itching and stomach aches

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itching and stomach aches

Postby mjfarrell5959 » 01 Jun 2010, 12:52

Hello all,
Went to a colorectal surgeon last week for a bad fissure that has been bothering me for a few months. She prescribed hydro cortisone suppositories and to continue my new regimen of drinking a lot of water, adding fiber to my diet (benefiber and what I eat) and she said to keep the area dry at all times aside from when I am in the bath or shower. I was using an anti-itch cream my dermatologist prescribed for some itching issues back there a few months back on the fissure but she said to stop using it and to try to have nothing on it and keep it dry.
My questions are as follows...
--- since my change of diet, my stomach has been upset quite often. Is it that my body isn't used to the level of fiber I am feeding it. This morning I had bran flakes with blueberries, an apple and a bananna and just had turkey breast with cheese (no bread) for lunch and my stomach feels like crap. Did anyone else have stomach issues when they abruptly changed their diet? Will I simply adjust?
--- the itching is now the biggest issue by far for me. Last Wednesday when I had a BM it ripped me apart and there was blood in the toilet and on the paper, now it's almost clean of blood altogether but it itches like nothing ever before. Is this what happens when it is trying to heal? Last night I took a sitz bath, then a shower and I shot some water up there because it felt so good because it itched so bad. I unfortunately broke down and scratched at it for just a few seconds and then it became kind of moist and when I wiped gently there was some blood. Very discouraging. How do you stop the itch?
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Re: itching and stomach aches

Postby NeuropathicGuy » 01 Jun 2010, 13:13

My stomach definitely revolted when I suddenly changed to a high fiber diet. Lots of gas, bloating, and what felt like cramping (but was most likely just gas building up). I went from a high fat/protein diet (lots of fast food and potato chips) to a super high fiber diet (veggie soup, cereal, and fruits) over the course of a few days and it took several weeks for my stomach to adjust and settle down. I don't know what kind of diet you had before, but if you went through a similar transition, then I'd say it sounds normal to me.
As for the itching, I've heard that fissures itch when they heal. But it could be other things too. Mine would itch when I had watery bowel movements, passed a lot of gas, was moist, and sometimes for no real apparent reason. Definitely DO NOT scratch though. When my itch was bad, I also used the showerhead to spray some water, sometimes for minutes on end. Also, hydrocortisone is great for itching. Although personally I'd use the stuff that comes in a cream over the counter as opposed to shoving a suppository up there while I have an active fissure.
I'm sorry if I don't recall from your earlier thread (been a few long days for me), but are you doing anything for the fissure aside from hydrocortisone, water, and Benefiber? Just curious because those alone aren't going to be enough to treat a fissure, unless it's acute and just heals up on its own. They're often used as part of fissure treatment, but primary first line therapy should consist of one of the ointments (nitroglycerin, nifedipine, diltiazem) plus stool softeners, after which more aggressive approaches like Botox or surgery are considered.
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Re: itching and stomach aches

Postby mjfarrell5959 » 01 Jun 2010, 15:19

The doc I saw (actually physicians assistant) said the first line of treatment would be the hydro cortisone suppositories because those worked for me a year ago (saw a different doc then) so we'd try that first. First night it hurt to put it in but now it doesn't. But while it helps the itching at night, when I have a BM it's a whole different ballgame. She said to try to avoid using creams and lotions for the itch as much as possible and to just keep it dry as possible to allow it to heal.
I don't get the spasms anymore and there is not nearly as much blood when I have a BM as before (first one today there was none, second one there was some) but the itching is crazy.
I think I might have to ignore her and use the itching cream I have (I have hyrdo cream as well as triamcinolone acetonide cream 0.1%) when it gets bad because when I scratch (and I HAVE TO SCRATCH when it gets so bad) I usually draw blood.
She said if things get too painful or I do have the spasms again then we can talk nitroglycerin, nifedipine, diltiazem. I go back in three weeks.
I guess itching is better than the awful pain, but not by much. This is horrible. Oh, and I have two fissures, one at 6 o'clock (towards my back and not towards my penis) and the bigger one at 9 o'clock.
I tried stool softeners but they made me go to the bathroom too much so I have been sticking with lots of water, fiberous food and benefiber at night.
As far as diet, yep my diet was just like yours. Hi fat garbage to fiber food now so I guess I understand why my stomach is so messed up.
Has anyone ever tried to take a folded sheet of toilet paper and stuff it between there cheeks down near the hole to help with the itching and to keep the area dry? The constant contact from the TP seems to keep the itch at bay and I know when I have a cut on my face from shaving, dry tissue applied on it at least clots it and stops it from bleeding. I'm doing this now after succumbing and itching and drawing blood.
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Re: itching and stomach aches

Postby StevePain » 01 Jun 2010, 15:51

I use only baby wipes enriched with chamomile and aloe vera to combat the itch as toilet paper is a no-no, infact i've stopped using TP altogether now, the itch can be very annoying and hard to ignore, i've scratched my anus to oblivion before now but that was mainly down to the overuse of Diltiazem..
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Re: itching and stomach aches

Postby mjfarrell5959 » 01 Jun 2010, 16:27

I use wipes for just that, wiping, but was wondering if the TP shoved up there would help keep it dry and stop the itching. It does but only to a small extent. I have it in right now and it still itches, so I guess that experiment failed.
How can a fissure heal with so many friggin things working against you. When it does get traumatized during a BM then it itches like heck and then you can traumatize it by itching. It feels like this thing will never heal and I know I'm being a wimp because it's only been really bad for a couple weeks now. I can't imagine living with this for years like some people do.
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Re: itching and stomach aches

Postby NeuropathicGuy » 01 Jun 2010, 18:28

Personally I think the hydrocortisone "working" last year was probably coincidence. Acute fissures can resolve spontaneously, so the fact that it happened to heal doesn't mean your longstanding fissure now is going to respond to it. I'd personally try to get nitroglycerin, nifedipine, or diltiazem earlier to increase your chances of healing the fissure without surgery... For what it's worth, my very first fissure healed without me doing a thing about a week or two after I got it. But then it came back with a vengeance about a month later.
Hydrocortisone and triamcinolone are both steroids, which can thin the skin over time. Triamcinolone is often used in conjunction with nystatin for genital infections (don't ask me how I know that). I could see them helping the itching, but it's probably not a good idea to use them for too long since it'll make the skin more fragile.
As for keeping toilet paper down there, I had to wear some cotton pads there after surgery. They're little cotton squares sold in the women's cosmetics section of any drug store. I didn't like the contact (felt rough to me) but maybe something like that would work if it lightly "satisfies" the itch.
Anyway honestly it sounds like you're doing everything right to me except for not trying one of the ointments that's used for fissures. Personally I see no reason to use hydrocortisone suppositories for 3 weeks before trying the right treatment Image I know it's hard to believe some random person over the Internet over the doc, but I'd search around online and see what the recommended treatments for fissures are. Most of us here have been unknowingly jerked around by docs who didn't know any better, and sometimes you've just got to demand that they give you something that's clinically proven to work, not just some random thing they give to anyone with an anal problem :(
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Re: itching and stomach aches

Postby mjfarrell5959 » 01 Jun 2010, 19:25

Can someone explain to me how the ointments like diltiazem help heal a fissure? I thought they were to stop spasms/muscle contractions? I don't really have those anymore. I did last week but now its more about the itching than anything else. Would these ointments help with the itching or heal it faster so I can get past the itching stage quicker?
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