Hi there ... I am Rachel, 32 living in upstate NY - I was diagnosed yesterday with a chronic AF - I have zero clue about any of this I just know that I am not a happy person when I have a BM and well I have never seen so much blood in my life in the toilet ....
I came across this website as I was googling the medicine he gave me Diltiazem 2% -
I am not liking this medicine and I have only used it twice ... but the surgeon says it works and that if it doesn't work then I have to have some sort of surgery ... .

Hi Rachel,
Welcome to the forum. Sorry you have to be here and you have a fissure. Most of us were also clueless about a fissure before we got one.
The diltiazem is a good place to start. It will help relax the muscle( sphincter) and allow blood flow.I didn't care for the diltiazem much either. I experienced a itch after a few weeks, but it did help manage the pain until I had the surgery(LIS) last year. Baths, diet and stool softeners are also really important in healing/ managing a fissure. There's tons of info in the Diet, Supplement threads that you may find useful.
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask:) There are some good folks on here who would be happy :) to answer and offer support.

Welcome Rachel! I'm really sorry you have to be here, but I'm sure you'll find lots of great information and very supportive people on this forum. :D
I also used the Diltiazem and I agree, it wasn't very nice. It is supposed to work on acute fissures, but once a fissure becomes chronic, it is very difficult to heal without surgery. I eventually had an LIS (lateral internal sphincterotomy) and I'm glad I did because it healed my fissure.
Definitely ask all the questions you want to here. We will try to be helpful. :D

How long does the headaches last and now my anus itches and burnes and Hurts - and I have only used this stuff twice ?????? Am I waisting my time?? Should I just call and go back to the surgeon and tell him he is nuts and I refuse to use that stuff??

Well, I didn't get headaches with diltiazem, but did with nitro, and they do lessen with time. I did get the itching though, and it's awful. You maybe try it for a few days if you can handle the side effects and see if they do lessen any.
Otherwise it's botox, or LIS surgery.

Botox in my butt????? OUCH ... this is all a pain in my ass (no pun intended)

I am getting botox and am ready and waiting for LIS!! I have found the cream fine for the 1st 4 months and now a month later its a different story. It would probably do better on my dogs ass than mine now :-( hang in there and read on here for help! You will get better!!! yayyyyyyyyy

Well I called the surgeon's office because I work full time and I am single mom to a 2.5 year old and well they told me to stop using the gel until Friday night and only use it Friday night and Saturday and call back on Monday .... the NP told me the only other option I have is the surgery since my AF is so bad ... wait, they didn't tell me that yesterday ... UGH ....

Well, it might be a good thing they want to do the surgery! It will heal it quickly and give you your life back. Honestly, my only regret from the surgery was that I didn't have it sooner!

I'm with Val- my deepest regret was not having the surgery sooner. Thank your lucky stars you have a CRS who is willing and knows this is the best way to heal a fissure!