Scheduled LIS surgery for tomorrow

Are you having, or have you had a Lateral Internal Sphincterotomy (LIS)? Please share your experiences here, or ask any questions.

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Re: Scheduled LIS surgery for tomorrow

Postby Bambi » 01 Apr 2011, 10:49

A full dose of Miralax is 4 teaspoons. From all my messing around with it, I feel I can say that with some certainty! Some of us cannot handle as much of it. When I was post surgery, I upped mine to 3 1/2 or 4 teaspoons a day (I was like Alpine at only 1 tsp pre LIS), took the fiber supplement (Citrucel) the Dr. recommended and also took 3 generic Colace per day. It seemed to offset the narcotics just fine. When I went off those meds, I dropped the Colace (which is very inconsistent and doesn't help me much) and then dropped the Citrucel after a few days because it was causing some digestive upset (or at least I thought it was!). Ever since (6 weeks later) I have been dropping my Miralax down gradually. I tried stopping it this week and going with Benefiber alone, but am now taking 1/2 teapsoon Beneber and 1/2 teaspoon Miralax. I think the Miralax is great for those first few weeks and I wouldn't mess with it if you find an amount that works well for you. I just started having bowels that were too loose and frequent as a few on here do with Miralax. It is great for softening consistently!
Glad things are going ok so far. I agree with Alpine that if you are taking the Miralax, that first BM won't be too bad. The pain I had was more of a bruised feeling on the incision side- not a sharp feeling. A to be expected feeling but nothing terrible.
Good luck and be sure to really baby yourself!
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Re: Scheduled LIS surgery for tomorrow

Postby MattMecham » 01 Apr 2011, 12:37

You guys are just awesome in every way. Oh, and I hate to be too graphic, but I had that first bowel movement about three hours ago. It was NOT as bad as I had feared -- the fissure usually made me yelp and hold onto the side of the shower door, but this just felt a bit uncomfortable. It was a bit hard, had to strain more than I wanted to, but I got past it (no blood -- HOORAY), and then waited . . . usually, about twenty to thirty minutes after a bowel movement, molten agony would begin, and last from one to several hours. This time . . . I was pleasantly surprised. Just a little bit sore, but I had my cold pack on, and a good movie to watch, took a couple of Ibuprofen, and really didn't pay much attention to it.
The doctor didn't remove any tags (claimed there were none there, just that big old angry fissure from HELL), so the only outer-layer incision was the tiny cut he made to get to the sphincter muscle.
I am cautiously optimistic. I wish I could be MORE than that, but having dealt with this fissure for years, I'm still taking it just one day, and one bowel movement, at a time. Thanks for the suggestions, folks -- you're several in a million!
Semper Fi,

Matt
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Re: Scheduled LIS surgery for tomorrow

Postby sidra1968 » 02 Apr 2011, 14:10

Matt, your whole experience sounds identical to the one I had, it's uncanny!
I could/did have written the exact same posts 1 1/2 years ago..you'll be so glad when this is all behind you (pun intended).
Glad you are doing well and keep the updates coming!
Any of you ever shudder to think what would have become of unfortunate souls like us if this was like 200 years ago before modern medicine or surgery for this existed? I think I seriously probably would've offed myself..
Thank God for this board, because NO ONE could possibly comprehend what we've been through unless it happens to them personally..there's just no way.

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Re: Scheduled LIS surgery for tomorrow

Postby MattMecham » 02 Apr 2011, 16:39

Sidra, I was thinking that same thing -- those poor pioneers with anal fissures! And they ate lots of wheat and meat! How were they not constipated 24/7?!?!?! They must have been hardy individuals indeed, but since a lot of them died by the time they were our age, I guess they didn't have to put up with it as long, either. Image
Semper Fi,

Matt
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Re: Scheduled LIS surgery for tomorrow

Postby Savaici » 08 Apr 2011, 08:25

Hope it's going well for you Matt. Amazing that you described the pain as being like the fissure on a good day! The surgery does sound like the solution. I just have not got that far yet!! Best of luck with your recovery. Em
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Re: Scheduled LIS surgery for tomorrow

Postby MattMecham » 08 Apr 2011, 16:16

savaici wrote:Hope it's going well for you Matt. Amazing that you described the pain as being like the fissure on a good day! The surgery does sound like the solution. I just have not got that far yet!! Best of luck with your recovery. Em

Em, thank you so much. And let me tell you -- I have been out of surgery for the past nine days, and I am so grateful I had the surgery. I can't believe I went through this pain for almost three years before getting this extremely simple surgery done! I am no longer afraid of using the bathroom -- aside from just a very, very slight stitch on the right side (where the incision was made), there is no pain. None. I can sit, I can stand, I can walk, I can run . . . I went back to work yesterday, and was able to work all day without even the slightest pain (though my job is pretty sedentary, as a school teacher), and that was even after using the bathroom midway through the day.
There is a little discomfort here and there, which is very different from pain. The discomfort is sometimes itching, not just at the anal opening, but sometimes above and below it. I just make sure I don't aggravate it, and it goes away. Leakage is not a problem, other than a little tiny bit now and then, doesn't even cover a postage stamp. I've heard that that usually goes away as the butt heals up better.
Overall, I feel like I have gotten my life back. No more sitz baths, heating pads, liquid diets, sick days, worry, worry, and more worry, no more depression and anxiety, etc. I've been eating more solid foods without thinking, "wow, that's gonna hurt later." I will say, however, that I will always be watching my diet, and making sure I don't fall back into the eating habits that I believe led to the fissure.
Semper Fi,

Matt
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Re: Scheduled LIS surgery for tomorrow

Postby itserin » 09 Apr 2011, 15:37

As noted above, the surgery is a breeze compared to the dang fissure pain.
If you haven't had a BM by day 3 post op, I highly recommend a mineral oil enema you can buy from the drug store. It helped me immensely!
*Happy healing*
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Re: Scheduled LIS surgery for tomorrow

Postby MattMecham » 02 May 2011, 17:43

Four and a half weeks post op, and I feel the way I did before I ever got an anal fissure. LIS was, hands down, my best decision ever.
Semper Fi,

Matt
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Re: Scheduled LIS surgery for tomorrow

Postby Elphie » 02 May 2011, 18:05

I'm only four days out and I know it was the best decision I ever made, just the four days without burning has been worth it! Glad to hear you're back to normal. Very encouraging!
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Re: Scheduled LIS surgery for tomorrow

Postby rockpine » 03 May 2011, 20:16

MattMecham wrote:Sidra, I was thinking that same thing -- those poor pioneers with anal fissures! And they ate lots of wheat and meat! How were they not constipated 24/7?!?!?! They must have been hardy individuals indeed, but since a lot of them died by the time they were our age, I guess they didn't have to put up with it as long, either. Image

Sounds like your recovery is going well, Matt! I am looking forward to that stage in the recovery since mine was six days ago.
Was reading your quote and it looks like this problem (having a rectum that is too small and getting corresponding problems) is genetic in my family. My grandpa was getting constipated all the time and his daughter, my aunt, does too. Her remedy is to drink prune juice every day. In their days, the sound of rectal surgery would probably sound horrible.
If not for this forum and hearing real-life surgery stories, I probably would not have gone into surgery. Getting LIS so far has been a better road than I thought!
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