Hey guys. sorry been gone for a few days been out of it too blinkin ill.
Anyway, been to docs today yeyyyy...not! (the unsympathatic .... he is.)
Please advise me, If you had fissures for over 3 months or longer/shorter/whatever, and suffered mostly with constipation and then diarrhoea (that runs out with no warning by the way) It is now 4+ days this time. Would you think that it is ok for ur GP to tell you here is some cream (that I asked for!) Ask for a sick note, and then G.P says its ok to wait for hospital appointment for scan in now 2 wks, and see consultant crs in 6 weeks lol..honestly! Oh, and don't come to me ur under the CRS now as your in their care! UK boardies, aren't our GP's supposed to hurry up this blinkin NHS appointment when their is an obvious problem or underlying one or just fissures never mind owt else? Instead, I got told, we can't rule out cancer, (after I asked) and u might have "something" pressing on ur bowel?" Oh, but if the diarrohoea consists then I will take a stool sample!! in another 7 days. Happy days!! Tell U what, if I have got cancer I will make sure my 4 kids sue the ass offa you if I die, as they only have me!! I have been seeking medical help for months how!!! Incompetent or what? Sorry guys, writing this counsells me lol....God, all I want is to find out that it is fissures and here is LIS etc..ASAP. Now, I have the added worry that I might have something else? Crohns disease now looks like the blinkin best option! Jee Wizz, this is the first time in my life I have ever ever been jealous of the American System for Health Care... Insurance!! Again, WAKE UP BRITISH G.P.'S there is a reason why you never SPECIALISED !!!!!!! I blinkin hope some Doctor will read this and help me do something about it...Fissures ruin lives!!! Us patients in the UK need ur help!! So bloody help us out and be sympathetic!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE or tell me why the hell you studied medicine afterall????

Aww, sorry you're having to go through all that. What a complete asshole.Can you get a second opinion? Could you afford to go private, just for a consultation? It would be around Ј150. That could then fastrack you into NHS care. And you would have the best of the best's opinion as all the surgeons are consultant surgeons.
Dont panic yet that it's something nasty - easier said than done, I know, but it might just be your digestive system is up the creek because of all this. And stress doesn't help either!
I hope you can get better treatment and find a good competent doctor. And I truly hope that you have nothing serious.
Hang in there, we're all here with you xx

Val, Thankyou!! I feel so poorly and desperate really!! Unfortunately for me, I can't afford to go private. I am a single mum...granted 2 our in uni but still I am not in the position to help myself financially. But, your reply alone makes me feel not as alone as I feel! So, again, thanks val xx

Could you find another doctor? Change your gp?? TELL that gp in no uncertain terms what you want and need??
You gotta get really tough, go back to that unsympathetic git and say you will sue him if he doesn't give you proper treatment.
Could you phone your surgery and ask for a stool sample pot (say the doctor forgot to give it to you) and then they'll send it off for you. You could pretend you misunderstood him and thought you had to send one off now.

Aw I'm so sorry you're going through this! I have also been having battles with the NHS, had an op for something different. Was later in hospital for a second time. Waited 2 weeks for an MRI, until later they identified a fissure. As I was an in-patient I am under the colorectal people now, but have been given cream and told I would be seen within 1-2 months. My appointment came through for 4 months later, I still have a month to wait! I got a bit tough with my GP and requested a private consultation, which was useful but I have been recommended a treatment I now can't afford private! So am waiting again for the NHS appointment but at least have something to argue with now. Could you go back and see a different doctor, or ring the hospital where you have your scan and ask their advice? You should not have to wait this long if they suspect something serious. My GP wouldn't hurry the process either, I would take a sample into the docs and ask it to be tested. That doesn't give them a choice!! I hope you get some success with it all :)

So sorry Andrea. I'm with Val. I bet your digestive system is out of whack. When I first got my fissure, I thought I was getting constipated a lot because I had the urge but couldn't go. It wasn't constipation. The muscle was clenching tight and wouldn't relax so I could go. It was very confusing because I had the urge but couldn't go. Maybe the Movicol was over kill and caused the upset tummy.
Please don't let your mind wonder. I just knew I had colon cancer or something awful and it turned out to be nothing but the fissure.
I don't know much about NHS. I'm from the US. I wish I could help you more. Val is a smart lady and gives good advice.
I know since I came to this forum, I have gained a great appreciation for our health care in the US and can't believe what others have to go through to get care. It makes me so angry to see others have to suffer or jump through hoops to get good care!!

