Hello all,
So far it is Thursday and I am feeling pretty good, very little pain and no spasms, but does that mean it won't last for long? I picked up the nefedipine tuesday and have been using it. I can get part of my finger up there but not much becaue I feel some pain.
So far I have been sticking to my diet and drinking a lot of water. What causes a set back a hard stool? I am doing my best to eat right an add extra fiber. Can anyone share any experience with me as far as a set back.
I anticipate with the good comes the bad. Is it possible to prevent the bad? or is it inevitable. Of course today at lunch I came home for a bath and there was a water main brake, so our water was all rusty. I will just have to take a longer on tonight. Just my luck lol.
Thanks for you thoughts,
BBG
Patty

Hi Patty,
I am on the same medicine. I took me over 2 weeks before I felt better. At that point my spasms (which felt like razor blades) were almost gone. Please give this medicine time, it works but very slowly...well atleast for me.
Once I started my AF diet, two colace (stool softener) one in a.m. and one before dinner, also two fiber con at noon each day....I have not had hard stool ever! Oh and about four 16oz. water bottles a day.
I had coleslaw one night and boy did I pay for it the next day. Thats when I didn't know better.
Sorry to hear about the rusty water, that happened to me last week. UGH
Enjoy the relief tonight.
Good luck, Marie

Marie,
Hey thanks for the response. I haven't had stool softners in 3 days but I drink prune juice 2x a day and I drink about 5 bottles of water a day 9fl oz. plus other liquids. My AF diet contains 2/3 serving of fruit and 2/3 serving of veggies each day. I also eat 1 metamucil wafer each day also.
My problem is getting the cream up there I can only get the tip of my finger to get it there then if I try to go any farther I have discomfort so I don't push it. A little frustrating but I will keep trying.
I can't wait to go back to the CRS I hope he says it is at least healing. I hear you on the cole slaw. I am not going try anything out of my AF diet for a long time. I figured I had my fun eating pizza and junk stressing out and not taking care of myself. So now I am paying for it and I don't ever wnat to go thru this again.
Thanks again Marie
BBG
Patty

Hi Patty,

I daresay everyone has had at least one setback. I had one yesterday (see "blood but not from fissure" thread) and they are always soooo disappointing.

What causes them? There are a ton of possible culprits:
--For me stress is a major one. It tends to make me constipated.
--Aunt flo is another. I always get crampy when she is in town and the cramps extend to the sphincter. Narrowing the passage and making spasms more likely.
--bread or bready products is another nono for me at least. even whole grain fibery breads tend to chafe my bum.
--too much caffeine dehydrates and thus causes stool to dry out in the colon.
--alcohol is supposed to do the same thing, but I find that it actually helps to keep my stools soft as long as I drink wine and not beer.
--too much protein also does it for me. anything bigger than a deck of cards means painfull tomorrows. the exception to this, for me, is sashimi. perhaps the rawness and to oils help calm the stomach and lube to backdoor.
--not enought liquid with meals. I find that I need my food to be thoroughly moistened with water/juice/wine for it to digest and not turn hard.

It's quite a strict diet and boring. Hopefully, your bum will be a little more leinient with you.

good luck!

Hey, Patty. Glad to hear you're feeling pretty good. Set backs for me ALWAYS revolve around a hard BM. It seems when I have soft BMs, I heal pretty quickly...but then eventually (after maybe 3 good days) I get a hard BM and it feels like I'm back to square one (blood on stool, and intermittent pain throughout the day). I'm eating better than I ever have, and even when I eat exactly the same thing, the stool does not always come out the same way.
I'm currently not taking stool softeners...Kim has suggested taking them and I see Marie has had good luck and I think tons of others have too... I'm going to bring this up to my new CRS (along wtih the 40 other questions I have for him) on Monday. I'm also hoping to get the nefedipine or diltiazem like you.
Even if you have a set back, don't let it get you down. I think a positive attitude is important (easier said than done, I know...). And I think the healing process can often be a "two steps forward one step back" kinda thing.
I found some of gareth's advice useful for things to do before a BM...check my thread "Poopy I command you stay soft." But if you're on stool softeners, it might not be necessary.
I've only known about my fissure for 5 weeks (although I think I've had it for 2 years...lots of misdiagnosis). Anyway, I'm relatively new to this.
Hope you continue to improve!!!
steve

Hey Steve,

Thanks I am glad you are going to the CRS Monday. I was misdiagnosed too. So I understand. My CRS told me not to take stool softners unless I was constipated. So I figured I would drink the prune juice it can't hurt.

Gareths advice is helpful so is Lecias and Kims. Everyone on this forum is wonderful and you guys feel like family to me. I only hope that I can return the favor with advice to someone someday.

Thanks again Steve for the positive response I greatly appreciate it. Soon we will all be free of these AF's!

BBG
Patty

Patty,
Gareth once said that trying to understand a fissure is like trying to solve a Rubik's cube! It is often so difficult to understand why suddenly your having hard stools and an achy butt again...I could never understand that myself. Have you tried MOM? maybe just a very small dose at bedtime might serve to soften things up...

Kim,

Hey hows it going? I haven't tried that yet, maybe I should have it here just in case. Is MOM safe for long term use? You are right will we ever be able to understand these AF's?? Who knows.

BBG
Patty

Mom is useful for a lot of fissure folks, it was a bit too strong for me.
I'm doing Ok, sorry to hear about your water!
I think it is pretty safe for long-term use, but you can ask your doctor on your next visit or call. It will definitely soften stools, in most cases! I have read accounts of people who have suffered for years, and could not have the surgery, who used it almost every day.

Hello,
Well this morning I had a nice soft formed BM and I had a little blood little pain, within the hour I started the spasms. oh boy. So I sat in the bath tub 2x and took advil. It seems to be settling a little should I use the nefedipine or wait till it completely clams down? I don't want to aggravate the AF. What do you guys think?
BBG
Patty