What is feeling like 'Normal' again?

Are you having, or have you had a Lateral Internal Sphincterotomy (LIS)? Please share your experiences here, or ask any questions.

Return to LIS - Considering surgery or already had it?



Re: What is feeling like 'Normal' again?

Postby cherylk » 13 Apr 2010, 18:20

NG,
It was kind of an up and down cycle for almost 2 years. When I had an occasional bad BM, then I would regress. I just continued to use the diliatzem ointment as needed and still do but very rarely. I guess I should say that my local CRS told me I was healed after 6 weeks or so (after visual examination), but I didn't feel that I was!
cherylk
VIP
 
Posts: 5049
Topics: 46
Joined: 22 Apr 2008, 16:00
Location: Midwest
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 10 times
Gender: None specified

Re: What is feeling like 'Normal' again?

Postby juney » 15 Apr 2010, 18:05

painintheass - i just wanted to chime in here. i've had AF for almost 4 years and have had 3 surgeries. i don't think i will ever be "normal" and i definitely don't remember what normal is now. if you are only a few months out from your fissurectomy, i'd strongly suggest you give it MORE TIME. i rushed from 1 LIS to the next within 3 months and really regreted it. i waited another year for my fissurectomy after that, but by then i had a fistula as well so it was necessary. anyway, there is no rushing these things into healing. they'll heal when they're ready...if ever. attacking it with more surgery isn't the answer, trust me.
are you taking miralax, benefiber, stool softeners, etc? once you've dealt with something like this you have to realize you'll never be able to be as carefree as you were before (that's how we got these in the first place!)
i've dealt with this for so long and i remember what it was like in the beginning when i was super hopeful things would get better and i could just move on. now i know i have to live a different lifestyle forever (no more late night drinking binges and pizza for breakfast, etc). for some people, like the girl who was better in 2 weeks, they move on and forget about it but for so many others it becomes part of our life forever. i know a year feels like a long time to you, but in fissure-time it's really not. before you rush into surgery again you should try some of the more "conservative" stuff. miralax, benefiber, creams, another round of botox. are you using wipes instead of TP? taking sitz baths regularly? having regular, soft BMs? make sure you're doing all this (and more) before you go to the OR again. just my 2 cents.
juney
King Fissure
 
Posts: 884
Topics: 36
Joined: 13 Jun 2007, 16:00
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 1 time
Gender: None specified

Re: What is feeling like 'Normal' again?

Postby PainInTheAss » 18 Apr 2010, 04:43

Juney, thank you for your response. Did LIS make you feel any better than before you went for it or at least the same as before you went for it and not worse? How long before recovery to at least the same as before after LIS?
I feel about 80% recovered but don't seem to be moving any nearer 100%. If I knew it couldn't get worse after LIS than 80% or at least not for more than a month I would go for it (its getting worse that worries me). I really want that extra 20% as my life doesn't feel the same without it. I must admit it is a lot better than before, i actually dont have to take painkillers every day and I can sit after BM but I don't want to be where I was before but then want my life back :(
Should I risk it. Can't get hold of my CRS for life or money and my surgery is in two days time. The NHS is a joke.
BTW my diet is spot on (which makes me a spoilt sport at family functions and whenever my friends go drinking but i need consistency in my BM so thats the way it has to be). I don't take SS but eat at least 30-40 grams of fibre a day through foods that contain it plus drink at least 2 litres of water a day to keep my BM soft and like clockwork. I use TP but wipe carefully and I bath when I have the time, my demanding career and long days during the week means I really dont have time for baths.
PainInTheAss
Fibre Addict
 
Posts: 10
Topics: 2
Joined: 13 Mar 2010, 17:00
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 0 time
Gender: None specified

Re: What is feeling like 'Normal' again?

Postby cherylk » 18 Apr 2010, 07:10

I think Miralax is the best remedy.
cherylk
VIP
 
Posts: 5049
Topics: 46
Joined: 22 Apr 2008, 16:00
Location: Midwest
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 10 times
Gender: None specified

Re: What is feeling like 'Normal' again?

Postby PainInTheAss » 18 Apr 2010, 13:11

Surely that is not a lifelong solution? That after a while will cause its own complications, maybe not now but in the not too distant future.
PainInTheAss
Fibre Addict
 
Posts: 10
Topics: 2
Joined: 13 Mar 2010, 17:00
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 0 time
Gender: None specified

Re: What is feeling like 'Normal' again?

