I have been suffering from an anal fissure since early 2006. Like many AF sufferers I had good, bad and very very bad times. I did everything right to try to heal it, high fiber diet, drinking a lot of water, no caffeine, no alcohol, but little things like working out would set me back in AF hell.
I went to see a GI and he confirmed that it was an AF and gave me nitro to try to heal it. It was almost next to impossible to find a pharmacy that would fill it. One place even demanded to see clinical trial data before they would fill it. It took me days before someone would fill it for me while that whole time I was in pain. I wished some very evil things to these people at the time. Anyway, the nitro helped and I was able to live a normal life but I was never 100% better.
In late 2007 things started to get bad and again and I suffered for months. I was getting married in April so I went to the GI again and begged for the nitro again. He gave it to me but wanted to perform a colonoscopy once I healed. The AF would just never full heal and I was not about to get a colonoscopy on my sore butt. I really did not think I needed a colonoscopy anyway. I am in my mid 20s, have no stomach problems, healthy, and have no family history of such problems. But if it did heal I would go ahead and get one, but it never did. Around September of 2008 I told them I was not getting any better and I wanted to this to end now. I can’t believe that they just told me to stay on a high fiber diet. What do you think I have been doing for the past 2 years? Idiots! By this time I became an AF expert and was convinced that the only way I could get better is by getting a LIS. In hindsight I am not sure why I asked my GI for recommendations but he highly recommended this one general surgeon.
I made sure I checked the surgeon out before he did anything, and everything checked out. He told me he has preformed this surgery many times before and I could be back at work the next day. Sounds good lets this baby started.
Nothing out of ordinary happened during my first LIS. They put you under and the next thing you know you are all finished. The only thing I thought was strange was that the surgeon did not even wait to talk to me after surgery. I was only left with a very brief description for post operative care. It never even said to take things like stool softeners or anything like that, but I have read online and I know better than that. I would hate to think what a less informed person would have done.
Anyway the first thing I noticed was that my butt was bused and swollen beyond belief, and they told me not to even ice it. Idiots! But I tried to stay upbeat and was like I can beat this, and in a few weeks I can eat that pizza and beer that I have craved for over a year. I did everything right, but by first BM was so painful that I nearly passed out. The muscle spasms were still there too. The whole reason for the LIS is to stop the spasms. It would take me an average of 4 hours to go to the bathroom. I would jump in and out of the bath tub and try not to hyperventilate from the extreme pain. My life was hell. My wife had to leave the house while I went to bathroom because she could not stand to hear my torturous screams of pain. The doctor had the nerve to say this is normal and I will get better. He told me to eat a lot of fruit. Thanks a lot you are great. After a month I finally got somewhat better, but still was no better than I was before the surgery.
I just want to be good again. I started some homeopathic remedies. Things got a little better but nothing good enough so I went to see another surgeon. This time I made sure that the person is Board Certified in both general and colorectal surgery. She was great she cared about my needs and said that either two things happened. I either have Crohn's disease or that the past surgeon LIS was incomplete. Because of my health history and because my fissure is located midline posterior she thought that the LIS was incomplete.
To make a long story short I had my 2nd LIS yesterday and I feel great. She said there was a lot of muscle left to be cut and she fixed the job of the other idiot messed up. No bruising like last time, and my first BM was not at all painful and I was off strong pain killers too. I think I am cured. Finally after 2 years. I am going to stay on fiber for the rest of my life, but I think my future looks bright, and I hope another doctor doesn’t have to look at my butt ever again.