Please help. So much pain :(

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Please help. So much pain :(

Postby temptitle » 05 Jan 2013, 21:49

Hi guys
Ive been browsing here for a long time for information but my situation has got so severe that it's time I started engaging with the community for more advice. I'm a 26 year old male with my life ahead of me and it's not looking so great right now.
My situation. I developed a fissure 5 years ago, and managed it well. It would tear every now and then and it was awful but at least I could live a normal life and keep a job.
However. The last few months have been agony. The pain is different. x100 what it was before. There is blood every time I have a BM no matter what I do or how soft my stools are. Its unbearable and I have to sit in a bath afterwards, every single day for hours. It's ruined my life to the point I dont go out anymore, have very few friends, and i've lost so much weight on this diet its unreal (5 stone in 6 months). I have been checked, and its only a fissure. Nothing serious, but the pain is outrageous.. I could destroy a curry or something I actually enjoy right now i'm so hungry but if I deviate from the diet in the slightest I experience something nobody should ever have to!!! I was overweight at 15 stone. Now i'm underweight at under 10.
I've tried lots of meds in the past from my doctor and they have all worked and helped me. But not anymore. This is different now. When it got this bad my doctor gave me xyloproct. This cleared it up instantly for a few weeks, then out of nowhere came the WORST PAIN I cant even begin to describe. I'm sure you guys know what I mean :(. I'm currently on instillagel and rectogesic 4mg whatever it is. I don't care, they don't seem to be doing anything at all!!! My stools are soft. Always. Ive eaten nothing but salad for 6 months. And I find it hard using the meds cause i'm so tight down there I cant even get them in anymore.
I live a life of fear and if this goes on for much longer i'm certain i'm going end it. I need this sorted ASAP. I'm really really scared :(. I want my life back. And i''m crying cause i'm in so much pain while writing this.
Any advice would be hugely appreciated. The depression, the PAIN, the fear. It all has to end. This has got to the point where i'm out of work and can barely afford to keep my home. This is dangerous territory. With the pain the way it is I don't know where to turn. Nothing is working . Please help!!!
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Re: Please help. So much pain :(

Postby cherylk » 05 Jan 2013, 23:46

Temp,
You need to get back in to see a doctor ASAP--both to help you physically and mentally. Also, you might ask about the possibility of you getting on an A/D until you can get your situation resolved. These fissures can wreck havoc with one's psyche, so don't despair about that. We've all (or many of us) have gone through very deep valleys of mental angst--it's not uncommon with this affliction. Plus you are adding on financial woes to the mix. Keep us posted on what you learn and good luck!!
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Re: Please help. So much pain :(

Postby owmybum » 06 Jan 2013, 06:21

Hi temp,
I second what Cheryl has said.... Go to your docs and get some help for your anxiety.
My ongoing af problems turned me into a sobbing anxious wreck.. I got terribly low. My dr prescribed citalopram and a few weeks on, although my af is still horrendous... I can handle it better...I urge you to seek the help you need.
It will ease off... You are doing all the right things... You are not stuck like this for life.. Try to take some hope.
Let us know how you get on
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Re: Please help. So much pain :(

Postby marg6043 » 06 Jan 2013, 15:45

Like the other members have said you need to do something, fast, losing too much weight and having your quality of life changing dramatically is not goof for you.
While pain from fissures can be like the end of once life and world it actually doesn't end there, get back to your doctor and or get a second and even third opinion of the severity of your problem if you can and have the means (insurance to do so).
I hope things get better and you find a way to make your suffering more manageable.
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Re: Please help. So much pain :(

Postby Lauren12 » 06 Jan 2013, 16:31

Hi temp
Have you seen a colorectal surgeon or only your primary care doctor? I assume that since you say you've been checked to establish that it's only a fissure and nothing else, that you have seen a colorectal surgeon?
I'm in the UK so am not familiar with the brand names of the meds you mention - however it seems from Googling that they're a mixture of local anaesthetic and a cream to make your sphincter muscle relax. As you're in a lot of pain and this has been going on several months, have the next stages of treatment for anal fissure been considered - for example botox or the LIS operation? I suffered with a chronic fissure for two and a half years. Like yourself, I had scans and procedures to establish that it was only a fissure, and that the pain wasn't due to something else - and it was just a fissure. I tried Diltiazem for 5 months (a calcium channel blocker cream which relaxes the anal sphincter) until I became allergic to it, then had two lots of botox at six monthly intervals. However it was only when I had the lateral internal sphincterotomy operation that I was cured. It has a higher success rate (c. 95%) than the various creams and botox.
From what you describe, when you say you're so tight down there that you can't even get the meds in any more, the muscle tone of your anal sphincter is very high. I assume you can't possibly have had surgery therefore, as this is what the LIS treats. As I'm sure you know, high muslce tone in the anal sphincter is instrumental in both creating fissures and preventing them healing. The muscle spasms in response to the pain and the muscle tightening up then creates more pain. All the treatments are designed to interrupt this cycle.
It seems there are further treatments that you may not have tried yet so please don't despair. I know what it's like - I was in pain and despair for two and a half years, with no treatment seeming to take it away completely until I had the LIS. I'm leading a normal life again now.
Let us know how you get on.
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Re: Please help. So much pain :(

