Hi NG,
I'm glad to hear that you're continuing to improve after 3 months. I'd like to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind. Sorry for being so direct, but inquiring minds want to know! I was about to get the surgery last month and am on the fence about whether to do it. Anyway my questions are:
1. What's the pain like? How often does it come? Is it associated with BMs? Is it less than the pain before surgery?
2. Are you having any discharge, leakage or anything like that?
3. All in all, are you glad you had the surgery at this point?
Thanks so much for your input.
May you continue to heal and feel better!
Mr.F.

ok, so i've been mia for a while (other life concerns) and i know you didn't ask me, but...i had lis on may 10...i had dealt with my fissure on and off for 13 years using various treatments with varying degrees of success (mostly low...)...the day of surgery was painful--i was in tears after the surgery--the fissures very seldom brought me to tears, but it did happen...i was given 4 mg of morphine (and that's crap because i'm a big girl and i work in the er and i see the dr. give people more than that who are little and didn't just get their butt sliced open by a scalpel...but i digress)...as soon as i got to the car i took one or two percocet and a valium (which was my lifesaver leading up to the surgery)...
the second day was better--sore, but liveable...i also felt a lot of pressure--i thought maybe the plug hadn't been expelled and i went to my regular doc just to be sure, but she didn't see anything...and the pain was actually less than fissure pain--and this was just 24 hours out...
that whole week i had off from work and although i felt some pressure, the pain was gone...
i had discharge for less than a month...it wasn't pleasant, but it was a small price to pay in my judgment...
i'm about 2 1/2 months post LIS and i have to say it's the best choice i've EVER made medically...i hate to be overly dramatic, but it's seriously been life-changing for me...
NG: i wanted to check in and see how you were doing...i'm sorry you're still dealing with this...i know there's nothing i can do but...
so i'll just send good thoughts and hopes that your path to wellness will quicken!

Hey Dee,
It's good to see ya around again and to hear that your butt is doing well! I've been MIA myself due to some other concerns. My butt problems are actually doing alright for the most part -- knock on wood -- but I can't say the same for other things :(
Mr. Fissure I'll give you a quick answer to your questions. I'll try to write some more over the next few days if possible.
1. What's the pain like? How often does it come? Is it associated with BMs? Is it less than the pain before surgery?
The pain is pretty mild, kind of an achiness or soreness. It's usually associated with when I have frequent BMs. It's less than traditional fissure pain. I didn't have much pain before surgery to begin with, but I'd say it's noticeably better now than before surgery.
2. Are you having any discharge, leakage or anything like that?
I did have mild leakage for quite a while. I'd say 1.5-2 months. I haven't noticed any lately. But when it does happen, it's usually when I have loose stools and pass a lot of gas, which hasn't happened recently. So the leakage is improving drastically but I don't know if I can say that it's gone for good yet.
3. All in all, are you glad you had the surgery at this point?
Jury's still out here. If things continue on their current upward trend, then I'd say yes. But my diet and lifestyle haven't changed much: I'm still eating veggie soup and taking Miralax religiously. I need to see what long term looks like before I can conclude anything for sure.

NG: when i was looking i saw some posts where you were going through stuff with your kid...sorry about that...i hope things are getting better on that front and that whatever is going on is manageable if not curable...
re diet and lifestyle--i've taken one colace in the past couple of months and that's it for non-food sources of fiber or softeners...i'm not even sure where my colace is and my miralax is tucked away in the pantry...i do have about 3 fiber bars a week--just to use them up--i stocked up when i needed them...only have a couple boxes left now...
i've gotten pretty cocky about my diet...i still eat lots of fruits and veggies (of course i'm vegetarian, so that's a no brainer), but i do eat cheese more than i probably should--but we have switched over to rice milk (we like the taste better than soy) for cereal/oatmeal/drinking...and i've been buying the occasional fiber one yogurt...

Hey Dee, yup the kid thing has been an ongoing issue. He was formally given a diagnosis of cerebral palsy and just had surgery a few weeks ago. I've had some other nastiness enter the picture myself that I'm currently wrestling with. No real end in sight but I'm glad that it looks like the butt problems, for the most part anyway, may eventually be behind me (har, har) with some more time.
Now, you're making me highly jealous with your hedonistic lifestyle! Ok that's overstating it obviously, but seriously, it's awesome that you're off the stool softeners. I've been a tiny bit more lax diet-wise lately but I just can't bring myself to try stopping the stool softeners. I don't know if the fear of rectal pain will ever let me stop them even on a trial basis. I'm definitely still Captain Fiber, cape and tights and all, personally.
If there's one thing I'll say about fissure surgery, it would be that if you're pretty sure it's the only way to take care of the problem, then don't wait. The longer you wait, the harder the fissure is to cure, and the more butt related anxiety gets ingrained in your psyche. At least it did in my case. I'd say to throw everything but the kitchen sink -- meaning any cream you want to try plus Botox plus whatever other remedy you care to entertain -- at the fissure with the quickness, and if none of them work, then consider surgery and make a definitive yes or no decision on whether you're going to do it. Don't sit around thinking "hey even though this cream hasn't worked for 6 months, maybe it'll magically work in month number 7." For the last two months, I've thought that I should have either opted for surgery way earlier or simply not at all. It's only in the last few weeks that I've begun to believe that going for surgery after waiting a year was the right thing to do. Granted, compared to your 13 years, Dee, I guess that 1 year barely even registers :)

BTW Fissy, if you're out there, I'm just getting caught up on the forum posts but haven't seen any from you for a while. Hope things are going well on the butt and other fronts too! Hopefully you're just out traveling and enjoying yourself.