Hello everyone!

This is my first post at the forum, but I've been hanging around for the past few days trying to soak up all the information I can as I'm scheduled for a fissurectomy&skin tag removal surgery on Monday morning! After reading about all of your experiences, I must say I'm pretty nervous, but I'm also excited to get this (hopefully) removed and gone once and for all.

A little bit about me and my story...
I'm a 24 y/o woman/girl and I've been struggling with reoccurring fissures for many years. I remember being very constipated as a child, but somehow thinking it was "normal" having to push a lot and having pains while having a bm.
I finally got the courage to ask my GP a couple of years ago, but as I came in for my appt. she had a 4th year medical student subbing for her that day that seemed almost more uncomfortable than I was about my problem, haha. She couldn't see or feel any fissures (duuh, I knew they were there), but gave me rectogesic and scheriproct (sp). It helped a little, but the terrible head aches I'm sure you're all familiar with caught up with me and I had to stop it. Anyhow, getting over that whole awkward situation I finally contacted my new GP last fall and he got me referred to a CRS and now I'm having my surgery on Monday! Yay!

I've also been trying most diets. Low-carb high-fat helped, but was unsustainable in the long run. Alcohol makes me dehydrated and constipated, but it is hard to stay totally absent from it. I do love my occasional glass of wine.. I've also been quite the fiber nut, but I've recently found out about the soluble&insouble difference..Needless to say I've been consuming way too much insoluble fiber the past years.. Any tips on good sources of soluble fiber would be appreciated! I also drink so much water, probably close to a gallon a day, haha.

I'm on lactulose now in preparation for the surgery. Has anyone noticed that it also makes you dehydrated?

Anyways, this got really long and I need to head out, but I hope to keep this post as a little diary for my surgery and post-op, mostly focusing on my new soluble fiber heavy diet, haha!

Hey, there I had my LIS 2 weeks ago and I am doing very well. I feel like I got my life back. Don't worry to much and stay positive. Don't forget to post when you have the surgery. Mean while this is a really good site where you can find information about soluble and insoluble fiber. Also here in this site thee is a forum about diet with a lot of valuable information. Good luck and take care.

http://www.jacksongi.com/fiber-content- ... /?letter=A

Hi Teardown, I take a fiber pill every night before I go to bed...psyllium husk. You can find it generic in any drugstore or big chain store. It's also the key ingredient in Metamucil but I prefer taking a capsule to a drink. lol . I also take two stool softeners with it; Collace but I am getting the generic form next time since it's the same and cheaper. I do eat pretty healthy but I cheat now and then, and I do enjoy my wine..so these supplements are a life saver for me. I will probably take them the rest of my life...I had LIS, two tags removed, and fissurectomy. Don't be scared...LIS was a piece of cake! The skin tag removals were bothersome...take a look at my posting for Post LIS Surgery Day 14..I posted some tips you may want to know. Any questions, feel free to ask! When and if you take the painkillers, percocet or oxycodedone, double up on the fiber and stool softener. They constipate! So beware and get the prune juice and prunes...I only took three painkillers from an entire bottle. I used ibuprofen the first week and a half, only two per day and then finally did not need them. The surgery is WAY less painful and eventful than the actual pain of the fissures, piece of cake...please post your results. Good luck!

Also, drink lots of water!!!!

Hi guys,

Thanks for the replies!
I had my surgery yesterday and so far, I feel fine! I've been taking paracet & ibux, which I've been told do not have constipative properties. However, I haven't had a BM yet and I'm getting a bit panicky. Feels like I need to go all the time, but no results yet.
I've been drinking more than a gallon of water, taken miralax & lactulose..When is it normal to have to go? I had enemas before the surgery on Sunday night and monday morning. So far I've eaten:
Monday: Nothing before the surgery. Got out of surgery around noon.
Had a piece of bread with some lettuce, cucumber and a thin slice of ham as my "post op" meal.
Then later when I got home:
3/4 avocado
Half a pomegranate
3/8 cup oats and 1 tbsp chia seed (made into oatmeal)
2 small "tortillas" (made from potato & a tiny bit of spelt flour) filled with red peppers, cucumber and lettuce
3 packs of movicol (miralax) and 30mL lactulose
Tuesday:
Woke up around 7:30 this morning, felt fine and not much pain.
I had oatmeal, 1 cup,with chia seeds for breakfast
Half a pomegranate
1/2 avocado & raspberries in a smoothie
Another 2 small potato tortillas filled with some greens & ham
Some chicken, mashed sweet potatoes and greens
9 prunes
Coffee x2
4 packs of movicol and 30mL lactulose

And still no bm, even though I feel like I've been drinking and eating "good foods" all day..Hmmm...

DAY 3 post surgery (Wed):
Had the first bm post op this morning! My oh my..Without going too much into detail, let's just say it went way better than expected. The laxatives really kicked in I guess, so except for some initial hard stools it all went swoosh! Yayyyy. Very relieved now! A sitz bath after really soothed the area as it felt a little sore after. Not much bleeding at all though, so I'm feeling pretty optimistic!! Keeping up the water & stool softener intake today. Just had my oatmeal with chia & prunes, as well as my morning coffee. Also planning my first little walk outside today. A little nervous in case I'll get an urgency to go to the bathroom or something like that, but right now it all feels pretty normal so I should be fine I think.

Besides for the sitz baths, have any of you used any moisturizers or the like post-op to keep the area soft?

A little update from me 1 week post surgery!

I am off painkillers and feeling fine. I'm still on miralax & lactulose and trying to stick to a "soft" diet, with my personal staples of oatmeal, chia seeds, vegetable purees, avocados, some meat/protein powder, and fruit. BMs have been less and less painful, even though I do feel some burning pain from time to time. Sitz baths have helped a great deal and immediately relieved me of any bm-associated pains. I have a tiny bit of bleeding/discharge, but really nothing a panty liner can't handle, haha. I felt some itching this morning, but I remember reading somewhere that it might indicate that the area is healing?

I finally went to the gym today for the first time since the surgery! As the gym rat I am, this past week has been extremely boring! I just did some easy walking with a steep incline and the stairmaster, but it was just so great to be back in the gym again!. Both exercises felt fine, but I definitely am not in any condition to run or do the elliptical, haha. I also did some (standing) upper body work. FYI, my CRS said it was fine for me to get back to the gym a couple of days post-op or as soon as the pain and bleeding went away. I did feel like a week off was necessary for me though, and I am obviously not going to do any hard work at the gym any time soon. Sad, but true! Need to prioritize healing at this time..But great to be back just for the atmosphere!