Hiya people, UK here again, and have been a fissure sufferer for 5 months, (see my previous posts).
I joined this forum, simply because it was nice to chat to people in a similar situation and a problem shared is always a problem halved if you ask me.
I initially ignored my fissure, not realising what it was, and left it about a month before I went to the docs. She started me on steriod suppositories and they helped for only a few days. I have been back to the Docs time and time again, and always the same treatment, she now has me booked in awaiting the 'Stretch' job.
I am beginning to feel that the docs in the UK here havent got a clue, and refused to use anymore suppositories as my poor little bum was so sore, it was agony to even use them, and the cream simply made the pain and stinging worse.
I have a very good diet, and only one BM a day, regular as clockwork, and never constipated, so the cause of the fissure left me wondering, until about a week ago when i changed my treatment, purely by listening to what my body was telling me.
I ignored all doctors steroids, slung them in the bin and began to sit in a warm bath immediately after a BM and again before bedtime, along with a small brandy and 2 x nurofens, as this helped me to sleep through the night and relax the muscle spasms.
After a couple of days, the pain became a lot more bearable, although I still felt the fissure tear every morning, and the only relief was to sit in a warm bath .
The burning and stinging, was now also accompanied by an incredible itch, driving me wild, although at the same time reminding me of a similar itch I had experienced before, although in a different place .
I used to suffer extremely badly with vaginal thrush, and my Doc had me on a 3 month course of canesten pessaries, using one every other day, morning and night which she stated would clear the problem up totally, she also gave me some canesten cream. In this instance she was correct, I havent had the thrush for a long time now, but there was now this nagging feeling in my head , with my body telling me that maybe the thrush, having been chased out of my vagina, had decided to take lodgings elsewhere.
So, on the way home from work that day, i called into the chemist and picked up a tube of canesten, what did I have to lose? Everything else has been applied to my bum, one more attempt at something isnt going to hurt.
This was on Thursday, I used the cream after my bedtime bath, and settled down to see what would happen. The itch became a lot better within 5 minutes of using the cream, although I will be honest in saying that to apply the cream initially tingled a bit. My husband is a nurse, and said that canesten wasnt suitable for anal fissures, this I ignored, my body was telling me to use it, so what have I got to lose.
The following morning wasnt a lot different, I felt the fissure tear again, with the usual toe curling pain, but followed with my routine of a warm bath afterwards, applied more canesten cream and set off for work.
This day was the best day of my life, I was able to sit at my desk all day without fidgeting, or itching and I couldnt believe it, so repeated the procedure again at bedtime.
Saturday morning, I awoke, went into the bathroom, started to run my bath, sat on the loo and prepared myself for the normal sharp pain (Thank god it was first thing in the morning, over and done with, and out of the way ).
Oddly enough, there was no pain, no razor blade cutting, no feeling as if bits of glass were shooting out of my bottom, and merely a slight tingle afterwards.....................WHAT???
I honestly didnt believe it, how could it have gone overnight just like that ?
The same happenned yesterday and this morning, no more cutting feeling, no more itch, and only a small tinglly burning feeling, which I am hoping will eventually go away .
I am still carrying on with the warm baths, and the canesten cream for another week, to be honest, it feels wonderful to be able to poo normally again, and thought maybe this advice would be useful to any of you people out there who have suffered with thrush before, maybe thats what caused my fissure in the first place?
Any ideas on that one?