Happy-
Given that I am scheduled for surgery this Thursday, I have been reading past experiences of others. I hope you are continuing to do well and that your other issue is nothing to be concerned about. One of the things I am looking forward to most is my own version of Laverne and Shirley being gone (very funny way of thinking about it, by the way!). I am also originally from Texas- assuming you are since your family is there and your food choices (grits!). I am originally from Victoria, down near the coast.Hope you have a nice time on your trip.
Bambi

hi bambi!
OMG, you are a Texan!!!! that is just dandy! And from Victoria. I have to drive along thru there when going out of 'the valley' as Brownsville is where I am from.
i had a great time in Texas but did have some set backs which I will report over the weekend. i didn't have access to hot baths (as in no tubs) and well, i had to wipe my bum often since I had no fabulous toilet gadget with me. and well, i did eat popcorn and let's just say that i won't be eating popcorn for a while.
i am past four weeks and i have entered a tricky phase of things but i am still hopeful. seems that i am part of that 'slow post-LIS fissure healing' group as my little fissure is taking its sweet time to close. and well, my skin tag incision is also taking its sweet time too. however, this is no cause for pity party! you can't rush perfection and my ass will be perfect and always happy.
i was reading another post where Dawn was voted the post-LIS Queen Dawn congratulations!
i am very happy though that i got this surgery as i did have HPV tissue that needed to be removed and getting rid of the torturous skin tag has already made things so much worth it.
i see attempting LIS as an added bonus and perhaps if i should have to get a second LIS (as yes, on my 3 week post-LIS surgery follow up, my CRS said that the fissure was healing slower than she would have liked, that if i was up for it, we could do another procedure. i think i am open to that now that i know this was really a piece of cake to do. and well, there are other variations in LIS that can be done and maybe the one she did wasn't the most beneficial in my situation.
i do want to continue my healing and i am willing to take a shot with the sufrexal ointment which i am trying to get my hands on in hopes that it will help aid the healing of the skin tag wound and secondly, the fissure tissue.

Happy,
You are a very busy man and I think that may cause slower healing for some...
Unfortunately most people can't set around and wait for all the healing to take place.
I think you will heal and eventually be where you need to be. Like you said- watch what you eat for a few months, and give it the best shot for a faster recovery.

hi dawn,
thanks for the words of encouragement.
actually in texas i ate mostly oatmeal every morning and my mom made her delicious vegetable soup with my favorite vegetables that i would eat with freshly made black beans.
i do admit that i did have my fried fish bonanza with cole slaw and beans a la charra one day and the last day, i just couldn't leave without eating my Church's fried chicken with veggies. i did try my best to take at least 50-60% of the fried crusts off the fish and chicken. otherwise, i did have a tame but delightful diet.
the one night that i think did me in was when we went to these little illegal gambling shacks that my mom and sister love to venture out to, those little shacks offer unlimited free sodas or water and sometimes they have mexican baked sweet breads, nachos, and actual dinners sometimes. anyway, i did indulge in 2 of my favorite sweet breads and the next day, i had no BM.
it's like bread, any kind of bread for me, i have a stop in my flow of BMs for about a day or two.
so sad because i love me all kinds of bread, especially hot out of the oven french baguettes with fresh mozz chuncks bathed in seasoned olive oil. yummy!!!! didn't have that of course.
i wish i could eat a pizza. Domino's cheesy bread is calling my name - well has been for weeks now. and so has this tasty double bacon cheeseburger at this burger joint. but as much as the temptation is strong, i am super super stronger to not go there yet.
i am really enjoying my vegetarian/macrobiotic days but am trying to sneak in a day of chicken or fish cause i know i need to get some animal protein in here somehow.
**
with my big meeting coming around in june, i just had to get back in the office especially since we are in performance review period.
but yes, i am determined that things will work themselves out as i am not in any pain whatsoever. Laverne & Shirley pain pre-LIS days are gone for good. Little baby fissure sometimes reminds me with a slight sensation of opening or light cut feeling. Still nothing compared to the days pre-LIS so it's all good.
although the CRS expressed disappointment in slow healing of the fissure, i am giving myself 6-8 months. i am only 1 month out. and i think overall, with everything i have been through, all is as it should be and with God's will, I will be happy with what I have got. He only has to say the Word, and I shall be healed.
i've been hiv+ for nearly 22 years now and i am still going super strong. my nuts seemed to have passed the physical test and feel test from the primary doc. my PSA serum exam came back at 0.28 so that is very good. everything in my blood work came back really good. just have some back discomfort that i'll have to get some new shoes to walk to work in that will help me with my posture and i have to get back to my elliptical and out jogging again.
fissure or no fissure, things could be much worse. yes, it may be a physical reminder that life isn't how I want it, but i ask God that if I can offer my body to suffer every day, please let this be my gift. i'll be happy to live with this fissure forever and it's ups and downs and I will still praise God for everything in my life.
now i am getting all emotional writing this.
okay, i am getting back to cleaning my home today on this day off from work - courtesy of work making some days without pay necessary. i'll take that too!

