by Deleted User 5 » 02 Jul 2009, 19:02
Hi Barbie and welcome to the board!
In most cases, a rectal exam with an active fissure is going to be painful, but it would differ from person to person and a lot would have to do with the doctor who is performing the exam.
Most people with an active fissure will not only be extremely sensitive at the site of the fissure, but their rectum will be very tight, which will make things worse, pain wise.
When the CRS did the exam on me it was pretty rough, this was pre-surgical. But he used the scope. I dreaded going back post surgical, but fortunately he didn't use that anuscope thingy that time, and since I healed so well after the surgery, I never went back for the third visit.
For your second question, if your fissure has *really* healed (after a few months or more) then a digital exam probably should not be a problem and you shouldn't be sensitive at the site during the exam. I would *guess* that if it is a freshly healed fissure it could still be somewhat sensitive.
But all of this is speculation on my part, hopefully others will reply and give you their experiences, because it can vary widely!