:)

Hi poo-ologist, so sorry hear of your suffering, you are in the right place! This forum offers so much support and help :-) Do you definitely have a fissure still? I couldn't quite work that out from your post

SS

Hello!
It is clearly that you have been suffering a lot and I feel for you. Her is the right place to talk about it and, although w I can not help you much with the diagnosis or pain, we can bring up some thoughts. I can only speak from my experience:
I had frequent BMs in the past, from 5-10 or more per day. It was never formed and looked sometimes like, bubling, foamy waterfall (i was constantly hungry, eating a lot, was overweight, had extremely painful periods) My troubles settled down when i went gluten free. I also started to ate mainly fruit, vegetables (mainly raw) and some fish, but I think that gluten free diet (no corn and oats too) was crucial. My periods were painless especially while I was on raw food. I see you had low carbs diet and it helps so I assume that you eat only small amount of grains, if any. Or were you not completely gluten free for at least few months?
Your pain and drs inability to find what is wrong sounds familiar to me too. It would be much easier if you could stand an investigation with a scope. I understand from your writing that the pain settled down a bit and maybe you can stand the investigation now, and if the CRS could not find the fissure he should direct you to MR scanning. How does your pain feel? Is it the strongest during BM? Does it increase after BM trough the day? Does sitting,standing, bending, walking make it worse? Is it sharp or dull pain? Can you exactly locate the most painful spot ?
Apologize for putting so many questions.
I am sending you a big

Hi SS & Rio,

Thank you both for the welcome! :) I too feel terrible for everyone that is suffering from such pain & wish there was no need to have such a forum!

SS, I apologise if I wasn't clear enough in my post but I do believe I still have a fissure or something as the pain is still there but not always as intense as it initially was. It has its moments.

It was only the GP who managed to do an internal digit investigation from which he said he felt granulation associated with a fissure attempting to heal back in February of this year. My Gastroenterologist did perform a flexible sigmoidoscopy (scope) in August & he said that he couldn't see a fissure only some internal haemorrhoids that really shouldn’t be causing me such pain & that is why he was perplexed & referred me on to the Colorectal Surgeon. The Colorectal Surgeon unfortunately was unable to investigate the area at the time of my appointment due to my intense pain but diagnosed my problem as a fissure just from my history & the kind of pain I had described to him. This is why I'm slightly confused as to what is really going on down there & causing this horrible pain. So far it feels as though everyone is just taking a stab in the dark & I don’t feel as though I have a definite diagnosis as yet. One said yes, one said no, the other says yes!

Rio, I really do appreciate any thoughts, experience & support that others have to offer, thank you!

I’m sorry to hear of your struggles also! L In answer to your question in regards to being gluten free, I’m not completely gluten free. I do allow myself one slice of toast in the morning or a small bowl of cereal a day but never on its own & make sure I have some form of protein to help balance it out.

My GP tried me on a Gluten free diet for a few months many years ago & it didn’t seem to make any difference at that time. Perhaps I should give it another go? The extremely painful periods with heavy bleeding started from day one with me from my first period at the age of 11. I was quite a thin & extremely active child so for me I don’t believe the weight had too much impact on it as it hurt like mad both thin & podgy.

So do you believe the MRI scanning is successful with diagnosing a fissure? I did ask my GP about it & she informed me that it wasn’t an accurate form of testing for it.

Rio you also asked about my pain. Well I’ve experienced so many different types of pain sensations during this ordeal so I’ll try my best to describe them.

Initially from about 2011 before any other pain had started my bottom didn’t feel quite right. It felt as though from the anus & approximately 2 inches up into the rectum felt numb as if though it had no sensation in it what so ever. It felt as though I could feel faecal matter build up above that 2 inches yet not pass through that area on the way out. Then later an itching, burning pain had begun with the occasional stabbing with a sharp knife sensation. This continued on & off throughout that year. Next I had started to always feel like my insides were going to fall out & that my entire pelvic area was constantly under pressure. I’ve always suffered from terrible wind from the IBS yet my anus often felt so tight & difficult to pass it. Somewhat like a knot in a balloon with all the wind building up behind it.

Next I had blood intertwined in my stools a couple of times & had the 3 day faecal testing done in which no blood was found.

Then along came the blood in the toilet bowl episode after passing the hard BM early this year & from that time on the pain sensations were varied. There was burning, itching, aching, stabbing, throbbing, tightening & I literally felt as though I had a mass of something the size of a grapefruit wedged up my behind! The pressure pain was insane! Felt as though I was going to explode! The pain radiated into my abdomen & through the groin area half way down my legs & at times all the way into my feet! During this time I also found it difficult at times to pass urine. The pressure on the tailbone region was so intense that I swore it would break through the skin! At that time I was sent for a pelvic ultrasound to rule out the presence of any cysts.

The pain occurred 24/7 & intensified for 3 weeks of a month; the week prior to menses the week of menses & the week following menses. The only time I felt relief was when I was asleep. After 9 months of this I was completely worn & broken, completely helpless & hopeless. :’( I had to leave work as I had nothing left to give. It definitely hurt more after periods of standing, or sitting & applying pressure on the bottom area & best when lying down.

The pain could start upon opening my eyes but mostly it started anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes after my first morning BM, intensified with each & everyone there after & lasted until I fell asleep.

