afugh!! wrote:How long have you been using the nif and nitro before you stopped using it?I feel for you NG it seems you got some things to deal with.Hopefully you can control the bleeding sooner rather than later and kick the valium habit as well.

I was using them for a little over 2 months (maybe 2.5 months?) before I stopped them. Pretty dumb move on my part. And thanks, I'm about to head up to my CRS in SF to ask about my tightening arse and some lower dose Valium so that I can taper off. Hopefully she knows something about it and I don't come off as a total junkie! We've got a major storm out here today, dunno if it's affecting you guys in So Cal, but definitely not looking forward to this doctor's visit :)

sidra1968 wrote:I think you know what my adivice would be...
Very interesting on the Valium..I've always joked that I could use some as I am quite the Type A personality, but man, I sure wouldn't want to get addicted..that was FAST.
I know I would like feeling calm for once in my life, though - probably too much. LOL

Haha actually I'm pretty high strung too and used to have an anxiety disorder in college. So I'm probably a bit predisposed toward anxiolytic dependency. I'll admit, the side effects are nice -- until you develop tolerance toward them anyway -- but you stop feeling them real fast and the dependency just kind of creeps up on you.

suzyljank wrote:Hi, wow you were taking a pretty high dose of valium. My doc would only give me the lowest dose. I didn't think it would help but it did. I think they use it to break the cycle of the spasms. I was told if the spasms were lasting hours and hours then I should take one along with a few advil and it should help stop the spasming. It did a pretty good job too. But I had to use the nifedipine ointment too. I'm not a big pill taker because I can't swallow them. When I'm really stressed out I still like my glass of wine. I already had LIS a year ago but it seems things have tightened up again and I still get some spasming. For me that's the worst, because it can last so long. I wonder if a second LIS would help me. Suzy

My doc was actually going to give me the 10 mg pills at first, but I asked her for a lower dose since I wasn't sure what the effects of Valium would be. Glad I did now. I think my problem was that at first I used it because I was spasming all the time, and even after they got under control, I kept taking the Valium regularly because I was so scared they would come back. Then I got overconfident and stopped everything (well except Miralax) altogether, and completely missed any middle ground in the process. But yeah Valium was awesome for those painful long-lasting spasms, that much is for sure. When my spasms and pain were at their peak it took a few Valium and a Percocet to really nuke them.
I used to like unwinding with a beer or two over dinner (ok and I'll admit a scotch a cigar on weekend nights :)), but I haven't touched any alcohol for a loooong time. I'm scared of what it'll do with the fissure. I gave up caffeine entirely too, which was a pretty hard as it was a lifelong habit for me -- I used to start every single day with a 5-shot espresso and chug Coca Cola and coffee throughout the day. Do you find that the alcohol annoys your fissure at all? Or is it okay? My doctor tells me it's a no-no but it seems that we have a fair number of fissure sufferers here who do drink a tiny bit on occasion.
I'm sorry to hear that you're still getting spasms even after LIS. Was it the case that LIS didn't help at all, or that it helped but then the symptoms came back later? Also, are the spasms you get now still the throbbing long lasting ones? Those are definitely the worst since they affect everything from sitting to driving to sleeping.

Hi, the LIS helped at first. My fissure healed but the spasming never quite left me. It's not as bad as before but it is still there and very annoying at times. I can feel the sphincter tightening up and that has caused me to get a tear now and then but they seem to heal in a few weeks. These darn things really are a pain in the butt and a vicious cycle. Alcohol doesn't seem to affect it either way. As long as I keep taking my miralax and benefiber and I have about 30 grams of fiber a day I do better than before. Stress causes me the most trouble. I still have my rituals though. I lubricate before I go, and rinse with a hand held bidet and when the spasms happen I sit on a warm heating pad, that helps a whole bunch. The heat relaxes the muscle. Have you had any surgery?

I think a little alcohol won't be bad.I haven't had any alcohol in months myself but since my fissure is going good I'm planning to have a couple of beers for my UFC party on Oct.24.I'm just going to drink more water just so I won't get dehydrated.You should get yourself a heat pad especially now that its getting a bit more cold you're going to find it comforting and it will lessen the spasming a little.I have one myself and use it whenever I start to feel a tightening.I wrap it around my butt when I lay on my side and it would help loosen things up.I don't keep it on for more than 20 min because any longer I would start to sweat down there and it would irritate my fissure.

Hey Suzy, nope no surgery for me yet. I did get a Botox injection (two shots) today though. Went to see my CRS about the recurrence of the fissure and my Valium problem and she authorized Botox from my insurance on the spot and gave me 2 mg Valium pills so I can wean myself off. She says that if I still have bleeding and abdominal cramping in a few weeks then she'll put me in for a colonoscopy to make sure I don't have any kind of colitis (Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis) or diverticulitis. I never really thought about the possible tie-in of stress to fissure symptoms, but that's definitely some food for thought. Maybe they wanted to play it safe and didn't cut the sphincter muscle enough during your first LIS?
Hey afugh, I'll wait for your alcohol report on October 25th :) I'm getting to the point where I'm close to throwing caution to the wind and giving it a go, but have to admit I'm still a little bit scared.
One thing that was weird during my CRS visit today was that when she did the rectal exam, there was a little bleeding and discomfort, but the pain was actually very mild even though my spasm was worse than during my last visit. Not sure what that means. The Botox injection bit definitely wasn't much fun though, I think that topped my Top 20 Oddest Experiences list :)

NG,
Were the shots painful? At Mayos they administer them while people are sedated--twilight, I think!

cherylk wrote:NG,
Were the shots painful? At Mayos they administer them while people are sedated--twilight, I think!

The shots didn't feel good, but they didn't hurt that much either. I sure hope they did them right. I'd say it hurt more than getting a shot in the arm, but the pain only last maybe 5 seconds per shot. I had to bend forward on a table that they raised into the air with my pants off while two women put on some lubricant and analgesic and administered the shots. Definitely an odd and borderline humiliating experience.

I love that compromised position!! The cool thing is the women probably didn't give it a second thought. Kind of like when I was in a different, but still compromised position for a female exam, and the gynecologist complimented me on my necklace while I was totally undressed! :roll:

LOL I think I yours is funnier and mine is more humiliating :) It didn't help that one of the women was fairly attractive and the other was also moderately attractive. I don't think they gave it a second thought (maybe they would if I looked like a male model I guess ) since they do this kind of thing all day, but I'll admit that the first thought that entered my mind was "this is one of the few ways a scenario with two attractive women being in a room with me with my pants off could end up not being cool at all". Immediately after that my thoughts became "wow this is really weird" and "please let this be over quickly and may I never see either of these people on the street in the future".