Hey steve, that sucks. I know that you have to get nifedipine off label because it's not a regular treatment for fissures, so it might be hard getting a GP to prescribe it.
It is referred to here on bupa's site, so this makes me think there must be a way of getting it in the UK! I'm going to look into it
http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/html/anal_fissure.html
"A number of other medicines for anal fissure are sometimes used, such as botulinum A toxin (eg Botox) or calcium channel blockers (eg topical Nifedipine). "

Stuck,
Thanks for posting that weblink. Lots of good information including this paragraph:
Surgery
Most anal fissures heal with the use of medicines or by changing your diet. You may need surgery if you have a chronic anal fissure that doesn't get better.
The aim of surgery is similar to that of medicines - to relieve the pressure within the anus. The most common operation is called a lateral internal sphincterotomy (LIS). You can have this as a day case under local or general anaesthetic. Local anaesthetic completely blocks feeling from the anal area and you will stay awake during the operation. General anaesthetic means you will be asleep during the operation and feel no pain.
In a LIS procedure your surgeon will make a small cut to access the internal sphincter. He or she will then make a small cut in the internal sphincter to relieve the spasm associated with anal fissures.
LIS is a very effective treatment with a success rate of about 95 percent, but there's a small risk you might have some incontinence - mainly to wind. It's also possible that your anal fissure may re-occur after surgery.

Thanks for that stuck, please let me know if you get Nifedipine, it's the only ointment I haven't tried

Hi Steve,
I went to the doc today and asked for nifedipine. No luck unfortunately-
Apparently NHS doctors are very wary of prescribing 'off-label' medicines as it means they are culpable if anything goes wrong, they are not protected as they are with prescription drugs.
Even if he was willing he couldn't have done so anyway as after he looked up nefidipine on the database, there is no topical ointment form of nefidipine available through NHS. I told him it was printed on BUPA's site, and he said that it would only be possible through a private doctor. :(
Bum. Well, I'm glad I at least looked into it.

Hey stuck, I thought as much, no wonder my GP couldn't find it, it's probably too expensive for the NHS to prescribe, oh well, I'm glad you tried, it's back to the Diltiazem and Nitro!