Hey folks.
First off, I find this website super useful. Sometimes it's good to know that you're not the only one out there suffering in the ways we all know. But more importantly, this site has helped me manage things a bit better after my skin tag removal.
I was fine going into surgery, but it was the four days of constipation following that resulted in the obvious anal fissure problem that I'm now largely experiencing. I've had them in the past, but this one has taken on a life of it's own.
My initial bowel movement of the day has been so debilitating that it has, on average, taken me from 7am until 10am to have a BM and deal with ensuing pain before moving on with my day. The worst part is the dull ache that comes after my hour long sitz bath and makes the rest of my day painful.
I'm suspicious this ache is the result of swelling and re-tearing. I've had a hard time finding much information about ibuprofen being an effective method of controlling swelling as well as killing the pain. I'm doing all the other obvious stuff - stool softeners, sitz baths and warm water enemas to keep things flowing but don't seem to be making any healing progress.
Aside Don't you all just love that moment of courage you have to sum up to have a BM in the morning? I always have to laugh to myself about having the strangest morning ritual... if only my friends knew!

Hey beeman, sorry to hear you're still dealing with pain. Have you been back to follow up with your CRS to confirm if you have a fissure? It sure sounds like it, but you definitely want your conservative treatment to be guided/followed by a CRS, so that you have the help of any additional aids they might prescribe you in the initial phase (nifed, nitro, etc). It can be hard for me to decipher my fissure-spasm pain fro
Post-op inflamm-pain. But what i've learned for myself is that fissure-pain definitely lasts for hours after a BM and is only relieved with hot baths/Vicodin. Now that I'm recovering from a 2nd round of Botox-fissurectomy that is working like the first one never happened. The inflammation pain resolves quicker, with the aid of ibuprofen, and I've noticed contrast baths (10min hot, 10mCold x4 cycles) and/or a shower to sufficiently clean up after BM's helps with the discomfort. No spasm-pain since around the 4th day post op (spasm pains never left after my 1st attempt of Botox-fissurectomy).

Hey thanks for the response. I had a great day yesterday, I feel like a normal human being again. Not sure if it's been the ibuprofen or the water enemas or if the diltiazem has finally kicked in (forgot to mention that key point in my earlier post). The enemas really help, especially first thing in the morning.
I'm positive it's a fissure as I can see it and I know the feeling of the "tear"...! I haven't been back to my CRS because I have a follow up booked in a couple of weeks and seeing as I don't have a family doctor it's actually really hard to get in earlier. Our Canadian healthcare is great but i don't have much faith in timely appointments.
Good to hear the Botox worked for you - sounds like a mixed bag from what I read on the Internet. Why has it worked second time around for you but not the first time?
Anyways - fingers crossed to two good days in a row.