hi bumbutt,
i am not living la vida loca yet but did go back to work last week - thursday and friday for 1/2 day. and this monday, i started full-time.
things are coming along nicely as today would mark the 2 week update!
the good:
no bleeding during/after BMs
got off the stool softners and all pain meds (tylenol included) over the weekend
beginning to incorporate normal vegetable meals without pureeing
up to walking my pug 2 times a day
at work, i do a set of 3 rounds of up and down six flights of stairs to encourage blood circulation going between my legs and thru the butt; i am not running them but taking my sweet time going up and down. i am also trying to pay attention when i am clinching my butt muscles and try to relax them while i am going up and down the stairs
very little discharge at all
BMs have been fissure pain free; no burning feelings
i believe all swelling is now gone. skin tag and other excision still healing and continuously closing.
no incontinence from stool or gas
have done one yoga session - my abs are sore!
asking for God's grace and love every day to continue this healing.
**
the mysterious (i don't want to call it the bad):
i do have odd sensations that are not quite zingers but what i am assuming are just a natural progression of nerves rebuilding and tissue healing
earlier i did have noticable muscle discomfort/sensation from the lis/skin tag area; it's like since for the longest time those muscles were not used or i tried to avoid using since that is where the fissure was, now that i am using all my ass, then i am assuming it is trying to train the muscles there to be flexible and open. sometimes it lingered softly. it is getting better with each BM though.
i've been a bit freaked out about a left testicle signal that i have been getting - not necessarily all day long but here and there and i don't remember really if i have had it before - i think the anesthesia wiped out any memory of that - but i thought i had it before as well. i have felt the left testicle and don't feel any lumps but this is something that i am now worried about. it's like i have been worried about this fissure and the skin tag, and now that that has been alleviated, now i have a new sensation in my left nut.
i hope that it has to also do with some nerve recuperation from whatever was interfered with due to the anal surgery.
i have a physical scheduled towards mid-February.
i am trying to find comfort in prayer that this will not bring me down. i am so emotionally and mentally spent with the LIS procedure, that i just can't deal with this next thing.
i ask that if you do prayer, please say a prayer for me to be healthy.
i am sorry i haven't been on the boards as much as i would like to but i have been trying to balance the LIS recovery, returning to work, and this testicle drama that i need to reduce my stress load.
i do have everyone of you in my prayers though to find healing, courage to do what you need to do next, and to find something to focus on every day that will bring you joy to overcome whatever pain or worry you are in.
big hugs to all of you,
happy

Praying for you recovery to continue in the right direction:)
Sounds pretty good, Happy. I wouldn't be alarmed by the odd sensations. It's all pretty weird for about 6 weeks.
I just kind of accepted things would be that way and rolled with the flow.
I'm thinking your man problems could be from the surgery and will get better... Everything's so close down there. It's probably nothing.
It sounds like you are right on track and amazing that you are able to do so much. Take care- Hugs♥

No vida loca yet?! Well, glad to hear that things are mainly positive! Going back to work can be nice - like getting back to real life and talking to people again. I also went back last Thursday, and it really does help take your mind off of your butt for awhile.
Also, I was thinking like Dawn was. I don't have nuts or balls or such - but, I can tell you that my fissure has bothered my nearby areas too - where nuts and balls might be, if I had them! Seeing as you have this rather new pain right after LIS, I would think it's related, and will hopefully disappear with some time. It seems that several posts by others on the forum here have mentioned sensations in areas nearby the butt.
In any case, there will be a prayer going up from this side of the pond for you (and all the other good people on this forum).
Hang in there, and enjoy getting into your post-LIS life.
Hugs back

Glad to hear you're doing so well. Question: how did you get off the stool softener so soon? I'm with Dawn and others, we're petrified to stop and can't decide if/when to stop.
Same here with the weird goings-on in the near vicinity. My dh had testicular cancer. One thing you can do is give a squeze and if the pain goes away soon, that should be a favorable sign. Seriously.
TC tends to have lingering pain. TC is quite rare, btw.
And thrilled to see you're getting back onto regular food! Bon appetit!

I'm so glad to hear that things are going so well for you! This is very encouraging.
I'm scared to death for Tuesday.....literally having small anxiety attacks and my stomach turns.
So glad everybody is doing so well.

