I had a hemorrhoidectomy about 8 or 9 months ago. I have been in pain since from the surgery and skin tags.
I moved a few months after my surgery and have seen another surgeon and he said it was healing fine.

A couple of weeks ago my pain got worse again [usually its around a 2 or a 3, but it went back up to around a 7] so i went to see a doctor and to my surprise I was told I have an anal fissure. She didn't want to look inside because she said it would be very painful, so I am on a mix of medicine to help it.

Now the confusing part is, is that i have never bled, I havent noticed ANY bleeding, I just have a sharp pain when I had a sharp pain during bowel movements and then an annoyance of throbbing in my muscles that would not go away no matter how many warm baths or ice or creams or anything i tried to do.

After using the medicine [it is upstairs and anyone who understands i really do not want to get up right now to look at the name and i completely forgot haha] The pain during bowel movements is gone [wooo!] but the pain afterwards is MUCH MUCH WORSE. I feel like i still have to go to the bathroom and my muscles in that area are in PAIN. It is hard to walk, it is hard to sit it is hard to do anything at all for maybe 3 or 4 hours. No bleeding still. The muscle pain is so bad it goes down even to my upper left thigh and its pretty intense. I have never had problems with this and I was working out regularly before learning about this anal fissure and having this pain again after bowel movements. My doctor said to use the medicine for another 10 days and if it is not improving to call her so we can set up an appointment with a surgeon again so he can go inside and take a look at what is happening.

Has anyone had this type of pain and a fissure with no bleeding what so ever? I'm so tired of all of this!

Thanks in advance!

Hi Itsrachel,

My fissure(s) haven't bled. My first one had healed, and now I have a second. Yuck, this one is visible, kind of getting worse by the day. It has that dry-yet-bloody look to it. TMI?

I had a feeling I was developing a fissure over the past month, and it definitely "arrived" over the past few weeks. I foolishly did a number on it by hefting some heavy boxes. Since then I've been laying very low and, I thought, getting better. Of course I'd dug out my ointment, nifedipine which helps.

Today I went grocery shopping, which involved, er, shopping, and walking to the grocery store, about five minutes in either direction. I used a shopping cart to tote things home. Tonight things look and feel kind of awful down there. But hey! No bleeding.

Apparently it isn't that uncommon for some people not to bleed. Anyone here know why that is? I'd love to know. Gotta say, with they pain I'm going through (up and down) surely means the blood is the only thing I'm missing out on.

For half the time I had my first fissure I didn't know it was a fissure. I have skin tags/hemorrhoids from sclerotherapy (read: worst mistake ever) one of which got thrombosed and thought it was just the tags hurting. So I wasn't handling that first one correctly at all.

Welcome to the group they people here are real nice!

I Cant walk or shop period,too much "burning" . I have to "sit" in the "grocery isle" on the floor and take a break from the "constant burning and anal itch!!

I'm happy to see that there are others who arent bleeding with this [not HAPPY that you're bleeding but you know what I mean lol] I do not have burning or itching right now actually, I can't walk due to I think muscle spasms maybe? I am noticing it to be in my lower back area as well as my butt and upper left thigh. Do you both have muscle spasms lasting for 3 or 4 hours also?

You, Rachel, are a font of good questions. Regarding muscle spasms, again, I too would love more info.

Personally, and maybe this is a titch embarrassing to admit out loud, I'm not even sure what AF related muscle spasms are. Surely I must get them? The only time I feel anything akin to a spasm is usually when I'm in bed at night, body totally relaxing, and my skintags/rectal area will sort of "poof", collapse into itself, with the tags 'disappearing' into my bum. If I feel it, the area is smooth like yee-olden days of a year ago before the skin tags.

So would THAT be considered a muscle spasm? I'm thinking for the majority of people here, a resounding no. I don't believe I feel a spasm before I'm hit with the on-off pain of when my AF gets inflamed, or that sets off "trouble" is around the corner.

As far as muscle spasms lasting 3 - 4 hours. I personally can have discomfort lasting that long, but I still can't grasp how a "muscle spasm" would feel. I suppose everyone is somewhat different, but I'm starting to suspect these not uncommon spasms are a real wallop? [Knocking on wood I don't start getting'em anytime soon.]

As for pain in the lower back, I know this is somewhat different, but Rachel, have you ever tried Evening Primrose Oil? Sold in capsules it should be mandatory for any woman ever bothered with -- men, avert your eyes -- menstrual pain symptoms. Cramps, lower back pain, krazy PMS symptoms be gone. I discovered this stuff in my mid 30's, best invention ever for gals (next to lycra for jeans, of course.)

