I know how you feel there buddy! I had that experience ... one step forward, two steps back. But soon that turns into two steps forward, one step back. And then that becomes two steps forward, one step forward. It will happen ... you'll be going forward soon. It's just so F*%%&g frustrating when you start feeling better and then things take a bad turn.
Do you think increasing your soluable fiber would help bulk up the BM and slow things down a bit? That's helped me (I eat potatoes, squash, peas, brown rice).
Hang in there! It'll get better.

Hey Mike-
I had a lot done when I had an LIS - 2 Fissurectomy plus skin tag, fistulotomy. So I felt like I was passing razor blades and I didn't get relief from the spasms either......
A trick that helped me a little. Get a bottle that you can squirt. I would fill this with warm water and as I was going I would squirt the area. This helped some with the pain for me as I was going. Still had to deal with the spasms from hell afterwards.
I agree the more BM = more suffering. It is such a tricky balance to strike. I found Citrucel to be the most effective for me. It bulks but keeps things soft. I only take 1/2 dose a day though since I didn't want to go to many times. My BM are on the loose side though so I was taking it mainly for the bulking effect.
I hope that you can find some relief soon.

Mike,
Were you taking laxatives with a stool softener? If so, I would stop the laxatives and just take the stool softener and/or like Hope said increase the soluble fiber.
If you had regimen that was working before with your bm's, and can return to that, then I would do that and maybe just increase the softeners a little because of pain meds.
Good Luck, hope things get better for ya soon.

Hey Brewmaster Mike,
I'm not sure how I managed to miss your username, but welcome :)
I would definitely get back on stool softeners. They are a MUST for dealing with fissures and IMO also during LIS recovery. My recommendation would be to find one that works for you and stick with it. I'm not a fan of using several kinds of laxatives/stool softeners/fiber adders unless you've spent a lot of time tinkering with the formula, because it's hard to find the right balance, and you have a hard time telling what's doing what for you. But personally I don't think skipping stool softeners altogether is wise either ... believe me, I know it's tempting to try to cut down on the number of poops, but it's poop softness that should be the #1 priority.
A lot of us swear by Miralax. That includes me. Some others find that it softens things up too much, and get better results using docusate sodium. Still other likes bulk fiber adders like Metamucil. Either way, soft stool is the key, even if it increases poop frequency.
Also, I like Paul's idea and actually still carry such a bottle to this day (just in case):

PaulsPain wrote:A trick that helped me a little. Get a bottle that you can squirt. I would fill this with warm water and as I was going I would squirt the area. This helped some with the pain for me as I was going. Still had to deal with the spasms from hell afterwards.

These are cheap and you can find them for sale on Amazon and lots of other sites by just searching for "peri bottle" or "perineal bottle":
http://www.amazon.com/Lavette-Bottle-Perineal-Irrigation-DYND70125H/dp/B000VSXSX2
If you have a medical supplies store nearby (not CVS or Walgreens but something that specializes in medical supplies) they should have them in stock for a few bucks each too.

P.S.
I just read Dawn's post. I agree wholeheartedly. If you're taking Percocet, IMO a stool softener is not optional -- it's mandatory -- unless you have some other problem that causes constant diarrhea. I have some other chronic pain conditions and take opiates (either codeine, Vicodin, or Percocet) as needed. Without stool softeners, they cause constipation, which is a huge no-no for anything butt related. But with Miralax, these drugs have almost no impact on my regularity and I still pass soft fluffy stools with ease even after I have a couple pills.

BMs post surgery are a rotten shock, and loads of them sucks! I had that straight after my surgery, as I hadn't "tweaked" the softeners and got it right. I'm with everyone else though - if you stop them altogether and you take constipating pain meds then you will truly freak out. A hard BM straight after surgery will be a hideous torture - please don't do that!
Different things work for different people, even variations of the same medication - I find ordinary tramadol to be very effective, but the timed-release tramadol doesn't work at all. So it might be worth talking to your doc and asking for a different pain killer.
I know it's no consolation at the moment, but it will get better. These first days are really horrible, but it does improve,albeit very slowly.
Hang in there buddy!

Yeah Mike - I completely agree with everyone. Stay on the stool softeners while you are on painkillers. I just suggest soluable fiber to add bulk - in my case I use Miralax, but I also eat soluable fiber so that the stool is soft, but semi-formed and not watery (the watery stuff burns like a %^&#). It just takes some tweeking to get the right combo of stool softener with the right kind of food, I found.
It will get better!

Another day, another painful bm. This time it was one big long solid stool instead of previously smaller ones. One of my problems is that I can only get part of it out before the muscle clenches and cuts off the rest. If I could get it all out at once I'd probably go less.
I appreciate everyone's input. I'll stick with the Miralax but cut it back to half a dose. I called my surgeon's office today and they wouldn't let me talk to him but told me to double up on Valium (which has had zero effect on me so far) and also they refilled my old Rx of Nifedipine which may help some. I'm not seeing any improvement in the bm department though and I'm supposed to go back to work Thursday. At this rate I don't see that happening.

Hey Mike,
Give the Valium a bit of time -- it has a super long half life and also produces three active metabolites. It can take time to build up in your body before you feel therapeutic effects. I don't know if you're taking the 2 mg, 5 mg, 10 mg tablets or the liquid suspension, but I'd guess it's the 5 mg tablets since those are the most commonly prescribed. Those aren't super strong, particularly if you're a big dude or if you've ever taken other sedatives in the past (not sure if you have but just saying). Doubling the dose may allow you to feel it a lot more too because you have to hit a critical threshold before anything really happens. Trust me, I should know, as I'm a Valium addict :(
Nifedipine + Valium + Miralax sounds like a good "fissure combo" to me. You can play with the Miralax dosage and see what results you get. Many of us use "custom" doses to match our needs and bodies rather than any sort of standard dosage.

That makes sense about the valium, NG. It freakin worked a miracle for me and it was puzzling me why it isn't doing anything for Mike,