Layla, I hope you get sorted soon. How are things? I am also having a battle with the NHS at the minute. Have been unwell for 4 months, with combination of infections, unidentified pressure and a fissure. I now believe i have 2 fissures as can pinpoint the pain, and my next hospital appointment is with a general surgical team 2 and a half months away. I have decided enough is enough, and for my own mental health aswell as physical, am going to my doctor monday to ask about a referral and going private. I too know what you mean about being more assertive, and i think the time has come for me too. It costs Ј150-Ј250 for a consultation, not sure what happens after that as that is my first move. I hope you get sorted, and can only imagine what it must be like for you doing a masters etc. I am also only 27, and been off work for 3 months. I have now been moved at work and am starting to fear for my job Feel like my life is on hold, good luck to you :)

I really think you're doing the right thing Sue - a general surgery team won't be much good, but going private will ensure that you get the best in the business. Research online different private hospitals and ask your doctor to refer you specifically to the one that YOU want. I went to the Nuffield, and can't praise them highly enough. If you like the CRS when you see him, and want him to do the surgery, they could write a letter to your gp and ask them to refer you back to them at their NHS hospital(most private CRSs are consultant surgeons at nhs hospitals) You would still possibly be looking at a wait of about 3 months though. The only way to get the op done quickly is to have it done at a private hospital , then the wait would be a couple of weeks only.

Wow so many replies! This thread has given me so much useful info and given me a lot of comfort- thank you all very much.
So sorry to here you're having the same trouble Sue :( It's really unfair that you've had to miss so much work and I completely understand what you mean about feeling that your life is on hold. I really hope you feel better soon and I'll be with you on being more pushy with the NHS. Got to be done and I think sometimes it's the only way you'll get anywhere. Let us know how you get on. (Also sure you may have done so already but have you tried rectogesic? It did work wonders for me initially so definitely worth a go.)
The consensus here seems to be that private is the best option...I wish it wasn't so darn expensive but there ya go. Val, your tip about being referred from a private CRS back to an NHS hospital is great. I think I will do that if I have no luck this week.
I've got my appointment on Thursday and really it can't come any sooner. I'm in the worst pain I've been in for a while. I think taking a break from Rectogesic was actually a big mistake. Going back to my GP to get another tube first thing tomorrow.
Hope all is well with you all and have lovely evening.

Hi guys, hope you're all well :)
So I went to the hospital for my appointment yesterday...and I am so confused. They asked me lots of questions about how and when I got the fissure and how it had been. I said it had been up and down, but mainly down because even when it wasn't very painful it hadn't felt right and I relied heavily on rectogesic and movicol to ensure things weren't awful. And that in the past few week things had been bad again and although the new tube of rectogesic helped things still weren't great.
So they had a look inside with the camera (SO uncomfortable...and embarrassing :oops:) and said they could see internal hemorrhoids (that was what they said the bleeding would have been)...but they could see no fissure. When my GP saw me a few weeks ago, she saw it then (that was actually at a less painful phase too). But this time they couldn't see a thing.
I am so confused. Last week the pain was on the OUTSIDE of my bum. And when I had a BM I would literally be groaning in agony. Is that what hemorrhoids feel like? It felt exactly like my fissure pain.
The doctor said he would see me again in three months and if the hemmies were still there he would band them and if I was still feeling pain he would give me a general anesthetic and have a more thorough look. In the meantime he said I should just keep doing what I'm doing and I would find a way that works for me ie. sometimes I need to take Rectogesic and movicol, sometimes I don't. I said I wasn't too happy about continuing to rely so heavily on strong medication (especially when prior to this I had no history of constipation) and he said that sometimes our bodies went through phases then sorted themselves out. I see his point but nine months feels like an awful long "phase".
He also started talking about the skin tag, entirely unprompted by me, which makes me think my GP almost definitely mentioned it in her referral letter. He said he would never remove a skin tag on someone my age because I hadn't had kids yet. This was a massive disappointment to me as I loathe it. He also said that part of his job was reassuring people that these things were normal, loads of people had them etc. It doesn't feel normal at all but may be I'm just being over sensitive. Its actually uncomfortable but when I said that he sort of looked at me like I was being a hyperchondriac. I'm also confused about the tag as I thought if you had one it meant your fissure was past the acute phase and into chronic? So how come there's no fissure there?
I feel incredibly frustrated by all this. As he couldn't see a fissure I felt I would look like a neurotic if I demanded more treatment. I literally just had to smile and nod. I feel like maybe I am just deluding myself and thinking I have one problem when in fact its something completely different. But on the other hand I have had consistently the same sort of pain this whole time, when they've been able to see a fissure and perhaps its in the healing bit of the whole heal/tear pattern.
The worst thing is that today I am super uncomfortable. Everything really itches and hurts. Not just my bum but my vagina. The rectogesic is working because I can go to the loo without it being too painful but its really irritating me as well. I don't know what to do, I feel scared to stop using this stuff, I don't know what to do about the hemorrhoids, I don't want to ask my doctor as I feel like they think I'm making a bid deal out of nothing...
Any thoughts guys? I am at a loss

Layla,
I'm feeling your frustration reading your post!! I don't want to offend anyone but I think your CRS had fed you a load of crap and if there is any way possible to get a second opinion, then I would. He sounds unqualified and uneducated about skin tags.Having a skin tag removed shouldn't have anything to do with having more children. That's just crazy in my opinion!!! I also can not imagine why he would not see a fissure that is causing you problems and was seen before?!
I developed a yeast infection after soaking for months with my fissure, before healing after surgery. I'm not sure if that could be a possibility in your case.
I am so sorry about your appointment going so awful today. Hang in there! Hopefully others can add some useful info/ ideas as to what to do.
Take Care.

