I'm had my fissure develop 15 years ago. I have never experienced the extreme debilitating pain many on the forum report. It would come and go but it has been here to stay for a long time, and I had one of my most painful experiences about a month ago.

I am a small person and believe a large part of my failure to heal has been constipation.

In the past, I've been able to improve things by changing my diet and with various supplements and oils. Hydrocortisone supplements combined with a stool softener and Citracel pills allowed me to heal once. Nitroglycerin also helped, but I found the side effect lightheadedness hard to endure. Diltiazem doesn't really do very much for me. Cutting out dairy and grains has probably helped but not dramatically or consistently, and I've had perfectly normal bowel movements when consuming a lot of both of these. Increasing water and exercise also does not do much for me.

Ahead of surgery I have been limiting myself to soups and dips, and I started taking Miralax four days before the surgery in the hopes that my first bowel movement afterward will not be excruciating.

I'm going in first thing, the procedure will start two hours later and is expected to last one hour. I will then be in recovery for two hours before getting picked up. I was told not to bring any valuables with me (just ID and Insurance Card) and to make a list of any medications I've been taking. It looks like all of the procedure will be covered except for my deductible. I will post what was charged to the insurance company when I get my bill.

Here is hoping for the best and for a non-traumatic recovery! I'm planning to stick to my soup and soft food diet for the next week as well and then when I've resumed a regular diet actively fighting the candida overgrowth, which I believe is causing the constipation and hard stools (which I worry will bring the fissure back over time even if the procedure is successful). I also went out and bought Advil, Magnesium Citrate, and Colace in advance. I'm hoping to avoid the heavier painkillers post-surgery so I don't get any nausea or constipation.

Wishing you all the best tomorrow and I hope that your recovery is swift and easy.

Today has gone well so far! The hospital staff is very nice and competent with the exception that they did not send me to the right place at the beginning. I woke up in recovery feeling fine but a little sleepy. My Miralax and soup plan was maybe not the greatest because it did not account for the numbing so I experienced some incontinence twice in the hospital and once at home. Cleaning up was painless because I'm still numb, and I managed not to feel too embarrassed. And that means my first bowel movement post-op was totally painless. We'll see how things are going forward when the various meds wear off. I took 600mg of Advil at the designated time since I'm trying to avoid the prescription stuff (Feingold said this was fine).

Drive home was fine. I'm currently in zero pain or discomfort. I'm just trying to be careful with how I sit and stand.

Sounds great so far. I hope that things continue to go well for you. Keep us posted!

End of Day 1: I've only taken Advil today and have experienced no pain. I suspect I'm still benefiting from the pain meds I got during the procedure but a lot of the numbing has gone without any pain so that seems like a good sign. No more incontinence either. I took two sitz baths today and ate two soups and an avocado and took one Colace. I've been a little gassy which makes me worry about an upcoming bowel movement, but it's been fine so far. I do have sensation in the area and it just feels like the skin is bumping up against something rough when I walk. But it's very slight for today. Hoping tomorrow is not much worse!

Food Eaten: Soup, Avocado, Guacamole, Babaganush
Meds Taken: Advil, Colace
Number of Sitz Baths: 2
Bowel Movement: 1, loose from numbing
Gas: Yes
Pain: 0-1
Blood: Spotting

Morning Day 2: I'm still feeling good. I slept through the night, which I was worried about because the pain meds were set to wear off after 6 hours. I slept on my left and right sides/stomach lifting myself up to turn instead of rolling. I did not have any pronounced pain when I woke up. I was gassy, and I sat in the bath for 20 minutes and took another three Advil and a Colace with a creamy soup for breakfast. I'm definitely more aware of the wound today, but it still doesn't hurt. It frankly feels like what you'd expect a wound to feel like, like a little pinching/pulling/stabbing. But I would put it at about a 1-2 on the pain scale. And it's really not pain. It's more like a feeling like you're sitting on something uncomfortable. I'm upright in a chair at a table now but might switch to more relaxed position to alleviate this and take another bath.

Also I should mention that I've had blood spotting throughout the last two days but not at significant amounts. I think it's largely brought on by gas passing. But it's really not more than spotting.

Day 2 has been fine. No pain above a 2. No bowel movement, yet and still a lot of gas. Lying down was more comfortable than sitting. Used the sitz seat they gave me instead of the tub and that was very helpful.

Food Eaten: Soup, Apple Sauce, 2 Tbsp Olive Oil, 2 shots of Aloe Juice, 2 Tbsps Coconut Oil
Meds Taken: Advil, Tylenol, Colace, 1/3 of Miralax dose
Number of Sitz Baths: 5
Bowel Movement: 0
Gas: Above average, caused some discomfort
Pain: 1-2
Blood: Spotting and a little dripping

Morning Day 3: Right before bed last night I felt pain for the first time. It was still nothing above a 2 and only a short pang. I was surprised because I had just taken my scheduled Tylenol. Slept fine. Woke up and had a bowel movement immediately. Totally painless! The stool was very soft. I could feel it passing the wound, but no pain or stinging and surprisingly no blood. I took a 1/3 of a dose of Miralax before bed.

End of Day 3: Today was great. But I couldn't make myself eat soup all day again. I had very small meals throughout the day. I wish I could have resisted the pita, but I've been on the soup diet for almost a week. Still, I'm optimistic that it won't cause me problems. I did not feel the need to take any sitz baths other than the one after my morning bowel movement. And I also decided I wanted to alternate my Miralax days to avoid incontinence. Sitting has become almost completely normal again. I'm mobile and feel normal. I almost went to a friend's holiday party this evening but then realized it wasn't worth the risk (subway, crowds, etc.) I might go to work for a couple of hours today or I might just go in on Monday. I felt mentally well-enough to work from home yesterday but couldn't sit at a desk long enough. But today I was able to work from home.

Food Eaten: Apple Sauce, Soup, Babaganush, 4 small pieces pita bread, Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese, 1 Tbsp Olive Oil, 1 shot of Aloe Juice, Pudding, Jello
Meds Taken: Advil, Tylenol, Colace
Number of Sitz Baths: 1
Bowel Movement: 1, soft & painless
Gas: Only a little
Pain: 0-1
Blood: Very little


Just an FYI that I'm not following the post-op written instructions exactly as they are not internally consistent.

Great to hear that you're doing well!

Day 4 was smooth. I experienced a random bout of stinging/itching that reached about a three. I stuck mostly to soft foods. I stupidly tried to move my couch a bit, but I believe stopped myself before I caused any damage. Sitting is totally comfortable. I decorated my house for the holidays. All's well.

Food Eaten: Soup, Babaganush, 1 Tbsp Olive Oil, 1 shot of Aloe Juice, Pudding, Jello
Meds Taken: Advil, Tylenol, Colace, 1/3 Miralax
Number of Sitz Baths: 0
Bowel Movement: 0
Gas: Only a little
Pain: 0-1, spike of 3
Blood: Very little