lisaspoon wrote:Hi Everyone!
I have been suffering with an Anal Fissure since the birth of my son 8 months ago. After several trips to the docs and countless suppositories later, I was final referred to the surgeon in June. M first visit he sent me home with rectogesic..... which I didn't really feel made any difference! After my follow up appointment I got sent home with Anoheal which I am currently using. Have been using it for nearly a week and don't feel its making a difference either.
The fissure is slightly better since it first occurred..... I'm not in as much pain as I was. But I seem to have a bad week that throws me off and I'm back to square one!
I also feel it flares up or is worse when having a BM when I'm on my period (sorry if TMI!) any other women find this?
Stool softners dont seem to agree with me but I've found some relief with taking a magnesium supplement each night....makes things nice and soft! :D
Any advice appreciated,.....I'm at my wits end and the surgeon seems convinced its very superficial and should heal with out surgery....why isnt it?!
Hey Lisa - welcome to my world! :) My fissure developed after the birth of my first child, just over 17 years ago. It went away on its own after a few months, but has continued to come and go since then. I can go months, even a few years, in between flare-ups. I've been to 2 surgeons and only one seemed willing to try to work with me, but insisted I use the rectagel and told me to try and heal! I'll tell you what has and hasn't worked for me and then unfortunately, it's just trial and error for you until you find what works.
*Calmoseptine ointment - works great for me, if my skin in that region feels irritated and sore.
*Balneol - a fantastic cleanser that really soothes after a BM and helps lessen irritation from wiping.
*Philips MOM - I take one pill each night before bed, along with a Dulcolax stool softener. I credit this combination with really keeping my bm's super soft.
*Sitz baths - I take a bath as often as necessary, sometimes a few times each day. During periods, I will take 3 or 4 each day to keep everything clean and lessen irritation.
*Walking every day, if possible! I really notice that exercising every day makes a difference.
I strongly believe that there is a connection between my AF and my periods! In fact, I am considering having a hysterectomy to see if that will help reduce or even completely get rid of any flare-ups each month! I take 800mg of ibuprofen 3 times a day once my period starts and keep it up for 5 days. That seems to help with the pain and inflammation. Of course, the minute my period ends I am at a zero pain level for 3 weeks!
Just know that I have had 3 more children since that time and it never flared up during my pregnancies and births. For some reason, it always appeared about 1 - 3 months later and lasted for months. However, I developed my first case of constipation back in the spring and that really opened it back up to a 10 on the pain scale! It's back down to almost nothing now.
I know what a nightmare it is to have this pain and have a baby, so remember to pamper yourself as much as possible - eat the right foods, take sitz baths, etc. :) I'm glad you found this board - it has to be the most helpful place on the internet!