Hi Happy!
I just have a question about your bidet ... Do you find it gentle enough? I saw one demonstrated the other day and it seemed a little violent, especially for post surgery. Does yours have different levels of intensity?
By the way, congratulations on the fantastic recovery!

hi sphinctersaurus,
a bidet would be lovely but this appliance actually replaces your toilet seat on your regular toilet (please make sure that your toilet set is compatible with the appliance).
yes, there is a remote control (who knew you'd have a remote control for the toilet - this appliance does not flush the toilet for you but the nice toto neorest model does) and there are three functions to jet water:
1. rear cleansing
2. rear cleansing soft
3. front cleansing (has a little female logo on the button but actually this seems to have the perfect aim for my butt!)
each one comes with an adjustable jet of water so all have from low to high. also, it controls how warm you want your water to jet to your butt.
i got it set up the day before LIS and i could tell that rear cleansing was the toughest even at the lowest setting. i was thrilled with the rear cleansing soft with low setting and then worked my way up to front cleansing as well.
i still don't use rear cleansing much but have on a couple of occasions when i felt bm a bit sticky.
with all the excisions i had, the rear cleansing soft feature with low setting was really nice to have.
this does not replace your recommended sitz or long baths, which i still did and continue to do to, although i am down to 2 baths - my back is also hurting me right now so i welcome the epsom salts bath.
**
to cagirl, i never used the stool softners or fiber additives prior to LIS so i didn't find them normal for me to use. was i scared to get off, yes, but eventually i feel better as my body's normal processing of things as long as i kept my vegetable diet up.
the key here is to listen really well to your body and how things are flowing out of your anus.
if things get stuck and you can't flow any more bm out, then that is it. i am not going to force or strain my bm to come out if it doesn't want to any longer. the good thing about having the toto s300 is that i can feel almost as clean if i wasn't able to complete a bm on its own.
i just have to be gentle on myself when taking a crap.
and really know if i am having one of those explosive episodes, then i have to have some more control on how it comes out since i learned early on that those bms that just shoot out of your ass like bottle rocket fireworks are not good!

