I suffered occasional pain/bleeding with BMs for years. Usually, it didn't last very long and would clear up within a few days by itself, maybe with some Vitamin A&D ointment application.

A few months ago, I had an outbreak that was similar to what I was used to, but after a day or two, it got worse, not better. I waited a few more days, before contacting my doctor via email. At that point, I was experiencing the intense pain associated with an anal fissure. The description of passing broken glass through my butt was frighteningly accurate. My doctor prescribed me some steroid suppositories, and things got better within a week or so.

Unfortunately, the pain returned within perhaps a month or so. Again. in the past, this had happened before. But the pain was less intense and the time between episodes was quite a bit longer. This time I made an appointment to see my doctor. By the time I was able to get in to see her, the fissure had subsided a little bit. But she confirmed that it was probably a fissure, prescribed some more suppositories, and had me make an appointment with GI specialist for a sigmoidoscopy.

It was another week or so before I could see the GI guy. That was a nightmare! A sigmoidoscopy doesn't really have anything to do with AF. My doctor just had me go to check for polyps. The GI doctor examined my sphincter before inserting the camera for the sigmoidoscopy. He was incredibly insensitive! I told him why I was having the procedure. He said that my butt looked a bit irritated, and proceeded to aggravate the AF during his exam despite my obvious discomfort. I didn't yell, but he asked where/how it hurt and I told him it was extremely unpleasant while he continued to stimulate the area. After the sigmoidoscopy didn't reveal anything, I asked him what this meant about my AF and he didn't address my concerns at all. WTF was the point of the procedure then!

That was about a week ago. The irritation/pain I have been experiencing has been chronic. While the pain associated with BM has lessened to a degree, the pain in my anal area is worse and does not go away. It is both burning and throbbing at times.

My sphincter feels like it's been rubbed raw with sandpaper. Extended sitting is awful, standing can be irritating too. Lying down is the best. I've tried various OTC ointments to little avail. Aspercreme has been somewhat effective in mitigating the pain, but the relief is mild (at best) and temporary.

It's nice to know that I'm not the only one suffering. I look forward to trying some of the various treatment plans others have. But the idea that this could be a permanent thing is depressing.

If you'd found us a little earlier, I would (and most of us here) have suggested you see a Colon and Rectal Surgeon (CRS) as really they are the only ones who really know how to deal with fissures. GPs and GIs=useless when it comes to AFs.

After that, a big to the Forum. Presumably none of the doctors have thought to prescribe Diltiazem, Nifedipine or Nitro, all the correct ointments/creams for fissures.

Believe me, having spent nearly a year lying about on a sofa like a Victorian lady, we know exactly where you're at with the pain.

All the usual advice we give: keep your BMs like toothpaste texture, drink enough water, don't overdo fibre, take something to help get things moving if necessary, like Miralax or Milk of Magnesia, both osmotic laxatives. Soak your rear end in a Sitz Bath.

Some of us have how we dealt with our fissure underneath the post. Most land up having surgery (see the sub-forums) and have moved on with their lives (many on here; the majority in fact). There is a great search on here too (not the one on the top right but the one above between FAQ and Portal, where you can search by topic.

Feel free to rant as we all have!

I've recently started using Target brand generic Miralax-- I forget what it's called off the top of my head-- and got a Nitroglycerine paste prescription from my GP.

The Miralax is helping. BMs are still not pleasant, but at least I'm not sweating and wishing for something to bit down on. I'm pretty sure that I'm suffering from the headaches that some people experience with the Nitro paste. Although I'm still suffering fairly chronic pain, it's not debilitating.

Most of the time, in the mornings, it's not so bad. In fact, at first I thought it was healing because the day would start with a slight itching. Unfortunately, pain would return. At least it was on a reduced level. It's only been a week with the Nitro paste. So, still crossing fingers and drinking the Miralax.


In the meantime, can we talk about the amazing breadth of pain that these damn things cause? It's like an international buffet of pain. There's the burning sandpaper feeling from the irritation around your butt, the deep muscle soreness from your butt muscles being tightly clenched all day, the hot poker feeling when you sit, shitting glass of course, there's an intrusive cramping feeling I sometimes get just inside the sphincter.

Sometimes I relish the itching because it makes me feel like at least it's possibly healing and there may be an end in sight. Crossing fingers & eating lots of Advil.

Hey prophet...the pain is simply ridiculous!!! I like to think of myself as a pretty resilient person...and can tell you in brought me to tears more than once!

Aside from Advil - and warm baths I found the following helpful to help manage the pain...

Heating pad at work and home
Alternate with cold compress if swollen
Use a stand up desk at work if you can
Swimming...and going on long walks at night (I live in Canada and as bizarre as this sounds found relief going on long walks at night last winter...the colder the better. My best week was when it hit -25celcius outside).

Lastly...for me it was very helpful to talk with my wife and family and simply let them know how I was doing.

Good luck with it.

Canadabum