Hi everyone,
I'm new to this forum (29 year old woman) and while I'm glad it exists, at the same time I really wish I didn't have to be here.
I developed fissures in Dec 2016 after a bout of anxiety diarrhea. I had one back in Aug 2016 as well after bad constipation from antibiotics, but it healed very quickly. I don't know if the current ones are re-tears of the ones from August.
Fast forward to today, I've been using 0.125% nitroglycerin for 6 weeks, and just switched to 0.2% plus calmol 4 suppositories. I feel the suppositories are already helping a lot, but whether they will heal me remains to be seen.
I've been told by my GI that the next step after 2 weeks of 0.2% gtn is diltiazem or nifedipine for 2 weeks. If neither of those help, then it's time to see a surgeon for possible Botox.
I would like to know if Botox is a viable option if I have more than one fissure? I have pain at the 6 and 3 o'clock positions. I also had pain at 9 o'clock, when this first happened, but that thankfully has mostly cleared up now. The doctor has not been able to see anything at 3 o'clock, so I really don't know what the size of fissure is.
My pain levels are not as high as some of the descriptions I've read on here, but significant enough to interfere with simple daily activities like sitting and walking. I felt like I was getting better for a while, now I've regressed again. I'm doing the whole fiber, laxative, squatting, sitz bath stuff as well, to promote healing.
I would appreciate any advice I can get about the next steps to take. I haven't had children yet, so would like to avoid surgery that could put me at risk for future incontinence. Thanks so much! :)