Hi SueMac, Yes, we can only do the best we can, so will keep remembering what bothers me and what doesn't. I know what it was that set me off. It was a warm day, I'm in the northeast US, and it has been cold of late, so took advantage of the day and roasted a leg of lamb outside, shared a dinner with family, and eating lamb over the next couple days, leftovers are always good, was too much for my system. And then had a great carrot/butternut squash soup and giant lima beans baked in the oven with carrots and tomatoes, well, too much of a good thing. So, back to normal eating and things are better today -- fingers crossed. With you on "would love to get rid of this problem," but have to say still grateful not suffering from the fissure again, so feeling great about that. Of course, hate to jinx myself, but my wife tells me to stop being superstitious!! As far as the nifedipine with lidocaine, I read that it is also used for hemorrhoids, so don't think using for a couple days for the pain would hurt, oh my, there's a pun in there somewhere. Nonetheless, only used for a couple days and have stopped. Just a little vaseline to help seems best option. As far as the pandemic, it's awful over here, the virus is surging and my area was doing well but now it is increasing and only getting worse. We're retired and are able to order everything we need by delivery or curbside pickup or mail, so only thing we've been doing is keeping up with regular medical appointments. So far so good for us, but the general situation in our community is getting bad. Without a change in government over here, I fear the worst is yet to come. sigh. Anyway, think positive and forward we go on all fronts from posterior to external worlds.
Be well.
davminos

How are things Davminos?

Not too bad, but seems there is a need for constant vigilance. Life just hasn't been the same since this fissure two plus years ago. It seems to be healed and on my last physical in September the doctor did a digital exam and said it was healed. However whether the stools are too bulky or what have you even if they're soft which they tend to be it will still feel a bit uncomfortable whereas on other days it's fine. And if I go too often as is my problem at times then the whole area seems sore for a couple or so days. Lately the anal area just seems to be sore from too much cleaning. I don't know what to put to alleviate the discomfort. Using the nifedipine with lidocaine today so let's see if that helps the soreness. I get exasperated by it all. It would be nice if there was a cream or ointment that could just eliminate the soreness. How are you doing? Hope you are well.

I am totally with you, the area is healed but still has periods of soreness and pain and just feeling uncomfortable- why oh why??
All we can do is keep stool soft, but not going to many times and keeping calm and well. I’m hoping my brain will eventually stop this pain happening when it doesn’t need to. It is not as severe as it used to get so I’m hoping it’s slowly slowly going in the right direction.

Yes a cream to just eliminate soreness would be amazing indeed

And on top of it have been having some hemorrhoid issue that I haven't had in years. Seems it was thrombosed a bit and after bleeding last night getting some relief today, but if memory serves, it will be a couple weeks before that resolves. All it takes is a couple bad BMs and off to the races with pain again. I used the nifedipine with lidocaine and it seems to have helped, thinking it might have helped the hemm release sort of like getting it lanced. After applying the nifedipine for a couple days, last night the hemm released and bled. Of course, scared me but fairly consistent with those nasties. Anyway, today's better and hoping for improvement each day. The odd thing is that my diet is fairly consistent but once I deviate a little then have problems. One thing that seems a culprit is bread, so need to stay away from bread. Anything beyond one piece of whole grain flourless bread is problematic.

I agree with you wholeheartedly, staying calm and keeping the fear in check is a huge issue, a battle I don't always do well with but trying best I can. With the virus raging over here not going to the doctor's right now, but so far no need to and there's always telehealth for consultations if needed. I've gotten pretty good at explaining the details of there problems. Looking forward to a resolution in the days ahead. Some days I go three times other days too many, not sure why. I remember from the Dune novels: "fear is the mindkiller" ... so true!! Best wishes to you and hope you continue to improve!

Hi sorry to hear about the hems. What a pain you don’t need on top of everything. It sounds like that is going the right way though. I think you have to continue why you are doing with diet and so on and I think you are slowly improving from what you say. It’s just a mega slow process. It’s difficult with doctors here too so I appreciate that. Let’s hope the virus is under control by spring. Have a nice Christmas.

Agreed it's a process that is ever so slow. The hemm is resolving but of course now the area of the fissure got irritated for some reason and now dealing with that irritation. My big problem is going too often and over cleaning, trying to cope and deal with that sometimes it's just so frustrating when you are doing everything the right way. This fissure has changed my life for the past two years and just when all seems well there's a turn for the worse. I'm going to try the nifedipine again and see if that helps the irritation. Best wishes to you and may your recovery continue to go well.

A very Merry Christmas and a healthy New year to you and yours!

A happy new year to you too! How are you doing I hope the nifedipine helped?

A happy new year to you as well. I'm doing much better; in fact, haven't felt this good in a long time. Haven't used any ointments, etc, in over a week now, but help came from a surprising corner. All these years, the doctors and nurse practitioners have always told me to eat a high fiber diet, which I ordinarily have done, but did even more so. My mornings were with a high fiber cereal with a cup of berries and a high fiber whole grain flourless toast with an apple and the rest of the day was lots of water (about 120 plus ounces a day) with a high fiber supper (vegetable soup, with a protein and broccoli and sometimes salad) with a fruit after supper. And still my BMs were not always smooth and easy going and often sluggish and too often. Well, I cut out all the bread and wheat cereal and only eating fruit (pears mostly) with protein (usually an egg or chicken or fish) with the usual vegetable soup, side veggie and protein, but no whole wheat grains and then added a daily dose of Miralax and wow, my BMs have become regular, well formed, soft and easy going and only twice a day. I can't believe it. The Nurse Practitioner doesn't want me to stay on it more than a week, but this miralax has been like a miracle. A friend of mine, a bit older than I am has been taking a half dose of miralax daily for years and he is fine, so thinking I may just taper off to a half dose in spite of the being told to not take it. I've done a little research on it and seems it helps people with chronic issues. I also think removing all the whole wheat grains might be helping too. I've been tested for gluten allergies in the past and always negative, but beginning to think I may be sensitive too it nonetheless. I was going to ask this forum if anyone has had any experience with taking miralax (polyethylene glycol) long-term, it just seems to work so well. Not to be graphic, but going to the bathroom has never been this good for me. Have you or anyone reading this had any experience with long-term use of miralax?

Hope you are well Suemac, take care!

davminos