Newly Diagnosed and Miserable

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Newly Diagnosed and Miserable

Postby beautimusprime » 22 Jul 2013, 19:32

Hi everyone, my name is Jenifer and I was diagnosed with an anal fissure about a month ago. For about the past 6 months I've been having terrible pain down there but always thought it was hemorrhoids then a trip to the emergency room revealed it was a fissure. The past 2-3 weeks have been complete hell for me, I've made 2 trips to the emergency room and been poked and prodded more times then I would have liked. Right now, I haven't had a bowel movement in almost a week and desperately need to go but that damn stabbing pain won't let me get it out. So I was searching the net for some relief and found this site. If anything, I'm happy to see that other people understand my pain since it seems like no one gets it.. Doctors, family, boyfriend, co-workers all seem to think this isn't that big of a deal but it's literally controlling my life and I'm 24, I want to be out and living and having fun but I can't because of this thing Image  It's a living hell. Sorry for the sad story lol but I needed to vent. Thanks for reading guys!
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Re: Newly Diagnosed and Miserable

Postby Scientist2516 » 22 Jul 2013, 21:16

I really feel for you Jenifer. I'm new here too, and have learned a lot.
Did the ER doctors give you anything? Any advice, medication, painkillers? If not, try to see a colorectal doctor or nurse.
I'm sure you know by now that half the secret is regular soft movements. You have to get that BM out, so you need a laxative. For me, mineral oil (by mouth) is great because it lubricates the BM. It will probably hurt like hell, but you have to do it. I'm sorry. I've been there, sobbing at night until 2 am with the pain, but I seem to be through the worst of it now.
You probably also know that the colon is very good at absorbing water from the stool. So to keep BMs soft, you have to keep very well hydrated. If you get the least bit dehydrated, the colon grabs water from the stool, and makes it hard and dry.
Fibre, stool softeners, water and a medication to relax your anal sphincter. Get a doctor or nurse who can HELP you. I tried nifedipine to relax the sphincter, but for me it didn't work, so now I'm trying diltiazem, which seems to be helping - too early to say maybe.  I sit on a heat pad (hot water bottle), which both eases pain, and increases the healing blood flow to the fissure.
For me the real turn-around was drinking lots and lots of water, and a mineral oil stool softener called Kondremul. I don't know if the fissure is healing, but I have very little pain now.
Nifedipine/lidocaine, no help
Diltiazem, effective, but caused major rash
Nitroglycerine, effective.
Topical estrogen for final healing.
Gentle heat to bottom - pain relief, muscle relaxant
Kondremul mineral oil
Time - lots of time.
Status - Healed!
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Re: Newly Diagnosed and Miserable

Postby beautimusprime » 22 Jul 2013, 21:30

Hey Scientist, thanks for the response. The ER doctors gave me percocet for pain which I know hasn't helped the constipation one bit but I was literally crying hysterically on the ER bed so I think they felt it necessary. They also referred me to a surgeon who hasn't been much more helpful, he made me feel almost as though I was over exaggerating the pain and like it wasn't the worst he's seen (which even if it isn't, he shouldn't make me feel like that), he also prescribed me percocet and told me to drink a lot of water and bump up my fiber a lot, which I have done faithfully for a week then this weekend I felt like I really had to go to the bathroom and get it out so I took an adventure to CVS and purchased a mineral oil enema and went to my moms for the weekend. Well after holding that in for an hour, nothing came of it. Then I tried 3 more warm water enemas and still nothing. Needless to say, I'm horribly miserable and have missed about 4 days of work within the past 2 weeks. Thanks for the mineral oil pill suggestion, I will definitely try that because it doesn't seem like anything else is working :(Enemas, high fiber diet, a lot of water, phillips stool softener every day, and the list goes on and on. It's like theres a plug in there that just will not pass. I will get some of the mineral oil pills tomorrow and hopefully that will produce some success but if not then I go back to my surgeon Wednesday and hopefully he can do something useful for me besides pump me full of pain meds that are just stopping me up even further Image
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Re: Newly Diagnosed and Miserable

