My story so far

Are you having, or have you had a Lateral Internal Sphincterotomy (LIS)? Please share your experiences here, or ask any questions.

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Re: My story so far

Postby dexterdude » 17 Aug 2011, 10:52

Ok, I'm going in for dilation tomorrow. Expressed my fears about the cut to the doc and he agreed we won't cut anything (well except maybe inside, if he examines it and finds something weird, hopefully not).
The dilation itself will not be a big one, he said something like max 2.5cm. But here comes the good part: afterwards I will have to do it myself, for some months, twice a day, with a dilator. Sounds kinky? Well it is, but not up my alley. And of course it's not quite clear to me how I will do that with all the pain...
But, my doc is hell-bent on trying every other possibility before LIS, so I guess I'll give it a shot. Wish me luck!
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Re: My story so far

Postby val » 17 Aug 2011, 11:06

Ugh, that sounds awful!
Best of luck tomorrow Dexter!
ps why won't your doc do LIS?
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Re: My story so far

Postby dexterdude » 17 Aug 2011, 11:34

Well three reasons I suppose:
1. He doesn't like it because it might lead to incontinence when I'm old
2. He wants to try all other possible non-permanent treatments first
3. He never did it himself, although his boss, another CRS did it "many times"
To be honest, I kind of agree to trying non-permanent (or at least no-super-invasive) stuff first. But I hope that if this doesn't work, he will eventually send me to his boss :p
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Re: My story so far

Postby val » 17 Aug 2011, 14:18

Um, that doesn't sound like too good a CRS! It's rather like a dentist saying he's never taken a tooth out!
Even "many times" doesn't sound too promising!
My opinion is that I'd rather be pain-free until I'm 90 then suffer a bit of incontinence IF it happens, rather than suffer until I'm 90! None of us who's had LIS have any issues with incontinence anyway!
I hope the dilation works for you, and you don't even have to think about LIS!
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Re: My story so far

Postby Deleted User 579 » 17 Aug 2011, 16:22

Hey Dexter! You have likely already read this, but there is a newbie here who very helpfully posted his experience with dilation:
http://anal-fissure.org/t3341-hello-i-would-like-to-share-my-fissure-experience
I have heard of it being done successfully. But I'm with Val in questioning your CRS. I'd rather talk to somebody who has had experience with LIS and find out what they have to say about both procedures. But that's just me, and if you trust your CRS, then that's what matters. Trying the less invasive procedure first certainly makes sense. :D
I really hope the dilation works and you beat the beast for good!
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Re: My story so far

Postby Guest » 17 Aug 2011, 16:37

val wrote:Um, that doesn't sound like too good a CRS! It's rather like a dentist saying he's never taken a tooth out!
Even "many times" doesn't sound too promising!
My opinion is that I'd rather be pain-free until I'm 90 then suffer a bit of incontinence IF it happens, rather than suffer until I'm 90! None of us who's had LIS have any issues with incontinence anyway!
I hope the dilation works for you, and you don't even have to think about
LIS!

Val,
we think so much a like, it's almost scary to me ,Lol.
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Re: My story so far

Postby dexterdude » 18 Aug 2011, 06:22

I'm back. The surgery itself was, again, a breeze: go to sleep, wake up, done.
Afterwards the doc came by and told me how it went:
- the cut from the fissurectomy is healing "surprisingly good". He told me that the fissurectomy is a "deep cut" surgery, but in my case the layers up to the mucosa were already healed. So it's just the mucosa that still has to heal and that is what's causing the pain and bleeding.
- the mucosa (or rather the tissue around it) had already started to harden up a bit since the fissurectomy, so he "refreshed" it a bit. Now I should have the equivalent of a acute anal fissure, not chronic, so better chance to heal.
- the dilation he did was up to 4cm (or 4 fingers). He said from his point of view it went fine, but now comes my part: i have to do it also myself once a day (originally, before the intervention, he told me twice, but now said based on what he saw, i need to do it only once) and then we see each other in 6 weeks.
About the dilation I have to do:
- i have to get a dilator; he told me these are hard to come by in pharmacies, so, don't laugh, i should try to get it from ebay :) (yes, his words). I indeed tried the pharmacy, they of course don't have it, and will look to see if they could order it by next week. I will try myself in the meantime, I need a 3cm max dilator.
- until I get a dilator, he told me to use two fingers; as before one finger was very painful, I have to mentally prepare myself for the incredible possibility of sticking two fingers up there...will start with one though Image
- process is: get it in, get it out, done. No need to hold it there or do some other stuff. But care is, of course, needed.
Now I just got home and, of course, took a look down there. Taking the gauze off was a pain (because of the tape) and the gause itself had a bit of blood.
Note: if you're squeamish or don't like TMI, skip the next part.
Still here? Allright. First though I have to say they shaved me (or waxed or something). It's actually a good feeling, feels...free-er :) As for the part in question, to be honest I can't say much at the moment. Some things though:
- no blood coming out, that's always good
- washed a bit and it stung a bit, not that bad though
- not in pain at the moment, more of a sore feeling; however, the doc told me he did a local anesthesia and it will be painful later (not looking forward to that!)
- the hole itself looks bigger, of course I can't relax it enough to actually tell, but if I'm seeing correctly, looks about double in size
- it's interesting that it's double in size vertically , being "closed"; i would hope it's also bigger horizontally, won't be able to tell this though until the first BM (which btw am not looking forward to)
- the area looks a bit swollen, but tbh nowhere near as bad as it did after the fissurectomy
- no spasm or tightness to be felt. As I felt the usual tightness this morning after my BM, this could be viewed as a step forward.
My biggest fear right now is incontinence. I have read that it's possible to get it after a stretch. I'm hoping that since I was so tight, I would now be normal, so I won't have issues, but I don't know.
Also, the doc told me it will hurt for a few days and it will bleed for a few days. Since for the fissurectomy (theoretically a more invasive procedure) he told me it might hurt and might bleed, I'm expecting the worst :(
But, I had to try it and I also hope my story helps someone else.
In the end, thanks for the support everyone, will keep you updated.
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Re: My story so far

Postby Deleted User 579 » 18 Aug 2011, 07:13

Wow Dexterdude! Thanks so much for the great post. There's lots of info here that will be very helpful to people researching various options.
I'm so glad the surgery was a breeze and that you're not in too much pain. How long to you have to dilate? I'm so glad the process doesn't require you to do much more than the in-and-out, but I definitely understand why it still isn't something you look forward to doing! Yikes! I really hope it turns out to be not too painful.
Definitely keep us updated. I hope you're having a good day! :D
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Re: My story so far

Postby dexterdude » 18 Aug 2011, 07:23

How long, good question. Doc said at least a couple of months, but since we have an appointment in 6 weeks I guess by then I will be able to tell if it's working or not.
Reg. the surgery, they are just too easy these days. The procedure itself I mean. Nobody should be even remotely scared of it. It's more the after-care and effects that we should think about, but the surgery, surely not!
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Re: My story so far

Postby Deleted User 579 » 18 Aug 2011, 16:16

It's great that you have a follow-up in 6 weeks, that way you can see if the self-dilation is working as it should. I think you're absolutely right that it's the recovery that is more challenging than the surgery itself (well, as long as you have the surgery done properly and not by my Dr. Death!). It sounds like you're feeling much better. Image I know that you'll probably have a few painful days still, but hopefully the pain will diminish as you continue the treatment. Here's to healing that a fissure forever! :D
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