I had a similar problem in that my GP originally thought my problem was hemmys and referered me to a general surgeon to have them banded. I did that last fall. However, I still had pain after BM and when I went back to the Surgeon that did the banding he said it was normal to have such pain after the banding and that it would go away. After a few months it never did and i went back to him and when he examined me he said he could not find a fissure. After that i went on the internet and I found this board and when I read so many describe the exact symptoms I was having I was sure it was a fissure. I ended up getting my GP to give me a referral to a clinic of CRS that confirmed I had a fissure. I ultimately had 3 CRS examine me and they said I definitely had a fissure but it was next to some scar tissue which made it difficult to see.

Wow Layla! I'm so sorry you're going through this! Unfortunately, this is a familiar story. Many of us here have had to struggle very hard to get proper treatment. Sometimes fissures do hide and the surgeon doesn't find them at first. But it is also very important to find a good CRS. I'm with Dawn here, in that I'm not very impressed with your doc. I have never heard of skin tag removal having anything to do with child birth! I think you should definitely find another surgeon. And, if you can, be assertive. I know that's difficult with doctors - I really had to fight like hell to get treated properly! But really, you are entitles to and deserve good and effective medical care, so don't let them just pat you on the head and send you off. If an inspection under a general is an option, then that might be worth discussing with a different surgeon too. I understand your frustration. Don't give up! It's your body and your life and the doc will listen if you get politely assertive. I really hope you find some relief soon!

Thank you for your replies guys, I really appreciate it :)
The more I think about it the more frustrated I feel. I have a tendency to stress over health stuff but honestly if I were going to pick a body part to fixate on, it would not be this one! I just want this all to go away so I can get on with my life without laxatives and horrible creams and having to worry about going away on holiday incase it flares up...yet I kind of felt like the doctor was acting like I was blowing things out of proportion for the sake of it and just making a big deal out of my skin tag. I would keep the flipping tag if it meant I was guaranteed no more pain and itchiness!
I just wish my appointment had been a few days before because it hurt to walk then... I'm convinced this fissure is chronic. There is a skin tag and as soon as I come off movicol and rectogesic, it will inevitably tear again. Not only that, but everything feels 'tight'. After a BM it can be really painful. I'm lucky that my spasms have only been really bad once or twice but they are definitely present and I didn't know hemmies caused them.
Being told to just keep doing what I'm doing is nightmarish too. I really don't want to be stuck taking movicol long term, when my diet is good, I drink enough water etc. If there is no problem, why am I being told to do this? I can't imagine that having a very good effect on my health...
Dawn I think you're right about the baths. The problem is I used to get thrush in the past and it was so easily treated with canasten cream. Its mutated into crazy thrush now. No discharge but my skin is literally cracked there. It was bleeding this morning. :( Oh man...
I think I'm going to have to get assertive. Or just get referred privately. I recently changed addresses so if it means I can change GPs it might be worth doing that initially.
All in all though its really comforting to know I'm not alone in the whole "hide the fissure" scenario. Thank you :)

Layla,
That tight feeling use to drive me crazy. I had it constantly and it would often times feel like a knife being stuck there, especially when I had to have a bm. I remember it being so tight that passing gas was almost impossible.
Skin tags are very painful and your right, they come with chronic fissures.
It took me 4 months before getting diagnosed with my fissure. I went to a GP twice, the ER twice and two CRS's before getting diagnosed by the second CRS. The first CRS couldn't see it and I was scared to death at the time to let him examine me with anything.
Hang in there and like others have said, it's your body, don't be afraid to get assertive and get the care you deserve. I freaked out on some people before I got diagnosed. I called my CRS's assistant everyday crying,Lol. By the time I saw the PA in the office on my next visit, it was written in my file that I had a fissure.
Don't give up. I know how frustrating it can be but it will end. I had LIS and that ugly painful skin tag removed after 8 months of hell. Life is good now and it will be for you too! I know how you feel about the creams and the miralax. It made me crazy in the beginning but it just became apparent that I had no choice. I still take miralax but have cut the dose down a lot since my surgery. Hopefully you will be able to stop it and use one of the fiber supplements later which are safe for life...
Take care and we're all here for ya!

pss.... I wish I knew a solution to your other problem. I was just reading in some older post about this same problem with some of the ladies. I guess all the hot water and moisture messes with the good bacteria we need there. Some were talking about eating yogurt or probiotics to get back the good bacteria?!