I had a sphincter muscle cut 9 wks ago to relieve the pain of an acute anal fissure and here i am, yes, without the spasms but still with pain. Im still off work and yes my work has been very flexible and sympathetic but im sure eventually it wont be good news re: my job.
Ive got 2 topical creams...schiprocto and rectogesic-both are doing nothing only the first one slightly eases it but its still there (the pain) waving at me in the background!
Im taking movicol, co-dydromol and when that runs out, paramol, oh and ibuprofen.
my gp says there is no easy solution and cant do anything else and my local hospital which is just an a&e unit says there are no surgeons in that field to help!
I feel helpless and lost and am now going to walk into the hospital tomorrow that did the op in the first place.
I do not know what else to do. Just makes me sad that i cant work as i actually want to go back to work. I dont want them to think im unreliable although they do love me (im slightly blowing my own trumpet but feel im allowed when im in this much pain :)
Has anyone got any ideas at all please?
Has anyone heard of having botox injected in that area to weaken the pain etc at all? Or anything else??
Many thanks
Would love to hear from anyone at all please
xxx

Muscle relaxants with your ibuprofen, Valium works well but is addictive and causes drowsiness. I'm sorry the surgery didn't work for you they probably didn't cut enuf to release the muscle. Some people do need a second surgery to heal the fissure. I hope u can find someone to help you even if you have to travel, it is hard to live this way. Have you tried a heating pad?

Hi Soregirl - welcome!
I'm sorry that you are still in pain 9 wks after surgery. I understand how disappointing that must be! There are a number of folks here who took quite a while to heal - in some cases six months to a year. I think about 3-5 months is a realistic time-frame. You are just over 2 months, so try not to despair. I think it's a very good idea for you to return to the hospital where you had the procedure done, so that they can investigate and see what's going on.
Do you know if your fissure has healed yet? There have been some folks here who have had to have two LISs. If you fissure has healed and you are not suffering from spasms, you might want to see if there is a pelvic floor problem involved (levator ani, I believe it's called - a few people who posted here in the past had that syndrome and it took them a while to figure it out, but there is treatment).
I hope you get to see the right doctor and get this sorted very soon ... meanwhile, I second Elphie's suggestion of a good muscle relaxant. That helps me a lot.

I am taking Skelaxin for the spasms. It is a mild muscle relaxer that can be taken with pain meds. The Skelaxin does not cause any drowsiness at all, so I am able to work, drive, etc. You may ask your GP about it.

Thankyou everyone for your replies-ive been into hospital again and FINALLY been given different drugs that have helped! Ive been given metranidol which is an antibiotic, a gel that you put in the anus which has anaesthetic in (strong stuff)! and diclofenac. And theres another plus-my surgeon is finally seeing me in 12 days rather than the end of june! Ive realised the best thing to do is keep pushing for an appt and finally its happened.....
watch this space
xx

Turns out i DIDNT have the sphincter muscle cut but was stretched!! The cut muscle op is in a few wks time!! Does anyone know how this op is post-op? x

soregirl39 wrote:Turns out i DIDNT have the sphincter muscle cut but was stretched!! The cut muscle op is in a few wks time!! Does anyone know how this op is post-op? x

Firstly.. HI soregirl...
Secondly... OUCH!!! Anal stretching is considered barbaric by many GP's and surgeons, LIS is the preferred method for anal fissures..
I had LIS 9 months ago and the post-op pain (for me) was a living hell which continued on and on for at least 5-6 months, some other folks on here have been cured and pain free straight after the procedure, it's really hit and miss as to whether you'll be a quick healer or a slow healer, but one thing is for sure, the op really does help a lot despite the post-op pain, I have no regrets about having LIS because my sphincter is much more relaxed and pooping is easier.

I was one of the lucky ones, aside from very mild discomfort after morning BM, 3 weeks after LIS, I'm back to normal, mostly, I'm still careful, I'm still taking miralax and benefiber, but the fissure pain is completely gone. It was worth it for me, sorry you got stretched, I haven't heard anything good about that. Good luck with your LIS, pain free days are around the corner!

Hi Soregirl - I'm so glad you got your treatment sorted! I've heard that some surgeons still do the stretch, or dialation, procedure, but I've only heard of that being done when the LIS doesn't quite work, and only then it is done in a very controlled and very conservative way. I definitely think the LIS will do a better job. The recovery varies. I'm 9 days post-op myself and I am doing much better than I was before the procedure, but I'm still far from completely recovered. The spasms are mostly gone, unless I have a bad BM day - hard stools or multiple BMs can still cause some burning and pain. I also still have some pain at the fissure site and I think at the incision site as well, but things are improving day by day.
Although you may be able to go back to work in one week, I suggest that you plan to be off work at least two weeks. Also, keep in mind that for most people this is not a quick fix. It usually takes 4-6 weeks for the fissure itself to heal after the LIS (some people heal in a few weeks, others take 6 months to a year), but the pain should be dramatically diminished after the surgery. Keep the area very clean. I take a shower after every BM and a few more times a day since there is some post-surgery drainage. Depending on how your BMs go, you might consider taking stool softeners to keep everything soft and smooth on the way out (Miralax/Movicol/Restoralax seems to be the favourite stool softener among the folks here). You will likely be given pain killers after the surgery, in which case I definitely recommend stool softeners because painkillers can be constipating. I only needed the painkillers for the first two days and then I took Robaxecet (a muscle relaxant) if I had pain after my morning BM. Many people here also soak in a warm bath for about 20 minutes a few times a day too. But be careful not to 'over clean' as well, since the tissue down there will be pretty tender ... and definitely do not use any soap!!
That's all I can think of just now - but please feel free to ask any questions you have. The folks here are very helpful and supportive. Please keep us posted. I wish you the best of luck!