About 8 months ago I took a strong antibiotic that gave me a few weeks of diarrhea and constipation, which somewhere during that time caused a tear. I didn't know what it was until I went in for a colonoscopy in April and they confirmed I had a fissure, along with some skin tags. The doctor didn't seem too worried, assuring it would heal itself. I don't have the same optimism, considering if it hasn't healed in 8 months now, why would it? I take a sitz bath at least twice a day, I follow a good diet, still hasn't made much difference.

Anyway, from reading the forum I know the biggest symptom with a fissure is clearly painful bowel movements. I get some rough ones with a bit of blood on the stool, but normally they are pretty bearable, especially if I keep the stool soft.

The symptoms that really bother me are different. For one, I have had real discomfort sitting down these entire 8 months. There hasn't been a day where i've been able to sit comfortably without using a heating pad. I do get rectal spasms every now and then which are bad enough to knock me on the ground. Usually they appear just before i'm about to pass a stool, or after i've had sex. The other more bizarre symptom is that since i've had this fissure I can barely pass gas. That means a lot of bloating which gets trapped until I make my next bowel movement. I've never read anything about this being a symptom of an anal fissure.

My doctor is reserved about doing surgery, because he says I'm too young. But I also want to be able to sit down and stop feeling this constant soreness in my rectum. It's always there, 24/7. If everything I've described is a symptom of an anal fissure, does that mean surgery will correct them all? It sounds like the surgery mainly is used to reduce painful bowel movements, but that part is actually the least problematic for me. I'd rather just be able to sit down comfortably and not suffer rectal spasms.

Volans, welcome to the forum. Have you had another checkup to see if the fissure has healed or not? It doesn't sound like classic symptoms, so maybe something else might be going on. Most people feel a glass cutting pain during a BM and pain that follows that can last hours. I would check with your doctor, and ask him about not being able to pass gas.

Have you got a second opinion yet? How young are you? We've seen 20 year olds who get the surgery on here. I'm 32 and had it.

I've only gotten an opinion from my gastroenterologist, and I don't know how experienced he is with AF. He booked me for a CT scan to see if I have an Anal Abscess that's causing the problem, which is in a couple of days. After that, I don't know what he's going to do.

Would it be better to ask him to refer me to a proctologist?

Yes you need to make an appointment with a CRS. That will get you started in the right direction. Good luck.