thank you both for you insight and reassurance.
Kim, i take a multivitamin, but maybe that's not enough vitamin C and zinc.
i'm really anemic - it'sgotten worse in the past 6 months as a result of abnormal bleeding from uterine fibroids. do you think anemia might be a factor that's hindering my healing?? i found a few things online that suggested anemia might prevent normal healing, but nothing concrete.... that's the ONLY reason i've been able to come up with that might explain it.
patty, i live in southern california. since i've already had 2 surgeries i'm not sure what the next step would be. maybe trying botox? i'll see what my surgeon says, but i will also definitely request a referral. as much experience as my surgeon might have, i know i really need to see someone who only deals with butt problems. fingers crossed i get in quick b/c of my unusual situation!

i'm really anemic - it'sgotten worse in the past 6 months as a result of abnormal bleeding from uterine fibroids. do you think anemia might be a factor that's hindering my healing?? i found a few things online that suggested anemia might prevent normal healing, but nothing concrete.... that's the ONLY reason i've been able to come up with that might explain it.
It seems likely that *something* is going on with your blood or bloodstream, because for most of us, that is the key to healing -- relaxing the sphincter so blood can return to the fissure site in enough quantity to heal..be it botos (Patty) or LIS (me) or BP creams and nitro, all of which work on the sphincter...
Beyond that, I wouldn't or couldn't guess...

Juney,
Good luck with everything. I hope you can get a quick referral. Do a search online to see if there are any hospitals near you that have chole-rectal specialists. You want me to make the call LOL. I 'll get you in within a week I work for a doctor we can see if I have any pull LOL Well I tried. Let us know.
Patty

Juney, I empathize with you completely. I'm in the same situation as you... and like you, I have no idea why I'm not healing properly. I was thinking about this last night actually, and I got this idea that perhaps I have a blood circulation issue. I also have rosacea and have been trying to find ways to heal that too, and I noticed that my fissure symptoms and my rosacea flare-ups coincide, ie. they flare up on the same days/at the same times. Also they never seem to flare up on the weekends. I thought about this and came to the realization that I have flare ups with both the fissure and the rosacea when I've been sitting for long periods of time, on days that I haven't been very active. Unfortunately that's the nature of my job... But anyway, when I've been sitting in front of my computer or in front of the TV for a long while, my face starts to burn but my hands and feet get really cold. So that tells me that the blood isn't circulating properly. And if it isn't circulating properly, it's not getting to the anal region either (esp. if I'm cutting off circulation by sitting), which prevents the healing of the fissure. When I'm active though, like during the weekend, the rosacea doesn't bother me and I have less fissure pain/bleeding.
Does this make sense to anyone? Am I going too far with this?
I think the solution would be to exercise more. Are you guys pretty active? Like do you get a lot of exercise or are you more sedentary? I'd like to know :)
Juney let me know what you think of the circulation theory. Maybe it can help you too?
The solution:

G - i think you may be onto something there. i don't have rosacea, but i do have something called Raynaud's syndrome, in which there isn't enough blood circulation in my extremities. My fingers and toes freeze in not very cold weather; they turn purple and lose feeling. i have to be extra careful to keep them covered when it gets cold. Maybe that has something to do with blood circulation in my entire body. That, combined with my anemia, might be a reason why i'm not healing like a normal person would.
regarding exercise, i used to do it a lot. i worked out at least 1 hour everyday and wanted to be a personal trainer. once i got the fissure that all had to stop. now i've become much more sedentary. i sit at a desk 8 hours a day and then basically go home and lay on the couch, not wanting to aggravate my butt. weekends are better for me too. i've always thought it's because i'm not forced to sit on my butt all day. on the weekend i'm either standing, walking, or lying down - so i avoid putting the pressure on it all day.
thanks for your ideas G! i think it's only natural for us to possibly "over-think" things after we've been dealing with this frustration for so long. i feel horrible that you haven't healed either, but i'm also a little relieved to know i'm not the only one.

Hi Juney,

Seems to me like it may be a ciruclation issue since these thins take so dang long to heal anyway.

How do you feel about Yoga? It's low impact and might get the blood flowing.

Also, have you tried applying a mild topical antiseptic like neosporin. That used to help me with the little ones before all this.

And finally, rest assured--you're not alone. I feel like I am having problems healing the last bit too. My scar keeps getting inflamed for no good reason that I can tell and there's a bit of the hemmie turned fissure left bothering me.

This is very interesting to read.
I have Raynaud's syndrome too. I wonder if there is a common element between that and butt problems.
I can see how the circulation might be weaker in that region to as it is in the fingers and toes.

Maybe exercise would help to get the blood pumping to the extremities more but like a lot of people this fissure and other rectal problems has made me more sedentary. I don't exercise at all now. I might start back up with pilates though but I can't imagine vigorous step aerobics or kick boxing works outs I used to do.

I don't have rosacea but my skin is very sensitive on my face. It turns red with the slightest provocation. I flush very easily and my skin starts to feel hot and itchy. But it is just on my cheeks.

I think your idea is noteworthy, definitely!

oh, my kids are teasing me that God finally found the way how to "slow me down". BUT I hate this "siting around" as much as I hate the pain !!!! My frequent BMs are also preventing me to go out for long and my whole body is starting to show now effects of being couch potato ! My back started to hurt , my shoulder area too : (, and I never had problems with my back in my life ! I know that massage or chirop. would help but no way I can make it going to the bathroom so often ! I will get muscular dystrophy soon for god's sake !!! I have very low blood pressure which I am sure is not helping with adequate blood flow and also I have very bad circulation in my face and ears - the slightest cold breeze makes my ears freeze - I mean they hurt like I am having a stroll down the Alaska coast not down my California neighborhood at 68 F at night !!!!???? So, yeah, poor circulation can be a culprit! That is the whole theory about fissures being so hard to heal anyway... Oh well, I will have to start moving somehow or I will start hurting all over and become a mush of skin and bones blobbing....somewhere....down there, under the sofa ...between pillows perhaps...don't know...just not a pretty picture...
JUNEY, I really hope that you will find good CRS soon and that he will offer you more options and advices. You now your body the best and if you feel that something is not right than it probably is not. If nothing, they should be able to offer you better meds for pain managament until you heal completely.
All the best

Hi Juney
sorry to hear you're in so much pain. I've had mine for nearly six months and at one time it was so bad, I thought I couldn't take another day of it. I have thyroid and adrenal problems, and because of them, I don't heal up anywhere quickly. If I get a tiny cut on my finger it takes over a week to heal. I'm taking glandular supplements for it now, as well as thyroxine and my fissure is at least copable now, if not comfortable.
I wish you all the best, and, like everyone, know the pain you're going through.
I remember reading in some hypnotist book of a study where children had to imagine white soldiers, or something like that, going through their body anf fighting all the infections, and when they checked the blood of the children who had imagined it, their immune system was boosted by a great deal. I wonder if you could try something similar, either on your own, or with a trained hypnotist. I think when you've been in pain for so long, you EXPECT to be in pain, and your body then IS in pain. Maybe that's all a load of mumbo-jumbo, but anything is worth a try when you're desperate!
good luck, Val

yah val, i agree that once you've been in pain so long you kind of expect to feel it. sometimes i would have to almost pinch myself in the past few weeks when i didn't feel the pain. i'm so used to it it's almost weird if it's not there. GOOD weird, i mean.
but i actually looked down there yesterday and still saw the same little bit of the fissure that i've always been able to see. when i actually see it, it also makes me think of it more. :(
i'll let everyone know what the dr says tomorrow...12 hrs til my appt.