Hello to all. I'm new here but certainly not new to AF. Had been dealing with AF on and off for about 12 years. My bouts with AF are usually short but recently it has been lurking for over 3 weeks. Tried NTG, Diltiazem Creams but both gives me a horrible rash. Now trying Nefidipine which is working a bit and no rash. I also went to another compounding pharmacy so I guess it may matter if you try switching pharmacies.
As my title suggests, anyone have experience with Pelvic Floor Dysfunction and anal fissure. I've researched and dealt with numerous ointments but this is a whole new area I don't know about. How do you know if you have this dysfunction. I've read here that many who have done LIS still have relapse of their fissure and some even have complications with the surgery. I'm on the fence with the surgery but still holding back as I still feel there might be other factors for the underlying cause of my AF and that LIS may just be another temporary fix. I'm trying hard to really exhaust all options before opting for surgery. My AF comes and goes. I could be home free for months to even 2 years and suddenly, it strikes. It's been trial and error with Sitz Baths, ointments (NTG, etc) and now this Pelvic Floor topic has gotten my attention but what kind of a specialists do you see for this? My CRS I've been going to just gives me the final option of surgery if I'm tired of this nag.
Any advice will help - thanks.

Hey there, I just read your post when on another forum. I just wanted to put my two cents in and tell you NOT to have the surgery if you have pfd - as fissures are likely a symptom of a bigger problem. If you read my posts, you'll see that I got talked into 2 fissure surgeries (the last one against my better judgement, but I was desperate for relief....) If you can handle the pain of a fissure and it comes and goes I think you should leave it alone and work on getting some internal pt instead. In my case, I couldn't handle the pt because the fissure was so painful, but I wonder what would've happened if I would've waited it out and been more persistent......

Hi desperate housewife. Your symptoms sound so similar to mine. I haven't had a chance to look through your posts, but will do tomorrow. Cherylk also had PFD, I think, and managed to get it sorted. I am in constant pain most of the day, that awful heavy feeling. Also get pain over my coccyx and pains in the vulva (sorry, FishBoi, your area of pain etc must be different). I have not had surgery, only an examination with an anoscope where theCRS did not find a fissure. Will not have Botox after the horror stories of hemmoroid pain afterwards. Been there done that three times with hems. I so think that what I have is not just a fissure, or that the fissure is caused by something else. I am off to the Cleveland Clinic next week to see a CRS there, and will definitely talk about this.

Hello...
I also have PFD plus a sphincter-hipper-tonicy what gave me many little skin breaks/fissures during a BM. Did a dilitation what gave me relief, but because of the PFD I still have problems, because when the pelvic tighten up because of stress I have difficulties to have a BM. Not easy to find someone to treat this...started now with Physio....but she is not specialised. Did you start a therapy and how it is working ?

....I forget to say that I also have pain in the vulva sometimes...it is like a burning and I have pain in the lower back, in the legs and abdomen...especially when I am stressed....

I've been reading a book by amy stein called "heal pelvic pain". I am going to start the stretches today. I have already felt some improvement just using her breathing relaxation technique. I do find my muscles down there relax when I do it.
Like someone else here said, we're all a bunch of tight a**es. :)
Anything that can help us relax, even if there is not underlying dysfunction other than tension, is a good thing.
-Tanya

I've had pelvic floor dysfunction for years too. I'm lucky in that I live near some top experts in rehab of the pelvic floor... Not so lucky in that it just isn't in my budget these days. But books like Amy Stein's give a lot of the same home exercises you find in a rehab. program as I found out when I did about 4 weeks of PT years ago. I too am not in favor of ILS in my case for a lot of reasons, just one of them being the PFD issues I have.

....I have read also Amy Stein`s book....there are good exercises for treating the pain in the legs abdomen, after etc.. At the moment I am reading "A Headache in the pelvic". Let`s see how this will be... but I missed in Amy Stein`s book exercises or treatments especially for the pelvic floor dysfunction when the sphincter closes during a BM which is my problem as well...

Hey Val,
I find using my 7" stool (squatty potty :D ) that I don't get that problem anymore. That last little bit, you know...
I'm pretty sure does mention this in the book and I think it had to do with relaxing...? I need to look again.
-Tanya

Not sure if anyone still follows this thread, but I recently read the posts and I suffer from similar problems. I've had pelvic floor dysfunction for over 12 years and developed fissures about 6 years ago. I suspect that my fissure developed due to a thrombosed hemorrhoid that I had excised about 9 months before I had my first fissure. I feel like I may have developed some scar tissue that caused the fissure. I'm scheduled for LIS on May 30th but because of my PFD I'm concerned about it. Just wondering if anyone on this thread has had any new developments, positive or negative or if anyone ended up having surgery or some other treatment.