Thanks phil, I know what you mean, living like this is no longer an option, for the last two years my life has revolved around the bathroom, I cannot go anywhere until finished with the BM's and even then I still feel fecal matter in the rectum, I'll be glad when it's all over tbh..
Wishing you continued healing, thanks again!

DAY 10
The last three days have shown considerable improvement for me. I am still in some discomfort, but I would call it minor at this point. I am at the point where the pain is less than it was before the surgery. The general feeling of weakness/sickness from the surgery has gone, and I am now alert and semi-functional.
The most painful part of the day is still BMs, but they are much less painful than they were during the first seven days, and the pain now only lasts for a few minutes after each BM.
I am off the sitz baths entirely, and off all pain meds entirely starting today (and only two Advils on waking, for BMs, the last two days). The discharge is much less now, although I still need to wear panty liners at all times. I can sit for 20-30 minutes at a time with no problem, and I can walk or stand comfortably for the same length of time.
The fissure/roid pain from before is gone from what I can tell. I still have some pain down there, so I can't yet say that all the pain is gone, but I do think that the pain that remains is a result of the surgery, and that the original source of the pain has gone away.
I am not yet back to work, but I think the two weeks off work that my doc recommended will be just about right. I can see going back to work in four or five days from now, and for the past two days I have put in a couple of hours of desk and phone work without any problem.
I cannot convey the happiness that I feel at the prospect of not having to deal with the constant fissure/roid pain anymore. For me, this surgery was a godsend. There is no question in my mind that a couple of weeks of pain (okay, really serious pain) were more than worth eliminating the daily pain that I have felt for many years.

That's great phil, I'm so glad your improving day by day, I hope your post will motivate others to not be afraid and go for the surgery, you're so right about a couple of weeks of pain is nothing compared to years, btw I had LIS and Fissurotomy and may well be in pain but do not regret getting the procedure, anyone reading these posts should definitely not be discouraged

DAY 12
I am feeling almost normal now. The pain of the first week is just a memory, and I am now pain-free almost all the time.
On Day 10, I felt really good and, as a result, did too much. I put in a few hours of work, drove to the office to pick up my mail, stopped in at the bank and did some banking, and did quite a bit of walking on top of that. I did not feel so great the next morning, but by 2 or 3 in the afternoon, I was feeling pretty good again.
Today, my BMs did not hurt for the first time since the surgery, and there was no pain afterwards, either.
There is a small bump in my butt, which feels like a roid, but I am sure it is just the swelling from the surgery. And it is much smaller than the roids were.
I have some discharge, which is fairly constant, but it is light now and I have switched to very thin panty liners, even at night.
This afternoon, I played nine holes of golf with my wife. I took it easy, but the walking felt great and I had no pain at all. If you had asked me if I thought I would be walking a golf course at 12 days after surgery, I would have said no way, but there it is.
DAY 13
I go to the bathroom, I have a poop, I wipe, I leave. No pain, no fuss. End of story. Nothing to see here folks. Move along now.
Thank you all for your support and encouragement. I believe that I am finally healed.
Steve, keep up the recovery and you will be feeling better in no time.

Hi phil, it's looking great for you now, I can't believe you have healed so fast!
Did you have spasms for the first week, I'm asking because I'm having quite bad spasms at the moment, also BM's are very infrequent and painful, I'm hoping that it's gonna get better in a few more days!

I had spasms for the first few days, especially when I tried to pee (my pee would stop mid-stream and I would have a painful contraction - that would happen several times, until I kind of learned to control it).
For the first five days after surgery, I was in severe pain most of the time, and BMs were really painful. At about the one week mark, things started to improve for me.
My BMs were fairly regular, and I think that was a result of my diet. Oatmeal (or high fibre cereal) with flaxseed for breakfast; pea soup or bean soup for lunch; fruit salad for dinner. And tons of water, all the time. Big heaping tablespoon of Metamucil morning and night, and Miralax twice a day. That regimen kept things regular for me.
I also cannot believe how quickly I have healed. Other than some mild discomfort and minor discharge, I fell almost 100%. I am not afraid of BMs anymore, and I feel like I can actually make plans to do things without having to worry about a contingency plan in case I am in too much pain or can't get out of the bathroom.
I think painful BMs after rectal surgery are just unavoidable. It's something you have to go through to get to the other side. BMs were painful for me for about 10 days after the surgery, so you're not even at that point yet.
Keep up the water intake, and the high fibre foods, and I'm sure you will be much better in a few days.

I've also been struggling with the pee, just getting started was hard enough for me, but after several days I know how to control it, however, controlling the sphincter during severe spasms is almost impossible IMO anyway and hurts like hell!
It must be good not having to plan your day around BM's and pain, something I can't wait to experience.
You're also right about painful BM's after surgery, it's just completely unavoidable and we just have to persevere with it until things ease off, easier said than done though, it's no wonder the surgeons don't tell you what the post-op pain is like.

I was lucky, because my surgeon was pretty honest with me about the recovery and the pain. Plus, from reading these threads, I had a pretty good idea what to expect.
All I can tell you is that once the pain subsides, the absence of pain in that area is an amazing thing. I played 18 holes of golf today and didn't think about my butt once. I can't say I have done that in the past 6 or 7 years! In the past three days, I have played golf twice, and they have been the best rounds of golf I have played in years. I don't think it's a coincidence. I think I just have my life back.

So, Phil, where in the US do you live, and are you a great golfer now????

I live up in Canada, near Toronto. I'm not a great golfer, but I enjoy it. Mostly, I'm a mountain biker. Even though I feel great two weeks after my LIS, I'm not going to try mountain biking for another week or two. Funny thing is the only time my fissure never hurt was when I was mountain biking. Even if I was in terrible pain, it would stop the minute I got on my bike, and then it would resume right back again the minute I got off. My surgeon thought it was odd, but I guess the pressure must have been in just the right place to relieve the pain. Just a strange memory now, I'm very happy to say.