by Lauren12 » 03 Dec 2012, 16:09
Hi again ohant
I know, it's really important for a CRS to be reassuring isn't it? I went back to mine several times in the months following the operation and he reassured me that I was cured, and the pain would subside eventually. This was really important to put my mind rest. He was the third consultant surgeon I'd seen, and the one to finally fix me, so I know what it's like to see surgeons whose patient communication is zilch, and the impact that has on you. Have you thought of consulting someone else for a second opinion? What does your current CRS say in answer to your questions about your healing - for example how does he explain that you were fine for two weeks and then there was a recurrence of the pain, and to your queries about scar tissue? I used to go into my appointments with a list of written questions, and make sure I went through them all. Even then, with the first two surgeons I saw, I didn't seem to get satisfactory answers. Only the third had excellent patient communication, and explained in detail, involving drawing diagrams! I wonder if it's possible to find a surgeon in your area through personal recommendation, who someone else knows is good, sympathetic and communicates well with patients.
I had some accidents in the immediate period after the LIS procedure too, if I remember, with releasing bowel motions, thinking it was wind. But as you say, it stops happening as time goes on. If the muscle's been cut to a degree, and has become looser as a result, is it then possible for it to become tighter again? This seems to be part of what you need explaining. There's always going to be a degree of muscle tone, and some spasms I think, because to remove them completely would involve cutting the muscle completely, which would involve incontinence. So as some muscle function remains, out of necessity, is it then possible for muscle tone to build again? Do you feel that the degree of the incision wasn't sufficient and you might benefit from more? Does your surgeon agree, or does he just think you have a long healing and adjustment process?
Or perhaps, as you say, it might involve scar tissue. That isn't something I have experience of (in the way of it having been a problem for me) so I'm afraid I don't have anything to offer on that.
Yes, a pain cycle develops in response to chronic pain. I was in pain so consistently and for so long before the LIS procedure, that I developed one. It took a while to die down after the LIS to a normal level of pain and sensation. I think it's something to do with the gate control theory of pain.
Thinking back, I think it was about 9 months after my op before I felt close to normal. I remember using a glycerin suppository 8 months after my op, when I couldn't pass a stool one day. For people with a normal anus, glycerin suppositories don't cause any problem. However, eight months after my op, it caused 48 hours of irritation to my anus which was very uncomfortable. I had to cancel a night out because of it for example. Now, 20 months later, I can use glycerin suppositories with no problem, just the same as someone with a normal anus. It doesn't cause any irritation at all, and I just get on with my day with no problem. So it took me quite a long time to recover normal levels of sensation. At the time, I'd read accounts from people who'd had the LIS and recovered within a matter of days or weeks, and thought it hadn't worked for me. I was reassured several times by the CRS that it had worked, and would improve (which it did). He said at the end of it, I'd always have an anus I was aware of, but I wouldn't be in in any pain - which is the case. I don't know why it took me so long - presumably because of the pain cycle I'd developed, although as I say, my muscle tone is still apparently quite high for someone who's had the LIS, but that doesn't seem to be really bothering me. The CRS said that women post menopause lose anal muscle tone anyway, and that in my case that would be a good thing!