I do not think you messed up anything ; ) ! Just take it easy now - the biggest mistake new LIS-ers do is doing too much too soon and halting healing that way. It is better to be cautious and have steady healing path than doing too much or slipping with a diet and such and making disappointing and painful set-backs : (.

Hey Jules !
I think you will be AOK just please take things easy for atleast 2 weeks !
I wouldn’t have been able to walk a mile 6 days after surgery :roll:
The walk could well have created irritation and such, It is quite normal to have a pinkish discharge for up to 10 days just keep an eye, anything yellow, green pus or any foul smelling !
Rest up Jules

Hi everyone, I am a 35 year old gay male who has been suffering with a recurring fissure for up to 5 years! Ironically, it was caused through irritable bowel rather than sex which is currently impossible.
I didn't realise that I had been suffering that long til I saw my GP the other day, after yet another set back. I have persevered with a whole host of temp solutions but am finally about to bite the bullet and see a consultant regarding surgery for what, I finally have to admit, is chronic fissure.
I have a lot of questions/concern regarding surgery - will it cause incontinence?, will the fissure/scar tissue be removed?, will I be able to have anal sex in the future? is there any correlation between having an anal fissure and impotence?, (I started experiencing problems in this area too around the same time and noticed others are making the same comment), Finally, does it work?!
I guess the consultant will have some of the answers but it is really reassuring to have support on this site in the meantime!

Hi Chester and welcome to the board! There are a couple sticky threads on the main AF board and the surgery board, and many other threads, which can inform you greatly on many of your surgery questions.
No, there is NO correlation between AF and impotence -- except perhaps the stress of the pain and mental toll it takes, but no physical link. You would have to ask your CRS about resuming anal sex after surgery..
If you are asking does the surgery work, yes, it does for roughly 90% of people, great odds I would think.

Thanks Kim! Appreciate the quick response. I have been doing some sifting through and sure I will find some answers on here before speaking with my consultant. However just nice to know there is a support network out there where you can vent frustrations, share experiences and info. Wish I had come across it sooner!
I take it that you have a medical background to be sure regarding link between impotence/AF or from info you have gathered over time?

You're welcome, Chester. No, no one on this board is a medical professional, save for a nurse we will soon have! It's just that I can think of no causative reason, beyond stress, pain, lack of libido, i.e. psychological causes, that AF would cause impotence. It's kind of like asking if a broken arm would cause impotence. AF is not a disease process (like, for instance high blood pressure, diabetes, arteriosclerosis, all which *can* cause impotence along with certain drugs) but it is an injury, albeit one that won't heal. Plus I have never read of any link between the two.

A previous study has demonstrated that the bulbocavernosus muscle (BCM) is a part of the external anal sphincter (EAS) [Shafik, Arch Androl, 1999]. It aids erection by compressing the penile bulb and the dorsal penile vein, and acts as a 'suction-ejection' pump in the ejaculatory process. Being a part of the EAS, the BCM is assumed to be involved in the different EAS pathologies. A recent study showed that erectile (ED) and ejaculatory dysfunction in 16 men with fecal incontinence (Fl) after an anal fistula operation was cured after sphincteroplasty [Shafik, in press]. This article investigates the erectile and ejaculatory status in patients with anal fissure.
The study comprised 32 men with acute anal fissure (mean age 36.7±8.2 s.d. years), 21 with chronic anal fissure (mean age 38.8±10.3 s.d. years), and 10 healthy volunteers (mean age 35.2±7.3 s.d. years). Erectile dysfunction occurred in all men with an acute fissure and in 16 of the chronic fissure patients; erection had been normal before fissure occurrence. The volunteers had normal erection. The anal pain radiated to the penis and was exaggerated on erection and penile thrusting. Erectile dysfunction investigations showed normal results. The electromyographic (EMG) activity of the external and internal (IAS) anal sphincters and the BCM as well as anal, penile bulb and cavernosal pressures were recorded. The acute fissures were treated conservatively and chronic ones by internal anal sphincterotomy. The patients were followed for mean periods of 17.3±3.6 s.d. months.
The bulbocavernosus reflex as well as EMG activity of EAS and BCM were normal, while the resting EMG activity of the IAS was increased. The anal pressure in the acute and chronic anal fissure was increased (P<0.01, P<0.05, respectively), while the bulbar and cavernosal pressures showed no significant changes. Fissure treatment effected cure of the fissure and the ED in 30/32 of the acute and in 19/21 of the chronic cases. Erectile dysfunction persisted in the four patients in whom the fissures did not heal.
In conclusion, a relationship is suggested to exist between anal fissure and ED. The ED occurred in the presence of anal fissure and was normalized with fissure cure. The BCM and anal pain seem to play a role in the etiology of ED associated with anal fissure.
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Hope it helped.
PS: In my humble opinion you should refrain from anal sex since you are prone to have fissures and you will risk getting new ones in the future. As fissure is open wound you are more susceptible to possibly acquire STDs and AIDS that way , no matter if you use protection. I suppose you know that condoms are not 100 % reliable .

I stand happily corrected and also happy that was not my case when I had AF. The study, BTW was from International Journal of impotence Research (2000) 12, 279-283.

This is very interesting discussion and was never addressed before. I think that physical pain in extreme can cause loss of libido to any human being. Now , we have to take care and read this article in detail. ED was associated more with EXTERNAL sphincter problems - not internal one that is cut during the LIS. So men who had damaged EXTERNAL sphincter due to fistula surgeries and had incontinence also had cases of ED. ED is very complex phenomenon and in many cases could be caused more by emotional stress than by anything else (prostate problems aside and other health issues or medications that CAN effect erection quality).
At the end, almost all man who got rid of fissure after LIS did not have any problem with ED, but obviously those that did still had a fissure and had to deal with pain on daily bases.
Kimmy-boy - happy to hear you did not have problems ; ), and it looks that none of our male population here did !!! Actually, most just could not bare the "waiting" period to get well and restart their dating and sexual activity. The biggest frustration for our male boardies was actually being in "romantic" mood and not being able to find a partner due to limitations active fissure puts on ones social life !!!
So, you were more correct than wrong about ED and fissures and LIS and I also think that emotional part was to blame for possible ED cases unless the external sphincter was damaged and BCM lost support , OR erection and sexual activity caused radiated penile pain.

Well, it was good you could find that article, I sure learned a lot about male, umm..., sexual function...never knew my butt played such an important role... OK, I'll refrain from the jokes...