Hi everyone,
I'm a thirtysomething male living in a major city in the United States. I'm about to leave to go to the hospital for my LIS.
My story is a little different, in that my symptoms have never been severe. I'm vegan, so I don't get constipated. Probably about 6 years ago, I had some discomfort and passed a little blood a few times. I bought hemorrhoid ointment, used it, and the problem went away.
About a year and a half ago, I noticed what I now know is a large sentinel tag. I would occasionally have discomfort, never severe and never for long, after a movement. I went to my primary care physician, who said I had something called a "hemorrhoid tag," and sent me to a surgeon to have it removed.
The surgeon diagnosed a fissure. He put me on nifedipine for 6 months. My symptoms went away, the tag did not. Since the surgeon had left his practice, I made an appointment with his partner to have the tag removed.
The new surgeon said the fissure was still there. He prescribed hydrocortisone suppositories and sitz baths for a few weeks and told me to come see him again. After I did this and went in, there had been no change. He described the technique and potential risks of LIS, and told me to think it over. By the way, he is a general surgeon but has had decades of experience and is a clinical professor of surgery at a major university. He says he's performed hundreds if not thousands of these, and he's never had a patient become incontinent.
So I thought it over, and considered the fact that my symptoms have never been severe -- not nearly as severe as anyone who has seen fit to post here, in fact. I presented to my primary care doc because the tag was an annoyance, not even knowing what a fissure is. Still, I was concerned that things would get worse if I didn't get the problem solved, and I did have occasional discomfort. I scheduled the procedure. They told me to come in at 10 for a noon surgery, and to have someone pick me up at 4.
Yesterday, they called me back and told me to come in at 6:30 for a 7:30 surgery, and to have someone pick me up at noon. This will give me longer to recover.
Speaking of recovery, I have no idea what to expect. The doc told me I'd be back to work (possibly even on a bicycle, as I ride every day) by Monday, and most of the patient information websites out there say a return to normal activities is possible in a few days. But the folks on this board (many of whom had worse symptoms and more complicated surgeries than I'm facing) have talked about weeks and months of recovery. I'm in no rush to get back to work, but I'm scheduled to drive a few hundred miles with my wife a week from tomorrow, and concerned I might have complications when I'm not near my own doctor.
I'll discuss all of this with the doc this morning. If he decides to cancel on me, I can't say I'll be terribly disappointed. But it would be nice to stop thinking about my *ss so often.
Wish me luck?