I am trying to get a grasp on how long and how difficult it will be to recover from the AF. So, I am really curious people's stories about their AFs:
1. Are you fully recovered from your AF?
2. What finally allowed you to heal?
3. If you are still in pain, what have you tried so far to get rid of AF?
4. How long have you been dealing with or did deal with your AF?
5. What treatments have you tried that actually worked or seemed to work?
6. Do you have pain everyday? Spasms? Bleeding during BM?

1. Are you fully recovered from your AF? No :(
2. What finally allowed you to heal? n/a
3. If you are still in pain, what have you tried so far to get rid of AF? Witch hazel wipes, Colace, Miralax, fiber, water, apples, cooked veggies, soup diet, Hydrocortisone, Nifedipine ointment, 2 sitz baths a day
4. How long have you been dealing with or did deal with your AF? almost 2 months since having my daughter
5. What treatments have you tried that actually worked or seemed to work?
Nifedipine is the only thing that seems to even make a dent in the pain.
6. Do you have pain everyday? Spasms? Bleeding during BM? Horrible pain during and after a BM and some minor bleeding. I think the Nif. ointment has helped a lot with spasms, they only last a couple hours a day now. But the pain and fear relating to BM is just terrible :(

try aloe gel before and after bms it helps lube the exiting pain...also try plain wet wipes without witchhazel it tends to irrutate the fissure i have found. wipe gently also. drink lots of water, hot baths
best regards
bernard
i have had my fissure for a year off and on

1. Are you fully recovered from your AF? Yes.
2. What finally allowed you to heal? Time, diltiazem cream and baths, dietary changes. I also took 4 (200 mg) ibuprofen 2-3 times a day so I could reduce the pain so my bottom would relax.
3. If you are still in pain, what have you tried so far to get rid of AF? N/A
4. How long have you been dealing with or did deal with your AF? 4 months
5. What treatments have you tried that actually worked or seemed to work?
Diltiazem, baths, all bran buds cereal, flax seed oil and fish oil supplements to help coat the stool, stool softeners like Miralax and Milk of Magnesia, acidophilis supplements.
6. Do you have pain everyday? Spasms? Bleeding during BM? I had pain every day almost all day. I didn't get spasms except during my period. I bleed on an off. Bleeding didn't necessarily mean pain and pain wasn't always precluded by blood.

1. Are you fully recovered from your AF? Yes!
2. What finally allowed you to heal? LIS surgery
3. If you are still in pain, what have you tried so far to get rid of AF?
4. How long have you been dealing with or did deal with your AF? Seven months! :(
5. What treatments have you tried that actually worked or seemed to work? The nefedipine cream really made my pain less.
6. Do you have pain everyday? Spasms? Bleeding during BM? While I had my AF, I had the spasm pain everyday...

1. Are you fully recovered from your AF? Yes.
2. What finally allowed you to heal? Macrobiotics actually was my saving hope. I had already tried the fiber adjustment to the diet as my CRS had advised but even with some improvement, it was difficult to stay on. And when I was still having bleeding episodes with lots of pain, there was a discovery of a fistula as well. The thought of having a fistulotomy on top of an LIS and colonoscopy scared me to death and I devoted myself to going as macrobiotic as I could. The month before my scheduled date for the procedures and after one month on macrobiotics, the CRS cancelled the LIS and fistulotomy and we kept the colonoscopy.
3. If you are still in pain, what have you tried so far to get rid of AF? My pain now stems from a skin tag that my CRS told me not to get rid of. Actually since Christmas, I have been pain free.
4. How long have you been dealing with or did deal with your AF? Before starting macrobiotics, I had about three and half years of razor-blade and torn glass passing thru my bum, bleeding at least monthly, and lots of hot poker prodding feelings down there that would make sitting, sleeping, or even going out torturous. I dreaded going to the toilet any time I had a BM. It was a very intense psychological vs painful agony to go thru day in, day out. Looking back, I don't know how I even dealt with it for such a long time. I was just scared to go see a CRS. I still am. Well I am scared of doctors period!
5. What treatments have you tried that actually worked or seemed to work? I never got around to getting prescriptive creams. So I tried aloe vera juice and flax seed oil capsules and that seemed to have helped. I know Vicks and Tinactin sometimes bring relief to an irritated skin tag. Squatting helped immensely when I started macrobiotics.
6. Do you have pain everyday? Spasms? Bleeding during BM? I have had a bleeding BM due to the skin tag rupturing. But thank goodness, no pain daily or spasms. This year I have not had to resort to squatting or even helping things to come out with my hands. I have been able to have normal BM experiences. What me just curse my luck with this reply!

Gareth - I will just say "un curse " phrase form my country - MASHALAAA , knock knock knock , so don't worry now :D ! I just forget to use it for myself , shucks , maybe that is why all of this is happening to me !!!

1. Are you fully recovered from your AF?
not yet, but hopefully i'm getting closer every week
2. What finally allowed you to heal?
although i'm not completely healed yet, MOM has been the ONE thing that has enabled me to have pain free days
3. If you are still in pain, what have you tried so far to get rid of AF?
high-fiber diet, stool softeners, nitro cream, 2 LIS surgeries, hot baths, neosporin, aloe vera, lots of vitamin supplements, ibuprofen, milk of magnesia - most of this i've tried all at the same time.
4. How long have you been dealing with or did deal with your AF?
i've been dealing with this since July 2006
5. What treatments have you tried that actually worked or seemed to work? the LIS in September might have helped a little (the first one in May did not help at all), but what's really made me feel better is MOM and lots of hot baths
6. Do you have pain everyday? Spasms? Bleeding during BM?
since i've been using MOM i do not have pain everyday. things are still sore down there, but it's not as noticeable as it used to. i NEVER had spasms, just a sharp "passing glass" feeling during BM, lots of bleeding in the very beginning, and 8-10 hours of consistent pain following BM everyday for over a year.