Does anyone else have these anal fissure symptoms?

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Does anyone else have these anal fissure symptoms?

Postby desperatehousewife » 02 Jul 2010, 23:18

Hello fellow af'ers!
I believe I've had af's for years, I am now 32. I can remember holding off from going to the bathroom from a very young age, sometimes even going once a week. Horrible I know. My problem always came and went. I would have pain but I knew after the bm it would be over. When I got into my later 20's I started trying to eat more fibre and water, which would usually do the trick, but always relapsed.
Since the birth of my son a year ago, I have been in af HELL. I was diagnosed with hemmeroids first by my primary doc, then a surgeon, then another doc who told me it was a fissure. I've used dialtezam for 9 weeks with little effect. Then did Nifedepine for 6 weeks. Pain upon defecation is about a 4/10 if I eat my All Bran and metamucil daily, and bleeding has stopped on most occasions. However, I have CONSTANT anal pressure sensations for the past 6 months. The 2 fissures (with tags) are still visible (12 and 6 o'clock). Sometimes the pressure, tightness feeling is soooo annoying I can't sleep and have to take armytriptayne or flexeril. It feels like I have something up there. Sitting and lying on my back is uncomfortable. My husband can't even touch me in bed as I am too uncomfortable (even snuggling!). If I pass gas when sitting, it feels like it is coming out my vagina. I am so tired of this and am getting seriously depressed. I'm finding it hard to stay positive and my husband is becoming less supportive as time passes. My bum aches all of the time. I've had a colonoscopy and Cat scan with negative results.
Anyone else have severe symptoms like this?
I am wondering if my only problem is anal fissures, perhaps something worse?
Any suggestions?
Do you think surgery (LIS) will work for me considering my description of pain? Image
Please help!
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Re: Does anyone else have these anal fissure symptoms?

Postby NeuropathicGuy » 03 Jul 2010, 00:18

Hey there, sorry to hear how things are going :( What does the pressure sensation feel like? And does it get better or worse after BMs? Or no change? It sounds like some kind of spasm to me but the question is which muscle. As I'm sure you're already painfully aware by now, fissures can cause the inner sphincter to spasm which in turns keeps the fissure from healing. But other muscles in the rectum can spasm too like in levator ani syndrome. Supposedly that one feels like there's a ball in your rectum. My fissure spasms used to be real bad and it felt like a dull throbbing pain to me -- always worse following a BM.
BTW are you taking any stool softeners?
Also, I've taken Flexeril and also nortriptyline (closely related to amytriptyline) before and both constipated me without doing anything for my fissure symptoms. Do those relieve the pressure sensation? If they do it could be a clue, I haven't heard much about it doing much for fissures but amytriptyline is sometimes used for levator ani spasms.
If you can see injury accompanied by skin tags at the 12 and 6 o'clock positions then it's most likely fissures though since that's exactly where you'd expect them to occur. I'm doubly confident since you said things only got real bad after giving birth.
I'd think LIS would likely help but I don't know anything about the implications of LIS when there's a fissure at both 12 and 6 o'clock since women have a higher risk of LIS complications to begin with due to a shorter sphincter muscle. I'm sure some of the well informed ladies here will chime in :)
Oh, and welcome to the board. "Sorry" that you had to join us Image
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Re: Does anyone else have these anal fissure symptoms?

Postby Fissulyna » 03 Jul 2010, 01:44

Desperate- I answered your post in the other thread you started Image
I do not think that having 2 fissures have any additional implications. LIS is sometimes done to people with hemorrhoid problems to ease the pressure in the anal area - that is how useful that small cut actually is !!!
Yes, women have shorter sphincter, but CRSs know that and are trained to do correct cut in both genders. I was actually a "victim" of that "gender discrimination" LMAO, and my sphincter was cut too little during my first LIS Image
I wonder if their theory is completely wrong to begun with !???? Maybe it is shorter but certainly is as strong as in male counterparts and I am sure that at old age there is same % of male and female patients who "poop" their pants Image LOL
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Re: Does anyone else have these anal fissure symptoms?

Postby desperatehousewife » 03 Jul 2010, 09:34

Thanks for the replies. It is sooo nice to know you are not the only one suffering from this horribly embarrassing and painful condition. Sorry misery loves company I guess, lol.
Neuropathic Guy: In response to your question about the possible spasms, the pain never goes away. It remains unchanged after a bowel movement. It is a dull pain, feels very "tight with pressure" sensations. I actually travelled 8 hours to see a pelvic physiotherapist. I self-referred myself after much internet research, as the docs in my small northern community are in my opionion, incompetent and just waiting for thier golden pass to Toronto or Vancouver, AGHHHH. I've had about 5 sessions by the physiotherapist (I am supposed to go 2Xwk for 11 weeks, but due to distance....). Anyway, CRS tells me I need to get fissures cleared up before I even consider pelvic floor disorder therapy. Chicken or the Egg????? All I know is I'm losing my mind as I've been in pain since November. (All started with a treadmill injury causing pubic symphysis disorder and then osteitis pubis) I thnk somehow this is all connected or I've been misdiagnosed! Pain is unreal. My husband had to stay home with us for 3 months to help. I couldn't even lift my son. Much better in that area now, the odd pain that my chiro fixes in a jiffy, but the fissure is worse, way worse. Sorry for the vent.
Thanks for the positivity Fussulyna. I feel reassured about LIS now. Did your spasm pain feel like mine or was it sharp and throbbing?
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Re: Does anyone else have these anal fissure symptoms?

