Wow, you must be feeling better to be going back to work, I am so pleased for you.I had a bit of a better morning, still sore to poo but no "glass",don't know what had worked,the new diet,cutting out dairy,change to different softner or the heat pack.Shall follow my new regime though.Daughter came to visit yesterday and said she thought I was developing tourettes..I had to look that up..but I think zingers are to blame :)

Great! Keep following your routine, and hopefully you will see some slow progress. It can be so frustrating though, huh? I had some zingers today, and chuckled each time (some seconds afterwards) thinking about your Tourettes analogy. I think my butt doesn't really want to go back to work yet...

Question everybody: From what I've read I seem to be having the proctalgic fugax spasms. Has anybody had these? They come on suddenly in the middle of the night and seem to last forever, but probably less than 30 mins. I've had them about 6 times since I've had my fissure which I still haven't had surgery on. Anybody know about these and what helps??? I usually keep my heating pad plugged in so that if I have a spasm I can turn the heat on. It seems to help the episode pass. Are these the spasms you guys are referring to that you have? Ugh.....I hate my life right now.

Hi reidgirl,
Everything I know about my fissure I have learned from this site, so I really don't know what to call what I've experienced. I looked up proctalgic fugax spasms
(http://www.embarrassingproblems.com/problem/anal-pain and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proctalgia_fugax), and their description of them occurring for only 20 minutes and mainly in the night didn't match for me.
I found some other older posts here, just doing a quick search (I hope the link works for you):
http://anal-fissure.org/t2133-levator-ani-syndrome-or-proctalgia-fugax?highlight=fugax
http://anal-fissure.org/t234-painful-bm-past-spasm-comes-on-2-3-hours-post-bm-why?highlight=spasm
http://anal-fissure.org/t1364-what-do-sphincter-spasm-feel-like?highlight=spasm
I can only tell you that I have experienced three different sensations which I think are muscle related
1) there's a constant tight feeling, which to me felt like the muscles wanted to push themselves out of my body - but this was mainly uncomfortable, not painful
2) after a BM, it felt like rather regular sphincter contractions that would last about one hour, that heat would help. This was painful, and all I could do was sit on the heating pad, close my eyes, and pray it would go away. This stage lasted about 3-4 weeks for me.
3) what I've called zingers is like a single but more severe muscle cramp that can happen any time of the day. It comes without warning and feels like a muscle squeeze and a knife jab at once. It often makes me cry out loud.
I think some others can give some thoughts on this.
So sorry you are in pain - I hope you can get some relief.
Do you have any of the ointments, like diltiazem?

BB, hey there. I think I probably have all of the other spasms in addition to the night time thing. Today, for instance, feels like my rectum is holding something in it. It's a dull ache, and I've had to go like 3 times today. No big change in diet either. ugh. I do have some diltiazem cream but it irritates me. Feels like it burns and then the whole area feels irritated so I'm not sure it's worth a shot. The heat does help some. I have an appointment with a CRS on 2/4 after cancelling LIS on 12/21. I wanted basically a 2nd opinion on things. I'm really fed up with this. 2 years now. ugh.

Hey reidgirl,
I can sympathize with you on the spasms. They were my main reason for getting LIS. Mine were so bad I couldn't even have a complete bm or pass gas. I know this is gross but it would take me all day just to have a fair amount of a bm. I kept a journal of what I ate, my bm's,etc... and there were days that it would take about 10 trips to the bathroom. My sphincter wouldn't relax enough to let maybe an inch of bm out.
It was the most awful thing I've ever been through. I stayed on the heating pad and in the baths all day and night. By the time I had LIS, I had burn marks on my rear and a sore on my skinny back form leaning back in the tub. I had lost nearly 50 lbs.
Just getting rid of the spasms gave me my life back.

Hello reidgirl,I suppose I am lucky(haha) that my spasms dont last up to 30mins.I usually have waves of spasms after a BM lasting at first up to 4 hours, now probably an hour or two,but its not continuous pain.However I too have the sudden hot razor stabbing my bum spasms that come randomly just to remind me not to become complacent.I think the spasms are the second worse thing about having a fissureThe first is obviously having a BM.I am convinced that a fissure causes constipation, not the other way round,At times the pain and the fear of pain makes it almost impossible for me to go,it seems like an act of enormous self-harm to poo!
Bumbutt, thanks for the links, I am learning more each day .
Didn't know til now that every muscle in my body has a direct connection to my anus, no matter how I move or what I move, my bum doesn't like it.
Hope you all have a good day xxx

I'm glad Dawn commented on the spasms, seeing as she had 8 months experience with them. I can't fathom living with that for 8 months. Have you had these spasms for 2 years reidgirl? Yikes... You guys are my heroes!
Your crs appointment is soon, so hang in there. If you're at the end of your rope, call and see if they can get you in just a little bit sooner. In any case, you are not far away from getting some more help, hopefully.
I think Dawn also became sensitive to the diltiazem, right? ... isn't there some other ointment to try? (the one that starts with an n... I can't remember the name now).
Are you able to rest during the day? I find that if I am active during the day, the spasms are actually worse. And certain positions mysteriously make them worse, some days its lying on my stomach, some days its lying on my back. There's no consistency with this thing.
Let us know how you are doing...
PS - just wanted to add that NG had some comments under the sticky post on this page that he was prescribed Valium for spasms, and also mentions another opiate (which is a little problematic since these drugs can cause constipation).

hi, nimitor, i know what you mean about the hot razor stab i too get those and they certainly make me sit up !! since i had bottox last monday i,am still waiting to feel the sphincter muscle relax enough that i can have b.m without that painful tightening going on .and, yesterday i was alated to say the least that i had no blood when having b.m but!! to elated to soon as this a.m blood back on the t.p and in the toilet oh! well 1 step back and hopefully 2 forward . thoughts are with you all xx

I guess I'm fortunate that in the five years I've been dealing with this, I only had one of these type of spasms once. It was enough! Other than that, I don't know if I get spasms, at least not that I'm aware of. I definitely am in a lot of pain for most of the day after a BM. But it feels like burning irritation more than a spasm. Sometimes when I lay in bed at night, though, I can feel the sphincter muscle just twitch involuntarily. It's not painful, but it's a reminder that things are not normal down there. It's weird how so many people say walking makes their fissure worse. For me it's the opposite; if I'm in pain, going for a walk is often the only thing that will relieve it. And it won't come back for the rest of the day (unless I have another BM). Needless to say, I've developed rather an obsession with walking.