I've posted a few times with no response. (I totally understand!)

But, I'm in major need of a daily or bi weekly support buddy. I'm feeling so sad.

I was doing okay and thought hey maybe this isn't chronic, yah now I've had a set back and pretty sure it is.

Is there anyone that would like to connect daily or bi weekly? Perhaps another newbie? I'm a 36 yr old female in Canada. This is my first fissure. I'm on week 9 I think.

Hello, sorry that you haven't had any responses. It's not as busy here as it used to be. I'm not on here often or I would be happy to support you. Have you seen a colorectal specialist to get treatment for the fissure?

Hi!
Things are so behind here because of COVId.

My regular doctor has seen me and another walk in doctor as well. I have not had a specialist look yet.

I was told I have a fissure and that a stool softener, water and fibre will heal it. It's been nine weeks. My asked my doctor about chronic vs acute and she didn't seem to answer me. Just said it takes time to heal. But then I read after six weeks it's considered chronic. Ugh.

Yes it's considered chronic after 6 weeks. I agree that covid has messed up the medical schedules badly in many places.

Keep doing what you can to make bowel movements soft and regular. Too much insoluble fiber makes BMs bulky which can reinjure a fissure and delay healing. Osmotic laxatives like miralax are safe long term (as told to me by several doctors).

Other than that, use lubrication before each BM, take sitz baths, do gentle exercise and stretching, and try and reduce stress in other areas of your life.

And if your regular doctor can prescribe nifedipine or diltiazem ointment that would help too I think.

I had a good grip on it for a few weeks but then my period messed up by bowels and has been causing havoc.

I had a BM this morning (two days after retear). It was soft and didn't hurt. I had minor spasms after but they were manaegble. Then just now I had a second BM. Soft....and easy to pass... But it's like my bum can't handle going again and now I'm in major pain. Sitting in bath.

The muscles tend to go into spasm after a single BM which makes subsequent ones more painful. That's what causes so much pain. I'm sorry you're going through this difficult injury.

Yesterday was the worse day in the nine weeks. I have my period and I caught a cold. The cold is making me nauseous so I'm not eating much. Even tho I hardly ate yesterday, I had four poops. Not diahrea but four poops spread over the day. Needless to say, I was In spasms all day and even felt like giving up. PHoned a walk in clinic and got some lidocaine. Not sure if it helped.

Hope today isn't the same

Hi Bluecat, we've interacted on a few other posts and I'm going through it too. It is truly a horrible experience, and while I'm not on every day, I'll typically come on at least once a week.

I'm not sure I'm a newbie, as I've had my fissure for almost a year now, but it was very manageable- only pain during bm and no spasms afterwards. Conservative treatment. Then December 2021 it took a big turn for the worse. And that's when I discovered the forums.

I think it would be nice to have a support buddy as well!

Hi softie,

What caused the set back? What's your current food intake? And symptoms?

The worst for me is this feeling of depression. I've ever had this feeling before and have always been a happy person. I have two toddlers and all I do is sit in the bath and sulk.

It's frustrating too because my doctor and the walk in doctor just say "don't worry. It'll go away". . Yet here I am...reading researched articles saying at this point it's chronic and won't go away. Ughh..

By the way, I'm a 36 yr old female. in Canada.

Weirdly enough, what made everything worse all of a sudden in December may have been my first botox injection to the region (which is meant to relax the muscle & promote healing). Maybe it was getting worse already by that point, but still. I do feel like that was kind of a turning point.

Don't let that scare you off from botox because for many people I've read on here, either nothing happened or they felt better. But I think there are a few of us who the botox made feel worse for whatever reason.

I'm trying to keep a vegan diet focused on fruits, vegetables, and whole grains because someone suggested that, but I do cave into some non-vegan treats every once in a while. And I'm trying to take miralax every day. And like 2 liters of water.

I know, it is really depressing. It must be tough as a mom too, I don't have kids currently, so can't imagine. And sitting in the bath all the time does suck. I don't know if this is as good, but I ended up buying a heating pad off amazon just for a change of scene, where at least I can get some heat on the couch or in my bed rather than having to go to the bath ALL the time.

Mental health wise, some days are better than others for me. I hate the idea of this disabling me for who knows how long, potentially altering my social life, career, etc. And I don't think this problem is talked about much so I don't think people really understand. Luckily my family has been pretty good about it, but my boss has been so-so. I guess I just try to count my blessings for now. Like, at least I can avoid pain when I lie down. And at least I haven't been having 8-9 level pain recently. At least it's not life-threatening. And at least surgery is still a possibility, physical therapy (if pelvic floor dysfunction ends up being a factor), and other things left to try. But it's hard to be patient sometimes.

I'm 32/f/USA.