So glad you shared this! I had a similar experience. Plant based Diet saved my ass. Literally.

I'm sorry you had to deal with fissures for so long but I'm glad it's finally healed.

I'm a bit late but I recently found this forum and I want to thank you for this post. Also for your blog! I've read each section and I am taking mental notes. The "Staying Strong" section really resonated with me since I am having trouble with that now. When the pain comes I usually lay down and sulk. I have to get better at that.

I am on Day 2 of figuring out a new diet for myself. I'm not much of a cook but I am trying my best. Anyway I won't keep rambling. Just wanted to say thanks!

Wow agibson loved your blog! I have been vegetarian most of my life and still
Deal with fissure periodically. I think the mistakes that I made were with this relapse after being symptom free for decade are not hydrating enough and also eating too many refined products with carbs. I also would give my family fruits everyday but when it came to me - I seemed less important . Now I have atleast 3 fruits a day . Pears and apples help - I believe they have a lot of soluble fiber. I have introduced Brussel sprouts and lentils in a big way and it seems to help. Still keep trying to research everyday about good soluble fiber sources as I understand the insoluble stuff Bulks one up ( stool) and I am currently in an acute episode still trying to recover from Botox. Take care and thanks !!

Hi folks,

Hope you're all having good days!

thought i'd update you as i've had really good results recently. Aside from travel-related setbacks, that is....i'll try to be brief as i can.

atm i can pretty much predict i'll have a painless daily movements before midday, but only if i make sure of a few things:

pre-morning BM (the main bit!)

1. two pints water on waking (and black coffee of course)
2. porridge (4 tbs +1/2 to 1 tbs flaxseed, linwoods is good)
3. perhaps some herbal tea or another coffee. here it comes! (sorry)

Post BM, (squatted every time, deep breathing to initiate reflex, trust myself and the water and relax fully, sorry again)

3. snack on a few prunes/nuts/dates or mango/pear/strawberries/apricots/papaya or plums.
4. safe main meals are nice stews containing chick peas/butter beans/lentils/courgette/potato/sweet potato/crushed lasagne or other pasta/brown rice+a tin of tomatoes. i make a big one for lunch and eat again for dinner quite often. i love a daily salad starter often based on rocket, beetroot and cucumber. its repetitive but better than.....
5. if i really want/have to eat meat then chicken is best. i can always use my blender at home adding to veg soup if i want to.
6. I avoid like the plague : bread, deep-fried anything, red meat, all junk food, red wine and tea. I find once those things are in the house, theyre as good as eaten. so I just walk past them in the aisle. and after a few weeks away, i've lost the hunger for most of them, apart from triple chocolate cookies.. damn... re tea+wine, Im not convinced about tannins. However i love coffee and real ale and they seem not to affect me. but i get through about 5l water a day inc cooking.
7. If i've eaten something really bad, out for dinner perhaps - i try to make my next meal an anus's dream with chia powder or psylium with plenty of water after the meal.
8. digestifs! french 'leau de vie, calvados, port, i find they help after a big meal!

Ive had 3 fissures over the last 5 years, and i cant tolerate dinners/movements as they used to be. but i cant have LIS as im a performer by trade - i just couldnt risk it.

sometimes i use vaseline right before or after a BM but im not using any medication right now. my theory is that if i have any anal spasm, my blood cant heal it from the blood supply side, so vaseline may help to lubricate and facilitate healing from inside. But who knows. it definately helps. I know my *** will never be the same so i just have to be gentle with it.

All this is easier when i dont have to go to work before lunch. i suppose i could get up at 6am if i had to. but getting it all out the way before i head out is a big relief - theres nothing to consider once im out except how to eat, and theres always tupperware for that.

If i had to pick two of these things only it would be the 2 pints water b4 breakfast and the meat/bread free carb/veg diet. im pretty sure thats enough for me.

OK thats it for now, I really hope you guys are not just finding your own solutions, but finding the will power to carry them out, thats a really hard part! i do realise we are all different. I would love to hear if any of these ideas help or resonate with anyone else, or even if they dont work.

