Hi everyone
Since suffering with fissures for the last 5 years I have recently been told I've healed with Diltiazem. I still have serious doubts as to whether I can be healed permanently without surgery.
I had surgery to remove two skin tags last wednesday. I was given a codeine based pain killer and sent home.
Guess what they failed to mention...yes...surgery + general anaesthetic + painkillers = constipation
Fantastic!!! Exactly what you need when recovering from fissures! Thank you NHS!
Now i have been in terrible pain and had a lot of bleeding since the operation. I have emptied my bowels twice but I am sitting there for 15 - 20 mins in lots of pain. It just seems like they don't work any more.
Please can someone offer any advice?...I'm pretty sure my fissure is back
Sorry for the rant but I've found it impossible to get any level of proper treatment

That really sucks! How long were you pain free and supposedly "healed?" I totally agree with you, after five years I don't see diltaizem or nefedipine healing anyone, but I guess stranger things have happened.
You *know* what you fissure pain feels like, especially after five years. Have you ever used nitro? I would think you'd have a lot of scar tissure around the fissure site after so long and that LIS would really be your best hope.
Diet changes, hot soaking baths, more diltiazem, barrier creams when BMing, stool softeners -- all the things suggested on this board to help "manage" your fissure is what I suggest but also another consultation with your CRS is needed. I say if you are sure it is yuor fissure pain, then you need to see the CRS and have the surgery scheduled. I know that will involve another exam.
Rant all you want, that's why we are here! Welcome to the board!

I haven't tried Nitro...just Diltiazem
It just amazes me at the quality of treatment you get on the NHS. If I send my car in for an MOT I get more information and feedback.
Having undergone a successful Diltiazem treatment 5 months ago I got another fissure. Seeing a different consultant I was told the initial 8 weeks I was given Diltiazem for wasn't long enough for a lasting cure.
How does this happen? I just don't feel like there's anyone really thinking my case through. They just prescribe something and tell you to come back in 3 months.
Grrr

Has anyone else had constipation after surgery?
Please can you tell me how long it lasts?
Also what you did to treat it?
Thank you

Hi, I have, I had it so bad I had to go to the emergency room and get help. Mine was after hemmie surgery and I was taking tylenol with codiene and they also failed to tell me it was constipating. I'm very leary about taking pain meds now. As for your fissure, even after a fissure heals it can take up to a year for the skin to get back to 80% as strong as it used to be. Keep taking stool softeners, fiber, warm sitz baths and lots of liquids. Hope things improve real soon. Suzy

Thanks Suzy
Can you recommend the best stool softener and fibre supplement?
If i heal with Diltiazem am I as 'healed' as I would be with LIS. LIS seems to be more permanent.

Try Miralax/Movicol to keep things soft. Benefibre and Metamucil are good fibre supplements.

If your fissure healed without LIS that's good. But if you have a tight sphincter muscle and spasm you could tear again. That's what LIS helps. It relaxes the sphincter to promote healing the fissure and prevent the muscle from tightening too much so you don't tear again. Many people have had the surgery with good results but some of us have had the surgery and for whatever reason it didn't work so well. I had the surgery and healed my fissure but after a year things have tightened up again and I'm getting small tears at times. Read what other have done to help make their lives a little better while dealing with these nasty little tears. I use benefiber and miralax and eat a higher fiber diet. I try to drink a lot of liquid but that's not always easy. I don't use toilet paper, instead I use a hand held shower bidet and that helps me alot. When things get bad for me I come here. There is always someone with a kind word and encouragement. All the best. Suzy

Hey there nevilleb, sorry to hear about your troubles :( For what it's worth, even those of us here in the States on private insurance don't necessarily get any better care... Main difference compared to NHS is that instead of "see you in 3 months" it's more likely to be "see you in 2 weeks"! Unfortunately, as a lot of us here know firsthand, some docs can be great but many don't seem to thoroughly think through the whole picture carefully since they aren't the ones in pain... In fact my primary physician told me that fissures were no big deal and that it would just take care of itself without much action on my part at all!
I would second (or is that third) the Miralax/Movicol suggestion. I've taken opiate painkillers (oxycodone) while having a painful fissure before and the Miralax kept things moving along nicely. I've also taken opiate painkillers (hydrocodone) before I had any kind of fissure and know for sure that they normally constipate me if I'm not taking stool softeners. Just be sure to drink a ton of water when taking Miralax -- doing so will allow your stools to absorb more water and thereby be softer, and will also prevent dehydration since Miralax/Movicol causes more water to leave your body.

P.S. Just in case there's any confusion, Miralax is the name of the product here in the US and Movicol is the name over in Europe. I'm not sure what it's called elsewhere, but the ingredient in it is polyethylene glycol and it's an osmotic laxative that takes a day or two to "kick in."