I had begun to feel slightly better for a couple of weeks in early November & was hopeful that the nightmare may be nearing its end so I decided to have a pedicure to pep myself up & then before I could say no the nail assistant turned on the massage chair which gave me a sudden jolt up the backside, I jumped so high from the striking pain I narrowly missed taking the poor pedicurists teeth out! So it had all started back up again.

I currently still experience all of the above mentioned pain sensations but perhaps not as constantly & not as intensely as before. I do however always feel as though I have a seed or something sharp embedded on the back wall of the rectum & a burning sensation through into the back of my vaginal wall.

Sorry for my ramble but I hope this brings you a clearer idea as to what I’m feeling.

Big hugs back!

Yep the last description sounds like fissure pain, we all hate the burn!!!

The reason I asked if you have a fissure is whether you have looked in to having botox injections to give it a chance to help it heal? I have had these!

All the best
SS

Hi SS,

Oh dear, so you believe that it is most likely a fissure then? That was my initial guess after researching pelvic pain, although I believe I have a few things going on down there.

Yes the burn does suck although it's that gnawing & sharp stabbing pain that does my head in, lol! Hope you are having a good day with no pain! :)

Thank you for the idea of botox. I will bring this up with the CRS the next time I see him. Do you think they may be able to inject some in the frown lines that have developed from 11 months of this pain? (Joking)

Did you have success with the botox? Where & how do I find your story?

All the best to you too! :)

Kind regards,

Well I am no expert by any means, but I do know I had the burning pain and the shooting pains that send you up into the celing lol. I am on the 'new person' forum like you, my post is entitled 'Just had botox injections'...it reads a bit like a diary, I am over 50days post botox now!

Thank you Poo-ologist for detailed description. It sounds familiar to me. And our member jr2 writes about similar sharp pain and presure that seems it is not from fissure need-help-question-about-hemorrhoid-pain-and-banding-etc-t7744.html.
If the fissure can not be find, perhaps it is some nerv damage if something like massage can trigger the pain. Or some small wound or abscess from blocked gland is hidden behind enlarged hemorrhoid, wonder if this could be possible? I am convinced that there is a cause for such pain. I just can not believe the stress theory. The pain (in my case) is surely located in the exact same spot for months and the cause must be find and proper treatment started at last.
Forgive me, if I mention it again (just try to help by sharing my expeeriences) that gluten free diet with mostly raw food can help tremendously. I was on raw food for more than a year and in this time two exsisting cervical myomas (I was heading the operation) dissapeared. It is possible that because of your IBS you can not tolerate raw food, but it is worth to try 100% gluten free. I stick to the celiac disease regime without oats too (I tried oats recently but felt worse).
Well, sadly, all the diets so far did not help with my butt pain. I am waiting for the MR scanning to see if this can reveal the cause.

Hi SS & Rio,

Hoping you both had a wonderful pain free Christmas!

Thank you SS for directing me to your diary. I had a read through & although I have not had Botox or even a definite diagnosis as yet your BM diary & pain sounds very similar to what I have been experiencing too.

There seems to be no consistency for me with either my stools or the pain on a day to day basis & after a bad day or two I find myself so depressed. It’s like taking two steps forward & one sometimes two backwards. Fortunately I have a wonderful hubby who like the experienced members that commented on your posts often reminds me to look at how far I have come in regards to the pain throughout this (so far) 11 month ordeal. Stay strong & positive, we’ll get there! We have to! X

I must mention (although I’m sorry to have read of your suffering) that I too experience that pull up pain. I call it the ‘cigar cutter effect’ as it often snips my BM’s in half & then what’s left in my bowl / rectum often feels as though it goes back up or stays there stuck applying pressure & stretching the sore area. This in turn creates more pressure pain caused by faecal build up & the longer it stays there the more fermentation & wind & often results in a plug for me. I find the ‘cigar cutter effect’ is definitely made worse when the stools are firmer & I’m guaranteed to have a bad day or two in regards to pain after until it settles once again.

I will continue to try & follow your posts with my fingers crossed for you, wishing you relief & quick healing!

Rio, thank you for your reply! I will check out the link you have provided.

I’m very sorry to hear of your suffering & understand your frustration in not knowing the cause of your pain. No problem in recommending the celiac diet & in the New Year I will again give it another try. What have I got to lose?

My pain is still up & down. I have good & plenty bad days. I still believe that I too have more than one thing going on down there.

I will be requesting a MRI scan as my hubby reminded me of an accident I had a while back where I hurt my pelvic area stepping backwards off of a ladder not noticing a chair close behind me & falling resulting with the back rest of the chair wedged between my legs! Who knows I may have also torn something down there & that may be behind that feeling of weakness & like my insides are falling out pain?

I, like you want & need answers as I want my life back. I’m sick of the constant silly things that seem to happen to my body. My friends tease me & say I must’ve been a terrible person in my past lives because if it’s not one thing then it’s another, lol! I often feel as though I’ve missed out on so much. I know I shouldn’t complain & am ashamed as I know that there are people with far greater & more serious problems than me & one does not have to look far but I just want to live & experience life for a while. We were so looking forward to starting a family yet with these pains are now reluctant & with my Gynaecological history my time is running out.

I wish you all the best & hope that you get some answers & are on the road to recovery very soon! Please keep me updated! :) X

Yes you are right we will all get through it! :-) Funny enough I spent a lot of Boxing Day thinking of my AFF buddies as whenever I put something in my mouth or went to the toilet I knew there were other people around the world going through everything I was and it provides so much comfort to not feel alone in it all :-) X