After Eighteen Years, Finally Had Surgery

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After Eighteen Years, Finally Had Surgery

Postby Gracielamp » 09 Feb 2018, 08:26

Hello everyone, I have been reading and gathering comfort and courage from these boards for almost a year now. I finally feel ready to talk about my own experience in the hopes it might help someone else out there who is feeling frustrated and alone. By the very nature of this condition, it tends to be a lonely path and unless you have had a bout of fissure pain, it is hard to grasp just how awful and grueling it can be do deal with it.
I have to go all the way back to January of 2000. I had a bad bout of the flu which ended up turning into bronchitus. I was so sick that week that I was bedridden and barely able to breathe. At the end of this week, I became very constipated. After struggling to go to the bathroom, I finally managed to go and in the process, felt a very sharp pain. I had no idea what it was, but it did not go away.
After trying to deal with this for a few days, it suddenly reached epic proportions in the middle of the night. I felt as if I were being stabbed with a red hot knife in my rear end. I was pacing in the kitchen, crying and unable to find a position that was not excruciating.
Finally I woke up my husband and told him I needed to go to the emergency room, I could no longer stand the pain.
At the ER, the doctor could not touch me. I was sobbing and felt like I was going to pass out from the pain, so they admitted me to the hospital and gave me massive pain killers. I was able to sleep for the first time in days.
The next morning they sedated me and looked to see what was wrong.
After I woke up, the doctor came in my room and told me I had a fissure. He explained to me how it had occurred from straining with severe constipation. When I asked him what needed to be done to fix it, he said there was nothing except eating more fiber and drinking water so I would have soft stools. They sent me home the next day.
For the next three months I battled this alone. At the time we had a teenager, a nine year old and a four year old. On days I did not have a BM, I was almost normal. But every time I had to go, it meant ten hours or more in bed with an ice pack, suffering pain I did not know it was possible to endure. My family had to manage without me, because at these times I could not even cross the room. The pain was horrendous,
At one point I foolishly bought Dulcolax to try to get rid of the constipation that seemed to persist no matter how much water I drank. Dulcolax works by stimulating the muscles and that is exactly what it did for me. I ended up lying on the bathroom floor all night on a towel as I bled and bled and bled. The pain was worse than what I had previously had and it took a day and a half for the spasming to stop.
After that I bought Citrucil on the advice of a friend who had similar problems and it worked to a point. But I became so afraid of having a bm, I stopped eating. I finally found that I could tolerate oranges and along with an enormous amount of water and the Citrucil, I basically lived on those until I healed.
It took me three months to begin normal activities again and I had lost thirty pounds.
I was careful with my diet and managed to avoid any more problems until the summer of 2003. By that time we were living in Mexico (my husband is a geologist and we moved there so he could head up a mine project in the state of Durango) and I began to have pain and bleeding when we traveled to Idaho to spend a few weeks with family for summer vacation. I know it was the traveling, because I was not eating my usual healthy food and I was not drinking as much water.
I battled it the entire trip and it did not resolve until we got home.
Again in 2005 the exact same thing happened on our vacation. I ate ibuprofen and had episodes of pain and bleeding and more nights on the bathroom floor. We were at my mothers and I hid in the bathroom so as not to keep anyone else awake and also because at this point I was still horribly embarrassed about the whole thing and tried to keep it hidden from anyone else. I would not tell them I was in pain unless I literally could not walk or move.
It resolved that time also after we returned home.
During the following nine years, I kept MOM in the refrigerator and whenever I had the slightest feeling I was getting constipated, I would take a couple of tablespoons of MOM and almost always would only have maybe a few days of discomfort and then would be fine. I felt I now knew how to head off trouble and I was very diligent about taking action the moment I felt uncomfortable.
In 2014 we had moved to Washington state so my husband could work at the commonly office in Vancouver, BC. I became constipated and took my usual dosage of MOM but it did not work. I had a full blown attack every bit as bad as the first time back in 2000. No matter what I did, every BM was broken glass. I sat in the tub and sobbed everyday. My husband had to travel for work quite often and all the kids had left home, so I spent many days struggling to take care of the dogs and myself and often ended up lying on the carpet crying. The frustration and mental exhaustion that comes with a fissure is so debilitating. I felt hopeless and useless and so, so tired.
Nothing I did seemed to make a difference. I spent every day going to the bathroom, then sitting in the tub for an hour or two, then sitting on pillows on the floor. I could not lie down, I could not sit on a soft surface. I also at this time had a hemorrhoid that bothered me and stuck out, so I felt like I had to have strong pressure against that to help with the pain and discomfort.
I was using Gold Bond and Prep H and taking MOM everyday. Not eating anything but oranges and broccoli. I struggled through all of September and October and nothing was improving, so finally I broke down and went to my GP. I was in too much pain for anything but a cursory exam but she saw I had a fissure and prescribed diltiazem ointment and told me to take a capful of Miralax every day.
I went home and began to heal the next day. Within a week I felt wonderful.
I continued the Miralax daily and throughout all of 2015 and 2016, I had bouts when I would have a flare up but would only suffer for a few days and then would feel okay. In those two years, I probably had six or seven bad weeks.
But last August 2017, I went to the Oregon Coast for a beach vacation with friends and on the second day, the pain and heavy feeling started. I stayed at the house because of the discomfort and by the next day I stayed in my pajamas because the discomfort had become very bad. I was miserable. I finally decided I should head home so I could battle my fissure where I was comfortable.
I was in extreme pain all through September. I was in so much pain I could not get to my doctor. I kept making appointments and canceling them because of the spasms. It was the end of October before I began to feel as if the pain was subsiding. I then went to see my doctor and she referred me to a surgeon.
I saw the surgeon the first part of November and requested LIS and a fissurectomy. I was done. I was so sick and tired of this thing running my life, of constantly having it crop up at the worst times and ruining plans and turning me into a housebound shut in.
I felt good through November and December and I worried about the operation, which was scheduled for January 11, because I felt like I was walking right back into the pain and the struggle willingly this time. That was a hard thing to do. I was so sick of pain.
I had the LIS and fissurectomy on the 11th, felt okay for a day or two because of all the drugs, had hardly any bleeding, and felt that perhaps I would be able to start some easy activities after the second week.
Well, then the spasms started. Every time I have a bm, it is hours of lying on my stomach and taking a pain pill. The worst day was twelve hours of spasms and four pain pills.
So far I am at four weeks post op as of yesterday. I have had two post op visits. The surgeon cut out the fissure, which was down to muscle and sutured it up. At the last visit I had one suture that was not dissolved and she had to remove it manually. I did my best not to scream in agony but it was not easy, I can tell you.
She said that everything was healing and looked great and she cannot understand why I am having spasms.
I think I am having spasms because I have had this fissure for so long and have had so many bouts of extreme pain that the sphincter is is utter turmoil and automatically goes into spasm every time I have a bm. The LIS was conservative, but I do not think I am going back for another one. I am going to wait this out and give it another two to three weeks and see if I get better. The last two days the pain has alleviated a little and I am hopeful this is the beginning of the end of all the pain and spasming.
I also want to try physical therapy before any more operations. I think in my case this may be more beneficial.
Right now, I am applying dia
Gracielamp
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Re: After Eighteen Years, Finally Had Surgery

