How I healed...and how I stay healed

sugar substitutes and probiotics

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How I healed...and how I stay healed

Postby ihatethisclub » 13 Apr 2016, 16:39

It's been months since I've posted. If you do a search of my posts, you'll see I tried everything over a year to heal a chronic fissure that had led to excruciating spasms. The fissure pain itself was overshadowed by hours and hours of agonizing sphincter spasms that left me writhing in pain, crying and sweating on the bathroom floor. It was the worst pain I've ever experienced.

Anyway, I did it all. I used every cream ever mentioned by anyone who ever had an anal fissure--nitroglycerin cream, yeast cream, wheat grass cream, Liquid Bandage, Lansinoh, olive oil, coconut oil, and so on. I took stool softeners, magnesium, Miralax, fiber. I went for a highly invasive visit to a pelvic floor physical therapist. I visited 3 different colorectal surgeons, and had doctor friends making inquiries for me out of state with other colorectal surgeons. I had Botox done twice. I had my fissure cauterized and injected with Kenalog (aka, the "Feingold procedure"). The only thing I didn't do was a sphincterotomy because I've had 5 babies and am considered very high risk for incontinence later in life.

The agony lasted a year and no one could give me answers other than, "Just keep your stools soft and it will heal."

One day, I was praying and these thoughts came to me: 1) Stop taking Miralax and Magnesium. They're making you poop too much and freaking out your hyper-sensitive sphincter. 2) Stop eating/drinking dairy products. 3) Stop consuming fake sugar (i.e. Diet Coke). 4) Start walking every morning (the repetitive movement always brought some relief when I was having a spasm, but I hadn't been doing it regularly)

So, I did. I had a very quick rebound effect from stopping my stool softening agents so suddenly, and my stools became very hard very quickly. I started taking Senna at night, and it was just the right amount of stool softening to keep me from going into spasm. Without dairy and Diet Coke, my anal area started to heal. The pain, burning, itching, and creepy-crawly feelings started to go away, and with that, the spasms began to taper off. I also began to tolerate using Calmosepetine cream (which would trigger spasms before because my nerve endings were constantly on high alert). That bit of menthol cream offered a bit of drying and cooling which was welcome.

I also started taking some heavy duty probiotics. I feel like my gut bacteria balance was the source of my fissure. I am one that didn't have a "triggering" event when my fissure "happened." It just started hurting one day and got progressively worse. I had been a Diet Coke fiend at the time and not eating healthfully when the fissure happened, but I wasn't particularly constipated.

I have tried adding back in dairy and diet coke. I went on vacation recently and threw caution to the wind. I came home and was *miserable* for a week while I eliminated those things again from my diet. Even the spasms had started to kick up. I doubled up on my probiotics, too, to try to get my gut back in line. I find that I don't need any kind of stool softener or fiber, as long as I keep the fake sugar and dairy away.

Now, I'm back to "normal" and doing great. I say "normal" in quotes because obviously, I wish I didn't have to be so careful with my diet. But fortunately, it's not worse. I can deal with no dairy and no Diet Coke and taking probiotics every night. My diet is much better now, and that's a good thing. I also have a treadmill now, so there's no excuse not to run or walk daily.

And that's where I've been and where I am now. And I guess my 2 cents is that if your situation is chronic, take a holistic view of what's going on with your body. I've been interested in gut health for a long time. In past years, we brewed water kefir, made sauerkraut and other fermented foods, grew our own sourdough starters, etc. I was on antibiotics as a kid A LOT and I was trying to make up for it. I'd gotten lazy in the past couple years and this is where it got me. While I'm not currently going out of my way to eat fermented foods, I'm finding that probiotics are a must. Good luck, friends!
Last edited by ihatethisclub on 24 Jul 2016, 10:59, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: How I healed...and how I stay healed

Postby pinpin » 10 May 2016, 03:10

Hello,

Thank you sharing your unique experience and indeed incredible story. Please try to stick with diet, how does it goes nowadays?
07.02.2013 - got open hemorrhoidectomy, leaded to slow healing wound. Link to story
11.12.2013 - LIS surgery
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Re: How I healed...and how I stay healed

Postby ihatethisclub » 23 Jul 2016, 22:53

HI pinpin! Thanks for the question. I can eat a bit of dairy these days. I continue to take probiotics and get enough fruits and vegetables in my diet (not so much out of concern for fiber intake, but to feed the good bugs in my gut!). I drank a Diet Coke a few weeks ago because I was making a road trip late at night and needed to stay away. About 24 hours later, I started to get a bit of pain and rawness in my anal area and I felt the start of spasms. I had the presence of mind to not clench and panic about the pain, thereby causing more tension, so the spasms didn't escalate. It took a full week for the symptoms to go away.

I invite anyone interested to google "diet soda and gut bacteria" or "sugar substitutes and gut bacteria" and see the list of issues that pop up. Since our anus is the end of the digestive tract, it stands to reason that the our colon and anus might be effected by changes in our gut bacteria. Fake sugar isn't the only culprit of course, but for me, it is the most egregious. Aspartame, saccharine, splenda, sucralose--all bad news. I have no problem with stevia, however. To get my fizz fix now, I drink Zevia.