Oh Andrea! I totally understand your frustration with your GP. It sounds to me like he should be chucked. So many of them really are so ignorant and unsympathetic! We have the same problems with wait times in Canada. It's just nuts! I had to throw a fit in ER before I got a competent surgeon who agreed to treat me off hours - after eights months of fighting with the medical system!Are you having lots of abdominal pain? Why do you think you might have Crohns?
My whole digestive system went way out of whack with my fissure. I developed IBS symptoms and really struggled for quite a while. My system got so weird that I got a colonoscopy to rule out Crohns and Ulcerative Colitis - that was scary! I was tested for Celliac too. A GI I saw a few days ago says I likely have post-infectious IBS, but it's resolving. Things got a lot better after my LIS - digesting properly is really difficult when you're in extreme pain and suffering with extreme anxiety, as most folks with fissures do, so whatever was wrong with my digestive system was definitely made a lot worse by the fissure! Now that I'm not in pain, not anxious and can eat more kinds of food, the diarrhea and upset stomach are gone. What I'm saying is that you shouldn't worry just yet about all the scary possibilities about underlying conditions. It's good to rule out other conditions, but don't underestimate how much fissure pain and anxiety can mess up the disgestion process!
I really think that if it's possible you should get another GP. I can't understand what the heck your GP is thinking "dumping" you just because you are also seeing a specialist! He's a donk! I also agree with Val that you should just give them a stool sample, don't wait for that donk to order one for you. (Maybe just show up at the lab, drop the ole drawers and leave a fresh sample on the front desk - yes, I've fantasized about doing that! :D)
You'll be okay - you will get over this, just don't let this dip-stick doctor get in the way of your progress!

Oh girls, you have put a big smile on my face :D
Love the expresssion "Donk" ha ha oh and turning up to the lab etc...very funny and quite a satisfying thought lol x
Well, after a good nights sleep and my rant to your poor lot on the other end-I feel alot better
I am looking at this now as if it were somebody else and what wud I say? I wud agree most definately with Val like you do dawn and hope. I think that the constant worry of going the loo has given me a "nervous bowel!!"
And, taking the movicol last week just threw my insides into turmoil. Phew, I feel so grateful and humble to have you all 26 letters of the alphabet away ;-) You all don't know how much you are helping! I just dearly wish, that I to can be of help to you all too! We live & learn. Sue is going thru the same thing too ah x I hope u have better luck than me Sue
Well, this gal is going to change her doctor. And take your advice! Will keep u posted.
P.S Hope re:chron's
Since I go from constipation to diarrhoea and have abdo pain and my two fissures are not in the usual 12 or 6 position: I am jumping to conclusions after googling oops...

So glad you're feeling better today Andrea.
STAY AWAY FROM GOOGLING!!!! I know from experience, that although very helpful, things on the internet can frighten the life out of you. I've had 2 fistulas, and now perhaps another one, it's supposed to be only people with crohns who get them reoccurring. My fissure is at 7 oclock, or 4 o clock to the crs, so that's weird too, but I haven't got crohns. Until you are difinitely diagnosed with anything, keep an open mind.
I hope you can change doctors quickly. But you still have to specifically TELL them what you want. If you want to be referred somewhere, be firm and keep repeating it over and over until they take you seriously. Just sit there, dont move until you get what you want. So know in advance what you want from your gp, and go for it girl!!

Sorry to hear about all that! I'm in the US.. went to a GP, who had no idea what the fissure/fistula I had was... only when I went to an experienced CRS did he identify that I had an anal fissure and a fistula... just had my surgery on Thursday, I'm feeling good now and certainly do not regret it. Best of luck to you, I hope you heal soon.