surgery the cause, the effect, the cure

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surgery the cause, the effect, the cure

Postby tacobob » 21 Jan 2014, 05:15

I would just like to start off by saying thanks to all that contributed to this web site this site help me get through the worst of it and then I had surgery.


I believe my story starts back in 2004 the day I left Irag and entered Kuwait. I went to the subway restaurant on post and my bowel movements from that point on where never again the same. From normal looking stool to
diarrhea and weird looking stools for next five years then my stools just started to get smaller and smaller leading me to believe that hey maybe I had cancer, but I didn't really have any symptoms other than skinny turds. So at around the 2010 time period I start seeing blood and now I start to worry because now I have skinny turds and bleeding and some painful bowel movements but at least the pain didn't linger, yet. So I notice blood in my stool and let it go until I had a really bloody movement that wasn't painful but bleeding lasted all day, I mean the blood was spotting on my underwear and it felt like I had put some gel in between my butt checks and was walking around. So I flipped out and told my boss I had to go to the doctor and he said get the hell out of here and get that checked out. So I go to my doctor and she shoves some tube up my backside (was rather unpleasant, don,t let them do this if you think u have a fissure it will make it worse) and said your Sphincter looks like a 90 year old mans, don't know what she meant but it sounded terrible. She gave me a suppository that was a steroid and sent me on my way. The steroid worked, the bleeding went away but four months later it returned and with a vengeance. This time it returned with a somewhat horrible bowel movement, but this time it was different, that lingering pain I was talking about started in on me this time I mean damn the pain was so bad it took my breath away. So what do I do I go to work thinking it will go away. So what happens I leave work because walking and sitting is making the pain so much worse. As a matter of fact on the way home I had to stop the vehicle and get out and walk around it for ten minute because the pain is getting so bad in the drivers seat I can no longer bear it. I can't even breath the pain is so bad so I freak out get back in my vehicle get home and my wife drives me to the doctor. This time she tried the tube again the pain was unbearable she took it out promptly and prescribe me the same stuff again. Thank god this time it worked for six months. So now that six months has passed I have still been noticing awkward feeling bowel movements so I decide to go to a specialist, but before I get there guess what the painful bowel movement returns, but not quit as strong as it was six months ago but some minor pain and discomfort are lasting the majority of the day.. So I schedule an appointment, the doctor says he can't get me in for at least two months, So in the mean time I'm trying to figure out whats going on with my buttocks. I think now that I'm having hemorrhoids seeing how there has been issues with others in my family and they too had to get surgery for them. So I go to the doctors office and they schedule me for a colonoscopythey discover a polyp and a fissure. The doctor was not a surgeon and felt that he could help me with nitroglycerin cream. So I start taking the cream and follow the high in fiber diet they gave me and take stool softeners as well and not to forget the sits baths(talk about time consuming). At this point I 'm still have pain from my bowel movements and lingering pain but not unbearable. At this point for about three to five hour after a bowel movement I can't sit or the pain gets worse, standing helps and I have no pain when walking. Then about one month in of doing what I was told to do bam it hit again and this time it was worse than the last time. It sucked so bad I decided not to eat for three days thinking maybe this will help. It didn't I had three anal pain free days with extreme hunger followed up by yet again another horrifying bowel movement. It sucked I had to leave work again with multiple stops on the way home to take a break from driving. From that point on I would not go back to work for three months. That night I took some pain meds left over from my wife's dental appointment to get rid of the pain well it work, hydrocodone something like that anyways. Doctor told me not to do that because it could hardened my stool (the next day the bowel movement was still painful and the stool was soft if I had to do it again I would have use more hydrocodone up to my surgery). Well anyways he thought he could heal me with the nitroglycerin cream. So for six weeks my day consisted of waking up taking a extremely painful dump, getting hot water ready for my sit bath immediately after my bowel movement. Keep in mind that at this point for about two months my bowel movements where extremely painful and my morale was starting to dip. Yep