Hey Dee, I know you've had some other health concerns in the past so I think you've more than paid your dues when it comes to bad luck. I'm glad things went smoothly for you with LIS :)
I've actually got some acidophilus pills from a while ago but they upset my stomach. Pretty much everything upsets my stomach, go figure.

pretty much everything upsets my stomach too...dairy, spicy, greasy,
to prevent upset stomach i'd have to live on saltines and water (preferably in the form of ice chips since i'm anemic and that's my own personal "food" of choice--pica secondary to anemia...at least it's not dirt or hair...)
tonight i had a st. paul sandwich (a st. louis thing that somehow ended up in columbia at one restaurant)...and a little of my husband's garlic tofu...my mouth was ecstatic...the rest of my gi system, not so much...
oh well...it's better than eating a loaf of cheese and retearing the fissure...
acidophilus pills upset your stomach? i always took acidophilus to prevent stomach upset...it usually worked, too...
ummm...mashed cauliflower? super soft carrots? peas?
re the infection: my husband has a rare skin condition and he's VERY prone to staph infections (we spent new year's eve at the ER)...he has to be hypersensitive about EVERYTHING that touches his skin...i hope things clear up for you medically and emotionally--i know it's a drain...i just started therapy today (first time in my life)...really cathartic just to tell somebody that is paid to listen to me whine instead of somebody i love...
do take care!

i also like winston churchhill's quote: "when you're going through hell, keep going"
Dee,
I like that quote!!!!

i found that quote back when my husband and i had about $40000 in credit card debt...i printed out a copy of it and put it on the door of the refrigerator so we could see it every day...
it was either keep going or just linger in hell...it helped me through (and we did pay it off sooner than we planned)

I am so sorry NP to see you so disheartened :( ... I guess I am a "warrior" girl and just never give up searching either for myself , or my family or friends Yes, you are absolutely right - no CRS is perfect , as none of us is . The only difference is that by hearing different opinions , one can get new insights and hear about different experiences and approaches . I know that I learned a ton of new info about fissures and treatments by consulting different doctors and it helped me to get a "big picture" and also in decision of what to do and with what doctor I know that I would go for conservative treatments to SF CRS , for example, since she is the most versed in those and that I would have surgery with anther CRS since he is more "hands on" dude. I know that 2 CRSs DID NOT see my fissure and the third one found it !!!! So, for me seeking opinions definitely was of a great benefit and so was for many other members :roll: .
I am sorry to hear about yeast - that is due to soaking !!!!! Try to dry "front" with a cool fan as well as the "back" after the soaking. I am surprised they gave you systemic meds for that since they are VERY heavy - DO NOT DRINK ANY ALCOHOL with them Antifingal drugs are killers for a liver The yeast grows as soon as the environment is favorable - moisture and weakened immune system So, you have to work on both ! There are about a TON of good things that control yeast naturally - just Google it and do it NP - your body is very sensitive to meds and natural ways would bring a long-term benefit to you. I wish you wold go and visit some good naturopath or herbalist . Just to tell you that I personally know a woman who could not even be helped at Stanford Hospital and was completely cured by a Naturopathic practitioner !!!!!
I hate seeing you still blaming yourself and "bad luck" for everything that happened : ((( and c*** happens to all of us - we just need to climb out of the heap LOL and move away as soon as possible .
Wishing you all the best

Thanks Fissy. I suspected the yeast problem might be related to soaking. I've never had anything like this before and was trying to figure out where the hell it came from. Only thing that I've changed recently is all the sitz baths. I'm actually using topical antifungals and steroids as well as oral drugs. Had a single dose of Diflucan a few days ago and have another one ready if I need it. I'm trying not to take it since Diflucan, vicodin, and valium are all metabolized by the same liver enzymes though. The regimen is definitely hard on the liver but if the infection doesn't clear up in a week or two then I'll have to get the circumcision which I'm not looking forward to. With my luck I'm pretty sure that'll get infected with MRSA or something too.
I checked around and saw that people advise taking acidophilus for yeast infections. But then I saw some other literature that said people with recent bowel surgery shouldn't take it. Hard to know what to believe anymore with all the random "information" on the Internet.
I got several opinions just before LIS and it all just muddied the waters for me. It's a long story but my symptoms were some anorectal pain from the fissure site but also some other weird pain in my lower left back and groin. I saw your CRS, my primary doctor, my CRS, and also the SF CRS within a few weeks...
Your CRS told me that I had a big fissure and bad spasms that were causing all of my pain, and suggested LIS.
My primary care doctor said it sounded like more sciatica to him and suggested a lumbar MRI.
My CRS told me that I had an average sized fissure with bad spasms, and suggested LIS, but also said that it's hard to be sure whether all of my pain was due to the fissure, because some of the pain is in locations not normally associated with fissures.
And the SF CRS said she found neither a fissure nor any spasm, but that there was inflammation in the rectum. She suggested using hydrocortisone suppositories and to cut my Miralax dose in half because that might be causing the inflammation. I thought that was kind of weird. I also had a bad experience with one of the front desk ladies there: when I canceled my LIS appointment, I immediately called them to ask if they could try to pre-authorize another Botox shot with my insurance company before I headed up there again, since it's a somewhat long drive and I didn't want to make two trips. Before I got done explaining my request, the lady cuts me off and says "please hurry up, we are very busy with lots of calls today." I like the doctor, but that kind of annoyed me, and is the last contact I've had there.
Anyhow after all of that, I wasn't quite sure what to believe, but since Botox was going to be a pain to get authorized, and both your CRS and my CRS said there was a fissure with spasms, I figured LIS was my best bet. Just another bad call in a long series of them I guess.
Anyway so there goes another long story. I'm just tired of it, from the opinions to the treatments to the doctor's visits. Last week I had doctor's visits on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and also Thursday lol. Definitely not normal stuff. I have 115 medical claims since April 2009 and am in worse shape now than I was back then -- now that's ironic
I'm sure it'll all sort itself out one way or the other eventually. I'm just not convinced that what I do will influence the outcome very much, that's all, you know?