Postby cherylk » 18 Apr 2010, 18:52

My doc told me I will always have to take Miralax. At least I am currently taking about half of what I used to take.
cherylk
VIP
 
Posts: 5049
Topics: 46
Joined: 22 Apr 2008, 16:00
Location: Midwest
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 10 times
Gender: None specified

Re: What is feeling like 'Normal' again?

Postby juney » 19 Apr 2010, 16:26

i will take miralax and benefiber everyday for life also and strongly recommend it. i'm 27 years old so i foresee another 50-60 years of taking it. i've never had a dr tell me it's not ok and i've seen almost 10 doctors in the past 4 years.
LIS #1 and #2 didn't help me at all. If you're feeling 80% i'd say stick with that for awhile! Don't forget, this is a delicate area that can take years to regain a semblance of normalcy after such trauma. So another surgery might only add to your problems (I ended up with a fistula after my 2 LIS surgeries). At least give it a few months before you decide to try again. I waited 1 year between my 2nd LIS and my fissurectomy...and then another year for botox. You can't rush these things.
I'd suggest you keep your diet spot on for another 6 months and see how things are going. Add miralax and get your BMs just as soft as they can be without being liquid. and don't use TP. try using wipes, they're much softer and less irritating. i really think you need more time. but try to get your drs opinion and weigh the options. good luck
juney
King Fissure
 
Posts: 884
Topics: 36
Joined: 13 Jun 2007, 16:00
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 1 time
Gender: None specified

Re: What is feeling like 'Normal' again?

Postby PainInTheAss » 20 Apr 2010, 02:04

Thx Juney
So you’re not still fully healed I take it and have now accepted that you will have to put up with this for the rest of your life? What are the choices left for you and how far from 100% would you say you are? I might try Miralax but don't really feel comfortable constantly taking a non natural product that I said may cause complications of its own later. The whole reason I went for the Botox is because I wanted to get off painkillers which I was taking nearly every day. I'm glad at least I'm not on those anymore and feel at least a bit more towards normality, it’s just that extra few yards that seems so hard to ascertain
My appointment is in a couple of hours so here goes :( I'll tell my CRS the truth on how I feel and try to seek some good advice. I don't want more complications but want the chance to get 100%. If he suggests that my chances of that without LIS are slim I suppose I would have to go with his recommendation for surgery. I just don't want to gamble with my body either way. Personally I'm leaning more towards having more time, I just want the CRS to put my mind at ease to say that if I do that I have a chance of recovery and won't be putting those chances in jeopardy as the longer I leave it without LIS I may cause too much scar tissue or something else I don't know about.
PainInTheAss
Fibre Addict
 
Posts: 10
Topics: 2
Joined: 13 Mar 2010, 17:00
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 0 time
Gender: None specified

Re: What is feeling like 'Normal' again?

Postby juney » 20 Apr 2010, 12:05

with this things i don't think anyone can expect to be 100% after so much trauma. We learn to create new "normals" and live with them. I know I will never be 100% and as much as it sucks and hurts sometimes, maybe that's for the best b/c before the fissure i'd have 1 BM a week and eat fast food for days on end. My life has changed drastically b/c of this.
what do you feel are the complications of miralax? I've never met a dr who said there was anything wrong with taking it daily (and trust me i've seen a ton of drs!)
juney
King Fissure
 
Posts: 884
Topics: 36
Joined: 13 Jun 2007, 16:00
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 1 time
Gender: None specified

Re: What is feeling like 'Normal' again?

Postby cherylk » 20 Apr 2010, 12:53

I agree with Juney on Miralax. All of my many docs have assured me that it is very safe--not absorbed into the body and even prescribed for babies. The only negative thing I have every heard is that one can become dependent on it; I will agree that is true except my mother is currently weaning herself off it it (I think). Taking Miralax is much better than having a sore butt and not being able to travel or live a normal life in my opinion!
Image
cherylk
VIP
 
Posts: 5049
Topics: 46
Joined: 22 Apr 2008, 16:00
Location: Midwest
Has thanked: 0 time
Been thanked: 10 times
Gender: None specified


Return to LIS - Considering surgery or already had it?



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 30 guests