Postby Gracielamp » 09 Feb 2018, 08:37

Whoops,
Right now I am applying diltiazem ointment every morning and doing whatever I can in the house before I have a bm. I then apply Vaseline and go to the bathroom. As soon as I am done going, it starts to burn and everything feels stretched and open. I get into hot water with Epsom salts and soak until the pain subsides. Usually I apply some coconut oil while I am in the bath. Then I take a shower and apply more diltiazem ointment and get dressed.
I have about thirty minutes before the spasms start. Then it is a pain pill, lie on my stomach on the floor until the pain subsides, then sit on a pillow on the floor.
I am drinking water all day and in the morning and evening have a capful of Miralax in the glass. I sprinkle bran on my food and am really only eating soul and cooked veggies and chicken at the point.
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Re: After Eighteen Years, Finally Had Surgery

Postby Katie » 09 Feb 2018, 10:12

Hi I had my lis on the 15th Jan I have had no real pain just feeling tender for the first two plus weeks I'm now on day 25 the start of the week I could feel my stech pulling a little I'm on around 2 and a half movercol a day to keep things soft my wound feels like it's healing just hope my fissure does from talking to people on here most people heal after 8/9 weeks I don't get to see my surgeon till may!
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Re: After Eighteen Years, Finally Had Surgery

Postby Mypoorbutt » 09 Feb 2018, 11:26

Hi I had the worst spasms of my life two weeks after my LIS mainly due to the fact I had a crohns flare....those horrific spasms lasted 4 weeks and eventually started to ease my fissure was fully healed by 12 weeks post LIS. So the spasms didn’t prevent the healing even though I actually stopped eating for 2 weeks
My LIS was conservative too and if they don’t cut through the sphincter then off course it can still spasms and as it’s been poked prodded cut and still has a fissure for me it spasmed like never before and like you I was in agonising pain after a BM for 8/24 hours
I’m 26 months post LIS and have a new fissure that seems to be getting worse but even after my rather slow recovery I would still have another LIS
An interesting note I had Botox before I had LIS and my spasms stopped completely from day one and I only had a bit of burning and stinging which went after 4 weeks, my CRS days this is because Botox paralyses the whole IS where as LIS only loosens the tone
I’m sure you will heal even I managed too whilst in complete agony and eventually everything gets back to how it should it takes some lucky people 2 weeks others take a bit longer
But anything is worth trying to get rid of the spasms we just have to be patient sometimes
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Re: After Eighteen Years, Finally Had Surgery

Postby Katie » 11 Feb 2018, 14:49

Omg so you have another fissure even through u had the lis? Can they do it again if they cut the mussel once they can't do any more can they? X
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Re: After Eighteen Years, Finally Had Surgery

Postby Mypoorbutt » 11 Feb 2018, 15:34

Yes Hun I have another one after a flare...yes they can do another one and I would happily have another, just can’t until July due to work x
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Re: After Eighteen Years, Finally Had Surgery

Postby Katie » 12 Feb 2018, 01:18

But once u have had your muscle cut how can they do it again?? What cut it in another area? Then your really risking leakage surly? How long have u had this new fissure for? If it heals in a few days cos you have had the lis that's ok much better then before for u x
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Re: After Eighteen Years, Finally Had Surgery

Postby Mypoorbutt » 12 Feb 2018, 04:56

The IS muscle like any other muscle will regain tone over time my original test was well over 130, normal is 80/100 so if it regains 80/85% A’s is expected then that still takes me above normal range. They also never cut the full length on the NHS like they used too years ago so most of the muscle is left intact so it regains tone much quicker.
There have been people on here who have had a couple of LIS, the only risk of incontinence would be doing the op on someone whose resting tone was 100, and they won’t do it on anyone below 100 at all. I have had other fissures since the op that have healed in a few days and of course that it not an issue and I wouldn’t want LIS for those, this one has been nearly two weeks and is getting worse the spasms are back (although not as bad as before) and the stinging aching when I stand still is also there. For me with my job my active life and my other issues LIS that gets rid of the spasms is much more preferable than possible incontinence x
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