What is this you mention about maybe having another procedure done? I am wondering if maybe not enough of the muscle was cut during my surgery. I was doing well for a couple of weeks, but the last few BM's have been....not painful....but it feels like I have to struggle to get them out, and there is a small streak of blood on the toilet paper. Nothing like before with red toilet water or anything like that. I'm trying to not get too worked up about it because I know it hasn't even been 4 weeks yet, but things seemed to be going so well and now I feel like I've taken a step backwards.

hi scaredy_butt,
ah so you were in stirrups too! LOL! okay so i wasn't alone in that position! even though we weren't awake, i still don't think that i would have liked to have been flipped over.
anyway, i think maybe what you and i are going thru and perhaps others, is that as the days keep coming and the more time passes by, our anuses will attempt to find their way back to normal.
as we adjust to what that new normal is, i am sure that we will have to deal with small BMs, large BMs and those slushy ones, hard ones, etc. and we are bound to test the limits or new boundaries of our adjusted sphincters.
especially during these next six months, we will probably endure setbacks but hopefully they won't be the kind of setbacks that we dreaded when we were pre-LIS.
please don't get worked up over your situation yet as i am sure you are adjusting and well, the first two or three weeks post-LIS brought on so much confidence and almost eroded the worry of our next BM. i know i have been caught off guard of a sneaky BM that just flew out of my bum at least twice now - like a missle launched! - and well, it wasn't horrifically pleasant but it wasn't pleasant nonetheless.
i can tell you that during my completion of week four, that has been my most tricky and sadly doubtful week in the sense that i had some issues come up that i wasn't quite expecting to have.
these last few days though have been getting better though that i am feeling encouraged.
are you keeping up with your 3 soaks per day. i say that is key.
take it easy.
and don't worry too much. you are still recovering and healing despite resuming back with your normal life as i am.

That's great that you could enjoy at least some of the yummy homecooked food that you described while you were in Texas!
I think you have a great attitude about all of this and your health, taking a pro-active approach, and making plans to get back out exercising. It seems that life after LIS is also an up-and-down, typical AF roller-coaster experience, but I am sure it will be getting better. It just takes time.
Hope you can find some good shoes - they are so important to how your back feels! I have some shoe models that if I wear them, it gives me back problems pretty quickly.

Hello,
I am new to the site as i just joined this morning. Having been in tears of pain and frustration all morning..I am now in tears for you and I don't even know you!! I hope you continue to have an easy recovery! I will follow your progress as I feel like I have exhausted all options and may be there soon. Take care of yourself! Island Girl

hi island girl,
actually i am doing pretty good on the butt front.
i hope i can continue at this pace so that by end of month 2 - which i have the next 4 weeks to go, the skin tag and fissure sites are healed or at least getting smaller in closure! everything else is closed.
i hope we can help you with answering your questions and any concerns you have. there are so many of us that just had LIS in 2011 and many more from the past.
as much as we walk on eggshells prior to submitting to LIS surgery, it's not all easy peasy post LIS surgery since there are different eggshells to walk on but it's a different experience.
we do expect no pain. but at least the pain is less and although it can be disappointing when we went through surgery, i think it is part of the healing process.
the most important thing is to avoid post-surgical wound infection. that delays healing and speedy progress. of course, having a diet that works well with you to keep things soft is also very key and high maintenance of hot baths. it's all of work after LIS surgery but with patience and commitment, positive results will happen despite some bumpiness along the path!

