Hi Folks,
Went to my CRS today and he checked on my little friend, well as I had suspected from my pain, it is not healing!
He recommended we do surgery this Friday (first he said, "how about tomorrow?").
- It'll be Open LIS as he feels he can control it better and ensure the right tension release
- There will be 2 stitches on the cut, very small cut
- He will cauterize/burn the fissure itself to promote healing
- Since I'm in pain, I do not have to do an enema before the surgery, just no liquid/food midnight before
- He has done "hundreds of these, 3-4 per month, easy procedure"
- He said males have less chance of incontinence then women, he feels it's less than 1%
- He only said I'd get Percocet to help with pain. Do I need anything else?!?
Thanks people, I'm really nervous!!!

ss,
Many people here have been helped greatly via Lis!!

Congratulations on getting the date set!!
No worries! Of course, you'd be nuts if you weren't nervous, but it sounds like you have a very confident surgeon who does tons of these things and that is exactly what you want.
Percocet should definitely be heavy-duty enough to handle your pain. I was given Norco, which is weaker, but I took ibuprofen along with it and I was fine. The pain got a lot better after the first 3 days or so, didn't need painkillers too much anymore, but I wasn't quite walking straight for a little over a week.
You'll be so glad it's over! And you don't have much time to worry over it...some of us have had to live through weeks and weeks of waiting for surgery!

I am so happy for you, SS! To not have to go thru the waiting doesn't give you much time to worry! I have 7 days til mine but if they called me today to have it tomoro I would jump on it! Good luck tomoro I'm sure it will go well and u will be on the happy road to healing in no time! Ask for the Valium again. It stops the spasms.

Congratulations ss! I tried to post last night, but was unsuccessful for some reason. Anyway, I completely understand your nervousness - but I'm sure this is going to help you a lot. Have you got your favourite stool softeners stockpiled? The painkillers can be constipating, so you'll want to make sure that you have what you need to have good BMs (Miralax is a favourite among the folks here, from what I've read). You may also want to make sure that you've got all your fissure-friendly meals lined up too. You've probably already thought of all this and I'm just going by what I read of people's experiences here, so I'll let the knowledgable folks give you better advice. I've been thinking a lot about what I may need next month in the very likely event that I will be getting the surgery myself. I'm very happy for you, despite how scary this all is, because the odds are very good that you will have a great outcome and you will be much happier very soon. The end is in sight!
Good luck tomorrow and let us know how you are doing!

Doc prescribed "Oxycodone/APAP 5mg - 325mg", 1 to 2 tablets every 4 hours.
Is this stuff really strong? I'm scared to take narcotics as I do not want to be constipated.
Should I be taking this meds plus:
- 1 dosage of Miralax (17g)
- Plenty of veggies/fruit
- Citrucel 1x
- Magnesium 300mg
- Lots of water
anything else I can do to prevent constipation? I'm scared as constipation is what caused this damn AF in the first place.

Narcotics are constipating, yes, but Miralax should be enough to counter that. It did for me anyway. I also started taking Citrucel 1x/day several days after the surgery and I've stuck with that, since I like it. I think you'll be just fine with that regimen.
You can probably get by with just ibuprofen after the first few days anyway, and then you won't have to worry about constipation as much. I took 600 mg at a time.
And, even if you somehow did get constipated and have a setback...remember, that's why you're having the surgery! So it's bound to get better quickly, the odds are very high that it will since the root cause of the problem will finally be fixed!

Yay SS...Good Luck tomorrow.
My surgery is Monday morning and I have the same concerns as you. Constipation and pain...I think I'd rather have some Valium or Xanax than the painkillers because I don't want to be constipated. But the nurse did tell me that if I keep to the miralax and fiber it shouldn't be a problem. Ideally, I'd like pain meds and anxiety meds, but the doc might think I'm a drug addict?
What is the difference between open and closed?
Think Good Thoughts...and breathe deep!

From what I understand...
Open LIS = a cut it made to expose internal sphincter muscle and it's visibly cut. The cut then has to be stitched close.
Closed LIS = the knife is inserted parallel to skin in front of muscle then turned to cut the muscle. Then it's just pulled out.
Closed is supposed to be less invasive but the surgeon is then going off "gut and knowledge" in the cut rather than visual confirmation. My doc is doing open because he feels he can then cut it right and know when the tension is released - so he can also cut customized to the patient, not just arbitrary.

Thansk for the explanation about the difference between open and closed LIS, SS - that's really helpful!
From what I've read here, just about everyone gets very worried about constipation with painkillers, but it seems that as long as stool softeners are taken and the diet is right, there are no problems. I've even read about some folks who have gone a day or two with no BMs, even though they've taken the stool softeners, and they get panicky - but then when they go, it's not nearly as bad as they thought it would be. I also think valium is a great idea - it seems to have helped many people here and I don't think you're doc will think you're a drug addict. Well, as long as you don't go into the office smelling like pot and asking for quaaludes. (Only do that for your follow-up!) It sounds to me like you both have a routine worked out very well - I'll be asking you for all kinds of advice if and when it's my turn!
Good luck on Monday Frustrated! We are cheering for you and SS :D