Hi all

after reading thru a lot of posts some of you mention about special diet... would love to know more as l will do ANYTHING to help with this... the nitrol ointment the dr gave ne just isn't working at all now... doesn't give me headaches... to begin with when using this for 6 weeks it seemed like it had healed... then another tear and back to square one..... so looking forward to going to see a consultant for the first time on Thursday.....gone past that route of being embarrassed about it!!

...Caz

Hi frazzles,
Sorry you are having such a bad time. As you know, the main thing is to keep your stools soft. Some foods are good for this, and others are bad. But everyone has different tolerances, so we can't recommend one diet for everyone.

Do a search for "fissure friendly" and see what comes up. People have posted suggestions, like sweet potato, lentils, oatmeal, etc. There are threads with recipes.

Some people find that dairy makes their stools hard, some can't eat red meat, some can't eat gluten, and so on.

Whatever you eat, make sure to notice what effect it has. Keep a diary where you note what you eat vs how hard/soft your stool is.

Since nitro isn't working for you, ask your consultant for a different drug, like nifedipine or diltiazem. Different drugs are good for different people.

Have you tried moderate heat to the area, eg by sitting on a heat pad or warm hot water bottle? Or lying in a warm bath?

Read the success stories thread. It will give you ideas, and, just as important, HOPE. You can heal! It might take a long time, but eventually you'll get there. And we are here to help.