Newmommy28 and Jbl22424 - thanks for the information that it is ok to have botox during breastfeeding. It's good to know. I'm considering botox if diltiazem (or maybe later GTN) doesn't work.

Newmommy28, I think many who have suffered from fissures are hyper-aware of their butt. Maybe it will be easier when time passes by and botox starts to work better. I hope the spasms go away so you could feel better and heal!

Grrrrrrr- I just typed a really long update and it got deleted!!

Day 3-

I will need to be brief because my son is going to wake up at any second. I'm doing better today- had 2 bm's so far. Still having spasms but they are much better than yesterday. Hopefully by tomorrow afternoon Botox will have kicked in full throttle. I'm not having any issues with holding in gas or incontinence. Yesterday was pretty uncomfortable. After I posted things got pretty intense pain-wise. I do think that dwelling or focusing on the pain is not helpful. And you WILL feel worse before you feel better! I wasn't aware of this. I'm not sore from the actual injections anymore but the spasms feel very similar to how I felt before getting Botox. I'm trying to stay optimistic! Praying this works!

I was still able to function normally but I did need to soak in the tub in the morning, and I sat on my heating pad for an hour in the afternoon. Things started improving around 4:00.

Will post more soon!

It sounds like you are the right track. I took a bath after every BM if it was possible. I would clean up in the shower with handheld and then soak in a bath. As i work for home it was a luxury that i believed helped a lot. Remember just because you have Botox you still need to take good care. That means hygiene, food, lots of water and don't over do anything. Keep strong

Newmommy,

It definitely sucks to have a new baby and also have to deal with these issues (I can definitely relate).. wishing you that this will work for you.

Thanks to everyone for your encouraging comments. :)

Day 3 continued...

So right now I'm seated on my heating pad. Had a 3rd bm today and think I'm
Overdoing it on the fiber. I also think my nerves are making me go more often.

Today has certainly had it's' ups and downs. Earlier today I called my mom and cried- I had such a painful spasm that felt like it shocked through my whole body. Fortunately it only lasted a few minutes. I think I am a big ball of nerves because I have a lot going on at the moment. My son has been having allergic reactions to foods and I had to rush him to the doctor last night - on a day where I had already been up since 5 a.m. Plus my husband has been working late the past 2 weeks so I have been playing the role of single mom. And my boobs are constantly engorged from this whole weaning process. The last thing I really need is to be sitting around in pain and feeling sorry for myself.

I am thankful today has been better than yesterday, but the spasms are quite bad and that does make me feel a little discouraged. Thanks for listening!

Newmommy,

Sorry to hear this setback, its hard having to deal with life issues and this altogether... Have you tried doing a sitz bath right after having a BM? When I had a hemeroidectomy, I would poop in the sitz bath (I know its gross) because the pain during my BM were so intense that I would jump up and down.

Alyssa-

Gosh- I wish I could. But my son prevents me from doing that. And to be quite honest I'm not a big fan of sitz baths. I always felt really uncomfortable with my bum hanging in that thing. Like it added a feeling of pressure.

And nothing sounds gross on this forum!

Thanks for the reply. :)

I would sit in 3-4 inches of hot water in the bath instead of using the seat thing. But I couldn't sit like that when the spasms were really bad. I also don't think my son would let me do that now that he's crawling. I'm sorry you had a bad day! I think there is nothing more overwhelming than the year after your first child. You will get through this and felt better but there will be tough days. Hang in there and cry when you need to!

Thank you, Jbl. I am pretty good at letting myself cry- haha. It has been such a long week and I am just glad that it is over and I can get some help from my husband. Thank you for encouraging words. :)

Day 4

Things seem to be getting better each day. I have only had 1 bowel movement today so far, so I'm sure that has something to do with it. I'm having a little bit of discomfort but it is similar to how I felt when things were improving before I had the Botox. Very tolerable as of right now. I am staying hopeful that tomorrow will be even better than today. I'm still watching what I eat very carefully. Last night I ate a bowl of pasta to balance out all the fiber I consumed. I've never really had an issue with pasta/grains/cheese/dairy like a lot of people on this forum.

So far I am pleased with the results. I will say the first 2 days were really rough. I know that the real test will be the upcoming weeks.

Will update again soon...

Day 5

Today I seem to have more pain. I'm very frustrated since my doctor told me I should know by Tuesday if this is going to help or not. I'm trying to remind myself what people on this forum have said about it taking some time to really do the trick. I just have a lot of faith in this doctor- I feel like he really knows his stuff. So the fact that I'm still having pain is disconcerting. Granted, it is much better than the first two days post-Botox. I have been through these ups and downs so many times, it's hard to be excited.

In terms of how things feel down there, I'm still not having any issues with holding in gas or incontinence. Things don't feel much different than they did before. I'm still able to do kegels and the exercises my therapist told me to do for my pelvic floor.

My stool has been a lot runnier the past couple days. I think I am overdoing it on the magnesium and fruits and veggies. I'm just so afraid of getting backed up! I'm sure the diarrhea is one reason I'm feeling spasms today.

Will post again soon.