Hey all, I hope you're doing okay

I'm glad I found a support forum for this condition because it's been horrible. My mum suffers from fissures and did so for 15 years before getting surgery, which was not carried out properly, which required a second surgery and it's still not right for her, it's changed her life and she is in a lot of pain and discomfort sometimes. I have seen this so when it popped up in my own life, it freaked me out a lot, although lately since I've told my mum she has helped me a lot with things she does that I can try to help myself.

Sadly though, during that period of my life I was very suicidal. I really didn't have the capacity to even try to fix the fissure because I was so depressed, I felt sure I would die soon and it wouldn't be a problem anymore. Of course, that's not the case since I'm here but I will admit I do still struggle greatly with my mental health and I believe the stress I'm under all the time really doesn't help the fissure.

It's been a bit over 2 years since the initial fissure and it's been on and off, it'd kinda sort itself out then inevitably come back again. The last 3 times this has happened though, over the space of about 4-5 months, I finally got myself to a more stable point in life and wanting to live and so of course I have to face my health issues, and I have done everything I can to fix it. And I think it's all going okay then suddenly, it's back.

I will admit the first few times of trying to help myself, I thought I kept up my routines but I didn't really in hindsight so the last time this happened about a month ago, I changed almost nothing and thought I'd be okay. But it has happened again to me and if my BM doesn't go well again today this will be the 5th consecutive day of bleeding. It hurts, but I wouldn't call it painful but just more a constant hum that is always there and because of this, the stress never goes away. I fear that it will never properly heal and I'll have to get surgery like my mum, and I also fear that my negligence towards it in the past has kinda sealed the deal so to speak and I have ruined my body. I heard that if it happens too many times then scar tissue grows which is always prone to breakage because of the lack of elasticity and to be honest I think maybe I'm at that point, because even when it's "healed" I can always tell where it was by a sort of tag on the skin.

Currently, I am eating a lot of fiber each day, I eat sultana bran in the mornings, and basically anything I eat after that I try to go for things with higher fiber content and as few carbs as possible since they can cause constipation and do so for me. I also take metamucil, a molaxole sachet each day, I drink 7-8 cups of fluid a day which is mainly water but also kiwifruit and tropical juice which is high in fiber. I also am trying to get out for a walk everyday despite the quarantine going on because that seemed to help a lot in the past, and I also have about 1-2 because they seem to help move things along, and I was weaning off laxatives (was down to one every other night) but have since gone back up to two. I also use ultraproct cream, I think it's a steroid cream and I use it twice a day, once after a BM and once before bed. But all of this is still not enough to soften things up enough for the fissure to begin healing.

I'm trying to not get upset but I had a panic attack yesterday over it. I constantly feel uncomfortable and scared to even go to the bathroom now because it hurts, and I was really hoping it would have started to heal or at least stop bleeding by now but it hasn't. I'm going to try book a phone appointment with my GP later on today when he opens, but even then I'm not sure what else he might be able to suggest.

I was wondering if anyone had anything else I could try in the meantime? I'm actually okay with the treatment in terms of lifestyle change, assuming I have this condition for life, because I know it's healthy for me and it doesn't feel like I'm missing out on anything so that's nice. However, I am 23 but have spent most of my life mentally very ill and with my fair share of health conditions - I really just want to be healthy and live my life as best I can.

Thanks if anybody reads, it means a lot and has felt good to get this off my chest. I hope it isn't too late for me to get better.

Hi,
I stillt think you can heal. This is a horrible condition to live with, it definitely takes a toll on your mental state.Have you tried going to a crs doctor?

Hi there, don't lose hope, you will heal from this one way or another. I would recommend you stop the ultraproct cream if it's a steroid, unless it was prescribed by a colorectal specialist. Steroid creams thin out the tissue and will not help with healing. It's probably a cream meant for hemorrhoids. Stick with something simple like Vaseline or coconut oil.

patience_and_healing wrote:Hi there, don't lose hope, you will heal from this one way or another. I would recommend you stop the ultraproct cream if it's a steroid, unless it was prescribed by a colorectal specialist. Steroid creams thin out the tissue and will not help with healing. It's probably a cream meant for hemorrhoids. Stick with something simple like Vaseline or coconut oil.