Finally, if you're reading this as a guest, i encourage you to login- your discoveries might help others as so many here have helped me.

Its one day at a time for me, all the best folks,

AG

sorry i can i update?

9. no missed meals! all about the routine!

Hi Folks,

hope you're having good days.

I'm back in a purple patch (long may it last), only two weeks so far but lets see.

This recent success (daily type 4 BMs on rising, no hard stools, no excruciating pain - the holy grail!) has coincided with a period of eating a lot, (more than i would normally) having 3 good sized meals a day, plus regular snacking (ripe bananas, ryvita, crisps, salami, chocolate, whatever)

this approach still adhers to a mostly plant based diet, but getting some fats+protein from a little meat. im not having any fibre supplements, or over depending/obsessing on any one thing like prunes or apples or whatever.

this approach kind of happened by accident while travelling with work for 3 weeks. i couldnt understand, why my stools softened and BMs regulated (=fissure pain goes) when i couldnt really control what i ate. but i was eating+drinking a lot as you often do when away.

So i tried to repeat this at home, and amazingly got the same results! This leads me to wonder if eating plenty of food gives a constant signal to your gastrocolix reflex to keep working, this shortening its digestion time (hard stools are what caused my fissures, but ive known acid D to hurt too).

Its been a fascinating 2 weeks: I eat healthily generally, but eating more throughout the day has really done more than controlling every last item in the cupboard.

for the record:

pre breakfast - pint warm water+coffee
porridge (water)

snacks - ripe bananas/salami/ryvita/crisps/cold plate

main meals - a starter (eg saladrocket/beetroot/cucumber) + veg stir fry/pasta+butter beans+pesto/chickpea curry.

ive always been generally underweight, but my BMI has gone up to 21 already - i guess increasing food intake may not sound appealing to some people, but i have read that constipation and being underweight can often go together!

Any way i thought i'd post this in case its useful. let me know if you've had similar experience!

Cheers, and all the best.

Agibson. If you are still in the group, how are you doing? Your story is inspiring. Just wondering whether you had anal spasms and high spinchter pressure after the fissure healed?

Hi Elle 107,

I still pop in from time to time I still have the occasional issue but I'm generally much better what's strange and a bit embarrassing is that I can best describe my diet now as kind of meat (small portion) and two veg as balanced as possible I don't keep any kind of chia seed or fibre supplement at all and and the main result is just that trips to the bathroom are generally comfortable. It's pretty confusing what with all the talk about fibre and everything but my doctor said it's actually a story he's heard before. I still drink lots of water throughout the day but even if I miss a day or two bathroom wise it doesn't seem to change things too much I still don't really trust bread and I've also taken porridge out as well I guess it kind of feels like the less I put in the Less comes out ( I'm talking about fibre not general calorie intake). I tried all my life to be vegetarian and vegan but these days like I said my plate normally has one meat 1 starch and one veg. It's a weird turn around but there it is!

Yeah sorry I didn't answer your question! No I don't think I have any spasms or high Tension now but I will say that when I have a BM I'm very conscious to just fully fully relax to the max cos I know that any kind of pressure during the motion is a very bad idea indeed!

Thanks so much for your posts and PM. I am doing so much better. My fissure healed in January, but I have been having ‘aftershocks’ so to speak for about 2 months. As in awful spasms in anal spinchter and pelvis area. They have finally subsided and I don’t have the spasms or high pressure at all. I have moved onto my fourth type of pain on this six month journey, which is just a dull sensation after BM for a few hours. A hot water bottle soothes it. So much better than it was.

As to diet, I am following the less in less out philosophy and also soft in soft out. I try to cut out the junk and eat real food in a moderate amount.

Also, I am tryingto be hopeful and move on. I am definitely back to my old workout schedule and am standing more at work.

So appreciate people like you and other amazing folks who have helped me during my darkest times. If anyone reading this has a healed fissure but still having spasms after BM, I am happy to help anyone.

Absolute kindest regards to all.