BTW Dee, thanks for the well wishes too :) You don't talk much about your other medical stuff but it seems that you've been through some rough times. But you handle it with such grace. From your husband's skin condition to your own anemia to digging your way out of $40k in credit card debt, I wish I could be as level headed as you. BTW I knew a guy who was anemic secondary to another illness, and he had pica too. I don't think he cared much for ice but I think (hopefully I'm remembering right) he'd sometimes get cravings for licking paint. I don't know if that sounds right for pica but I'm pretty sure it was paint related.
I had severe obsessive compulsive disorder in college due to stress and actually had a behavorial therapist for a while. Maybe not necessarily the same kind you're seeing but I enjoyed my visits with her as well. Fortunately for me, I was able to manage my condition once I got out of college (it became mild once academic stress went away). Hope everything goes well for you there, glad to hear you have positive impressions so far.
And yeah, my stomach definitely revolts at a lot of stuff too. The only things it's happy with are unhealthy and non fissure friendly items it seems. I can eat Big Macs and onion rings without any stomach upset but veggie soup makes me burp for hours and get bloated. Go figure eh.

NP - bud - good bacterias are just one of many, many things that can help with yeast and to be honest, if you do not have systemic Candida spread, using them via GI would NOT make any difference on your "member". Candida is naturally present on and in our body - the problem is only when it overgrows. The overgrowth is always the sign of immune imbalance and pH changes in the are where it starts growing. Since you had sitz-baths (as you should have !!!!!!) and have foreskin on the "tight" side too -the moisture (water) changed the pH under the foreskin and also made it extra moist and nice and warm and of course - yeast was like YAAAAAHOOOOOOOOO !!!!! LOL Not a big deal, NP - many , many women have to deal with it allllll the time . What your whole pelvic area needs is "aeration" and it is a pity we do not live in Scotland. Can you walk around the house in a robe and without undies ??? I think that just because you had a single case of Candida in your life is not a reason to have a circumcision - WTH ??? Than 90 % of women would have their vaginae removed LMAO !!!!!! Just keep it dry dude !!!!! Give it some air time LOL and some sunshine too ; ) !Unless it is IMPOSSIBLE for you to pull a foreskin all the way down - I do not see any reason for a "cut" !!! If the foreskin is causing you pain in general and especially during the sex - than you might consider snipping it away .
It is good that you got only one pill -use stuff locally and please read about all nice natural ways of how to treat it locally.
I understand being sick of doctors - LOL, Tell me about it ha ha - oh well, I just squeeze them until they help me , but we are all different and I understand :( , I hope you know I am nudging you just because I HATE to hear that you are in pain and I HATE the fact that things are complicating and doctors are just prescribing things without thinking the whole picture over They do and can push patients to the point of giving up - that is why I suggested alternative practitioner since they work on the healing of the "while person" - not just one single part that is a problem at the moment.They are very expensive, though, and that is why I can not use them, but I wish I could ...
Yes - all CRSs had their opinion - but what do you think was causing your anal discomfort ??? Can Sciatica cause a visible fissure ?????? NO ! Soooo... you might have sciatica also, but that definitely did not cause a fissure formation. Did Botox help - YES ! Sooooo.... your sphincter WAS spasming !!!!!!!!Right ? So - who was right of the all doctors you saw ????? Ones that told you that you have a fissure and have tight butt . Isn't that logical ??? You have to "operate" that way, dear NP - you have to use logic and connect the puzzle yourself . They will NOT do it. Most of them do not care to take time and a LOT of them do not know .
Please take care and again - please stop expecting bad things happening :( . Do not "invite" bad vibes *sigh Trust in the healing and the amazing ability of body to repair since it is programed to do so
Best of luck with it all

Neuro...I just read this thread . I sincerely hope things work out for you!!! And, I do have to say that I agree with the below comment from Fissy...

Fissulyna wrote:Please take care and again - please stop expecting bad things happening :( . Do not "invite" bad vibes *sigh Trust in the healing and the amazing ability of body to repair since it is programed to do so
Best of luck with it all

I am probably one of the most negative thinking people out there and always expecting the worse to happen until I got "Cujo" the fissure. At first I thought it was then end of the world and believe me there are times that I still sit and cry just out of frustration for being so "different". But recently I have discovered that thinking positive and alot of praying has helped me both mentally and physically. Maybe I am imagining it...maybe not, but I will continue to think positive and pray just beause for me it works in helping me feel better.
Group for everyone!!!

Fire,
Praying/meditating and thinking positively DOES help physical healing--research proves it!!