I’ve been on Diltiazem for about 14 weeks now (twice a day), but still get mild to moderate pain that comes and goes. Some days are worse than others, while other days I feel just fine (with very little pain). It feels more like burning and stinging where the fissure is on my worst days. I honestly don’t know how much it’s helped me since some days it seems like it makes it worse (it stings pretty bad sometimes when I put it on, but then eases up). It does seem to relax the area a little bit, but I’m ready to stop using it. I’m just afraid the horrible pain will come back from when I first got a fissure if I stop taking it.
How have other people who’ve taken Diltiazem fared after stopping it? Did the intense pain come back? I just don’t want to take it anymore because I fear the longer I take it, the more I increase my risk for developing an allergic reaction to it like many have on here. I definitely don’t want that to happen, but I don’t want the horrible pain to come back, either.
Other than the Diltiazem, I’ve been doing everything I can to help the fissure heal (very healthy diet, eating less, no straining, lots of water each day, light exercise like walking, trying to relax, etc.), yet I still get pain (not horrible, but enough to bother me... probably a 3-5 on a scale of 1-10). I don’t know what else I can do other than give it more time. I’m honestly at a loss. : ( I don’t have the money to see a CRS again (no health insurance), so I guess all I can do is suffer with it and hope it goes away eventually. I’m guessing the next step is surgery, but it scares me so much and I can’t possibility afford it right now. I worry that I will come out of surgery much worse than I am now and that's taking a huge chance.
Sorry everyone. I guess I’m just a little depressed today. I don’t know how much more I can take of this.