You can squat over a hospital pan or bedpan full of water just as well as standing and squatting over a toilet. It is a bit messier in cleanup, but FAR safer... I know, I did it...

i also read somewhere if you can find that balance of simply standing over the toilet, almost as if you were doing 'chair' pose from yoga, then that could be helpful as well.
i think to reduce pain and to make evacuations a bit easier, squatting should be given a try.
it DOES NOT cure AF or hemmys. it can still backfire if you don't change the 'texture' of your poopy. if your bms are hard as marbles and sharp rocks, squatting will help to get them out, but it will still cause pain in passing; however you may minimize it and damage.

Thanks everyone!
I might give this a shot.

for me, it was a godsend and precisely it was when i started going macro.
so for me, combining macro + squatting + a lot of praying and giving my suffering as an offering for all the things i have done bad (i don't think i have paid back enough though....) = colonoscopy without the scheduled LIS and fistulotomy. phew......

:) Happyass
I will try squatting, it seems more natural. I read about it in Lecia's message, and in yours as well. Are you cured completely? For how long? You haven't had any surgery? For how long did you have an anal fissure?
I read about it on their website, it really makes sense...
http://www.naturesplatform.com/health_benefits.html#top

I was squatting for a while - it was great while it lasted! Than I got this stupid pain again and I just gave up and decided to sit - what the heck - how am I going to squat at eighty ??? LOL Anyway - as I said - it was wonderful pain-free couple of weeks when I felt like normal human being again - I forgot how normal pooping felt like until I tried a squat (sigh .... : (. Now I sit - maybe I should try "crouching tiger" position again ???!!! Who knows LOL...

I tried squatting today, but I really don't know if it helps me. BM are so painful and my fissure is really bad these days.
This squatting thing, I think it is really difficult holding the balance....crouching tiger :D ...squatting :D ...I would like to give up pooping altogether!!!

Yeah, just say no to pooping!

My husband is thinking of installing a shorter toilet for me. My feet can hardly reach the floor when I am sitting there. That might help. I noticed at my moms going was easier and we measured and it was an inch and a half shorter. Maybe a kid's size potty?

LOL....Maybe we should swap toliets !!! I think mine was made for dwarfs :)

Too funny!!! Maybe we should have a potty swap.

Speaking of potties. My littlest got so scared at the airport because they have those automatic flushing toilets and because she is small it doesn't wait for her to get up it just flushes right under her. She gets so panicked having to use one of those until I figured out I could just cover up the sensor with my hand and it wouldn't start an earthquake whirlpool under her tushie!