Hi All,
First of all, thank you to all of you who take the time to post on this site-I just recently discovered it and it has been so helpful and encouraging on difficult days.
I'll try to keep my story brief. I started having discomfort when having a bm about 6 weeks after having my daughter. I thought it was hemorroids as I had heard many women suffer from this after childbirth. When the pain became unbearable, I saw a GI who diagnosed me with a fissure, gave me diltiazem ointment, told me to take metamucil, and take warm baths. After about 6 weeks, the fissure was gone...or so I thought :( The pain returned a couple of weeks later, and since then, has not gone away. The pain is nothing like what it was at first, but is still uncomfortable and makes it hard to enjoy life with my 9 month old.
I figured out that the metamucil was only making my stool larger, so I stopped using that and now am just trying to bathe every day and use the ointment, which seems to be creating more throbbing than anything. I am guessing my fissure is chronic, and I am wondering if anyone on here has had luck healing a chronic fissure without surgery? I am hesitant to use miralax while I am still breastfeeding. Are there any other new moms out there who are suffering from this? It makes me worry I won't be able to have more children! Any advice or information anyone can pass along is much appreciated.

Hi aeg - I'm so sorry you are suffering, but congratulations on your new baby! :D
I think that the success with ointments, like Diltiazem, really depends on how early you start it once you get a fissure. Those who started it quickly seem to have more success, but I think its success rate is somethings like 60%. Don't despair, though - it is possible to heal if you are very diligent with it, and keep the stools soft and take lots of hot/warm baths. I'm not sure about how Miralax affects breastfeeding. Hopefully some moms can chime in here. I will mention, even though you probably already know this, that breastfeeding is very dehydrating, so you will probably need to drink a lot more water than normal to keep the stools soft.
I really hope that you succeed with the Dilt, but if it doesn't work, don't worry. The surgery is not nearly as bad as it sounds and I would be very surprised if any of this meant you couldn't have more children. I think even the absolute worst case scenario might be that your doc may recommend c-sections for future births. Perhaps that's something worth discussing with your doc.
I hope you find relief very soon!

yes, a chronic fissure can still be healed/calm down, though slim (backed by internet articles and my personal experience). It also depends on individual's healing ability, regime, diligence and severity. U may like to read up on the thread "my success story" for some reference.
DOn't worry abt childbirth! It's impossible to affect u!

Thanks for the responses. The more I read on here, the more I think I should probably just get the nerve to see my dr. about the LIS. I just don't know how much longer I can deal with the rollercoaster of a good day here and there with most of them being in pain and uncomfortable. It is so depressing, but it sounds like many, many people have had success with the surgery and have a normal life again.

You can use Miralax while breastfeeding, it's even safe to take while pregnant!
Also a little tip, I nursed my son, and that lanolin that they give you for cracked nipples was very soothing for my fissure. I put it on in the evening before bed and I feel like it really helped me heal one of my fissures. It's made to heal cracked skin so I figured it couldn't hurt!