Hi! I am a mom of four and a chronic anal fissure sufferer while nursing only.

After each kid I have developed a fissure (or several) on the inside only, at 2 weeks post partum.

I am a huge breastfeeding adovocate and suffer through the fissures for 12 months after each child to give them the best start at life.

I have tried many things since my first fissure in 2004.
-nitroglycerin cream
-wheatgrass cream
-diet changes (obviously)
-compounded anal fissure gels
-dilation surgery also including a small cut into my sphincter muscle to try to relax it.
-stool Softners
-estrogen cream (estrace)
-sitz baths

A homeopathic dr has recommended that I try nitricum acidum pellets which I am picking up later this week because they're 35 miles away. He says I am the worst case he's heard of.

My stools are mostly fine. I will have one hard one that will just ruin me for months. After a bowl movement, even when soft, I will have about 8 hours of pain due to my "overactive" sphincter muscle. (Even when the BM wasn't painful) I eat Motrin all day and that hardly eases it.

It is so hard to be a happy person and care for my children (plus my daycare children) when I am in this pain. It has robbed my of my happiness. It ruined my first marriage and is putting strain on my current relationship.

I just want to be able to nurse my babies and not have it cause such tramatic pain. I love breastfeeding my babies. This is all so heartbreaking to me. I constantly find myself asking why me? What did I do to deserve this? It is so hard to deal with. I'm glad to have found this forum. It helps to know that I am not alone.

I guess my main question is how much estrace I should be using daily? My midwife didn't know what to recommend because I am her first case and I found the idea for this treatment on my own and there aren't many studies. So if you have used estrogen cream how much were you prescribed and did it help at all?

Hi and welcome to the forum!

Hope you drink LOTS of water!!

You might like to read this thread written by one of our moderators re Estrogen and how it helped her:

post116811.html?hilit=Estrogen#p116811

Yes, I drink LOTS of water. That post it actually the reason I am using estrace because I brought it to my midwifes attention. Now I am wondering how much I should be using daily

Hi there love-sci. When I used estrogen cream I had it leftover from a prescription for vaginal pain. When I had it prescribed for that I was told to use a pea sized amount 3 times/week for the first month, then once a week thereafter (or as needed). So for my bum I used about a half a pea sized amount daily (it's easier for me to remember something when I do it daily and this was something I did not want to forget). I used a compounded estrodiol cream at 0.1%. It was made at a compounding pharmacy, although I think there are ready made tubes out there for prescription as well. I got the compound as there were irritants for me in the ready made product. Hope this helps. I hope you feel better soon.

Sorry, I don't have much advice because I've never tried Estrogen, but you have given me hope that my fissure might clear up after weaning. I'm currently nursing a six-month-old and plan to wean after one year. Like you, I'm not willing to wean to heal me, but hopefully if it doesn't clear up before then, weaning will help me to avoid surgery! I know what you mean about this thing robbing you of happiness. It's something we can't even really talk to others about because it sounds like such a minor thing, a small tear. I think maybe women think of it like a tear they get during childbirth, but I've had an episiotomy and that was nothing compared to a fissure. There's just no describing it unless you've experienced it. It's a lonely condition because it's not well-known, not life-threatening and well, no one wants to talk about that part of the anatomy. I hope the Estrace helps you!

Thank you Mismon. That's very helpful. :) they just compounded my estrogen into my anal fissure gel for me yesterday. So far it has taken no toll on my milk supply.

DaisyMac it has taken no longer than 2 months post weaning each baby to heal completely. 2 months was actually the longest it took. I supplemet with a friends donated milk in hopes of easing the pain but it never helps. :/ it is such a lonely condition. I always say I would rather birth 10 babies on one day than suffer with a day of fissure pain.

My midwife now has me dissolving nitricum acidum under the tongue 3 times daily as a homeopathic dr told her he has seen positive results in that with breastfeeding mothers. You can get it online.

I am glad I reached out on this forum. It is good to know I am really not alone after all. I searched all over the web with my first "breastfeeding" fissure in '04 and couldn't find a thing.

My baby is also 6 months old and I would love to be able to nurse until 24m this time if I can get this pain in the a** under control. :P