Hi Everyone,
Well I had my six week follow up with my CRS last night and he told me that I was ALMOST healed (on my last visit his words were, “you have a nasty little fissure”)
I have been on the GTN (Nitro) for six weeks now and my BM pain has gone from a ‘rip the towel rail from the wall’ type of pain down to a mild tingling sensation. The spasms have gone from 5-6 hours of being unable to walk, stand, sit or just generally function to a mild discomfort/annoyance which come and go for a few minutes at a time lasting for about 2 hours following the BM.
The CRS gave me the option of staying on GTN or Botox – Now given the option of staying put on a cream that seems to be working or being put to sleep for a camera insertion and internal injections seemed a no brainer however I refused to make the decision and told him I want whatever is best for me! (Luckily he chose the option I wanted to hear) – I hope I made the right call.
If I do not fully heal with GTN it will be Botox in six weeks time or I can have it sooner if I feel it is needed. I asked about the possibility of LIS if it does not improve and to be honest I think there is little chance of getting this unless you are really suffering and conservative methods have not given you any relief or if you keep constantly re-tearing.
I asked about the risk of re-occurrence after healing and he said unfortunately it’s not good – their experience says that about 1 in 3 people have a re-occurrence after GTN or Botox (being a glass half full person I read this as 66% of people go on to have a fissure free lifestyle!) Fortunately though the majority who do re-tear generally suffer from a minor niggling rather than a ‘full on fissure pain’ again and this can be resolved by another session on the GTN. After time most people can judge what is good for them and what will cause them to re-tear.
Another thing I picked up was that you should not always assume you have had a re-tear because the pain has comeback – sharp food is likely to irritate the wound and remove some of the scabbing and this will cause an element of pain but it is not re-tearing the fissure – these things are a little more robust than you think.
Anyway I am going to up my game and give myself one last push to try and heal this fissure and get my life back on track – I will let you know how i progress
I hope everyone is having a good day today
Davo

I just read this and it answered my question from the other post- thank u! And congrats!!! Good luck with the last little bit u have to go!

Glad ur doing better Davo! Thanks for the info here :)
1 in 3 :( huh? :( - we gotta see what we eat n keep up the fiber , water, and eating lifestyle that has been working . God bless u son. Take care

Hi Granny,
I think the problem with the re-occurence is that most people go back to their old lifestyles which they had prior to having the fissure.
If you stick to the water and increased fibre levels then generally you shouldn't have much of a problem.
Davo

Hey Davo, so glad you are feeling better, but the 66% IMO is a little off. All it takes is one hard stool, or push just a little to hard and bam, you have a retear. If you read on here, the people that heal their fissure with conservative methods may disappear for a little while, but usually end up back on here with a retear..Sad but true. I was one of them. You have to stick to what you are doing for the rest of your life...I just couldn't take it after 3 years of trying. The surgery gave me my life back and I can't wait to eat a big juicy steak!!! If I still had my fissure, I certainly wouldn't be eating that. Not that you can go hog wild even after surgery, but you have many more options than before surgery. I hope you continue to heal and stay healed...It would be nice to read that someone healed themselves and it did not come back. There is another boardie on her Dwarfs that healed hers. You may want to look at her posts

Hi Sue,
I could not bare the thought of eating soup for the rest of my life, believe me if this thing comes back i will be straight back to the CRS insisting on LIS.
I guess first of all though i have to listen to advice and look at the statistics - to be honest though my diet and water intake before the fissure was terrible, it was all junk and no water. If i do 100% heal i intend to keep up the water and fibre intake but i refuse a life of re-tears!
The CRS did say the only thing that almost gurantee's no re-tears in men is LIS (I dont know why he specified men mind!)
Davo

Hmmm, that's interesting. Wonder why?? I haven't heard that, but I am thinking maybe it has to do with different lifestyles in men and woman. I know what you mean by eating soup for the rest of your life, along with the oatmeal and pbj on high fiber bread. I was so sick of it. Don't get me wrong, I am still eating high fiber and will for the rest of my life, but at least I can have a wider variety of foods and enjoy going out to dinner again.

Yeah it did make me wonder why he mentioned men, i just presumed it was something to do with the risk of a re-tear during childbirth but it was strange to say the least. Also with me being a man why did he need to tell me that!
That is what i miss most actually - going out for dinner. Plus the fact that i am getting married abroad this year and i dont want to be drinking water and eating soup at the reception!

Congrats on the wedding!!! I hope you are doing much better by then. One poster got married shortly after his LIS and think he did pretty good.

Thanks Sue - the wedding isnt actually until August but we are worried that I remember the day because of the fissure rather than the wedding.
Ohh I would love to be one of the few exceptions to heal completely on the GTN - I know the odd's are almost against me but if i can heal i want to give it m best shot!