Let me introduce myself. I'm 23, Male, around 170 lb (77 kg) and gay for whatever it matters. Maybe that makes me a little more in touch with my bum than straight men, who knows.

I've been suffering from a fissure for 5 days. The first incident was on 2/22- in which I had my first encounter with the feeling of passing glass shards during a BM. After that, I immediately looked up my symptoms online and learned about what I had experienced. The next morning I used a mirror to examine myself, and discovered the fissure. I had another painful BM that morning, proceeded to shower and then take a warm bath as I had read suggested. I started drinking more water, and made adjusted my diet to a fiber-friendly diet. Mind you I did this almost immediately after discovering the fissure. I made sure I was not overworking the muscle, and being very careful in general with my bum. I wasn't having much, if any bleeding and my spasms were few.

It was at this point I found these forums. Thanks heavens, I wasn't alone in this issue and that there were others that understood my pains. I read a lot of posts as a guest and found a lot of advice. After day 2, I began to notice the spasms people were talking about- waking me up thru the night with random pains. I started applying Vaseline or Prep H around my the area to help soothe the skin. It helps a little, I believe.
At this point today I believe I have two AF down there, and a possible hemorrhoid from one of the early BM.

I called my doctor and scheduled and appt for today (2/27) to get an official diagnosis. I intend to stop at the store after and get any over-the-counter (miralax, etc) things my doctor suggests (along with a lot of healthy foods).

I've only been suffering from this for 5 days and cannot believe the impact it has had on daily life.

I can't imagine dealing with this for years. I can't imagine having given birth (considering my gender) and dealing with this. How the hell do you all make it?

I've had the awakening to eat a clean, healthy diet and drink more water than a fish. I'm a highly spiritual person, and realize I need to incorporate more meditation and yoga (as i recover) to my daily life. I've been taking warm baths every morning and night, drinking H20, focusing on a fiber-diet, and focusing on relaxing and breathing.


Thank you all for reading, and thank you for all the posts I've lurked that have helped me to this point. It has been an immense help, emotionally and physically.

Hello and welcome, OwThisHurts. So sorry you are experiencing this misery. You seem extremely well prepared, and ready to take this thing on, and your attitude is great! Hopefully you'll beat the fissure pretty quickly. You are very wise to see the doctor immediately, since the sooner treatment begins, the more likely you'll heal completely and without surgery.

Good luck! Let us know how you get on!

If my attitude is great, it's because I've adopted the attitude of so many members here. To kick this and get back to our lives!

I saw my Doctor. She said the fissure was already in the process of healing and that I've been doing everything right since. She prescribed me an anti-fungal to use around the area, gave me Miralax and said I should be seeing signs within a week...really?! Within a week? I'm very surprised by this, given how many stories I've read of the AF lasting months, healing and then re-tearing. I'm going to take things very cautious, and keep a holistic approach.

A doctor who has had no anal fissures herself/himself does not know how long does it take for an AF to heal completely. My doctor said to me you will heal within 8 to 10 days. To be honest, I really did. But then I re-tore. Then I healed. Again re-tore. Then I healed. And probably had a partial re-tear again a few days back. HA HA. The ramifications of a damn fissure.

Anyway, you will heal for sure owthishurts! It is a great sign you caught this very early on. Keep up the water and fiber intake and whatever you need to keep your stools soft and regular. And then MAKE SURE you continue this regimen for a minimum of 2 to 3 months to avoid re-tearing. Do not strain at the loo at all. My AF begins bothering me again whenever I tend to strain at the toilet. Good luck and keep us updated :)