New Here - Need Encouragement

Fissure Never Quite Healing

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New Here - Need Encouragement

Postby peanutbutter » 11 Apr 2020, 10:54

Hi all, I've been dealing with a chronic fissure and I feel like I could use some advice and encouragement.

Long story short I started having intermittent bloody stools around 8-9 months ago. I foolishly tried to ignore it at first but it kept happening more consistently and the pain kept getting worse, not just in my bum but each bloody stool would trigger several hours of stomach pain.

Things reached their nadir around 4 months ago at which point I started taking miralax, which immediately helped a lot.

Since then I've slowly been getting better at managing it but I can't seem to go more than 3 weeks without feeling a retear and seeing some blood, followed by that stomach pain.

In particular I had what feels like a new tear about 2 months ago. There's now this sharp pain in a particular place that I feel during all but the softest stools, or unless I've had a good week or two of healing.

Here's what I'm currently doing to manage things:

Miralax, about 80% of a cap every morning after breakfast. I previously tried to not do miralax for more than a week at a time but I've been on it for about 4 weeks and counting now.

Soaking in the tub for a few minutes every day before I shower. I know sitz baths are supposed to help but this is my half assed version of that.

32 ounces of warm water first thing in the morning and lots of water during the rest of the day.

Benefiber 2 or 3 times a day before meals.

My diet mostly consists of oatmeal and other cereal with almond milk, peanut/sunflower seed butter, flax meal, bread in moderation, lentils and beans and rice, fruits and frozen veggies, vegan meat substitutes in moderation, dried fruits, nuts, larabars, sweet potatoes, I think that's mostly it. I've mostly cut out dairy and meat and I've cut out alcohol entirely. I still drink two cups of coffee a day but I drink a lot of water with it.

Is there anything I'm doing wrong? Is there anything else I should be doing? I feel like I might be on my way but I just need to accept that it's a slow process, but I'm feeling discouraged right now.

Thanks for reading!
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Re: New Here - Need Encouragement

Postby patience_and_healing » 13 Apr 2020, 01:16

Hi there, sorry that you're dealing with this awful problem. One thing you haven't mentioned in your post is whether you got diagnosed by a specialist. This is really important so that you know what exactly you're dealing with. Right now most medical services are suspended depending on where you live, so you'll have to wait a while to be seen.

Your diet seems to have a lot of insoluble fiber in it: nuts, flax meal, lentils and beans can all contribute to larger BMs. Try reducing the amounts of those for a while and see if that helps with pain reduction.

There are different ointments that can help with this too, but you'll need a prescription. I think it's necessary to use an ointment in addition to diet and sitz baths to help with healing. An example is Rectogesic or nifedipine.

Take care, and do try to get a video visit with a colorectal doctor to discuss your symptoms. That would be the first step I'd take.
8/16-12/16: Fissure due to antibiotics
5/17: Botox to sphincter, fissure healed
9/19: Trigger point injections and pudendal nerve block
11/19: Botox to pelvic floor
8/20: Botox to pelvic floor in new location.
On and off in pelvic physical therapy
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