So I have had 8 weeks of no pain at all on be and pretty much no irritation. I have been running and living a pretty much normal life again. I have finally stopped the diltiazem 4 days ago and so far so good.
Is this it? I am terrified it will come back and just can't relax about it. I am obsessing about it or something worse like an abscess developing!! I know this sounds ridiculous but when do you just feel normal again? Surely no pain for this long is a good sign and the sentinel pile is pretty much non existant..sorry for the rant, just needed to vent that fear!

I truly hope that you are healed. I can imagine that after going through this awful thing you would have anxiety and fear about it's return. I think that anxiety plays a huge roll in keeping mine going for so long and it certainly tensed my muscles. So, try to stay calm as you can!

That's great! I'm kind of in the same boat. I'm just starting to eat normal foods again and I'm going to slowly start weaning off stool softener. I'm trying to enjoy it and hope that it's permanent!

I have a long history with this condition - anal stretch in 1991, LIS in 1996 and multiple associated problems since. Both my history and the modern conservative approach to treatment means I am now on Diltiazem day 13. I am not naive enough to believe this will result in a complete cure, but my pain level has reduced significantly. I am using it 3 times daily and applying it to the anal verge and JUST inside as directed by my CRS. 6 weeks to go and then we'll see what the next step might be. Good luck everybody!

Thanks for responses. I hope it has gone for good!! I hope you all get better soon as well...just wish I could turn off the worry!!

So still doing ok but had a bit of a setback before my last period and felt sore but disappeared the next day. I have started using some herbal ointment and it has been amazing so wanted to share what was in it. I am in the UK but you could prob get ingredients anywhere. It is a balm made of calendula oil, wheat germ oil, cocoa butter, beeswax and essential oils of myrrh lavender and chamomile. It has really helped the are feel more normal and less weird. I imagine that the individual ingredients are all excellent for skin and that is what has helped but I was finding pure oil or sudocrem was making my skin feel sore so had to stop. Good luck all!!