Steve,
Are you able to work at your job??

Yeah I thought I was doing well too because pooping didn't hurt as much, or in the same way, as it did in the past. But I guess the nature of the pain had just changed :(
I think what happened is the BOTOX bought me a few months of near normal pooping, but things regressed once it wore off. I kind of knew what the CRS was going to say midway through the rectal exam, because this time when he put the anuscope in, it hurt quite a bit more than it did only one week ago. Still tolerable, but just barely.
Basically I can opt for LIS any time I want, the doc says to just give him a ring and he'll schedule me in within a week, but I'm hanging on to a few shreds of hope that diltiazem will magically do what nitro and nifedipine couldn't. It seems like a real long shot, but well, hope springs eternal I guess.
Keep us posted on how things go -- I can't really say I'm relishing LIS like you are, but I do sometimes dream about "crossing to the other side" of healed people who have gotten their lives back :) Out there somewhere there's a fabled land where people poop freely and without fear or blood, I just know it's there :)

Hi cheryl, I had to quit my job because it was heavy lifting involved and just couldn't carry on, too much pressure in my rectum while lifting hurt like hell and most probably made things worse

LOL, I ask my wife what it's like to have a normal poop, it sounds stupid really but i've forgotten what it's like to just spend 2 minutes in the bathroom and walk down stairs normally instead of like i've been shot in the a$$! I have to thank my wife though, she puts up with me whinging about my a$$, I suppose she has gotten used to it, infact she tells me off sometimes for taking too long in the toilet :roll:

As we could all write a book about our butts, most of our spouses probably could also!!
BTW, Steve, why don't you find a nice gal that you could send across the pond--then I could always hear the neat British accent if the gal became my son's gf. My friend's husband is from the UK. I'll ask his wife tonight where he is from exactly as she and I are going together to a dinner theater tonight.

Hey cheryl, I love the american accent, would like to visit the US one day (when i'm healed) what do you find so good about our accent, btw I have a lancashire accent because i'm from up north, the southerners have what is known as a cockney accent etc etc..

I like anything besides the Midwestern twang. Especially like to hear Brits, Scots, and Aussies speak. I'll try to remember to ask my friend about her husband tonight. I've met his mum when she was here to watch our line dancing class--her accent is much stronger the Geouff's, but my friend tells me he can turn his Brittish accent back "on" when speaking to his relatives in the UK (his mum and his two sons). And I would like to visit the UK--especially Scotland!

NeuropathicGuy wrote:Basically I can opt for LIS any time I want, the doc says to just give him a ring and he'll schedule me in within a week..

Wow, what I'd give to be sheduled in within a week. I heard Obama wants to introduce an NHS type system, but believe me, you don't want it!
I first went to the doctor about my skin tags last March and didn't get the operation until September, which in UK terms is FAST. :roll:

Whoa ok that's definitely the opposite experience to mine. When I first got my fissure in May 2009, I was actually offered LIS right away. But I wasn't ready to commit to surgery without trying conservative approaches first. So between then and now I've seen 6 different colorectal surgeons, multiple times each, and LIS has always been an option -- I could've pulled the trigger anytime and the delay was only because of my own fear :)
I have no experience with NHS/social healthcare but suppose there are pros and cons both ways... I'd wager availability of service favors private health care but cost favors NHS.
And yeah, I'm with Cheryl, I think the British accent is widely considered to be one of the most pleasant and sophisticated around the world :) It varies widely of course (I used to work with a fellow from way up north in the UK whose accent I had a hard time understanding) but no matter how you slice and dice it, it just sounds refined and sophisticated compared to any other English language accent

My friend's husband is from a small English town near Chesterfield--she couldn't remember the name of the town!!