Hie
I had my LIS two and a half months ago and yah its been a rough road but things have been better cos havent seen any blood since then... i guess thats a huge difference from before the op cos nomatter how much pain i have been in i havent bled. I thank God for that. But the thing is i have been constantly retearing and been in serious pain on some days when i go to the loo. Like this moring was horrible. i know its common to retear after surgery but eish its still painful. i was off movicol for two days only and so i took ginger powde which gave me diarrhoea. after this diarrhoea i then got constipated. So i thot i was ready to get myself of movicol but apparently not so. SO MY QUESTION IS TILL WHEN WILL I HAVE TO KEEP TAKING THE MOVICOL, the whole point of the surgery is to start living normally and not to rely o medicine to keep my stool soft and i do drink los of water but its as if its not good enuf, so do i have to keep taking movicol for the rest of my life even when i hav had the LIS

You have to realize that although initial healing can happen in the first days/weeks, complete healing takes quite a while . . . months, in fact. The body can accommodate a lot of things, but we have to respect it and pamper it when necessary. I encourage you to not look at the healing as a temporary thing. You may need to use Movicol to some degree for several more months to a year. Others more familiar with it can and, I'm sure, will chime in, but if it is similar to Miralax, there is no side effect from prolonged use. Give yourself time and don't be in such a hurry to go back to normal. There are those who have to take it for life and they haven't had LIS.
Point to ponder . . . for the sake of argument, if you had to take it for life . . . would that be such a terrible thing?

Michelle,
It takes a long time to re-gain strength in that area. We still have to keep a soft poop regimen since the surgery only allows healing to take place.
I agree with everything Jojo has said. It takes time but that doesn't mean you will have to spend a lifetime on Movicol/Miralax. You may be able to move on to a fiber supplement/ cut the Miralax, which is a more natural stool softener after you get some time on the healing.

i read an article abt dealing with constipation. laxatives/softeners are always the first line of treatment which can take weeks/months, after which the transition from such to natural softeners like prune juice, oats, etc has to be done GRADUALLY. Meaning, if you have been taking Miralax, you probably want to start by cutting that portion to half and then take some prune juice (for eg) as well. Then allow yourself to adjust to this combo for at least a week/2 weeks. Then cut down another quarter of Miralax and then up your prune juice for another week. Then totally take off Miralax and up your prune juice accordingly. As such, your bowels will HAVE TIME to adjust to the new combo and adapt. If you totally take off Miralax suddenly, your bowels will be in shock and thus the results.
This is what i did when i was transitioning my lactulose to prune juice and magnesium supplements, it worked for me. So, hopefully this helps for you in your healing journey.

Thanks for the advice i realuse now that i cant just stop taking movicol like that. but the problem is im still in pain, i realise i really retore myself yesterday due to the constipation and now i ca even feel the pain of the new fissures i have caused. i cant help but worry and should i book for an appointment with my surgeon or just hope to heal bymyself. CaN You offer ma ay tips apart from lots of water movicol and warm baths as im already doig this. hate to admit it that im no afraid to eat, is just like before surgery wen i would starve myself ad its not good cos now im seriously underweight.

Again, those with more knowlefge about it can chime in as I have not had surgery et. But, it ismy understanding that for a time qfter surgery, the fissure can heal really quickly following a retear since the muscle is still much more loose.
You may still be within that window, so continue your regimen as though you've not hd LIS and give it a few days. If no improvement, speak to you doc. If it does get better, DON'T stop the regimen. Listen to your body and allow it to work.

hi g09t6844, if it makes you feel better emotionally to go back to ur CRS, pls do so. Handling a fissure, requires strength physically and emotionally! For me, i have come to a point where i feel it doesn't really matter to see my CRS anymore as they will prescribe exactly the same stuffs and advice surgery again. Thank God too, cos i get to email my CRS and he's so nice to always answer my many queries. So that saves on my consultation fee too.
As for alternative treatments, i hope you can read "my success story". I truly believe in using treatments that heal, not band-aiding. Thus while using GTN/nitro/dilt can help, they have no healing properties in itself, i persevered on aloe vera until i saw improvements. My CRS was surprised too. Of cos there are many things that go hand-in-hand, keeping stools soft are of UTMOST IMPORTANCE, cos only so, all healing either from yourself and from ointments can embark.
Healing within yourself is very impt too, thus i recommend vit c (wound healing) and magnesium supplements (helps in relaxing spasms, constipation and softening stools)
Hope this is helpful.

I lost 7kg within 5 months too, but it wasn't so bad, as i started to eat healthy and my energy level and health actually went up!
So it's important you eat the RIGHT stuffs. Eat food that help you, find enjoyment in eating healthily.
Skipping meals won't help you at all. First, it may cause constipation. Secondly, ur body will be starved of nutrients and minerals neccessary to help you heal. So all in all, more harm done than good.
Do your due research on food. And you will realize that the fissure has woken you up from a lifetime of unhealthy eating habits...