Postby marg6043 » 22 Jul 2013, 21:58

beautimusprime, hi there, sorry about your fissure pain, I know that you are very scare about the pain and sadly that is the first thing that will be with you for a while until the fissure is under control.
Like Scientist2516 said mineral oil will get you through the worst for now, that was the first thing my CRS recommended two spoonful a day one in the morning and one in the afternoon, it will make your stools slippery, later on when things are more manageable you can try natural oils, coconut worked for me too.
You need to have a BM as one of the worst thing for a fissure is constipation and hard stools, you need to have them soft and easy to pass, lubricate the area, Vaseline works wonders and so baby desitin, if the anal area is too painful to touch you can use a Q-tip and gently put the cream or Vaseline in it helps a lot. After your BM a sitz bath is recommended to ease the irritation.
I am surprised that the doctor would not give you treatment like a cream to speed the healing process.
Fissures are horribly painful and sometimes it take long to heal for some, but they get better and if your are still in excruciating pain from spams even after taking the recommended treatments you can always chose surgery.
It took a year for mine to heal naturally but it did.
I hope you get better soon and please read other peoples experiences so you can find something that will work for you like it did for me.
I wish you the best.Image 
Perhaps you need to request to see a CRS.
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Re: Newly Diagnosed and Miserable

Postby Please go-away! » 30 Jul 2013, 10:23

beautimusprime if your still on,how are you doing today?, better I hope.
I remember when my G.P refereed me to a Gastro, Doctor, discovered my fissure and other issues.
She said up your fibre, that's it, so hay I love Kale, and she recommended a lot of green's, so what did I do..Image
This Doctor was very vague at first, until I eventually asked more question's.
So what happened, well after three days, I was packed to the gill's with Kale and probably fish.
I went to the emergency,the acting physician, checked me out and said we are going to get aggressive now.
Wow, I was scared but , he new exactly what he was doing. I went home with a list of product's to get, and how to use(but please ask your Doctor first).
Citra Mag, Laculose and Colace, with full instruction's.
It worked, took two day's with minimum discomfort.
I haven't been back to the hospital since that June/15.
I didn't know and felt like a idiot, I know now we are not and we are learning, this forum has been a great learning tool for all of us and will be for you too.
Please take care, Hope your doing better..Image 
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Re: Newly Diagnosed and Miserable

Postby beautimusprime » 30 Jul 2013, 11:02

PGA - Thanks so much for all the kind words and yes, after my visit to the surgeon today I'm feeling much better. I eventually did go to the bathroom after a trip to the emergency room, magnesium citrate (2 bottles) and about 12 hours later, I finally evacuated everything down there but ended up in excruciating pain for the following few days, I have missed so much work since last Monday I'm scared I will lose my job because of this. But today after my appointment with my general surgeon he wrote me a script for percocet because I let him know, I cant even function, can't sleep or eat because the pain is just ALL the time. He said that he could do the surgery for me but he would suggest I find a colo rectal surgeon near DC (I live in MD) I really appreciated his honesty and that he would rather me see a surgeon then just wing it down here so I have an appt with a colo rectal surgeon in one week and I'm pretty positive I want to get the LIS surgery. I'm at the point now where I'm pretty much in the 'heal me or kill me' mentality. Idk how you amazing people deal with these for years at a time. This has been like a nightmare for me but I'm feeling more hopeful now. Thanks so much for everyones kind words and understanding, this group is a lifesaver & it's nice to see that other people understand where I'm coming from. Image Image
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Re: Newly Diagnosed and Miserable

