SC,
It really did help me talking to the crs. I'm not really looking forward to the recovery but atleast this time I will be healing a fissure with the help of a doctor and doing a procedure that has been proven to work the best.
I also found out about a couple of more people who have had the surgery who I know personally and are living normal lives right now. So, that really helped me out...

I know what you mean about your fissure behaving when you are ready to call the crs. Mine has healed for weeks at a time. Once for 4 weeks but it just came back. I was kind of happy to see blood yesterday before my appointment. I have had more blood in the past few weeks then I have in six months. Not a whole lot but more often then I use to.
One thing I can say is nobody could convince me to have this surgery until I was ready and I had to see if I could heal it on my own before I was ready to make that decision.

Well I think I had actual spasms today. I've been doing really well over the last week and this morning there was a little blood which started the cycle all over again except this time I felt an intermittent sharp stabbing "ping" every once in a while throughout the day along with the constant burning. There was a definite puckering feeling today also. I haven't had that before.
I see the CRS on Wednesday and I'm asking him straight out to go after this thing. It will have to wait until at least mid-October though. I have a trip planned to Washington DC which I am now dreading because of my AF. Nine days away from the comfort of my little sanctuary here where I tend to this demon.
How does anyone travel with these things?

Hey SC,
Sorry to hear you are having spasms. They are so painful and annoying!!
I would take anything that makes you more comfortable, all the things you use at home( wipes, ontments, maybe a heating pad). When we went on vacation this summer, I took everything I used at home. Be sure and take the warm baths as often as you can. They will help with the spasms.
Good luck at your appointment Wednesday!

Thanks Dawn.
I really only use colace and metamucil so that won't be too bad. It's the comfort and control I have over everything when I am at home that I'm afraid of leaving. Being away pulls me out of that.
This is one of the big reasons that I am leaning towards surgery. I don't want to live like this any longer. I've never been the type of guy who goes around worrying about my next BM, where I will be when it happens, and plan my day around it if it doesn't happen first thing in the morning. Then after it does happen I analyze everything... what I ate yesterday, how much water did I drink, what did I do that may have irritated my AF..blah, blah, blah.
You all know what I mean. This is hell on wheels.
Take care all.

I went from Canada to Israel for two weeks with my family when my AF was at its worst, in May. I was very anxious about going, because I was very afraid to leave all of the comforts and routines which I had developed to get through each day. I took everything with me - Miralax, Metamucil, Colace, Advil, Tucks. I did not want to have to search for any of that stuff when I got there. The Tucks are very handy to have for BMs on the go - they clean and soothe. I also took a small portable folding stool, that was very useful, since standing was a major problem for me. All of our hotels had hand held shower wands, which was great, and I tried to take warm baths whenever I could.
I had two bad days, out of 14, which wasn't too bad. The trip there and back was okay, which I was really concerned about. But I was happy to get home.
I have also gone on ski trips, cottage weekends, and business trips, and I always followed more or less the same routine - take everything, plan for the worst, and try to duplicate my at-home routine as much as possible on the road.
I have since had LIS surgery, and I am pretty much normal now. I can travel without having to worry about this stuff, for the first time in years.

smallChange wrote:Thanks Dawn.
I really only use colace and metamucil so that won't be too bad. It's the comfort and control I have over everything when I am at home that I'm afraid of leaving. Being away pulls me out of that.
This is one of the big reasons that I am leaning towards surgery. I don't want to live like this any longer. I've never been the type of guy who goes around worrying about my next BM, where I will be when it happens, and plan my day around it if it doesn't happen first thing in the morning. Then after it does happen I analyze everything... what I ate yesterday, how much water did I drink, what did I do that may have irritated my AF..blah, blah, blah.
You all know what I mean. This is hell on wheels.
Take care all.

SC,
I so know where you are coming from!!! I am so sick of all of this

I know this is an old post, but I thought it was helpful as far as describing some of the spasms and different stages of them.
My experience sounds like NGs, except going into month 4, I no longer have pain during the BM, but instead have a dull ache in the rectum that starts about 30-40 minutes afterwards and lasts for at least 3-4 hours. Still getting about 1-2 "zingers" a day. Standing at any point during the day for longer than 20 minutes brings on some zingers or spasms.
I am unsure whether I am healing, or just on hold. I guess my first CRS appointment in a few weeks will help give me that answer. I'm afraid they're going to tell me that there's nothing there and I am just a big wimp!

same here as reading the description, I thought spasms were irrational movements of twitches from muscles?
anyway, yeah, have the same. It's like the muscle get's swollen when the area is in pain or something. It feels like pressure down there.