I was at the pep talk stage of the fissure. That means that before each bowel movement every morning I would have to convince myself that I could get though this and it was almost over. The first sit bath of the day helped out after seating in the bath for five minutes for about 30 minutes, the lingering pain would kick in after that. Some days it was unbearable and other days it was unbearable. (they where all bad days) I was taking sit baths three times a day the second sit bath sometimes made the whole experience worse than it already was. I was scared to take a second sit bath on some days, ok most days. The pain after the bowel movement would last anywhere from 6 hours to 12 hours being the longest. During that time I was standing, crouching, laying on my side, putting my legs behind my head seemed to help believe it or not but only for brief moments and back to pain again. The only thing I ate was 1 cup of beans, fiber one bar, half a hamburger on some nights and that's about it if I had anything other than that the pain was worse. At about three weeks of not getting better and actually getting worse I told my doctor I wanted surgery he recommended a specialist in Albuquerque. He could not get me in for two months that's just for a consultation it could have been another month before he could preform the surgery. I set up the appointment, one week went by and I got worse thats when my wife said hey why don't you go to Houston so I found a surgeon in Houston and he said he could get me in in 2 week, i was happy. So I flew to Houston 2 weeks later and saw my new doctor. At this point I have been absent from work for six weeks. He gives me my options surgery or botox and he also explains that botox success rates suck 50/50 i think. But the surgery was 98% chance of success. So of course I say surgery I ask when can you get me in he says tomorrow I almost cry I'm so happy. So the next day I go and get the surgery. I was very nervous but I had a cute anesthesiologist and she gave me some good drugs that made me the happiest I had felt in months and she was funny. I not joking the drugs they gave me to put me out were great I'm glad I don't know what they are. After the surgery my doctor told to eat what ever I want to as long as I keep it fiber heavy so I did. The first three days after surgery where great then the drugs wore off. All of my bowel movements up to the point were great. The next three days the bowel movements were the worst I had had yet I mean they really sucked, but good news they lasted for about five minute then went away.thank god. I will have you know that after the third bowel movement I did not eat for three days yeah it sucked. But after that I have not had a painful bowel movement since then, its been one year and two months now. It does take some time to heal I did have bleeding through out the year of healing and sitting is not good for healing in my experience so if you decide to go the surgery rout be sure that you are active sitting slows blood flow to the area and can cause discomfort. My weight was 186 before I saw the first specialist in a two month time period i lost over 40 pounds and ended up weighing 145. There were days before the surgery that I would not eat because I was scared to make a bowel movement. The pain was horrific but after months and months of pain it was just no longer bearable I was mentally destroyed and could no longer take it. So what ever route you choose good luck to you and if you choose to go the way of surgery make sure you get get a guy/gal that specializes in just that area. I don't think it would be very cool to have incontinence the rest of your life. I had some very minor incontinence surgery but it went away quick.
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Re: surgery the cause, the effect, the cure

Postby Bettyblue » 21 Jan 2014, 05:48

Wow! Sorry for your ordeal. But I am so glad that everything went well for you. Thank you for posting. I am very sure your story have been and will be of a lot of help for me and many fissure sufferers. Take care. And thanks again.
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Re: surgery the cause, the effect, the cure

Postby JHH » 21 Jan 2014, 14:33

Great writeup. Thanks!

Want us to move it to success stories instead?
- Fissure developed in Jan '13
- Started rectogesic in Feb '13 and diltiazem Apr '13.
- Got botox Jun '13
- Healed by Okt '13, although I still had some irritation for about a year.
- New fissure April '22, healed June 2022
- New fissure 24. December 2023
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Re: surgery the cause, the effect, the cure

Postby tacobob » 22 Jan 2014, 14:12

JHH wrote:Great writeup. Thanks!

Want us to move it to success stories instead?



I don't care I though it would get more views on this forum than any other seeing how surgery is a big topic of blogingsation, just trying to help folks out that' all. I f you think it will receive more views under success stories go for it.
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