by Scientist2516 » 17 Apr 2014, 11:20
Hi Sweetchic.
It sounds like a fissure. It sounds as though you got caught in a vicious cycle of constipation causing pain, fear causing constipation and more pain. It's a classic way to get a fissure.
I would strongly recommend going to see a colorectal surgeon or colorectal nurse. S/he can prescribe medications to put on your anus that will help the pain and also help you heal.
S/he can also check to make sure nothing else is wrong down there. It's highly unlikely that you have cancer, or anything else scary. A fissure is almost certainly what you have - horrible but not life-threatening. Still, it makes sense to make sure!
You can do a lot for yourself. You can make sure you always have soft stools, by eating a good amount of fibre every day. Not too much fibre, but plenty of fruit and veg. Red lentils, oatmeal, grated apple and quinoa are good stool-softening foods for me. Experiment, keep a diary of what you eat and how soft your stools are. Find out what works for you.
You should drink a lot of water every day. Dehydration will make your stools hard and dry. Plus the extra fibre you eat will absorb plenty of water - that's partly what the fibre is for - so you need to drink more to accomplish that.
You can relieve the pain after a BM with gentle heat. Some people like a warm bath. Some like to sit in a warm sitz bath. My favourite thing was to sit on a hot water bottle. I'd sit on it for hours. I also found that ibuprofen takes the edge off the pain.
Please don't delay seeing a colorectal specialist.
Good luck, and let us know how you get on.
Nifedipine/lidocaine, no help
Diltiazem, effective, but caused major rash
Nitroglycerine, effective.
Topical estrogen for final healing.
Gentle heat to bottom - pain relief, muscle relaxant
Kondremul mineral oil
Time - lots of time.
Status - Healed!