Starting point to heal is knowing that these are painful spasms/tightness after large bowel movements or excessive toilet visits per day due to heavy meals combined with unresolved stress, lack of rest and lack of exercises putting more pressure on partly healed fissure and the growing scar tissue. From there onward,it gave me some insight into what I should do to recover naturally after some trial and error. For those who have been suffering, whether you have already done LIS or not, I must say these have helped me as I never felt this better for last 2 years even though I had some discomfort and tightness(not painful) once in a while during this time. I personally believe I can totally overcome even those one day naturally if I put full effort. If this is gonna affect my life once again. I'll have to use my last trump - LIS at some point. But I believe our bodies have an amazing natural healing mechanism if we are committed, we can get it to work.
When we’re in pain, our body's are trying to tell us that there's something wrong with the way we've been living and need to make some adjustments. That is the bottom line and these signals can protect us from so many other illnesses if we take necessary steps for the long run.
I personally think, following is what did the trick for my recovery. But I lacked 100% commitment. However, I believe if I commit 100% with these,this problem can totally disappear.
If we are in too much pain with spasms etc, it's a good idea to start with all the following softly.
1) Having enough rest is the number one solution. It’s hard to put so much stress on our bodies until the pain is at a manageable level (sitting for too long or standing for too long won’t help with this condition especially after bowel movement)
a) when you lie down, I think blood circulates more evenly in the body. That may be helpful
b) Walk slowly or move constantly in-door when you are not lying down to reduce the spasm, the sphincter is weak as blood doesn't flow well in the area. Slow movements can be something as when you move too fast it can hurt. When you are back to normal, we need daily brisk walks, movement, stretching exercises, yoga or cardio exercises can help relax the sphincter so the fissure gets more room to heal.
c) It's vital to go to bed before 10PM if you are in extreme pain. Turn off TVs, computers, mobiles, lights etc to get some good sleep.
d) Get at least 8 hrs of deep sleep as the muscles can relax and recover somewhat and the fissure can heal when you are in deep sleep. If you look at the purpose of LIS procedure or botox, it helps to heal the fissure by trying to relax the muscle by cutting it a bit or injecting muscle relaxants. So if we know the way to relax the muscle naturally, fixing it naturally won't be too hard.
e)When I was in pain I avoided lifting any weights as the muscles can contract and cause more tightness. Now I able to lift light weights. If you want to lift weights at some point, it's important to wait until the spasm is gone which can take weeks or months.
2) Diet (I didn't find fasting helpful, it actually made it worse and eating too much will certainly make it worse) Avoid these 2 extremes. I only ate 50% of my normal diet when I was in extreme pain. This puts less pressure to bowels and increases your recovery time.
a)When it comes to water, the Japanese way worked well for me, where I‘ ve heard that they drink water first thing in the morning and after dinner. This cleans the bowel/colon etc. Then during the day we drink water after snacks whenever you need it(avoid meals/only nibbles during the day). Timing is important and I drink 3 glasses in the morning before morning tea/coffee/meals and in the night 3-4 glasses after my fruit fiber intake which is after dinner only. This can make a huge difference to the bowel movement next morning. Fiber intake during the day should only come from meals (especially fruits and vegs). I only have my high fibre woodapple fruit juice with this extremely natural ayurvedic laxative after dinner before 7.30PM. I only take laxatives when I feel that the bowel needs emptying to reduce pressure or to soften the stool to minimise pain or else I only have a fruit fibre which I never want to miss a single day.
b) Dinner before 6.30PM can make a huge difference to the recovery. After dinner, I was taking 2 things. (1.Ayurvedic laxative that I received it from a friend from Sri Lanka to soften the tools & heals the wound 2. A fruit that is extremely high in fibre called Woodapple to bulk the stools ) I've heard that Woodapple is a fruit that elephants love to eat in the tropics. Both of these help me to minimize bleeding and fissure and both are extremely safe and I never had any side effects from these.I have been having the woodapple smoothie for more than 2 years daily after dinner. Which has a great taste like Guava. I get these bottles from an Indian/Sri Lankan shop. This fruit healed my constipation and I feel that the fibre quantity is lot higher than any other fruit that I have tried in this planet. I can say that this is more than just a fibre supplement. If you can't find these to avoid constipation, don't worry. you can make a fruit fibre smoothie after dinner as well as your preferred laxative to soften the stools so this can help the next morning. Over the counter fibre supplements like Metamucil and other supplements haven't always worked for me to relieve constipation even after drinking litres of water. Natural fruit smoothie as a fibre drink can help us relieve constipation. When it come to stool softeners/laxatives I do not know much about them. But any mixed fruit smoothie(Berries, carrots, apples, pineapples, mangos, Guava, PawPaw or any fruits that you can mix up) after a light dinner is helpful as a fibre source for bulk stools with that using a laxative as a stool softener can help too. When we feel much better, it's important to continue with the fibre intake and reduce the intake of stool softeners/laxatives unless it's a 100% natural laxative like the Ayurvedic one.