Good luck all!
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Re: How I healed...and how I stay healed

Postby mamafizz » 01 Dec 2016, 17:55

Hi there, thanks for your story... I have 6 children Including twins.. grown now but right at menopause discovered lactose intolerant and had a trigger event in the summer. Thought it was hemmorhoids but had the same symptoms as you. Terrible spasms and constant pain. I have improved my diet and it is now about 5 months in and using nitro, it is helping the spasms and pain somewhat, but I still cannot sit down, have to lay on my side much of the time Alternates between painful and spasms, and or pressurized constant pulling feeling. UGH.. it is such a tight high up feeling that only lessens while I sleep and then in the am starts to intensify again. Surgeon wants to do botox in a couple weeks, hoping this will knock it out.. But I realize it just takes time, really want to approach holistically and wanted to know if eventually that tight high up feeling and spasms eventually subside all at once one day or just keeps gradually getting better with set backs. any further thoughts are extremely appreciated. Some days are worse than others, I am a really active person and this has put my life on hold. Soooo happy to hear your success story. This is something that I never heard of and feels like it's never ending...
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Re: How I healed...and how I stay healed

Postby ihatethisclub » 01 Dec 2016, 22:40

Hi mamafizz. It did resolve gradually, but it was very clear after a week or two that I was headed in the right direction. I had a steady decrease in pain/spasms after I cut dairy and fake sugar. I would suggest, if you're not already, adding probiotics to your diet. I like Biokult or VSL #3.

Also, because of muscle memory or nerve damage or something, I think it takes the body some time to get out of the pain cycle of pain>fear>clenching>more pain. So even after you're gut is in better shape, the nerves need and sphincter need to stop overreacting. After a couple months, I would realize that I hadn't thought of my anus much in a few days. THAT was a milestone! Now, I don't think about it at all. So, in short, It takes time, but you should feel that it's working fairly early. Good luck!
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Re: How I healed...and how I stay healed

Postby mamafizz » 02 Dec 2016, 13:35

thanks so much it really is a mind boggling thing.. can't wait to get myself back to normal... going for Botox on the 15th unless a major improvement in the next two weeks. Would you still recommend the botox. ? My pressure and tightness is constant and feels to be higher up, wondering if the botox gets to those inner sphincter/levator muscles. how long until you were able to sit comfortably again.? Really appreciate your input..and for taking the time to answer.
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Re: How I healed...and how I stay healed

Postby mamafizz » 26 Dec 2016, 13:29

Hi IHTC, I had the botox alittle over a week ago. Seems as though it gave me hemmorhoids on top of everything else.?! UGH.. still can't sit down since it feels like something is always up there and is still tight and pressured and a pulling type sensation, and the spasms seem to be tapering but feels like it just stays tight even though pain is slightly better, just wondered if you had trouble sitting and if it effected the muscles all around the inner sphincter and the levators or those near the tailbon, hoping all this will settle down soon, seems like the fissure might be healing or else the botox is numbing it a bit, but always feels like you need to go and makes it impossible to sit down, once healed does all this simmer down and the tightness and seriously does it ever feel normal again? Cannot remember a time when I do not feel this is there? I can't go anywhere ugh... It's been 6 months Say it goes away!!!! lol
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Re: How I healed...and how I stay healed

Postby ihatethisclub » 26 Dec 2016, 15:52

Hi mamfizz. Sorry for the delay. And I'm SO sorry for your discomfort. Botox didn't work for me. The first time, I had sedation and the doctor also injected kenalog. Two days out and I had the worst thrombosed hemorrhoid (purple and the size of a pea) and I still had spasms and tightness. The last time I had Botox, nothing happened either positive or negative, but those were done in office, without sedation or kenalog.

My muscles and nerves did settle down after I figured out what was bothering me, but it still took time for all the weird sensations to die down. I figured that my nerves and muscles had been stuck in that tension pattern so it would take time for them to unlearn the response. The worst of it was gone in a month (after I eliminated the dairy and sugar substitutes and did the other things I mentioned in my first post), and it continued to improve for the next several months.

I'm sorry that you're suffering. The tightness and spasms are the worst! Do your best to relax, try not to clench your muscles. Take care! I'm always happy to answer questions.
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Re: How I healed...and how I stay healed

Postby ihatethisclub » 26 Dec 2016, 15:57

Also, mamafizz, I found that walking is a must--30 minutes a day at least. The repetitive motion really helped to loosen things up in my pelvis. I would recommend lunges and squats too. Anything to get rid of the tension that keeps your muscles tight.
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Re: How I healed...and how I stay healed

Postby mamafizz » 26 Dec 2016, 16:12

Oh My... I was doing this initially but since the winter have not kept up.... thanks I have got to keep doing this.. did this help with the tightness that is felt higher up as well? Makes me feel like I cannot sit down.. like a charlie horse knot.. that hypertrophied muscles need to chill out it's been 6 months but my diet is really good now. no dairy , (lactose intolerant.s what started this--menopause, (oh and a vicious double chocolate milkshake) lol (never again)..I had 6 kids so you would think this muscle would be relaxed! but just the opposite)lol I lost 50 pounds I can get past this easier knowing that this tightness, and closed up feeling and pain will one day subside and I will actually feel like I did before this started. Hard to believe at this point this can happen just need to keep praying and keep the faith, you sound like living proof!!! Thanks so much for your input. but at least the pain spasms seem to be a bit milder now.. but this granite hard muscular stuff is so troubling, and maybe internal hemmrohoids that seems to be slowing things down.. I aspire to one day being able to sit down again... sheesh...
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