I was wondering do you need to have a BM everyday with a fissure? I have had days where I don't and everything went fine when I did. I don't eat very much because all the fiber seems to make me go three times a day when I eat normal.

Hi Dawn-
I would be in a panic mode if I didn't have one since I would worry about it being hard from sitting in the colon to long. But I think everybody has a norm: once a day, couple times a week, etc.
I average 2-3 BMs a day. Days that I have 2 are good. Before my butt issues I used to have one a day like clock work.
I think you just have to keep tinkering with diet finding what works and produces soft and formed BM's regularly. I also cut way back on eating after my surgery in Jan. I ended up losing 10 pounds which wasn't good since I am already pretty skinny. So I have been eating a lot more and drinking ensure to gain some weight.
Ensure is packed with calories so you may want to try that if you want to eat light but still try to maintain weight. In reading it sounds like some people have more BM with it though....
Best of luck. I hope you have good luck with the ointment.
-Paul

Hey Paul,
Thanks!
I actually did go a little. It has sent me into a panic before but it always seemed to work out. Do you know if ensure will make the stool firmer like milk would? I am a little afraid to try it because I only take stool softeners and don't use fiber supplements but only eat it.

Dawn,
I used Ensure with fiber, which did not affect my digestive system adversely. I started with only 1/4 cup daily because I was unsure of Ensure and my digestive system!! It will definitely help you gain weight!!

Personally I think it's essential to empty the bowels at least twice a day, even more so when rectal problems are present, the two days that followed my surgery I was in panic mode because I never had a BM properly which wasn't like me, I'm usually very regular especially because of the Movicol.

I think it does not matter so much how often you have a BM, but rather whether the stools are soft and well formed. When I had my fissure, the more BMs I had the more pain I had, so I was always hoping for only one BM a day. Now that I appear to be cured, I don't care how many BMs I have, but I want to make sure that there is no straining, and that they are always soft and well formed. I will use diet and fluid intake to make sure that they never get hard and I never get constipated.

I agree Phil, I have went a couple of days without a Bm a few times and was very nervous but it was fine. My Bm consistency doesn't seem to be a problem either way. It's when I ate chips and nuts or pasta that I had a problem. Now that I know, I won't make that mistake again.

Yeah, I think you need to be really good about staying on the fissure diet as long as you have an unhealed fissure. Eating lots of fibre and drinking lots of water at the same time are very important (fibre without water causes stomach upset). So called 'sharp' foods, like chips and nuts, that are not fully digested, are supposed to be bad for fissures. I found that alcohol was very bad just because it upset my digestion generally, and anything that upset my digestion was terrible for my fissure.
Once you have the fissure diet down, then you can hopefully keep your stools soft and bulky with extra fibre (Metamucil) and PEG (Miralax). The combination of soft stools, warm baths, no straining or reading on the toilet, and something to relax the involuntary muscle (diltiazem), will hopefully allow the fissure to heal. I am told that it usually takes from one to several months for this to happen.
Finally, I found that some kind of relaxation therapy was useful, whether it be yoga, or tai-chi, or whatever. I just found that stress was generally very bad for my fissure, so I would try whatever I could do reduce stress and even to try and control my involuntary sphincter muscle.

Thanks Phil,
I read some of your post and it's good to see you are doing well. God Bless and thanks for the advice.