Hi everyone. I have been suffering for the last 11 months with a terrible fissure. I FINALLY got to see a CSR this week. I had been having bleeding and throbbing pain for 4-6 hours after BMs. In the last month or so I have only been having pain during the BM and for a few minutes after. The CRS took a look at my bum and said "You need surgury". No diet, medication suggestions. Nothing. Surgery and she asked if I wanted to do it the next day!! I said no due to feeling better the last month. She told me the sugury would be painless and that I could go back to work in a week! I find that extremely hard to believe. Any advice you can give is greatly appreciated. Should I get surgury if I have been feeling better? How long did you need off work and how painfull was the recovery?

Well, my LIS was not painless! And I missed out on a week and half of work, and two weeks would have been even better! Now, different Dr.s certainly have different procedures and maybe some result in easier recoveries. But if you have been better for an entire month, wow, I think I might consider waiting another month! Why rush it?
Now compared to the pain of the fissure, my recovery for the most part was not quite so severe, but I felt weak and I am sure that by resting for a week and lying around and taking it easy, I healed more completely within a month. And really, in all probability, it will take a month at least before you feel back to normal.
Now if you'd only been better a week, that might be different, after 11 months you are so much less likely to heal on your own. But a month? That is a great sign, at least in my medically uneducated eyes.
But if you have a "relapse," that might indeed be a sign it is time, after 11 months. I waited only seven before I had had enough!

hi Rose,
hmm. are you sure she was talking about LIS? I agree with Kim that you would need at least a week and a half to recover from it. Perhaps she was thinking of something else. the incision is certainly not painless. all in all, the surgery hurts less than the fissure, but you still need to time recuperate from the pain meds, etc...

Rose,
It is absolutely up to you - you might choose to have surgery tomorrow or never. It is very personal thing and it mostly depends of your pain tolerance and ability to function normally and having some quality of life.
For me it was easy decision - after 5 months of pain I decided that I did not want to live like wounded animal any more and "see stars" any time I have to go to the bathroom - so I had LIS and am very happy that I did.
Only thing that you have to keep in mind is that open fissure can get infected and lead to fistula forming. Also, the longer you have your fissure it is more likely that it will form scar tissue and had trouble healing on its own.
You might want to try creams and other conservative treatments before having LIS and see what happens. If you are not in horrible pain - you absolutely have a luxury of "waiting".
Best of luck!

Hi Rose,
I waited 7 months and then mine got infected so I HAD to have surgery for the fistula and an LIS. It wasnt painless at all, but it did cure the spasms and after about 3 or 4 days you begin to think its a better pain than the fissure and at least it can heal. I wish I'd have had the op sooner. But always remember - get a good surgeon to do it as the LIS success is dependant on the skill of the surgeon.
Good luck in whatever you decide.

I didn't have LIS but I guess I would probably lean towards it if I had a fissure for 11 months even if it seemed to be improving. But I think there comes a point when you know that you know that you need it and you can't take it anymore and it doesn't seem like you are at that point so it is probably wise to wait until you feel more confident and hopefully you won't need it!

Hi Rose,
Well, I would say that if it is at all possible, get a second opinion from another doctor. My first CRS was so unfriendly and his exam really hurt my fissure. He basically pulled my bum apart and it hurt so badly. After that, he said that I needed surgery. That scared me a lot, and I didn't trust him, so I went to another doctor, who also said that I needed the surgery, but was open to letting me try other options before committing. Get another opinion from another doctor.
It took me a good week and a half to feel better from my surgery, and it certainly wasn't painless. I was on pain killers for a few days afterwards. To start feeling normal again...i'd say it took at least 2 weeks.

was this your first crs?
if yes, then i would definitely try an anal fissure diet first and some creams and adjunctive supplements first.
LIS should be used as one of your last resorts but only you can determine how much tolerance to your fissure you can deal with.