So, I'm starting year two of my relationship with this wonderful partner of mine. My doctor took me off of generic miralax a few weeks ago. He was concerned that I was developing a tolerance to it. Since then, my AF symptoms have gotten much worse than the previous months. So much so, that despite my lack of insurance, I'm contemplating LIS. ("Yay! More debt!")
This is all disappointing to say the least. I had hoped I would be able to tolerate the pain until such a time years down the road when I might have insurance. However, these days sitting for any purpose has become unbearable. Baths, fiber, water, stool softeners, metamucil, this sucker takes them all and keeps on laughing at me!
Yet, what seems odd to me is that after 2 visits to a CRS and several examinations by two different GPs, no one has been able to actually see the AF. The symptoms are all there, and I have no family history of cancer, etc, so I'm not worried about it being "something else". Rather, I'm wondering if this would complicate surgery at all?

Hi there,
Don't worry about the CRS not being able to find the fissure. I had exactly the same thing, though I am not doing surgery but instead trying dilation.
Don't know why the doc would take you off what is helping to pass stools that go through easily. Maybe the doc did not want you to take that and stool softeners . Most people swear by Miralax; I take Milk of Magnesia.
Probably what has happened is the fissure has healed, but you are still left with spasm from when it was there. It is the spasm that the LIS gets rid of, and stops the reforming of constant AFs. My take on it anyway.
I would not worry about the 'something else' as your CRS does not seem to be. Best of luck, and keep in touch with us!

I've experienced bleeding w/ BMs for the past five days, so I don't think the AF has healed. Fortuntaley, I've never really experienced spasms -- at least not proctalgia fugax -- due to the AF.
Rather, I experiencing the piercing pain with BMs and then terrible burning pain for hours to follow afterwards. I'm putting myself back on the Miralax for the time being.
I don't know what alternatives I have beyond LIS. I'm just hoping it doesn't cost north of $10,000+