happyass wrote:hi dawn,
thanks for the words of encouragement.
actually in texas i ate mostly oatmeal every morning and my mom made her delicious vegetable soup with my favorite vegetables that i would eat with freshly made black beans.
i do admit that i did have my fried fish bonanza with cole slaw and beans a la charra one day and the last day, i just couldn't leave without eating my Church's fried chicken with veggies. i did try my best to take at least 50-60% of the fried crusts off the fish and chicken. otherwise, i did have a tame but delightful diet.
the one night that i think did me in was when we went to these little illegal gambling shacks that my mom and sister love to venture out to, those little shacks offer unlimited free sodas or water and sometimes they have mexican baked sweet breads, nachos, and actual dinners sometimes. anyway, i did indulge in 2 of my favorite sweet breads and the next day, i had no BM.
it's like bread, any kind of bread for me, i have a stop in my flow of BMs for about a day or two.
so sad because i love me all kinds of bread, especially hot out of the oven french baguettes with fresh mozz chuncks bathed in seasoned olive oil. yummy!!!! didn't have that of course.
i wish i could eat a pizza. Domino's cheesy bread is calling my name - well has been for weeks now. and so has this tasty double bacon cheeseburger at this burger joint. but as much as the temptation is strong, i am super super stronger to not go there yet.
i am really enjoying my vegetarian/macrobiotic days but am trying to sneak in a day of chicken or fish cause i know i need to get some animal protein in here somehow.
**
with my big meeting coming around in june, i just had to get back in the office especially since we are in performance review period.
but yes, i am determined that things will work themselves out as i am not in any pain whatsoever. Laverne & Shirley pain pre-LIS days are gone for good. Little baby fissure sometimes reminds me with a slight sensation of opening or light cut feeling. Still nothing compared to the days pre-LIS so it's all good.
although the CRS expressed disappointment in slow healing of the fissure, i am giving myself 6-8 months. i am only 1 month out. and i think overall, with everything i have been through, all is as it should be and with God's will, I will be happy with what I have got. He only has to say the Word, and I shall be healed.
i've been hiv+ for nearly 22 years now and i am still going super strong. my nuts seemed to have passed the physical test and feel test from the primary doc. my PSA serum exam came back at 0.28 so that is very good. everything in my blood work came back really good. just have some back discomfort that i'll have to get some new shoes to walk to work in that will help me with my posture and i have to get back to my elliptical and out jogging again.
fissure or no fissure, things could be much worse. yes, it may be a physical reminder that life isn't how I want it, but i ask God that if I can offer my body to suffer every day, please let this be my gift. i'll be happy to live with this fissure forever and it's ups and downs and I will still praise God for everything in my life.
now i am getting all emotional writing this.
okay, i am getting back to cleaning my home today on this day off from work - courtesy of work making some days without pay necessary. i'll take that too!

Happy,
Sorry I'm late responding but I just saw your post. You're making me so hungry. I miss fried chicken and have snuck and ate two wings on two different occasions. They were so good! Last night I only ate two bites of pizza.
I think we'd get along great with the food choices and the gambling shacks,Lol
I honestly don't think it's been that long since your LIS and by reading many other post on here, it's just not that unusual to have highs and lows with this surgery. I'm not sure why I have been so lucky but I thank God every day!
I am looking forward to the day that I can take more than a couple of bites of the forbidden food and not worry about anything happening with my fissure. I have no idea if that's possible right now because I have been to much of a chicken to see!
You have been blessed and no doubt God has his hand on you having HIV for 22 years and still going strong. My husbands Uncle has had HIV for about the same number of years also.
Take care and thanks for the LIS Queen Vote