hey everyone. need advice again...i've been doing pretty well for the last 4 or 5 weeks. I've cut back to 2 colace a day and I drink a little bit of prune juice every night before bed. evrything was going really great. over the last few days i noticed that if i went for a walk or moved around a lot after a bm, it would sting a little and feel very itchy. that didn't bug me too much bc i figured it would pass. then this morning i got up, and for the first time in a couple of months, i had to go to the bathroom, but i couldn't do it without straining. so i got up and figured i would wait it out. when i went an hour or so later, it was pretty uncomfortable. i ended up going a couple of different times, and every time it felt scratchy and stinged quite a bit. when i wiped it felt like there were a million little cuts all over the place. not painful, but very uncomfortable. the only thing i did differently yesterday was tried a new brand of veggie hotdogs, but i can't imagine that that would make a difference. i've expanded my diet a bit over the last couple of months, but only in small increments, and everything has been fine until now. i ate more than usual over the weekend, but i've had bms since then that were fine. i'm still sticking to the fiber and drinking plenty of fluids. i don't know...any ideas for the cause of this or any remedies for this stinging sensation would be appreciated. thanks for listening...

It sounds like you had a large, bulky hard stool...was that it? The slight constipation makes me think that. Cut back on the amount of fiber for a day or two, a little anyway. Use a stool softener. Maybe a little aloe gel + lidocaine for the stinging?
Larger, hard stools seem to be an occasional problem for me here lately, and it makes my butt feel like it as been sanded.
Hopefully this is just a small bump in the road.

yes, it did seem like it was bulkier than usual and not as soft. i didn't think about the time bc all i could focus on was the discomfort. i'll take your suggestion to lower the fiber a little for a day or two.

Yes, I would second what Kim said. You can also get some irritation if that area stays too moist like in these hot sticky summers down here. One cRS actually suggested to put a small cotton ball between the cheeks next to the anus to absorb the moisture. I know another boardie likes Gold Bond Powder.

I get more pain when I move around a lot from the friction so I know where you are coming from. Don't forget to drink more water-it is really getting hot and we need to drink more. Also any extra stool softener to ease things up for a few days would be a good idea.

Kim wrote:it makes my butt feel like it as been sanded.

Thank you Kim for the good description of the feeling - I always have a trouble of explaining it to my CRS- I tried all kind of comps without much success LOL, now I know exactly what to say and it is exactly how it feels !!!

Janis said:

when i wiped it felt like there were a million little cuts all over the place.

...which to me said it all...and reminded me of the sandpaper effect, Fiss!
Seems like if it's the later in the day, I have to push harder, and harder, and the stool is bulkier...Everything down there just seems drier, too.

Sand paper is exactly what I felt - cuts remind me of fissure pain - this is different - it is exactly some kind of superficial abrasion. Hey - it is like we have dermabrasion of our anus LOL - it will stay forever young ! Gosh darn, I feel like trying mineral oil again for a while - which I would if I did not take Colace (they supposedly should not be mixed). So I use suppositories as lubricant and it really helps. I put on them some extra concoction of aloe, vit. E, A+D cream and Nifed. cream for the good measure . I go 3 times a day so it has no chance to harden , thank you Lord or I would be in real trouble :pale: Do you think you can try Colace too just for a couple of days to try to make it somewhat softer - or your trusty "Ensure" ???
Hope your "abrasion" will disappear soon !!! :hotair:

Have you tried using MOM? That always works the best for me when I run into issues?
Fiss- I need to ask an odd question....since you have a BM like 3 times a day, is it even formed? When I go more than once day its usually not formed. I know its TMI, but I just need to compare myself to others to feel normal sometimes !

he he, dear Jen, you can ask the Fissy everything - always remember that
Yes, it is completely formed and nice medium softness. But, you see, my whole life I went 2 times a day - once in the morning and once in the evening. Now that I take more fiber and Colace it is 3 times a day. I have 3 meals a day and my poop follows that schedule now - what I eat for breakfast , comes out in the morning of the next day; lunch comes out after lunch time and so forth - so I am like a baby now - on perfect schedule - just "adorable" :flush:

I find that too! Before AF I went sometimes once, sometimes twice, but now with all this fibre and supplements, my life seems to revolve around the bathroom! I actually feel far more comfortable just eating my normal pre-fissure diet, which actually was pretty good anyway, and not taking anything, no stool softeners, oils or anything. All of it makes my tummy feel like I need the loo all day!