Postby owowow » 07 Jan 2013, 10:56

Hi temp - just to add to what others have said - please don't despair. i've been through periods too (one just recently) when i thought the damn thing was never going to heal, but i have again come out the other side :)
one point i notice is that you mention you have been eating just salad for the last six months and your stools are always soft.
but soft is not everything! most important is that stools require minimum effort to evacuate and for that i think you may benefit from eating just a little more bulk. maybe try some quinoa or a small amount of wholegrain rice? add it very gradually so as not cause any surprises and eat along with soaked or boiled prunes/ fruits or boiled veg would be my suggestion.
wishing you all the best...
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Re: Please help. So much pain :(

Postby temptitle » 08 Jan 2013, 22:13

Hi again guys. Thank you all for getting back to me. When I posted here before I was in a very bad place so really do appreciate the replies. The more I learn about this the better I can manage it. And I hope you are all managing well. Nobody should have to suffer like this.
Lauren. I saw a colorectal surgeon years back when it wasnt controlling me. But the pain is different now. Its absolutely exploded. I'm seeing a specialist on Thursday and am feeling positive I am finally going to get this sorted. I'm willing to try anything at this point so i'm going to really push the LIS. Read about it and not scared. Just want a fix. Glad it worked out for you and hope it does for me too!
Does anybody have any tips for when it gets so bad you cant tolerate it? You know what I mean. I've found having a bath after a BM is the only think that relieves me but cant help walking around like ive done a naughty in my pants all day afterwards. Any tips etc?. Painkillers dont do anything and like I said in my previous post, I cant use the meds i've been given. Any relief would be brilliant.
owowowow. thanks for the tip. I will try will introducing it to my diet and hope it works out.
This is a very bad stage of my life so once again thank you for all your replies. Taking everything on board. And hopefully in a little while I can help somebody else in the same situation when i'm better.
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Re: Please help. So much pain :(

Postby owmybum » 10 Jan 2013, 04:01

Good luck with your appt. today... Let us know how you get on.
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fissure after hem banding and tag removal feb 11
Pelvic floor therapy
Diltiazem
Botox June 13
Nitro
Internal flap July 14
EUA and polyps removed Nov 14
Diagnosed with neuropathy Jan 15
Diagnosed with HS EDS type 3 (causes poor wound healing )
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Re: Please help. So much pain :(

Postby temptitle » 15 Jan 2013, 20:54

Hey guys. Had my app. Really pushed the LIS but he was very firm and looks like i'm going to have botox at some point. Not sure when though :(. I did this through private health care out of desperation, they sent the invoice to me, cant afford it. Ј2200 is a joke.
Luckily the acute pain has laid back a little. Now spending 2-3 hours a day struggling after a BM, but still the rest of the day fairly mobile, but nobody wants to be walking around in public with something clearly wrong with their backside!
A few days ago it got so bad my girlfriend took me to AE. I was given another painkiller. It didnt do anything. And a new cream. Diltiazem 2%. Has anybody has much luck with this? I wasnt given very good instructions on how to use it. So just using it externally when I feel I can actually go near that area.
Thanks for your help guys. Fingers crossed the NHS dont take too long getting my op sorted.
Also, I saw a very bad specialist. I'm amazed there is even a specialist in this area to be honest........ Was struggling to just sit on the chair and he was there with his legs up on the desk laying back with his phone while talking to me!!!!!!! Couldnt believe it!!! Ј200 later, I didnt know what had just happened. I live in North London so if you are from that area get in touch with me and i'll give you his name. Avoid
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Re: Please help. So much pain :(

Postby marg6043 » 15 Jan 2013, 22:10

temptitle, be careful when going to a private doctor, even here in the US if you have personal private insurance the doctors still wants to leech you.
About the pain, I know what you mean, I went to the doctor when it was hitting me the hardest with sleepless nights, but after all this months it actually subsided and now is more manageable, I know people that no matter what can not get any relief at all.
Creams may work, botox may work for some, but for others nothing works, creams has done nothing for me, my doctor mention surgery but nothing about botox or any other treatment.
Now about the cream, I used to put it on a Qtip and just gently spread around the area, no more than a pea size, kind of difficult when the area is so sensitive and painful.
I hope it works for you, I know it did nothing for me, after 4 months of using it, I developed a sensitivity to it and make my skin itchy in the area.
It can also give you headaches as it will drop your blood pressure, but it will not cause damage, but if you know that you have low blood pressure problems be very careful, dizziness and feeling lightheaded it will be a side effect.
You will have to find crafty ways to make yourself comfortable before and after your BMs, that is the key of how sore and painful you will be hours later.
I am glad you got your appointment even when the doctor obviously was not what you expected. Sorry about that, it happens.
I take ibuprofen when the pain is intense and it helps me but I make sure I don't take pain killers for extended periods of time due to stomach issues.
Keep us informed about your progress.
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