I have now had 2 weeks feeling back to normal so thought the timing was right to post a success story. When I had my first AF in February 2012, I used this site a lot; I owe much of my routine from reading various posts and when getting a second AF this year, wanted to note my success story for anyone visiting the site with a new AF what worked for me. I remember last year when it first happened and was scared to death, so hope my story can give others some hope it really does get better.

My second AF started on 8th August; this time I kept a diary. I strongly suggest this is done at the end of each day, noting levels of pain, how was the BM, what you ate, any treatment given. It really helped me track progress. I thought I could nip it in the butt (sorry?!) without going to the docs, so started various treatments such as coconut oil, but after 3 weeks, it got worse, the pain was far too much to cope with. I got the nitro prescribed again after a very painful examination and saw this taking effect very quickly. By 29th September, I felt like I was back to normal. Here are some of the routines, which really helped me:

BM’s
I always used Vaseline before a BM, this helps “coat” the wound and allows for easier exit. I found it also helped on the wipe up afterwards, additional lubrication. Relax during the BM. Very hard to do when you know it will feel like passing razor blades but don’t rush it. Avoid harsh wiping; I “dabbed” with TP to clear the worst first, then used wet wipes. If possible, have a sitz bath right after for 10 minutes; this calms the area down. In the early days, I suffered with the “plug effect” as I went once a day, every morning. It seemed I didn’t clear out fully each morning (as I didn’t want to push) so the next morning the first part of the BM was harder (having dried out), and did the damage even though the remaining BM was nice and soft. I soon realized I should go whenever a slight urge took me. I also learned to use breathing as a means of “pushing”. It’s hard to explain, as it’s not pushing, but breath out while “opening” your bowels and it helps the passing. You have to try it to feel it. It became important to me to ensure I cleared at every visit.

Food
Things that worked for me; lots of water. At work I ensured there was a glass at my desk all day. I take ground flaxseed with my breakfast. Mangoes and Kiwis were a daily part of my diet, as were several prunes in the evening. I even had prune juice in the morning and a glass before bed. I avoided raw veg and ate lots of wholemeal rice. All bran was my staple breakfast, but drink a lot when having this much fibre.

Supplements
I started using Dulcoease 3 times per day. It was okay. From recommendations on this site I moved to Movicol (Miralax in US). Wow, great stuff. Just one sachet in the evening after dinner, and in the morning, a lovely soft BM, no pushing, with the definite “urge”. I will be sticking with this, perhaps reduce to half a sachet soon until at least Christmas when I should be in the “safe zone”. I am back to eating normally, which is generally healthy, but Movicol is a sure safety net!

I also took Flaxseed Oil tablets; did they help? I don’t know for sure. I also took Gotu Kola, which I bought last year; touted to help heal wounds, even internal ones. I used up the bottle I bought last year, as it couldn’t hurt, but I couldn’t say if it really helped with any certainty.

Exercise
I’m a triathlete and this AF came in the middle of my racing season so I didn’t stop training. However, I found cycling okay, and it actually helped! It surprised me sitting in the saddle, but in reality, you sit on your “sit bone”so pressure is off the AF area. Swimming caused issues after around 30 mins. Might have been the chlorine, but I could be sore a while after a session. Running wasn’t too bad, but I wouldn’t run on a bad day. I recall running the 12 miles home from a swim session, and after 3 miles the burn was bad. I had no choice but to carry on and by the time I got home I suffered! Sat in a bath for a long while! Moral is, if you can do some exercise and it doesn’t cause too much issue, do it! It helps the blood flow. If in pain, stop!


So, I am healed, but under no illusion I am susceptible to these little buggers as I’ve had 2 now. I plan to be careful (Movicol) right up to Christmas but do have my plan should this ever happen again. I will not make the mistake of waiting to get the Nitro. Healing time could have been cut by a couple of weeks. You will get better. For anyone coming to this site who may be full of despair and thinking the worst, you may be like me and it will run it’s course in 8 weeks or so if you do the right things! I’ve not been as bad as many on this site, but the pain is real, very real. It’s hard to talk to others about; I only told my wife – well, I had to with all the prunes I was eating!

Get a routine that works for you, and stick to it. You will get there. I’m sending positive energy to each and every one of you suffering right now. At least all of us here understand each others feelings and pain.

Thank you AF Forum, you are a godsend.

Sounds all good deepfissure

Love your positive energy you sent, I feel it coursing through my veins right about now .
Maintaining and sustaining, sustaining and maintaining are the key words now right?

Lets turn those 8 weeks into 4 months, into 8 months, into 2 years and on and on.

As a triathlete it may be easy to think you may do some damage down there somewhere down the line. But with a little forethought there's no reason to really worry is there?

Thanks for your encouraging words and we hope you never again relapse or re-tear down there.

GL