Guys , haven't been here for ions - just went through this thread and have just to say what you already know or are discovering - if you want to heal the fissure "natural way" you just have to stick to proven diet that will not make your poop less than ideal : (((. One "slip" is enough to put you alllllll the way back to the beginning of the "game". :(
Yes- it is boring, and monotonous , but there is no way around it : ((.
Also - Valium relaxes muscles and it is prescribed by some colorectal surgeons for that purpose - not for the anxiety part . It relaxes sphincter and helps it heal. Long term usage is not advisable, of course - but couple of months WOULD NOT make you addicted. Klonopen does NOT relax muscles in the same way (if at all), it works by lowering number of nerve impulses so it helps with neurological pain and also with some anxiety and panic issues etc.
The longer one has fissure - the harder it is for fissure to heal without intervention :(.
Wishing you the best of luck and complete healing soon !!!!

I totally cut fried foods, beef, cheese and milk out of my diet, and I still get hard BM's. I have always been 5'10" and weighed 140lbs; I have always been an "eat to live" person, not "live to eat". I start my day off with a bowl of oatmeal, eat veggie soup with whole wheat toast for lunch and eat steamed veggies for dinner. I drink water to the point where I have to pee every hour. but every now and then I get a hard BM that puts me back to square one (or even worse off, now that I have multiple AF's) I could care less if I ever eat fast food again. I think my body just has a water retention problem that makes my bowel's dry up my stool before passing. I dont wanna become dependent on Miralax, so I'm still trying to find that perfect diet that will help me heal. Too much fiber in my diet makes me have multiple BM's a day, which even though soft, can make my af's worse due to the over usage of my anus. Since on my AF high fiber diet, I have lost weight and I am pretty sure I'm not getting enough protein and carbs. I am seriously thinking about consulting with a dietitian on how to find my perfect diet.

Looks like you are not getting very much protein or carbs, as you indicated. You're probably not getting enough calories or fiber either. If you increase your fiber, you might be able to decrease your Miralax. Consulting with a dietitian might be a good idea.

Nebel : ( - I was exactly like you. I ate healthy food my whole life and never was constipated but still got a fissure :( . When I increased fiber and added 15 prunes a day and added milk of magnesia I started going 5 times a day and it was torture of the worst kind . Being a "girl" made it even worse since every month I would get my poop somewhat on the harder side "at that time of the month" and it would be all over :( - I would nurse my fissure to almost being healed just to be opened again in the next 3 weeks : (((. I lost 16 pounds in no time : (, and became seriously malnourished and anemic too. So, if you can find good nutritionist - go for it by all means.
Best of luck !!!!

Thought I'd post a quick update on the fast food topic here. I tried some Taco Bell food and also Subway sandwiches yesterday and today and so far the results in the bathroom haven't been too bad. The Miralax still seems effective against those :) So I'm chalking them up as safe! It tasted soooooo good too after eating basically nothing but veggie soup for months. In the past I never cared much for sandwiches (too bland) but I swear my taste buds were going to explode when I took that first bite from the Subway sandwich. And I was ready to burst into tears of joy while consuming a Mexican pizza from Taco Bell. I can't eat anything tomorrow due to prep for a colonoscopy the day after (hence my pigging out right now), but I think (assuming the colonoscopy turns out clean of course) I'm going to give some yummy McDonald's a try in the near future, yay! Figure I'll start with a Filet O' Fish, look into a McChicken for the next step, and finally work my way up to the Big Mac, oh my lost love how long it's been since I've laid hands on thee

hey NPG, I tried what you said about taking a half dose of miralax in the morning and another at night and that fixed one of my problems. because before i was having taking 1 full dose at mid day and basically it was giving me diarrhea at night and hard bm's in the morning, but now thats fixed. At subway, just make sure you choose the whole wheat bread.

Nice, that's great to hear. How are things going on the fissure front? Any new ones, settling down of old ones, etc.? Or pretty much the same?
Yeah I used to hate deli sandwiches of any sort and only got them with white or Italian bread. But now I'm all about that whole wheat/grain. Didn't even have any taco sauce with my Taco Bell either, sheesh life has become weird. I'm starving today due to my colon prep, though, and let me tell ya what, tomorrow after the procedure is over with I think I'm going straight to McDonald's, fissure or not!

well fast food is what got me into this mess in the first place, and I am through with it. (we hates it forever)
my first 2 are healing up good, my third is healing/ breaking on a weekly basis. the nifedipine works when i can squeeze a finger of it up there. my pooper is just too damn tight

I don't think fast food is good for anyone, but lots of people really like it (including my son with CD)! :roll:

Boy, no wonder Michael Jackson was such a physical mess taking that much valium daily plus so many other potent drugs and being infused often with the sleeping agent! (Just read some of the earlier posts since I am here by myself in the middle of the night!)