So some good news first: The horrible tearing, ripping sensation is gone, and I have only had one small incident of blood in the past three weeks.
The bad news: at the top of my rectum, ie: under my tailbone but right at the very top of my anus, the muscle has turned as hard as granite and is just agonizing. Oddly enough I am not having spasms, just a constant feeling that this knob of muscle is inflamed. No discharge nor blood. Nor urgent need to have a BM. When I apply my Nifidepine I no longer even feel like the internal skin is raw or sensitive. Just this ball which makes sitting down horrific, which sucks because my job entails sitting down. A lot. A hot soak takes it down a bit and so does the Nifideipine but it's usually short-lasting. I take Clonazepam for anxiety and at night it helps somewhat to relax the muscles but the next day it usually flares up again.
Anyone else have this? I honestly don't even feel like I have a fissure anymore, just this knob of muscle. It is tender and swollen but not hot or red-like if it were infected. Is this the start of a fistula? Is this some kind of abnormal mass? Does the involuntary sphincter muscle start at that point and circle the anus? I have no idea what the anatomy is?
I was out last Thursday and sat the wrong way on a booth seat, kind of on the edge and the next day that knob just exploded in agony.
I actually had a good day yesterday where I felt human again. So much for that.
Still trying to fight the good fight.

So, how long have you had this "ball" feeling in your sphincter.
sounds like it might be overcoming some irratation from something you take.
seek your Doc if it persist.
HTH

HoserBum, have you look in the mirror to see what the area that feels like hard muscle look like? that could be the fissure itself, you know.
Take a look, now for the sphincter muscle I believe it doesn't starts is just continuous muscle, but I can be wrong as I am not an specialist in this area. :D
If you feel is not normal and have doubts about been the fissure, call your doctor and have him take a look to make sure things are ok and is not a skin tag from the fissure that you just developed.

hoser bum, just checking in but you are probably long gone thank God, but I came across your post and noticed I have the exact thing you had referred to and I know it was higher up internally but it is a horrible feeling, just wondering how you were doing and how long until this went away, was it all of a sudden or very gradually and was it worse on the days when you had to go to the bathroom, and less hardened muscular feeling eventually went away just wondering how long it took. ??