Please help :(

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Please help :(

Postby Desperate35 » 07 Aug 2017, 04:38

Hi all!

I have been a regular 'lurker' of this forum since 2013 when I first got a fissure after the birth of my son. I gained loads of good advice and thankfully the fissure healed up but has come back several times since but only minor and I've been able to sort it with fybrogel and coconut oil. However, it has been back with a vengeance for the last 6 weeks or so and I am at my wits end (literally, suicide is looking like a good option to finally end this pain!!) :cry:

So, when it first came back I tried my usual fixes but no joy. I've been to the doctors (twice) and they have given me rectalgeisic (had to stop using it due to crippling headaches) and for the last 10 days I've been using Eumovate steroid cream which they gave as an alternative. I haven't improved at all and I'm now desperate!! In addition to the prescribed creams I've also tried:

- coconut oil
- sudocrem (stings - ouch!)
- Vaseline
- Germaloids (if only for the pain relief)

I've also switched from Fybrogel to 4x dulcoease as I can't seem to get my stools soft enough so they just slip out (sorry!!) :oops:

Just feel I am going round in round in circles and I'm tired of this constant agony in my backside. I'm horrible to my kids and hubby and I'm really not pulling my weight at home or work.

Just wondered if there's anything else I've missed. What do people find works best for softening the stools? I've also used Lactulose but I found it makes me go 4-5 times a day which doesn't help!

Need to go back to the docs on Thursday for a review - is there anything else I can ask for? Maybe I'm making the issue worse by over medicating it?

Thank you for reading - sorry the post is so long!
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Re: Please help :(

Postby dmcff » 07 Aug 2017, 08:00

I'm sorry to hear of your suffering. As people are so different, it's hard to find a general solution to this horrible condition, one that works for everyone.

What I suggest is that you find a regimen that works for you, and stick to it. After three years of tolerating the intolerable, I found that a combination of Miralax (Movicol), GTN ointment (not cream) and pregabalin (Lyrica) was the most effective way of dealing with my fissures. While I haven't yet healed completely, I am further along the road towards it than I was.

If you can't stand the GTN because of headaches, then maybe try diltiazem or nifedipine instead.
2014 Anal fissure
2015 CAT, EUA, sigmoidoscopy, 2 MRI
2016 Pain severe then moderate to low
2017 Moderate pain
2018 Physical therapy, pain management
2019-20 Living with it
2021 Still AF
2022 Therapy, meditation
2023 Onward, up
2024 CT scan
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Re: Please help :(

Postby Mypoorbutt » 07 Aug 2017, 08:05

Hi sorry to hear your suffering
Could you ask your doc for some diliatzem as this doesn't cause headaches and works really well for healing fissures for lots of people.
Also ask about gabapentin or pregablin for me gabapentin was the only thing that took the edge off the spasm pain and it is at least worth a try.
Also lots of people on here use magnesium to help with soft stools
I know how hard it is when the spasms won't stop and your brain can't contemplate another minute of that agony let alone unending hours like you if it wasn't for my kids then I wouldn't have got through it.
Keep going it can and does get better
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Re: Please help :(

Postby dmcff » 07 Aug 2017, 08:36

In addition to medications, you might want to consider the help that a trained psychotherapist can bring, for the problem isn't just physical, it's also existential, affects the whole of one's life. I have found therapy effective in my struggle with this illness. It's sometimes hard to find the right therapist or type of therapy, but I think it is definitely worth looking.
2014 Anal fissure
2015 CAT, EUA, sigmoidoscopy, 2 MRI
2016 Pain severe then moderate to low
2017 Moderate pain
2018 Physical therapy, pain management
2019-20 Living with it
2021 Still AF
2022 Therapy, meditation
2023 Onward, up
2024 CT scan
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Re: Please help :(

Postby Desperate35 » 07 Aug 2017, 09:45

Thanks both so much for the replies and the reassurance.

Funnily enough I bought some Magensium tablets earlier as I've read a few posts saying how well they work. I feel like I've constantly got a hard lump of poo down there so if I can fully empty my bowel I think I'd feel a lot better. I know it's bad but it hurts so much when I go that I sometimes wimp out and just can't get rid of it all! :oops:

If I'm no better on Thurs I'll definitely ask about the other suggested medications - I'll try literally anything! I also thought about having much smaller doses of the rectalgeisic more frequently as I hear this helps the headaches.

It's definitely not all physical and it interferes with literally everything. I don't think I help myself either as I get uptight and stressed about it which makes the pain even worse. I hadn't considered therapy but will defiantly give it some though.

Urghh what a terrible thing these fissures are - if you have a headache, back ache or whatever you can tell people about it when they see you're down or grimacing but this really is something only to share with a sacred few!!

Thanks again :thankyou:
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Re: Please help :(

Postby Glorybee » 07 Aug 2017, 12:17

I'm in the same boat and feeling the same way. I just got back from seeing another doctor. He has also recommended surgery. I'm not ready to go there. I'm trying to figure out what I'm missing... I'm using Mirilax, and the Nifedipine. Drinking a lot of water. Should I rest more? Should I fast? Some days it really is too much to handle.
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Re: Please help :(

Postby Desperate35 » 07 Aug 2017, 12:40

It really does make you feel so low doesn't it Glorybee, I'm sorry you're struggling too. I've looked into surgery and I just can't face it unless I have to, especially not with 2 kids to look after. I have to admit that when I limit how much I eat significantly it does get better but then when I indulge a little (at weekends) it comes back with a venengance (like today!!) so I really don't think it's a long term fix, plus it's not healthy. I'm going to try continuing eating less during the day but also snacking on fruit. My main problem is the hard stools, if I can sort that out I feel confident I can heal the fissure but it seems a long way off right now!!
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Re: Please help :(

Postby dmcff » 07 Aug 2017, 12:46

A macrogol like Miralax or Movicol (Laxido, etc. there are lots of proprietary names for the same thing) ought to take care of the hard stools.
2014 Anal fissure
2015 CAT, EUA, sigmoidoscopy, 2 MRI
2016 Pain severe then moderate to low
2017 Moderate pain
2018 Physical therapy, pain management
2019-20 Living with it
2021 Still AF
2022 Therapy, meditation
2023 Onward, up
2024 CT scan
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Re: Please help :(

Postby Desperate35 » 08 Aug 2017, 03:41

Thanks dmcff, am going to get some Movicol today and see if that helps. I took 4x dulcoease yesterday, drank 10 glasses of water and had a magnesium tablet - my poo was very soft but it took an hour (and several trips!!) before I could go. The good news is I've gone from 12/10 pain wise to hardly anything today (woo hoo!!) but I do feel like I need to do a massive BM which is making me uncomfortable. Hopefully Movicol will help!
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Re: Please help :(

Postby dmcff » 08 Aug 2017, 05:27

My former GP was of the opinion that drinking large amounts of water is unlikely to have much effect on what emerges from the colon, rectum and anus - his view was that this anatomical region is quite separate from the fluid and bladder area, and that drinking lots of water is only likely to make you pee more.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion, I guess. Glad you are feeling better. Hope the Movicol works - it should.
2014 Anal fissure
2015 CAT, EUA, sigmoidoscopy, 2 MRI
2016 Pain severe then moderate to low
2017 Moderate pain
2018 Physical therapy, pain management
2019-20 Living with it
2021 Still AF
2022 Therapy, meditation
2023 Onward, up
2024 CT scan
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