It takes awhile to heal, Tracy!

How long was it for you Cheryl?

I was officially diagnosed in April of 2008. The last time I had blood was in November of last year. Occasionally, I can still have pain, but not very often. When I have pain, I use my diliatzem ointment. I'll be taking the pelvic floor retraining class at Mayos in a few weeks as I have pelvic floor dysfunction.

Cheryl--did you have any surgery?

No--none. The next thing I was ready to try was Botox injections.

Hi Macy !
I do have one daughter she is 12 going on 21 ! You know the kind !
She is my sunshine
I don’t have the pain that is too strong a word..
I have days here and there with discomfort, sometimes I feel that sensitive fissure scar or sometimes slight discomfort on toileting, I can usually walk it off or do a funky dance in the kitchen
PMS has always been the spoke in the wheel for me but since LIS dare I say it …
I am happy enough Macy but I am super cautious, ALWAYS ! :roll:
I wonder if you should use a cream with an applicator that way you could use some internally to coat the fissure before toilet time, hopefully beating the burn ??!!
Good for you Corsi I hope you enjoyed every sip of wine !

Hey Tabby and Corsi!
I have been so scared to try and put anything directly on the fissure. I am not sure if that is a good thing or not, plus I am just scared to disturb the area.
Do you still have pain with your periods? Does it start before your period or during?
How long did it take you to heal Cheryl? What was your method? Did you have pain all day?

I think my healing curve wasn't straight. It had its ups and downs. I think getting on an AD really helped me and talking about my butt woes with a psychiatrist. I started feeling better all the way around about the first of this year. I think the mental component is very important, and I was doing very poorly mentally. As I started to feel better, I got into more acitivities and stopped thinking about my butt and digestive difficulties so much and started reaching out trying to help others. (i.e. Red Cross, etc.) Sometimes my butt hurt, and seeing blood was always discouraging. Tabby gave me great support on a daily basis. Keeping my digestive system functioning properly with Miralax has been a continual challenge. Benefiber and Metamucil has helped.

Yes an AD helped the mental portion a lot for me too. Unfortunately, I had some family death recently that has taken a toll on me as well, but I am getting through. Is yours healed completely? What sort of foods do you eat/stay away from?
Tabby does seem very helpful :D

Tabby and I have a lot in common with our situations. I guess I am healed completely, but the area will be compromised for quite awhile, I think. I have finally started to eat different foods, but at my worst I wouldn't eat cheese and very little processed food. I became quite thin and then started drinking Ensure every day. I have put on 15 pounds and am not too thin anymore! I also ate very little meat during the bad time. I eat whole grain bread now and oatmeal, bananas or strawberries or blueberries, healthy soups, salmon, potatoes, squash (very good). I try to not eat very many sweets, but sometimes eat chocolate and taffy. I drink 8 glasses of water daily and also use soy milk in my oatmeal. I take my Miralax and Benefiber in grape juice b/4 I go to bed. Feel free to ask me anything else. Here is a link about my son that I posted earlier. My picture is at the bottom of the story: http://www.heartspring75.org/outcomes/students/113-lance-k