Pain feed upon itself. If you let it get out of control rather than treating it at its onset it is very hard to get a handle on it so you have to keep knocking back meds to try to catch up. I know people are reluctant (as am I) to just take something right away. I always want to test it and see how bad it gets but I have learned not to do that. Now I take something immediately before the pain escalates and I get desperate because that is not something I want my kids to see.
Yes, NSAIDS can cause ulcers so be sure to eat something before you take it.
No, it won't be this painful the whole time. It does diminish. I would give myself 3 week increments to assess the pain. If I tried to do it everyday I would get discouraged but if I could see some progress over a longer time it helped. So I did not even let myself compare daily because that just isn't enough time to tell a difference.

I know what you mean! I managed to go out for a while yesterday, and I was really pleased, but today I'm climbing the walls again. It's quite upsetting because we were going to a farm and I couldn't go, so my husband has taken my son on his own. He's home eduacated and I took him all over the place before this happened, now I'm lucky to have a walk down the road!

Lecia, I was just wondering why you're back on diltiazem. Did the fissure flare up again or something? Wouldn't that mean that it wasn't healed or that the skin didn't return to pre fissure mode?
Thanx, xo

I have a new fissure from a hemorrhoid that burst open.

Val,

When the pain meds fail, I apply heat, either in water form (preferable) or in heating pad form (like when I'm in a car). I find that the heat relaxes the cramps/spasming. I usually try to sit in a sitzz bath that is full of the hottest water I can stand, not enough to burn me, but close.

I also found the botox drastically decreased the spasms and tension in the area. A word of caution though, tell your dr if you have a roid in the area too. The botox helped heal my fissure, but it irritated a roid. Still, the best thing about botox is that you don't have to heal from it. There's no cut, no wound, maybe a little injection site soreness, but that's nothing comapred the the relief of a relaxed sphincter. My fissure was healed about three weeks after I got the shots. (The fissure fear, unfortunately takes longer to heal. It's been nearly 3 mos and I still haven't gotten over it.)

Oh my, God bless you Lecia (& everyone else)