Stumbled on to this site. I have been to CRS and scheduled on the 25th. I have used all of the topical treatments, stool softeners,mineral oil, ginger, etc mentioned in the forum. I have read only a few of the post of people who are currently going thru post op and some of the stories are scary recovery stories. I have lots of reservations about surgery but not sure what the options are. I was scared about incontinence but the CRS assured me that there was no real chance of that with the procedure-but I do read that some people in this forum have the same concerns. I certainly don't want to continue this high butt maint. Recently discovered that my consumption of alcohol is very much a part of the problem. After that discovery and eliminating Vodka I have continued to have some pain during the day but nothing like it has been over the past months. I am confident of my CRS but not confident that the "true recovery time" is accurate and feel that it might be much more than I believe. As one could tell I am a bit confused about what to do. With the recent discovery of alcohol being really bad for healing I am considering going "dry" to hopefully have some time to heal. The other concern is that I might like others have to deal with this all over again in the future. I would like to hear from someone who had surgery and has not had reoccurring problems. I hadn't thought about using pads and diapers during recovery which concerns me with my work. I think I might see if the CRS would allow me to move the surgery to May. Time to maybe heal and better for me to recover with my work schedule and requirements at home being less with warm weather. I heat totally with wood and am concerned that I would not be able to maintain the stove during my recovery. Lifting heavy logs to throw into the stove might not be possible for some time.

I think I've had one of the ruffer recovery stories around here and I've used wood heat, so I can comment on that. I would say that I would not have been able to maintain a wood stove for the first 3 or 4 days. After that, I would have been able to do so, but it would have been a pain in the ass.
You aren't supposed to lift more than 15 lbs at a time for three weeks post surgery. That feels about right to me. I can move about, but strenuous activity is out. At first, leaning down was a real problem. I had a hard time picking up a sock from the floor, so the location of your wood pile would be an issue, too. That being said, a lot of people do better than I after surgery. I had the LIS and fissurectomy, which is harder to heal than just LIS, which is apparently a pretty easy recovery.

I really appreciate your input. Your input has made up my mind what I need to do for now as far as my heat is concerned. What is an LIS? How long has it been since your surgery? Your input raises some concerns about what exactly my procedure is called. Thanks

LIS is a cut the anal sphincter. Fissurotomy is basically cutting the dead skin away from the fissure so that it can heal properly. You should know what your doctor intends before surgery. But be forewarned that many doctors will decide once they the surgery starts what kind of procedure they are going to do, so you need to be clear with the doc about their intentions.
Its been 11 days since my surgery.