Any help/advice on the following welcome...
I've had a chronic anterior fissure since around Feb (probably an old one I had that healed years ago).
I tried dilt and rectogesic - with no real results and the usual side effects - soreness, headaches etc.
About three weeks ago, I decided to cut out both and switched to a mix of wheatgerm oil and wheatgrass cream.
As I reported on a post here - pain seemed to reduce steadily but I got a strong pressure in the anus; not quite straining - but feeling of downward (ie. out of anus) force. Even felt that I could sometimes clench and tighten everything up again.
Anyway - 10 days ago wife and I went on holiday to France - I kept using stool softeners and oil/wheatgrass - we cycled a lot (old style bike with soft saddle) and ate French food - more white flour/cheese etc than usual. What do you know - the rear end stung a lot after cycles but this subsided quickly. Then, for about four days at end - pain more or less went.
Came home very happy and relaxed. Had a thai takeaway meal - slightly firm results the next day. Cycled to work and sat in office for last two days - I work at a computer. You guessed it - pain back! Not as bad as initially but feeling deeper and more nagging than the recent stinging.
Any views? I'm confused? Do I go back on french diet? Work on a chaise longue rather than a chair? Worried I'll have torn everything as deep as ever. Any views?

In my absolute honest opinion, I honestly think that, unless you have problems with constipation and that is the only thing that caused it, that all the diet stuff is overrated. Before my fissure, I had a healthy diet, hated junk food, ate loads of fruit and veg, and ended up with a fissure! My hubby loves junk food, lots of my friends have very unhealthy diets - none of them have a fissure! When I had surgery my crs told me I had a very small, very tight you-know-where, that was causing the problems.
When I had the fissure, I suddenly got "constipation" which, I believe wasn't constipation, just the muscle spasming so hard it was impossible to "go".
I followed a high fibre diet, did everything I should and could to heal it, but still ended up with surgery.
I'm now on a low carb diet (everything we are warned against...!) and perfectly fine.
The moral of my story? It might be just the way you are made that is causing the problem, not the diet!

I think you may be right.
Funnily enough - in the past, when I've had hemmy problems they seem to come when I eat to much fibre - bran flakes etc. When I reduce wheat-based fibre things calmed down.
I have IBS so this may be the problem - you don't really want to speed transit up with IBS.
I may see what happens if I just eat what I damn well want. Hospital appointment in 3 weeks so they can see what's going on down/up there!

Val,
I've wondered the same thing about it just being the way we are made( anatomy). I can not find the post but I read where a few of the boardies were discussing that there dentist even compalined about the size of their mouths being too small to work in. I have had the same problem and I found that weird that they were discussing all there parts being small. I got constipated once and got my fissure. I didn't normally get constipated often. Maybe three times in my whole life. After I got my fissure I had the spasms that I couldn't have a normal bm. It would clench tight when I needed to go.
I know tons of people who eat awful and don't have fissures too.
Bluefizz,
The one thing I would definitely avoid is the sharp foods! I had the shards of glass return after eating some nuts when I had my fissure.

Agree about sharp stuff - this thing started after I rather stupidly went on a high protein diet and ate several handfuls of nuts everyday - it's not easy to chew nuts to a fine pulp and to be blunt (should I say sharp) they came out in rather large, irregular, rough edged pieces... the results speak for themselves!

Oh, well I suppose you would have to watch your diet if you have IBS then! I think if anyone has any kind of other gastric problems, then diet would be important. But I also think we suddenly become aware .. no, make that OBSSESSED! with how our number twos exit! Which is totally reasonable as they hurt so much, and obviously we need to avoid the dreaded constipation, but sometimes the overthinking of it all seems to make it worse.
I am only going on my own experience, of course. Everyone is different, and high fibre diets are recommended for a fissure! And if you go overboard on anything constipating, then it could cause trouble.
Are you taking any stool softeners?

That's strange Dawn, about other body parts being small too. I didn't see the post about that. Maybe they'll find a medical term for that!!
Funny enough, now on my low carb again, nuts play a very big part in that, and I dont have any trouble with them. Yet! Probably will, now I've said that! :roll:

Yeah, Dawn and Val, I remember the posts about small body parts - and I think there might be something to it. My dentist complains that my mouth is too small too! I'm pretty small all over and I also got a fissure despite a pretty healthy diet.

Bluefizz - I always have trouble with my digestive system when I travel. Once I get to where I'm going, I can adapt to new food. But it does take me quite a while to re-adjust once I get home. I think part of the problem is getting dehydrated during the trip. I never drink as much water as I should on an airplane. It is especially challenging with IBS! (I think I had a transient, post-infectious form of IBS a few months ago, but I don't know because this condition can 'flare' too!). Much of what you are describing is quite common for fissure sufferers, and getting those BMs just right is, as Val mentioned, something many of us get obsessive about! I've started having oatmeal with blueberries for breakfast every morning with lots of water during the day, and it's worked wonders for me so far. It doesn't speed up the transit, but keeps things moving, and adds some bulk too.

Here's one for you all-
I quit smoking january. Then my problem started with constipation. I used to smoke use loo and shower before I went off to work. Mmmmmm.............

I think it is just a human trait to have to blame something! Whenever anything happens, we wrack our brains and try to think why it happened.......but maybe our fissures were always going to happen. Maybe we just have tiny deformed little buttholes, that can't cope and just suddenly wear out!