Postby Sunshine » 30 Jul 2013, 11:52

Hi Jenifer, so sorry to hear of your pain, we have all been there and completely understand what you are going through. And your right, unless they have been through this...No one else can understand the pain.
Good to see you finally managed a BM, although painfull afterwards, at least you finally managed to go and better out then in, especially when theres a build up.
Thats great you have an appointment with a CRS, you will be in the right hands then.
Meanwhile, have you tried sitz baths? I spent weeks having three 20 minute Epsom Salt Sitz a day when I was at my worst, and they really do seem to take the edge off the pain. Also vaseline before a BM and then a Sitz straight after. I also go to bed with a water bottle under my bum.
As you know, diet and fluid play a HUGE roll in helping cure these nasty little Aliens. At least 3 litres of water a day, Soluble fibre diet, and nothing hard that doesnt digest well.
Dont suffer in pain either, take pain relief every 4 hours when needed, but check the ingrediants as codeine and some other meds can constipate..which is Hell for us!!!
I know its hard, but try not to worry too much about work and try to focus on you. I understand you have had to be off, I was off for two weeks straight at my worst as I couldn't sit, stand, walk, without pain. At the end of the day, I know we need our jobs, but we need our health more. And worry will also not help the fissure. Stress is really not good when trying to deal with these.
So just for now, try not to worry about having to be off, and put all your focus into feeling better and relaxing.
There are soo many of us here, so dont ever feel alone. Anytime you want to chat, just log in and find us. Although "Log" in, is probably not the best way to put that on a Bum Club Image 
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Re: Newly Diagnosed and Miserable

Postby beautimusprime » 30 Jul 2013, 12:08

Hahaha, thanks Sunshine. It totally is a debilitating condition that I never even knew about before I was diagnosed and I'm shocked there isn't more exposure.
Yes sitz baths have helped to take the edge off a bit, but during the "flares" that are really bad, nothing really helps and I go into a kind of panic mode where I have no idea what to do. I have done a complete diet overhaul as my diet before was terrible, and I'm not sure how this didn't happen sooner as my diet consisted of pretty much junk food/fast food and sodas, as of now I haven't had soda in like over a week and have been eating nothing but healthy food or fiber rich stuff. My job has been understanding, but it's getting more and more difficult to get off work without getting funny stares or rolled eyes, but I'm a big girl so that doesn't bother me too much. And you're right, I need my job, but I have to live with this body, not them. Hoping that I can set up the LIS surgery soon, I just could not see dealing with this on the long-term, I fear I would go absolutely nuts. Thanks for all the support, you guys are amazing Image Image Image
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Re: Newly Diagnosed and Miserable

Postby Sunshine » 30 Jul 2013, 12:36

Like you, I also had never heard of Anal Fissures before, and if I had heard the term, I would have though they were some sort of Fish with BIG bums!!
Alas, I have now read everything I can possibly Google on them and have first hand, or should I say first Bum, experiance of what they are all about!
The Inner Sphincter was my biggest problem. (Something else I didnt even know I owned) It was so tight and wouldnt release a thing without complete raw pain, which would then leave me in agony for anything up to the next ten hours!
Laying on my side after a sitz, four hourly pain relief, Rectogesic, and a lot of calm breathing got me through the really tough weeks.
Well done on the diet overhaul, and no Soda for over a week!!!!!! Look at you!!! :D 
Sounds like you are doing everything just perfectly, and im sure you will start to notice an improvement really soon. Maybe even before you get to see the CRS, its amazing what can happen in a week.
And those people who are rolling their eyes and giving you funny stares.... let them!! Who are they anyway? They are just people you work with, they arent important in your life, they arent looking out for you, they are just people that do a job at the same place you do your job. On the scale of things...they arent important in your life, and they dont have your best interest at heart. So let them do their eyeball worst and you hold your head high. They have no idea what a brave cookie you are for even going there when your dealing with a SHARK up ya bum!! Image  X
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Re: Newly Diagnosed and Miserable

Postby Deleted User 2854 » 30 Jul 2013, 13:33

Hi Jenifer !
Isn't this board a life saver...it helped me tremendously. Glad to hear you are feeling a little bit better. Looks like everyone has given you a ton of good information.
Living with AF can be troublesome to say the least, I am only 5 weeks into mine and like you have never ever heard of it before.
Good for you for taking steps to improve your diet, that is key ! And high-five on kicking the soda pop habit too !!
Don't fret about those people at work, everyone has something going on their lives and yours just happen to be an AF. Hang in there.
(((HUGS)))
SweetPea
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