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.