I have been doing pretty much everything I can to heal this fissure. I drink plenty of water, consume plenty of fiber, use diltiazem 2% ever 12 hours or so, and I've been taking LONG baths recently, however starting last night the fissure has been periodically stinging and making itself known. How is this possible? I was pretty much pain-free since January and have been pretty dilligent since then, hell I've been dilligent for over a year now. These creams are a temporary fix, I feel like I've been using them so long that they are never going to heal the wound. When I apply the diltiazem I can feel my fissure, which I couldn't before, and that either tells me that it is growing or that there is some scar tissure building up, which I hear prevents the healing process.
The thing is my life is not unbearable, I can deal with relatively minor pain throughout the day, but I feel like if I go and get LIS or a fissurectomy (whats the difference by the way?) it will make things worse and my life will then be unbearable. My fissure is probably not as bad as some of yours, but its a fissure nonetheless and it is ruining my life. I'm a 21 year old college student that doesn't go out or do anything because he has to sit at home and care for his asshole. What a joke. Sex and masturbation are the worst things for it as they tighten up those muscles back there resulting in pain that lasts for weeks, I finally realized that those were two huge factors in my fissure not healing. I know it's bad but suicide seems to always be in the back of my mind, I would never do it while my mom's still alive, but the fact that I am actually having thoughts of suicide worries me (I know, I should talk to someone). I don't focus on school, I haven't had a job in over a year, and it seems as though all my future holds is more of the same in terms of the pain.
Sorry for the long winded post, but what should I do? Get surgery? Keep using ointments? I just don't know anymore.

Jman,
You should probably go speak to a professional (psychiatrist maybe) and get some help. I think we've all had bad thoughts from time to time when our respective butt issues get us down. You can/will heal as you have not yet explored all possible treatment options. Where do you live in the Midwest? I live in central Illinois. You have your whole life ahead of you!

I live in Missouri, originally from KC but I'm in Columbia at the moment. I know that suicidal thoughts are pretty extreme and that I should talk to someone, like I said though I am not going to do it....it's just that when I think about my future I see nothing and that leads me to thoughts of "why not just end it." I'm worried about other treatment options because right now it is bearable and I feel like surgery will just make things worse, then I'll be kicking myself wondering why I couldn't just put up with the pain before surgery. Hypothetical, I know, but still an issue that concerns me a great deal.

LIS has helped many people. There is also Botox to try.

It's been over a year though, isn't there a certain point you reach where the fissure just won't heal? And hell I'm already having slight incontinence problems from the Diltiazem (gas), I can't imagine what LIS would do to me.

Most people here have not had any incontinence after LIS, but I never had LIS, so cannot speak directly about it. You are probably only envisioning pain and/or incontinence in your mind which makes you depressed. An A/D might help you put things into perspective. We almost moved to Columbia, MO at one time!! But we used to go through there often on our way to Wichita! Good luck!!

What worked for you Cheryl? I often tend to expect the worst case scenario , and I know the chances of any surgery going wrong are small, the possibility is just terrifying though.

Hi, so sorry you're having such a hard time. You mentioned that you're eating plenty of fiber and drinking lots of water but are you taking anything to keep your bms really soft. I did all the things you are doing but I didn't get any relief until I added miralax to my daily regime. I've already had LIS and it helped some but my problem is also scar tissue so I still have some problems but I don't know what I'd do without miralax . I know some people like milk of magnesia instead but without something to keep bms soft enough it's hard to heal a fissure completely. Just a though, Suzy. And please don't feel bad we've all had thoughts of desperation when things have gotten really bad. Just remember all this is temporary and will eventually pass so hold on and if you do decide on surgery it's not that bad. LIS is just a cut in the sphincter muscle, I had one stitch, and a fissurectomy is a skin flap to cover the fissure to help it heal.

Ditto to what Suzy said. I take Miralax daily and healed with Diliatzem. I still take Lexapro (A/D) and see a local psychiatrist infrequently, but he really helped me a LOT with my healing as he is an internist also (dual specialties), and he could talk intelligently with me about my butt issues. I also had the anal rectal manometry test done at Mayos and went through the Pelvic Floor Retraining class there. Maybe when school is out (or during your break), you could try going to Mayos. It's a great place, but I don't know what your insurance coverage is. I've spent a lot of time and effort on my butt!! Good news now is that I can even get slightly constipated (at times), and everything is still OK except for a gut ache as I have IBS also. What is your major??

hi jman,
i can definitely feel your pain...
i hope i'm not jumping the gun--but if you're a student at MU have you ever considered going to the counseling center on campus? if you're a full time student at mu you can go there for free...plus you pay for and can use student health...
here's a link to the counseling center--it couldn't hurt to look into it...
http://counseling.missouri.edu/student-services/index.php
btw, i live in boonville and work at columbia regional hospital so i'm right in your neck of the woods--i even went to mu my freshman year in college ( a few years ago...)