Just recently had a relapse , I was not well for a cpl of days and had diarrea ...i didnt take any of my usual lactulouse during these couple of days , the result was a very hard stool which in turn tore me again , i knew just by how my stool felt while passing it that i was in trouble , toilet paper when put to my bum was all red ...i was like , here we go again.
So for a few days after i was in pain ...not the brutal sort but sore enough , it has since died down again once i started using the lactulouse again and the cream from the hospital which goes on the outside of the spincter , the name of it escapes me just now.
Anyway , ive now been told by the doctor to gradualy wean myself off the lactulouse , but i know whats in store once i do so ..pain pain pain pain.
The tear inside my anal canal must be bad and it only takes the hard type stool to tear it again .....im buggered if i know what to do now tbh.

Hey there! I was doing good for a week or so then had a partial relapse over the weekend too. I know how it feels! One thing I've recently found that helps me alot is to lube up your rectum before having a BM. If you're not in total Code Red unbearable pain, get some disposable rubber gloves & some garden variety personal lubricant. Before you go, just put on a glove, lube up a finger (I use the pinky for obvious reasons) and gently insert it into your rectum up to about the first knuckle if you can. It'll facillitate things moving out quickly & kind of coats the interior. I was very skeptical at first but my naturopath in Portland said it was essential & the one day I skipped it I relapsed. Make sure your fingernails are nice & short & be very gentle. I really hope this helps- I swear, the fear of a relapse is probably worse than the actual pain itself! Keep doing what works for you and try to not worry about the future. Hang in there!

Hi, Peter and Ed -
I've had a relapse, too - NOT that I have been healed from this thing. I've been fighting it for 3 months now. But for some reason (nothing I can figure out), I woke up a little sorer today - and after my a.m. BM, the pain level climbed up.
I am soooo tired of this - soooo tired. I just want my life back. I'll see my crs on Thursday - and of course, i wish i didn't have to go at all, but I know I need to deal with this problem.
Ed - I keep trying to lube myself up - and I faithfully do it (same method as you use), but I just don't know that it's helping. My AF seems to be of the chronic nature, and I don't know what to do to get it healed, unless I have some sort of procedure done.
Aaaarrrrggghhhh!

Wish I could 'lube up' before heading for the loo, but i haven't found anything to use that doesn't increase the agony, in the inserting. Any suggestions of what to try. So far have only tried with Vaseline and that didn't agree with me. I would very slowly wean yourself from the latalose (sp?), and definitely would not start when you have pain and difficulty having a BM. Most swear by Miralax here, and you might want to consider that. I take MOM, as that's what I have always taken. Best of luck in healing...to us all. Never experienced pain like this in my life, and look to the darn day when it will be gone!

Me, too, savaici.
I just want my misery (and everyone else's) from AFs to be gone!

It will be a great day when all our pain is gone. Just to eat a decent meal again and not be totally concentrated on one part of my anatomy will be a joy!

savaici - how long have you been suffering?
3 months for me.

Almost two years. Have just kept hoping... Seen one CRS and just gradually taking it further. Now considering what wecc had done, after first having a colonoscopy (virtual), to make sure nothing untoward is going on. I eat like a mouse, but still go through agony most days. It's a big trek ypto go anywhere from where I live, so want to be sure what I am going to have done, before I pach my bags. I was all ready to go to the Cleveland Clinic in Sept, then my hubby got ill and didn't go. Glad now, as just might go with the S.A.D. if it's possible.

Hi Peter,
I would switch to the mirilax too IMO.
I don't use it myself though, just metamucil twice a day. As for the lubricant,
The nifedipine I use is like a salve and so acts as a lubricant. But also I have taken the advice I read on Healthboards from this guy called kennyboy. He takes three teaspoonfuls of olive oil a day. I just do one after dinner, and I have noticed that everything just slides out a bit easier the next day (sorry TMI). -woi

savaici -
I'm not familiar with S.A.D. - I'm assuming you mean it's some type of hospital . . . ? I give you credit for lasting two years with this stuff. I'm about at the end of my rope. --- I'm in CA, and I'll see my crs this Thursday. I'm hoping for a good visit, all around. It's really nerve-wracking for me, because I have alot of anxiety about medical issues.
woi - I'm definitely going to try the olive oil. I use it daily (on vegetables, etc.), but maybe I'm not getting enough. It's definitely worth a try.