Hello! My story and request for, help?

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Hello! My story and request for, help?

Postby fokojan » 13 Feb 2013, 05:17

Since a very long time, talking about years, i have had that occasional red blood in toilet paper after bowel movements. It would come and go for a few days and then disappear. No doubt my toilet habits were wrong. I had the bad habit of forcing myself to evacuate stool even if it wasn’t urgent, just to maintain a routine. Eventually, in November 2012, with a lot of stress at work and sitting long hours and doing some weight lifting at night, the amount of blood started to increase (from toilet paper to dripping in the toilet bowl). Then one day, during straining of a hard stool, I felt some pain (normally there used to be only blood with no pain). The pain lasted after the bm and eventually it started to hurt every time I had bm (sharp razor blade pain) followed by burning/contraction sort of pain after bm. I went to the doctor who said I had a fissure.
She put me on dinitrate isosorbide cream. In about 6-7 weeks off improvement/deterioration I finally healed. When I looked at my anus with a magnified mirror, I saw that the area of the fissure had turned to a light pink color and the ulcer had seemingly disappeared (before it was almost dark red/purple). It was a good coincidence because at the same time I left for a 3 week vacation. During my three weeks, I had almost no problems, even though I ate a lot (while paying attention to having a lot of fresh fruits and veggies), I also ate some “heavy” food like mexican burittos, chilli, spices, kebap, fries, beer…nothing happened at all. My stools were soft despite all the food I had. No pain during bm, no pain after.
And then, once my vacation ended and I came back to my stressful job, within 1 week things started to get strange again. The bowels turned hard, I developed bloating, gas, and finally ruptured the fissure again. I went again to another doctor this time who said I had a fissure + small hemorrhoid. He put me in hydrocortisone suppositories for 20 days. Unfortunately, at the same time, I developed a heavy sinus infection that required antibiotics. Within a few days the suppositories helped and my stools were soft. But as I took the antibiotics things turned sour again and stools became very large and hard. I had a few straining episodes and yesterday even some blood (since November 2012, the bleeding occurred maybe 2-3 times).
My suppositories are almost finished and I don’t know what to do. Looks like I’m not healed yet and I’m afraid next step is surgery or at the most optimistic case botox.
I am normally a very athletic person, playing soccer, lifting weights, and leading an active lifestyle. I can’t help but think whether all this coupled with a stressful job have finally worn my body off. Since November 2012 my eating habits changed. I have the fissure in mind 24/7. I can’t enjoy things and even sex is painful sometimes (hetero) because I seem to get anal contractions when I am in action. My grandpa died from colorectal cancer at the age of 52 and I’m also getting paranoid about this now. Please help with some opinions.
- What should be the next steps for me?
- Could there be any links of my symptoms to bowel cancer?
- Do you think sports, soccer & weightlifting have adverse effects on the fissure?
- I feel like my stool gets impacted more by stress than what I eat, could stress really cause hard stools? During vacation I ate all kinds of stuff and I still had soft stools. Lately, just a piece of white bread or some rice is enough to turn my stools into rocks.
- How can I change the bad habit of trying to force bowel movements; or let me ask in another way, how do you really know when you have to go to the toilet? Do you wait until the stool is really close to the evacuation site?
- It’s a shame that at the age of 28 I am asking such questions… I should have had a better toilet training I guess.
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Re: Hello! My story and request for, help?

Postby Mamalucia » 13 Feb 2013, 08:48

Lol I'm 25 and have been dealing with this for well over 2 years, so you are not alone in feeling like WTF is going on, i'm too young to deal with this crap!! When cancer is in your direct bloodline I believe there is an increase in the possibly for others. Exercise and being active are good for our digestion and helping with BM, however with AF it's tricky because the movements aggravate the site so it's a bit bittersweet for us. There is a search bar on this site, if you haven't already done so, do a couple searches for diets with AF, and look into squatting while having a BM. Type in a key word and anything on this site that matches your keyword will show up. Sorry I can't be more help but best of luck!!
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Re: Hello! My story and request for, help?

Postby Jessjess » 13 Feb 2013, 10:16

Hello and Image So sorry you are in pain and having trouble. I had a fissurectomy and LIS about 10 days ago and feeling MUCH better.
I would suggest that you see a colorectal surgeon so that he/she can take a look at you, especially since colon cancer is a concern. A surgeon is really the only person who has the expertise in diagnosis and treatment. Also you will be an established patient and you won't have to wait over a month to see your doctor in case an emergency arises, like the fissure gets bigger with a skin tag (this happened to me- VERY PAINFUL).
For your bowels, you can take stool softeners and Mirilax, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, prunes, etc. And drink plenty of water (8 glasses/day). I normally have a BM twice a day and I don't have to force it like I used too. I had NO IDEA that I wasn't "going" properly! Coffee in the am and apple juice at night helps me go as they have a natural laxative effect. I sit on the toilet a little while after the first BM in case there is more. I do not sit for longer than 10 minutes. And try to be calm, take it easy, and set aside time to RELAX! I don't know if stress causes hard stools, but it's no fun and in the long run it is detrimental to your health.
Hope this helps! :)
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Re: Hello! My story and request for, help?

Postby CrackinUp » 13 Feb 2013, 14:00

Hi, don't worry.. you're not abnormal. I'm a 33 year old guy suffering with a bad fissure.
Your story sounds so similar to mine, I've had the same blood spots for years. I also started weight lifting and cycling six months before the fissure. I have a pretty stressful job, in fact I think I was going through quite a lot of stress when it first tore. I managed to clear it up in a week with Anusol suppositories - not this time!!
After this tear I had extremely painful spasms, which I have been prescribed GTN ointment for - this is now finally working properly after two very difficult weeks.
As for your questions;
- What should be the next steps for me?

Book to see a CRS pronto. This will help to put your mind at rest for one.
- Could there be any links of my symptoms to bowel cancer?

My grandad also had colon cancer. My CRS said colon cancer is the most common form of cancer and most people are related to someone within two generations that's had it. It would be more a concern if your mother or father had it.
- Do you think sports, soccer & weightlifting have adverse effects on the fissure?

I do wonder... but I didn't lift weights with my ass... so???
- I feel like my stool gets impacted more by stress than what I eat, could stress really cause hard stools? During vacation I ate all kinds of stuff and I still had soft stools. Lately, just a piece of white bread or some rice is enough to turn my stools into rocks.

You sound like you may have IBS. It's an anxiety disorder that changes stools on a daily basis. I have this too!
- How can I change the bad habit of trying to force bowel movements; or let me ask in another way, how do you really know when you have to go to the toilet? Do you wait until the stool is really close to the evacuation site?

I've been working hard on this. It's better to go twice without pushing than once pushing - it took me around a week to get the hang of it. Again classic signs of an IBS sufferer. If I miss my slot it can be difficult going, so the second I wake up I go and run a bath and wait for the inevitable urge - if I catch this it's so much better.
My biggest recommendation for keeping regular is drinking loads of water - like 3/4 litres per day. I've been doing this for years and am like clockwork. Before then I could wait days...
- It’s a shame that at the age of 28 I am asking such questions… I should have had a better toilet training I guess.

Yes you should :)
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