Hello, everyone. I just wanted to introduce myself and let you all know how much solace and comfort this forum has brought me.
My name is William, and early last month, I had a gradual onset of knife-like pain while having BMs, as well as burning and extreme discomfort afterward. I went to a procto and he treated what he saw as engorged hemmies (injected them). About a week later, the BM pain subsided somewhat. But within days, it gradually returned, rising to a level that was almost beyond my ability to withstand. I got scared that I'd close my sphincter up and be unable to go, thus risking eventual fecal impaction.
Each BM became a horror, and the constant pain in between BMs fluctuated between "dull roar" and "oh my God, I can't even sit down". I called my procto, but all he said was that I needed to give the hemmie injections 6 weeks to fully work. It was pure agony at times.
By the end of September, I was in pretty bad shape, and fairly depressed. I was afraid to eat, because I was afraid to BM, and my depression took away my appetite such that this wasn't really hard to do. I'm overweight, but I know that eating 1 bowl of cereal for the whole day (for example) isn't good for you.
Finally, I decided to see a second procto, and he diagnosed an anal fissure, even though he could not see it. He gave me Diltiazem ointment to apply 3 times daily, and told me to get on a high fiber diet (which I had been on, more or less, since the hemmies were treated). By then, I was already eating very little, and all of it was high-fiber.
About a week into my regimen, I found this forum, and it gave me hope. Finally, during the second week, I noticed the pain was subsiding. I am now on my 4th pain-free day, and while I'm not ready to celebrate, I'm very hopefully that my AF was indeed acute, and is healing.
This experience has changed me. I am going to be a lot more careful about my fiber (and water!)intake. I'm pretty sure I remember when this tear happened. In late August, I had a really tough BM at my parents' house, after eating a lot of various foods the prior 2 days. I had to push like I was having a baby, and when it finally came out, I remember it burned, and I was breathing hard. At the time, I had actually become concerned that it would not fit through my anus and thus would be stuck inside me. I was relieved when it came out; but I had no idea the pain and suffering that awaited me a few days later. I'm pretty sure that's when I tore open that cursed AF.
Thank you all for being there and supporting one another. I will try to monitor this forum from time to time, to see how y'all are doing (and to keep myself reminded of the need to be vigilant in my anti-AF lifestyle changes).
Take care!
William P.
North Hollywood, CA

Hey William, welcome to the board!!
It's good news if you've managed to heal your fissure with Diltiazem, maybe it was acute and you caught it in time, stay diligent with your diet and water intake..

Hey William,
You have a really good chance of healing that fissure this early. Keep up with your regimen. I believe if I could have started the diltiazem early, I would have had a much better shot at healing my fissure.
Stick with your baths, fiber and don't forget no sharp foods like nuts and chips... There's some really good info. on this board. I wish I would have found it sooner. Take care.

Welcome William.
That's fantastic that you were able to get this under control early. Keep on track with your diet and the Diltiazem. Give yourself a few months to let the fissure heal completely.