I first had anal fissures when I was about 10 years old. I can't remember much about it then but I went through homeopathic treatments and my parents helped me focus on diet and I remember getting better in 2 months. Since it was during my summer holidays, life wasn't too bad. I cant remember thinking too much about the pain back then. Illness was simpler and I remember playing a lot that summer just like any other kid.
Fast forward about 8 years when I was between 18 and 19 the fissure recurred again, this time I was in a hostel on my own, petrified at first and was not sure whether I would ever survive the agony. kept mum about it and finished my finals and went home for summer- parents to the rescue again and took me straight to a colorectal surgeon the minute I mentioned it. This time I had let it turn chronic and I had a lateral internal sphincterotomy right away with removal of the sentinal tag, I cant remember all the details but there was severe pain for 2-3 days and then life was suddenly better.
I got married to a wonderful guy and a few years later after my first child ( difficult labor) the fissure recurred. This time I also needed to heal from my c section - so it was definitely harder and a year after my first child I had another LIS some 10 years after my first one. Healing was not too bad. Had been reasonably careful with my diet and one or two small recurrences here and there apart was doing well.
Now I am 40 and recently things have been very stressful at work, lack of proper hydration and long hours at work with erratic diet probably all added to my fissure returning. I was a happy mom and wife and career woman even ran a half marathon with my family not so long ago.
This time the pain seems unbearable more so because of how much older I am and how many things I am responsible for in the day and compounded by the fact that I thought - really believed this was over.
Now I had pain for 3 months and finally went in for botox 2 days ago as I was told surgery was risky for the third time.
1. diet: I drink about 2 liters of water a day now, before this happened it was barely 1 liter. I love my carbs but I have completely stopped rice and even bread. I eat salads for breakfast with a fruit - apple or pear each with 4-5 grams of fiber and a banana
most of my salads are prewashed
I have stopped dairy
I eat nuts but I cook them or soak them to make them softer
no more tortilla chips, potato chips or anything hard
spices have been cut down to minimum
I soak garbanzo beans or chickpeas, add green peas to veggies I cook and also soak red kidney beans and cook them after 24 hours. I am told they are veyr high in fiber
I look at serving size fiber content of everything I eat and try to keep it at 25 to 30 grams a day
I supplement with metamucil and one other organic fiber - 3 tsp three times a day
I try to cook veggies with their peels eg potatoes in their jackets for the fiber
Minimized oil and grease
lost 3 pounds over the last couple of weeks
2. sitz baths: I fill my bathtub with hot water 2-3 times a day - definitely after a BM and sit in it for 20 minutes each time. I also use a little jet of water every time I have a BM for the pain
3. getting through a work day: I use ibuprofen 200 to 400 for pain. pain lasts most of the days gets better with the evenings. I try to walk more when pain is less try to get my 10,000 steps, I have been told walking is good for the sphincter blood circulation and healing.
4. creams: I use nifedipine/lidocaine cream compounded by local compounding pharmacy. I apply it to the external area only twice a day- internal application was too painful. I have read a lot about coconut oil on forums and I bought some extra virgin coconut oil which stays liquid at room temp and I apply it as best as I can twice a day. some times it is too painful to do so
5.surgery: botox was 2 days ago. not much difference noted, still pain and bleeding after BM. The anesthesia was easy and my exam under anesthesia reveled 2 fissures which my CRS said is healing but I am not so sure, the pain is down from 10 to 8 but every bm is still painful and bloody not too much blood but enough to disturb me as I know it means there will be pain through the day. I chose not to get my sentinal tag removed this time. I was tired of surgeries and decided if not absolutely necessary then not to do it.
6. staying positive: I know there is lots of you like me in this forum. Chin up and don't give up. I feel pretty down too when the pain hits at its peak but I have kids to stay positive for and moreover have to set an example for them. When I was prepping for the OR I saw so many with much worse problems and I am determined to stay upbeat.
I travel for work and dread any change in routine of late but I try and stick to my rules - high fiber diet, plenty of hydration, when pain is down get my exercise, stay calm through yoga and meditation and that keeps me going.
why am I here in this forum? Many of your posts have given me courage and I hope to do the same for someone else
take care and stay positive