I've noticed when I consumed a lot of water, salads, and avoided dairy and breads, for a good 2-3 days my stools were soft and believe it or not, NO PAIN on pooping. Then I went off my diet. By that, I mean, I was still consuming salads, but added refined breads and so on to my diet. Harder stools, pain.

Now, my stools aren't very hard to begin with, but with an anal fissure, anything more than the width of your index finger sends you into pain.

Anybody have any advice on foods to avoid and foods to eat on getting loose stools?

I've read on a blog post that in order for your fissure to heal, the width of your stool has to be the width of your index finger. That's so hard! But I can attest to that 100% for when I had stools that width, NO PAIN on pooping!

I'm desperate. 1 month now. And the pain alternates from less, to moderate to bad.

painfulbuttproblems wrote:I've noticed when I consumed a lot of water, salads, and avoided dairy and breads, for a good 2-3 days my stools were soft and believe it or not, NO PAIN on pooping. Then I went off my diet. By that, I mean, I was still consuming salads, but added refined breads and so on to my diet. Harder stools, pain.

Now, my stools aren't very hard to begin with, but with an anal fissure, anything more than the width of your index finger sends you into pain.

Anybody have any advice on foods to avoid and foods to eat on getting loose stools?

I've read on a blog post that in order for your fissure to heal, the width of your stool has to be the width of your index finger. That's so hard! But I can attest to that 100% for when I had stools that width, NO PAIN on pooping!

I'm desperate. 1 month now. And the pain alternates from less, to moderate to bad.

Hi there. Your healing trajectory sounds a lot like mine. I'm on the same quest! In the last week my healing seems to have taken a positive turn. So here's what's helping, in case it helps you too:

Keeping a detailed food diary to determine which foods (amounts and time of day) help. Since hydration, food intake, exercise, and hormones (esp important if you're a menstruating female) affect digestion, figuring out patterns has been really helpful for preventing the hardening of my stool.

Distinguishing soluble from insoluble fiber and binding from non-binding foods. You want soluble fiber and non-binding foods right now to soften the stool without bulking it up too much. Plus insoluble fiber can irritate or even re-tear your fissure because bits of the fiber can scrap the fissure area when you have a BM.

I also realized that 25g of fiber is too much right now given my caloric intake, so I aim for 20-22.

Here's my list of good foods

Good fats (essential):
-1/2 medium avocado
-1-2tbs olive oil, alone or on a small piece of Ezekiel toast (sprouted grain not flour-based, and it's a complete protein)
-smooth/creamy peanut butter

Proteins (only in small quantities and always paired with soluble fiber and lots of water):
-shrimp, white fish, boiled eggs, tofu, legumes (lentils) and beans

Seeds/grains:
-quinoa (tri-colored or white because pure red or black have too much insoluble fiber); like Ezekiel bread it is a complete protein that is vegetarian

Veggies:
-sweet potatoes without the skin (lots of soluble fiber)
-roasted or well-steamed cauliflower
-asparagus

Fruits:
-mango, pineapple, papaya (high fiber and water content but also helpful digestive enzymes)
-apples (high in pectin, a good source of soluble fiber)

In terms of medications and supplements, I take 150mg of Colace and 200mg of Magnesium Citrate before bed with 1-2 cups of water to help ensure my morning BM is ultra soft. I'm hoping to decrease the amount of Colace over time and increase the Magnesium if my fissure continues to heal. Right now I'm too scared to make any changes though, for fear of re-opening the fissure. My understanding is that eventually and ideally it would be good to get back to having wider diameter stool that sticks together, to prevent lazy bowel and atrophy of the muscles down there. Right now that feels a long way off.

Wishing you healing!

I would second the soluble fibre - psyllium (Metamucil) or normacol if your stomach is more sensitive. Taking some restoralax/miralax (in my opinion, the only stool softner that continually works) together with the fibre is a great combo!! The miralax pulls water into the colon, and the fibre absorbs it into the stool making it formed but very soft. Drink lots and lots of water!!