Hello all,
I'm new to the forum, though I have been lurking around for a little while. I won't say that I'm glad for the suffering of others, but I admit that it is certainly comforting that there are others. I find that friends, loved ones and co-workers are only so interested in the peculiarities of my rectum.
My problems began about 15 months ago when, following an operation to remove a Dermoid Cyst from one of my ovaries I was given exactly one metric ton of antibiotics. I then had the good fortune to catch a cold which quickly progressed to a chest infection (I'm told, because antibiotics can kill off all of the good bacteria in a persons lungs, leaving them vunerable to bad bacteria). The coughing was severe and led to a back injury (which I still have!) and so, my GP precribed Codeine to suppress said cough. I think you can guess what happened from there as I have read a few posts here regarding the evils of Codeine and its tendancy to constipate.
Well ... here I am, almost a year and a half later, still having problems and completly preoccupied with a part of my anatomy that previously went about it's business with some mess, but almost never any fuss. I have one fissure that my CRS can plainly see and one fissure that I can plainly feel. In the beginning I had severe pain with BM's and occasionally an alarming amount of bleeding. Nowadays it's mostly just pain. I also have a skin tag which I'm pretty sure causes as many problems as the fissures themselves.
In my quest for soft pillowy caca, I take Lactulose (20ml, three times daily), Metamucil (three times daily, which I am slowly replacing with Fibresure) and Magnesium (300mg, at night, before bed). For the past ten years I have been vegan and a vegetarian for seven years before that. However, the last 15 months have shown me that I wasn't eating nearly enough fruit and veg. (stupid as that sounds!)
Despite all of the above, a diet very high in fruits/veg/fibre and loads of water, I've had a hell of a time getting soft pillowy caca. No matter what I do, the first part of the first BM of every day is persistently and aggressively hard. I've read many posts here extolling the virtues of Movicol/Mirilax. I have some, I want to try it, but I'm not too sure about how to transition off the Lactulose. Do I just stop one and start the other? Or should I take things more slowly?
The idea of stopping the Lactulose cold fills me with anxiety.
I'm in NZ and here Movicol comes in sachets that you make a drink with.
Anyway, I've rambled on enough. Hopefully someone here can offer some advice, I'm at a bit of a loss.
Thanks in advance.
Rach

Hey Sphincetrsaurus (LOVE that nickname!)... and welcome to the board!
It seems like your immediate problem is in getting your stools soft, yet I don't really have much experience with movicol and the like. I can suggest twothings for you to try. Once would be to try eating very watery fruit like oranges or melons, another is to *always* eat cooked veggies, not raw (oh, good-bye garden salads). Avoid apples until you heal. And of course, things like nuts, anything that won't digest and can scrape past the fissure.
also here's a good link if you haven't read this introductory post:
http://anal-fissure.org/general-anal-fissure-discussion-f2/i-have-an-af-what-should-i-know-t1849.htm

Sphinct,
I would like to take a trip to NZ as we had planned (and cancelled a few years ago due to my butt issues).
Kim,
I like your shirt! Is that a flag design on it?????

Thanks Kim,
I don't eat a lot of oranges/melons etc, so I will give that a try. And ... yeah, I discovered the hard way that raw spinach/salad was not a good idea. Pre-fissure, I ate quite a lot of it, but it seems to cause fiberous, dry stools. Thanks for the link!
Cherylk,
Sorry to hear you had to cancel your trip. I hope you are able to come one day. It certainly is a beautiful country (the South Island especially). Many locals have never seen what the country has to offer. I'd like to do some 'domestic' tourism myself!
Thanks for being so welcoming guys!
:D

Hmm, yes, it is a flag design. Cherylk!
A trip to New Zealand would be awesome!