c) Also 1- 2 teaspoons of organic honey in the morning daily before bowel movement can do wonders. But it’s not a good idea to apply honey in the affected area as the passage may not open the next day. Eating honey is an excellent thing for this and the overall health.
d) I decided to quit lunch and have nibbles twice during the day (Berries/fruits, Green olives and rice crackers are great sources) but eat extremely less only to keep the digestive tract working (which is crucial to avoid constipation). I have tea to relax the sphincter muscle temporarily because of the caffeine in it. Caffeine (tea or coffee) can be helpful to relax the muscle, however, morning is the best time for coffee and after has been the best time for me to have tea. I don't have caffeine after 5PM as this may affect the ability get early sleep.
e)Camomile or mint tea after dinner can relax the muscle and help us get good sleep as they have no caffeine, ideal for night time with some gluten free sweet snack after the early dinner. I avoid chocolates which are a big culprit for fissures and constipation. Coffee and tea were fine in the mornings or during the day.
e) avoid or reduce any gluten based meals like bread/pizza until you heal. I started eating them when I started to feel much better. I personally think fissure should totally heal before eat them regularly. Minimize processed carbs and all sorts of meats, why ? because I am pretty sure that these puts long term pressure to the colon/bowel etc as it takes longer to digest meats and processed carbs/Gluten etc. Whenever I was in pain, my 2 meals per day was around 50% of my normal meals. If you eat too much, this will eventually put extreme pressure on the rectum and healing time will be delayed.
f) What should I eat for dinner and breakfast when we are in pain - For breakfast I eat gluten free stuff like eggs, mushrooms, glute free cereals and breads (no more than 1-2 slices) or little rice noodles with veggies and legumes like cooked lentils, chick peas etc. Avocados and bananas are also great choices to include in the morning only. However, diet was almost 50% less than what I normally eat. Instead of lunch, I have black tea after a small snack as mentioned earlier.
For dinner, 2-4 tablespoons of rice(rice is gluten free and has less impact on the issue)I eat rice with cooked vegetables like pumpkin, beetroots including beet leaves(amazing for fissures), carrots, onions, purple sweet potatoes, mushrooms, green beans, Okra, capsicum/chillies are great source when you cook these. 2 cooked vegetables+ 1 raw salad with some rice is all you need for dinner. After you get better, you can add the usual protein diet. I use Cayenne pepper/chilli powder/turmeric with coconut milk when I cook them as I believe they all have the ability to heal this to a level. I also eat raw salads like cucumber, lettuce, grated carrots, spinach etc with my dinner. The bottom line is eating some rice with natural veg's cooked + 1 raw salad can be helpful to relieve constipation and improve the digestive system. I reduced the amount of nuts when I was in extreme pain. When it’s healed, nuts can come back as part of the diet. If you can avoid rice and eat only vegetables mainly, this is also a great thing while rice dishes can bring more taste to the meal with veges.
4) After the morning bowel movement, wash the area with hot water, I massage the affected area gently with fingers during a warm water sitz bath. However as it gets better, slowly, I built a habit of massaging the scar tissue more and more with warm water every day as this helps reduce the scar tissue growth.
5) Here are the most powerful things to heal the fissure. Over the counter creams like nitroglycerin have never worked for me or Dr.Wheat Grass etc has never helped either. I managed to stop the bleeding with super salve cream from what I remember. But this didn’t do much to the growing scar tissue as it only reduced the bleeding.
To heal the scar tissue this is what I do, I use Shea butter and coconut oil (the most powerful things I apply directly to minimise the size of the scar tissue) Read about Shea butter for scars. Here is the best part, after applying these two, I use a hair dryer with low heat and target the fissure scar tissue area. Then once I feel the heat exactly on the affected parts, I stop the dryer and I massage with my fingers using coconut oil. Then I use the dryer again a few times. This did wonders to me, with a healthy light/quantity reduced diet, fruit fibres like wood apple, enough water, good sleep, stress management , and brisk walking daily (when the pain is less). For it to work for a long time, all of these things have to be done for a long time.
6) 2 major factors that can contribute are straining too much and the way we sit during the bowel movement. It is important to lean forward or find a way to squat. Squatting can make it easy to eliminate with less effort. Why do some want to strain? This is mainly because they have this feeling to empty the bowel/colon/rectum. As part of this vicious cycle, needing to strain may also be due to the tightness in the sphincter muscle.Regardless, it is an important rule to minimise or avoid straining.
7) Managing stress can be the hardest for many. I must say this is the number one factor creating further tightness/spasm of the sphincter muscle for me. 2 things I believe can relieve stress is exercises and deep breathing few times during the day.Letting go of excess baggage from our minds can really help us become better with a problem like this. Also for some, using techniques to overcome anxiety can also be very helpful.
There are great healthy and tasty recipes of rice n vegetable dishes including tasty raw, including salads and gluten-free breakfast ideas you can find online. All these certainly help to fast track the recovery. Good Luck!