Thank you :) The cream was prescribed by my doctor but he isn't a specialist. I didn't know you could use vaseline or coconut oil though that's something I'd like to try. Do you know if fatty cream would also work by any chance, given its similarity to vaseline? I have that on script anyway because I use it to moisturize my skin since I had skin graft surgery on my legs last year :)

Thanks again though I will do some research none the less and see which would be best for me out of those, is it the moisturizing factor that helps it heal?

Pzgre wrote:Hi,
I stillt think you can heal. This is a horrible condition to live with, it definitely takes a toll on your mental state.Have you tried going to a crs doctor?

Heya, thank you for your support :) I haven't been to a specialist, I don't know of any in my area but I am thinking I should really find one given how long I've had this now. My GP has been really helpful in the meantime though, thank you again :)

Lady_Fissure wrote:

patience_and_healing wrote:Hi there, don't lose hope, you will heal from this one way or another. I would recommend you stop the ultraproct cream if it's a steroid, unless it was prescribed by a colorectal specialist. Steroid creams thin out the tissue and will not help with healing. It's probably a cream meant for hemorrhoids. Stick with something simple like Vaseline or coconut oil.

Thank you :) The cream was prescribed by my doctor but he isn't a specialist. I didn't know you could use vaseline or coconut oil though that's something I'd like to try. Do you know if fatty cream would also work by any chance, given its similarity to vaseline? I have that on script anyway because I use it to moisturize my skin since I had skin graft surgery on my legs last year :)

Thanks again though I will do some research none the less and see which would be best for me out of those, is it the moisturizing factor that helps it heal?

I'm not familiar with fatty cream but I looked it up and it looks safe enough for the bum. But I would proceed cautiously if it causes any kind of burning or irritation.

I'm not certain what really helps with these topicals but I think it's a combination of a barrier for wound healing plus moisture retainment.

patience_and_healing wrote:

Lady_Fissure wrote:

patience_and_healing wrote:Hi there, don't lose hope, you will heal from this one way or another. I would recommend you stop the ultraproct cream if it's a steroid, unless it was prescribed by a colorectal specialist. Steroid creams thin out the tissue and will not help with healing. It's probably a cream meant for hemorrhoids. Stick with something simple like Vaseline or coconut oil.

Thank you :) The cream was prescribed by my doctor but he isn't a specialist. I didn't know you could use vaseline or coconut oil though that's something I'd like to try. Do you know if fatty cream would also work by any chance, given its similarity to vaseline? I have that on script anyway because I use it to moisturize my skin since I had skin graft surgery on my legs last year :)

Thanks again though I will do some research none the less and see which would be best for me out of those, is it the moisturizing factor that helps it heal?

I'm not familiar with fatty cream but I looked it up and it looks safe enough for the bum. But I would proceed cautiously if it causes any kind of burning or irritation.

I'm not certain what really helps with these topicals but I think it's a combination of a barrier for wound healing plus moisture retainment.

Thank you, that makes a lot of sense. I'm going to try it then, I'll get some vaseline if it's no good though. Thanks again :)

I know how you feel, I'm dealing with my 3rd fissure in 17 years.
Things that help me are drinking lots of water, cocunut oil and not straining at all when I have a bowel movement. I try to breath out while having a bowel movement, I guess that relaxes my stomach muscles and i dont have to strain.

Pzgre wrote:I know how you feel, I'm dealing with my 3rd fissure in 17 years.
Things that help me are drinking lots of water, cocunut oil and not straining at all when I have a bowel movement. I try to breath out while having a bowel movement, I guess that relaxes my stomach muscles and i dont have to strain.

Oh man I hope you start feeling better soon I tried the breathing out and it did help though so thank you, I guess that does make sense that the muscles would be relaxing :) Take care!