Steve, haven't seen you around for a while, but hope things are alright. I think I remember that you had a CRS appointment on 4/28. If my memory's right, just wanted to wish you good luck today!

Hi NG, i've been offline for a month after moving home which is why I haven't been around, i've missed this site and you guys too, you're right about my appointment, i'm scheduled for surgery in 2-4 weeks time, not had much joy with the diltiazem as I had a bad reaction after 5-6 weeks use and scratched my anus into oblivion, seriously I was in agony and bleeding from the scratching, i've never had such intense itching before, drove me insane so I discontinued use, anyway i've seen my CRS since then and he tried a rectal exam which was too painful and concluded that I needed surgery for whatever is looming in the depths of my rectum and beyond, i'm now playing the waiting game and hoping that the surgery is coming sooner rather than later, I always knew in the back of my mind that it would end up this way, the end of the conservative treatment road is here.
NG, if I recall, you was scheduled for LIS in the beginning of may, I hope you went ahead with it and really hope you feel better.
Regards, Steve

Hey Steve, nice to see ya around! I was wondering what had happened to you -- glad to hear it was just a move :) Good to hear that you're scheduled for LIS now too! I remember you being pretty eager for it last time around.
I actually went ahead with LIS, but then I got an abscess 2 weeks later and actually just had another surgery to fix the abscess yesterday. So now I'm right back where I was before with a super swollen post-op butt :( I've got a thread full of my LIS and abscess related whining in the surgery section of this site.
Do you have a specific date for LIS yet? Or is it still yet to be determined depending on availability?

Hey Steve,
I wondered what happened with you!
We've missed you here, buddy!! Sorry to read about the intense itching. I've had bad itching in the past and it truly stinks!!

Hey NG, i'm waiting for a date for the surgery, it should arrive in the post within the next 2 weeks.
Sorry to hear about your butt issues, did the abscess form after the surgery? how is the level of pain post-op, not from the abscess, from the LIS, although I suppose they can both be painful for a while.
Hey cheryl, I missed you too, it's great to be back, i'm looking forward to sharing my forthcoming surgery with you guys, after all, where else can I go... This site rocks

Hey Steve, yeah the abscess was because of the surgery. I wouldn't let my whining worry you, though, from what I gather it's a rare complication and I just happened to win the ass problem jackpot.
The level of pain post-LIS was okay. I took vicodin (hydrocodone + paracetamol) for maybe 3 days and that was it. After that I didn't take anything. The first couple of days my anus was real swollen. One thing I wasn't told is that you can barely feel your anus right after surgery and thus "stuff" tends to come out without you knowing it. Found that one out the hard (not to mention surprising and embarrassing) way.
If your fissure is really killing you, I do think you'll feel relief very quickly after surgery. The pain isn't as bad as acute fissure pain, that much is certain. In my case, since my pre-op pain was mild, it was worse post-op and took a few days to return to baseline.
I had some bleeding for a couple of days but nothing too bad. No worse than I bled during the acute fissure phase.

NG, my fissure seems to be in remission (typically) despite this i'll still be going ahead with the surgery, after all i've waited years to get this far and just can't back out now..
do you angel gas and soil a lot then or has that cleared up now, i'm guessing that's absolutely normal for the first few weeks, i'll be taking no chances and wearing a ladies sanitary towel

Yup I angel gas a lot. Well, to be precise, I angel gas about the same amount as I did before surgery (which was a lot due to the high fiber diet and Miralax), but now the farts tend to come with a little bit extra. If my stools are hard, I don't get anything extra. If they're loose, then the farts that precede them tend to come with a tiny bit of brown gunk. Sometimes it's enough to soil the underwear a bit, but most of the times I see it when I dab with toilet paper (which I've become pretty obessive about). I can usually tell when it happens because I can feel a tiny bit squeeze out (very gross, I know).
I should note, though, that the fissure itself seems to heal rather quickly. I can now pass huge hard poops without any real discomfort at all. I've eaten bag after bag of potato chips since surgery, mostly because I just don't care anymore, and it hasn't caused me any problems.
I'm not sure it's normal to having soiling for as long as I have from LIS alone though. I think mine got worse after the second surgery for the abscess. So for just LIS you may not have it for as long as I have.
And yeah, I wear stuff in my underwear all day. I take it out at nighttime because it's uncomfortable but the rest of the day it's there as a precaution. I find that either cotton squares or women's panty liners work well. The cotton squares absorb stuff better but the panty liners are more comfortable.
After both surgeries, the only times I actually had solid feces in my pants was in the hours immediately after the procedure. Both times, I got out of the car, stood up, and heard that distinctive sound that told me something had just made an exit. I dunno if that's normal or if I just got lucky too, but I don't think it's too abnormal considering your anus is just totally numb at that point and I wouldn't have been able to tell if the Titanic just came out of it.