and fissurectomy and so very glad and grateful to have gotten the surgery. I was in aweful pain for weeks, so I went to see a surgeon and he said that I would need surgery. He also performed the LIS (Lateral Interal Sphincterotomy). This operation loosens the muscle in order to prevent future fissures.
You need to see a Colorectal surgeon so that you can be diagnosed properly and suggest surgery if needed. I opted for this because my pain was unbearable! AF Angel has a post called Success Story that has many good suggestions for diet, pain relief, etc.

thank you very much jessjess. i was a good story till last two weeks but sitting straight got me spasm again. i am sorry you need to do the surgery but for me i scared to death about surgery. i tried everything to figure out what is causing me hard stool. the first thing i found out was meat followed by coffee , it make me dehydrated and the the third one is the pain killers like ibuprofen naproxen and motrin.i quit all those things i am doing the same again hopefully i will healed soon.

Hi Cheeko,
I too am scared of surgery but am genuinely more scared of having to live with this pain for the rest of my life, sure this bowt will prb pass, its been a week of throbbing, spasming, burning, stabbing like pain, aching bum cheeks aching back and i'm actually looking forward to suffering for a few weeks post op, thinking that then i might actually get some normality back down there. 7 years is too long!
It sounds liek your job is a real nightmare, i find my self freaking out if i see a speed bump in the road!
I hope you're alright and things get easier..

I understand. When I was finally able to see the surgeon and he suggested surgery, I was elated and relieved. The constant chronic pain was more scary than the surgery. I also had a very nice surgeon who looks like my first love so I felt assured and comfortable.
Have you seen a surgeon? You don't want to get in my postion last week where you are in pain constantly and you have to wait to get in to see one.

janucheekoo, welcome to the forum, one thing you learn with a "fissure" is that they are very pailful, they can heal on their own or they can be and affliction for a long time until surgery is next.
Is ok to be anxious, I developed the anxiety also when the fissure was fresh and the pain and sleeplessness change my life but once I went to the colorectal doctor and he assure me that what I had was a very pailful fissure I realized that I could work with this affliction and see how to deal with the pain and discomfort.
Like another poster said, you should see a specialist to get the proper diagnosed and ease your mind then work from there.
With proper care things get more manageable and you always have the option of surgery, but one thing is for sure fissures are life changing and we will never get to see our bottom parts the same way again.

I agree with JessJess. We were both in a position of severe pain which was beyond controllable by anything other then surgery. You may want to at least see a surgeon to see if u would benefit from surgery before you get to the position we were in. Trust me you'll want to avoid our pain at all costs and I know JessJess will back me up on that one. Lol! Some surgeons have long waits for their availability so the sooner you can get in the better. You may not even need surgery, but it doesn't hurt to get a professionals oppinion. And GI's aren't always right! My GI and a few others I've read about on this forum misdiagnosed part of the fissure as a hemorrhoid. So IMO a surgeons advice is the way to go for you. Like I said u may not even need surgery, but it's best to find out now before the agony comes full blast! Best of luck!!

hi everyone
thanks for everyone that you guys gave me good ideas i have read alot about here in this forum about fissure more then anywhere on the web. i know surgery is a quick fix but its not the end of the world. people who has surgery can alos get fissure back. i really want to adress the cause of it. why i have this at the first place. i know i have this for a long time. the pain just started few months ago. if constipation is the problem why i have the constipation at the first place. what i am eating and how my system react to the things i eat. i see fissure is a digestive problem not the problem of anything else. i was a heavy man of 300 pounds last year i lost 85 pounds doing gym. i got my self dehydrated. i put my self on a protein diet. one year after i had a fissure. after the depression from nitro i try to find the root of the problem. fissure do not happen because of hard bowl movement fissure happened because of pressure you put on the rectal musles. imagine carry a weight for a long time you get tired and then you want to take the weight down for a rest same thing is with those anal spincters .but now fissure happened what to do. people take pain killers ok pain killers make your blood thin and harden your stool.so what happen you feel less pain but when you get another bowl movement you go back to square one. thin blood can never heal fissure thin blood have less platelets which stop the bleeding naturally in the body. its a digestive issue my opinion.