Hi everybody,
I’m so happy to have found this forum and to join that international bum sufferer community. I’ve been dealing with my AF for a long time now, something like 5 years. I was 16 when I first had my AF, after a few episodes of constipation: big hard stools, toilet paper stained with red blood, acute pain…classic AF. But I was young and particularly shy, I couldn’t imagine telling someone the embarrassing situation I was in. As time went on, nothing had improved for I had changed nothing in my diet. Although , most of the time the AF wasn’t that painful, when passing stools it was just stinging with more or less blood on the paper. But sometimes, I had the most horrible BMs, the kind of BM that most of you have already experienced.
I had been living that way for 3 years until I finally decided to go to the gastrointestinal doctor. Keeping the problem to myself was the biggest mistake I’ve ever done in my life. I should have called a doctor from the very start and been rid of this at once. Instead, I’ve let the AFs (actually I have 2, one in each side) grow chronic, now I know it will never heal, these horrible fissures are going to stick with me all my life because I wasn’t able to seek help. Now I have to take 2 sachets of Forlax (that’s the most common laxative we use in France) of 10g each, every evening. I’ve been under that treatment for 1year and a half. It works pretty well, my stools are soft, I don’t bleed anymore but I still have trouble passing stools, even with a healthy and high fiber diet. My sphincter is very tense and I feel like it may retear at any moment. I’m always in fear of having a setback because it always comes back , it’s just a matter of time.
I'm so tired of this...That things are preventing me from making projects and leading the life I want. I’m only 20, medical student, which means stress, on-call duty, lot of work…I have already few time for myself, and I don’t want to cope with that AF thing as well. I’m going to take my 2 sachets of laxative every day for the rest of my life as I’m completely dependent on them. At least it works most of the time. I don’t see other outlet for the moment, surgery is out of the picture, now I wish I could find something natural which could replace the laxative by degrees…Dried prunes are quite efficient and taste pretty good but I guess I would need to eat 30 of them to have the same effect haha…
Kind regards,
Elaine

Sorry to hear but why is Surgery is out of picture?

Im sorry to hear about your long years of suffering :( . I have only suffered with my AF for 3 months and I didn't know they were so painful until this last month came around . My gastro wasnt much help but my colorectal doctor prescirbed me this stuff called nifedipine versa 2%. And over the past 4 days I have been using it, I've notice a big difference with the pain and stinging. As far as natural things, I dont really know anything besides lots of warm baths and a little bit of exercise everday. I was trying to use coconut oil and applying it before every BM because it has healing properties and woks as a lubricant but I couldnt see a huge difference and it wasn't working as fast as I wanted. But you can give it a go if you want :). I am also a medical student, 21 yr old. And I know how this little tear can hold us back so far. I hope some of the advice I gave is helpful