Postby Fissulyna » 03 Jul 2010, 11:55

I would have sharp and pinching pain during the bowel movement and than dull forever-lasting pain that was actually a sphincter spasm : (((. Some people are lucky and have spasms only for an our or so after the BM, but some are not , like me, and have spasms 24/7 : (((. The pain was relentless and I stayed in bad most of the time or just semi-sitting around crying and trying to live of fruits and occasional cooked veggie stew : (((. I completely see why you needed your husband stay home too. I was lucky that my kids were teens and could do stuff without me , but heck I felt useless and a burden for some strange reason : (((, although my family was extremely supportive and by my side all the time *sigh. I was used to take care of THEM and not other way around and being "invalid" was devastating to my body and my mind. I just wish I did not wait 5 mos before the LIS since all of that suffering was useless and contra productive in my case and also did put undue stress on my family : ((((
Wishing you all the best !!!!!
PS: Doctors are in general useless LOL, but you are VERY smart to be pro-active and pushing for the correct treatments !!!!!! Way to go girl : )))
BTW: I do not see why you can not do physio therapy while having a fissure (unless you do not feel comfortable ) since we have a member here -Cheryl- that actually went to a special course to retrain her pelvic floor muscles and was VERY successful. She healed her fissure first, though, but it was just coincidental. She had to wait to get her slot for the training and in the meantime her fissure closed, but never the less, that training definitely helped her in many other ways :roll:
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Re: Does anyone else have these anal fissure symptoms?

Postby desperatehousewife » 03 Jul 2010, 18:05

Fissulyna,
I see the CRS on Tuesday, which is when I'm going to beg him for help as I can no longer take this. Your pain sounds like mine. Did you have pressure sensations as well?
When you had the LIS what was your recovery like? Did any of your pain go away with the first one? Are you pain free now? What should I expect? What about incontinence (stool/gas), scared shitless - lol pun totally intended! Are you in Canada? I'm worried that they are going to make me wait and wait and wait for surgery because he'll say not life threatning, yada yada yada.
Looking forward to your reply,
Desperate
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Re: Does anyone else have these anal fissure symptoms?

Postby Fissulyna » 03 Jul 2010, 20:14

I had all kind of pains :roll: on occasions, but dull , aching pain in the whole area was the one that was present alllll the time and it was VERY strong :( I would say 5 of 10, and during BM 8 of 10 (I leave 10 for really some pain that only person in the inquisition chamber can experience) . I also had periods when BM pain was almost tolerable and also had periods when I almost healed but would always re-tear just before my period :( . So in 5 mos, I healed almost 4 times and had 2 small re-tears and 2 big ones : (((.
After my first LIS I recovered very fast. I had the LIS and a fissurectomy. I had my surgery just before the Christmas and went out for a New Year to celebrate , so the pain was like day and night before and after the surgery !!!! Very soon my fissure closed and for 6 mos I was problem free. Than on July 4th I had small irritation going on and that would linger getting better and than worse and than better and I KNEW something was off !!! I had also developed a big skin-tag that started bleeding and I went for THIRD opinion and voila - that CRS found my "invisible" fissure and we decided to have a second LIS . That was 2 years ago . I was problem free for 2 years and around Easter got some small irritation going on , but luckily it went away in 4 weeks without doing much about it. It was really minor , but once one experiences a fissure - one "listens" to a butt VERY carefully LOL.
I have no incontinence even after 2 LIS surgeries, not even for a gas _ EVER !!!!! I think that you really should relax regarding that fear - just find older and experienced CRS who never had a case of incontinence. Ask him point blankly !!!!! I did !!!!!!! NONE of 5 CRSs total that I saw ever had a case of incontinence happening , so it shows you how rare that is the case - if ever Image . Maybe somebody might some small gas incontinence or tiny leak happening during diarrhea bouts :roll: - but that happen even to persons who never had a LIS ; ))) !!!!
Just tell your CRS that you can not live like that any more and that he is either going to give you a Botox or do LIS or you will jump through the window ; ) !!!! That will be than "life threatening" - I am sure that they have to give preference to patients who are seriously emotionally troubled since it would be big liability, I think ; )))) !!!!!
I am very happy that I had LIS and am still very happy with the results and if needed, god forbid, I would do a third one LOL with no problems !!!! Just find a good and caring and skilled surgeon.
Best of luck with it all !!!! And regardless of what you decide, you have to make that poop nice and soft and regular and that is for life !
PS: I am in the USA
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Re: Does anyone else have these anal fissure symptoms?

Postby cherylk » 03 Jul 2010, 20:21

Desperate,
I (Cheryl, the one Fiss referenced) went through the Pelvic Floor Retraining class about a year ago at the Mayo Clinic. I posted an synopsis for all to read on this board under "Pelvic Floor Dysfunction." If you cannot find it or have questions, you can ask me. I had an AF, but am now healed from it.
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