well, here it is...the 3 week post-LIS+skin tag removal+lotta skin excisions update!
the good:
God has been so good to me along all this up and down, even in my darkest moments of weak faith
no blood / no discharges / no swollen / no fissure pain
finally said goodbye to the gauzes this past monday. i had been toying with wearing them intermittently over the weekend.
mysterious sensations slowly decreasing
big excision area opposite skin tag excision healed
no pain meds, stool softners, fiber uppers needed
(although my back has been screaming for pain meds - i guess i have to work on my posture now that i haven't sat on my ass for a while and while at work, i still on a pad that isn't flat so i am sure that is playing around with my posture issues)
while pooping this week, i have noticed the feeling of where the LIS was fading away each day. i think it was just this sunday where it was all gone.
i drove my car over this weekend. i am sure i could have been able to drive about week 1. but had no need to.
have been going to church services and sitting down more confidently.
work is fine.
did have a period of itchiness in the butt early in this update period. not so much anymore.
booked a flight to go see my family in TX this thursday night and come back on monday night. so in under 1 month, i am comfortable to go out and fly. these are 2 flights each, one is 3 hours, the other is 1 hour; but total time to get home is like 6 hours one way.
**
the mysterious:
well, i did have a horrific, suspenseful bout of constipation on sunday and monday. i think it was because i slowly reintroduced some non-fissure fare into the diet like:
1. 1 krispy kreme donut on saturday
2. 1 delicious cheesy pork enchilada saturday
3. 2 corn bread muffins and a creamy sweet potatoe mash along with a creamy southern grits sides orders - this was friday night
4. i allowed myself to finally eat a Potbelly sandwich - the mushroom melt with lots of mushrooms, regular on wheat but this also has 3 slices of cheese - this was thursday
5. i gave myself another Potbelly mushroom melt experience on friday but this time i accidently ordered everything on it - which I forget included hot peppers! YIKES!
i can say Friday nite, i went to the bathroom pronto and must have helped with the hot peppers. nothing bad happened but i did have strong cramps and the urge was so strong that i thought it was going to blow out of my ass.
anyway, to say that i over did it on the diet, it doesn't seem that i ate too many horrible things. but i did also allow myself to have some pretzel sticks (a la Smokey Bones) which are heavenly and i had about 4 chicken wings on Super Bowl Day.
other than that I have maintained most of my vegetable diet through the help of the vegetarian options at the neighborhood chinese take-out place (vegetable egg foo young, vegetable chow mei fun, vegetable moo shoo, broccoli and tofu, etc.) regular and well, i think the addition of too much wheat bread from the sandwiches, the donut, and the dairy from the enchilada, the sandwiches, and the pretzel sticks, all contributed to a Play-Do Poo Slow Down. i know my body blocks up everything with breads for sure.
It was the hardest work ever - getting that shit out! No pun intended. Not that I was playing Russian Roulette or anything or wanting to risk my good progress, but I am just knocking off the damn bread and cheese.
i must add it didn't help not staying hydrated with water over saturday and sunday.
**
any way back to the mysterious:
mentally it was the most challenging week for me since i had still been dealing with the testicle issue. that sent me into deep depression and well, my mind can make stories up at 1000 mph and they all seem true.
talking about not having sex, i had given up spending time with my monkey so that i can give up sin actions (and this i impose on myself, no one else), but after reading that sometimes petting the monkey can help release stagnant energy down there and possible congestion of semen. anyway, did that once for three days and the testicles seem to have been happy.
i haven't had the same discomforts that i started out with as it traveled elsewhere, which is why i got even more freaked out but as my butt mystery sensations began to decrease, so did the discomforts of my left testicle.
still will make an appt with my doc for eval but i know i should probably make one with a urologist to be the safest. i have been struggling with that step and i know i will make it by the end of the month. i still don't feel any lumps.
so i am really hoping it's all connected to the rewiring of nerves from the anal surgery and perhaps i have a very small groin hernia somewhere too.
**
**the ghosts of Laverne and Shirley past haunting hallowed ground....
and last but not least, the only area of concern i have at this time is the healing of the spot where Laverne & Shirley were. it is still closing but not completely closed.
unfortunately, during last night's amazingly easiest BM all week, my anus must have expanded to open easily but i guess the healing of Laverne & Shirley was not ready for that and I think the steps it was taking to close up may have re-opened. It's just at the site of the skin tag, which hopefully doesn't lead down to the site of where the fissure was.
in any event, there was no pain, just that quick opening of skin you sense like on a chapped lip. there was no blood. no funky discharge.
i always felt that area wasn't closing right and that altho the swelling is gone, there is a puffiness surrounding it, which i feel is odd. it is not painful to touch but it certainly exhibits some tenderness that other areas of the anus have already recovered from. so i am not sure if there is a small chance of clouds with meatballs or if there is a little potential infection there. i don't see any abnormal discharge from the area. this is the last area that remains to be healed 100!
i booked my CRS to see me and it tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. for follow-up.
**
despite all this going on, trying to find my way back to normal, the first time i actually felt normal after LIS, was this past Sunday.
mind you, there is are still psychological conditions to adjust to and hopefully in 6 months, everything will feel really normal = body + spirit + ass!
i felt really good yesterday, Tuesday.
looking forward to my follow-up tomorrow with CRS to take a look at my skin tag area and see if there is anything to do there. it's amazing, that those bulky soft easy poohs should be the easiest to deal with. HA!.
i am sure if Laverne and Shirley were still there last night, i would be in so much discomfort today!
and well, I am super good.
okay have a great day and I will post up next week for my 1 month post-LIS review.
scaredy_butt has inspired me to get back on the path to race! i have a 5K to do first week of April, so between the walking i do everyday to get to work and home (about 2 miles) plus pug walking, i think i will be ready to jump on my elliptical when i get back from my family trip and incorporate more yoga.
i owe all this goodness to God first and i thank for having great support with all of you amazing peeps!

You're kicking some major ass there dude! Subsequent ass blowout aside, I bet that potbelly sandwich must've tasted GREEEEAT!!! :)

Happy, have a great time visiting your family in TX. I hope the trip will be a treat for you.... Just don't eat too many Krispy Kreme donuts or Texas BBQ plates while you are there!!!!