Hi Rachel,
So, I have never bled with my fissure, and have never been able to see it, either - just the tag. When it was really bad, BMs hurt quite badly, but the worst thing was the spasms which would start maybe 1/2 hr later. It felt like a stick being poked up my backside, especially when I walked or stood. Also, sometimes like a firework (a sparkler, maybe) put up my butt and sparks of pain, really agonizing.
The memory of what it felt like is fading, thank goodness, but although the pain is caused by spasms, I never felt as though the muscles was gripping, contracting or whatever you might think a spasm would feel like. Just constant burning or poking or stabbing pain for hours.
Oh yes, and the "referred pain" where sometimes it went down my thigh, and sometimes felt it in my urethra, like a urinary tract infection.
Once it was gone, bliss...........until the next BM.
Ibuprofen sort of damped the pain down a bit to slightly more manageable levels.
Sitting on a heat pad was really a life saver. I still do it, even though I'm very nearly 100% healed.
So the good news is, it won't be for ever. It might feel like forever, but it could only be a few weeks. I know "only a few weeks" probably seems monstrous to you right now, but it's best to know right away that you might have to be very very patient. But it WILL end, and you WILL get better, if you find the right regimen.
The right fissure meds, the right diet and laxatives for soft stools, the right painkillers that work for you, heat, patience. You'll have to experiment, but find what works for you and things will start to improve.
Read what people have written here, especially the success stories. You'll get tips and also you'll get hope.
Good luck!

Hi Rachel,
I never bled either but still got the horrendous lingering razor-pains, the stabbing, the pressure sensations - the referred pain, to a lesser extent. Everyone's symptoms are different but the healing processes are pretty similar for all of us.
I always considered myself lucky that I did not have the bleeding to contend with too.......Scientist is spot on though - Stick with what works for you & allow yourself time to progress slowly because you will get better. It just doesn't happen as quickly as we would all want unfortunately! Take care & all the best :)

Just had a horrible horrible spasm today. I had had a hot bath and had dressed, then it hit. Felt like a whirly red not poker had been pushed up my bum and rotated up my back, every minute move made me feel sick. All my plans for today on hold. Took two tramadol which got pain down from a ten to a 7, then hot water bottle, raised legs onto headboard to get the blood flowing towards my middle, another poster recommended this. I am still in bed but man it's sore. My husbands a gp and he says its the smooth muscle being stupid!

I never noticed any blood with fissure. I am in pain for more than 7 months and I noticed 3 kinds of pain:
Type 1: general burning pain in the whole anal canal and perianal area associated with redness and somehow swollen tissue- like sore throat. It gets very bad with ointments I do not tolerate (nitro, various oils (except virgin coconut), hydrocortisone supps. etc...)
Type 2: razor blade pain on the site of the fissure
Type 3: dull, throbing pain, like being kicked or grabbed around the anal canal, which can get very very strong and I think it is a spasm, lasting from some minutes to few hours, but I do not get them after BM
I mostly experience type 1 and 2 together, but I get spasms too, more often recently.
Pain from the fissure site and from the spasm sometimes radiate down my tights and I get intense lowe back pain when I am walking or bending too much.

I too am in much troubles today. Feel for you all who are in pain, keep telling myself and to you that this is still considered a benign condition and it must pass.

My fissure developed after a hemorrhoidectomy and at first there was no bleeding. Then bleeding developed, and was quite profuse, then it got better. However, your spasms sound very similar to what mine were, and sometimes still are. Very hard to describe, except for maybe "pelvic pain", and this is just screaming pain. Some sufferers do not get this, but have other kinds of pain. BM's were excruciating, they are now much better. But keep using your meds and keep the BMs very soft - you know the drill, lots of water, stool softeners, and quality food that does not dehydrate, no caffeine, alcohol, chocolate. Keep seeing your specialist. Some heal quickly, some heal slowly. Reading this forum, I am sure that you see we all present differently, so what is good for one, may not work for another. However, this forum is what actually saved me from going crazy, and when I sorted out the advice and tailored it to what I needed, I started to get much better. On the mend now, and starting to exercise again (it's such a drag that one cannot work out during these episodes, I really sympathize). I have specialist tomorrow, hoping for good news! Hang in there, it will get better, sounds like you are talking to the right people.