I'd like to introduce myself as it seems like I'll be around here for awhile, but thank goodness for this board. I had never heard of an anal fissure and although I haven't been officially diagnosed yet I did some online studying and this has to be it.
I was diagnosed with cervical cancer at the beginning of this year. Had major surgery that supposedly got rid of the cancer and just finished 31 follow-up radiation treatments. I also had a colonoscopy the first week of radiation and that came out fine.
After the cancer diagnosis I started eating super healthy. Only ate meat about once a month, was juicing and eating lots of fruits and veggies. Went to an allergist and found out I have food allergies, the worse as far as convenience and taste were wheat and garlic. So I tried keeping those two items out and it isn't easy. I've been constipated most of my life and this healthy way of eating finally made me regular, with healthy yet soft stools.
Once I went on the radiation they told me to stop juicing and eating raw fruits & veggies as many people going through radiation got diarrhea. I was nauseous a lot of the time and started eating more meat, although I stayed away from red meat.
I noticed the butt pain after one case of burning hot diarrhea (which I only had about 4 times throughout the radiation). So that's what started it, although I also suffered from constipation, probably from the change in eating habits. Then one day, just a couple of weeks ago, I got the worst toothache I've ever had and ended up having an emergency root canal. The Vicodin I took caused terrible constipation and what I thought was healing up is as bad as ever.
I mentioned it several times to my radiologist/oncologist. He just said it's a bleeding hemorrhoid and told me to take sitz baths and use Preparation H. This wasn't like any hemorrhoid I've ever had so I searched online and the symptoms are most surely an anal fissure.
I'm eating soft foods, bought a sitz bath thing and trying to convince myself to treat water like medication. I've always had a difficult time downing water and that might be the reason I was constipated most of my life. I'm just not a water drinker. Many days I'd be lucky to get 2-3 glasses of liquids in. I've tried lemon water and I do love iced tea and make iced decaf green tea all the time. That makes it a little easier, but I still have to consciously drink.
I was never a doctor person but this year I'm seeing a ton of docs. The next appointment will be to get this anal fissure fixed. I was so hoping I could heal it naturally but reading this forum it sounds like I might need surgery. Dang! I've been under anesthesia 3 times this year already - prior to this I never had surgery.
I need to find the right balance of what to take to get soft stools without it turning to diarrhea. As painful as hard stools are, burning diarrhea leaves me hurting longer after. Right now I am easing into plain Benefiber powder - starting with 1 tsp. a day. I also have doc-o-lace left over from my major surgery but when I took two of those the other day I had bad diarrhea the following day, so I'm afraid to take them again. I was thinking of trying one a day but need to take this extra stuff a little at a time.
Time to make the doctor appt. but now I can't remember what kind of doctor to use for this problem. I'll have to get back to reading, had a page up but lost it while closing down the computer last night.

Hey there,
I wanted to say welcome to the forum! :)
So sorry to hear all that you have already gone through and now have ended up with a fissure.
Finding the right balance to make soft formed stools can be a struggle for most folks. Some find the fiber supplements such as metamucil, benefiber helpful for bulking up stools. For some- such as myself, fiber supplements add to much bulk so I just stick with a stool softener(Miralax). Some find a combination of both work well. It can be hard to figure it out and since we are all different we have to experiment and with a little trial and error figure it out. I found keeping a food diary when I had my fissure helpful in figuring out which fiber foods worked best for me. That may be something you could consider...
I saw you weren't sure what kind of Dr. to see and wanted to let you know a Colorectal Surgeon is a specialist who treats all kinds of butt problems and will be able to give you much more help than any other dr. Most drs are pretty clueless on how to treat fissures. Many folks on here were told they had hems by their GP's before getting a proper diagnosis.
Take care and feel free to ask any questions. There's tons of good info and support here :)

Thanks Dawn. I've felt healthy all my life and then comes 2011! Welcome sickness, in many forms.
I was ready to use Metamucil until I read that it bulked someone's stool up too much, and she said Benefiber did the trick. I have Miralax on hand but since I've had bouts of diarrhea I'm afraid to use that.
When I took the Doc-o-lace after my surgery it worked perfectly, but after the radiation it gave me bad diarrhea, although maybe I should start out with one capsule a day and see if that helps.
My stool seems to be getting softer at least with getting back to fruits & veggies, drinking my liquids and using the Benefiber. But I think I need to soften it up a little more without going overboard.

Hi Gizmodo - welcome! I'm sorry you are suffering. After beating cancer, you really didn't need this!
I agree with all of Dawn's advice 100%. I found Miralax just wonderful for producing nice, soft stools. I was also having trouble dealing with loose stool, and worrying about constipation - the Miralax really helped with that. I also kept a food journal and figured out the right combination of soluble and insoluble fiber for me. I eat more insoluable fiber when things get backed up, because that acts like a broom and makes things move (leafy greens, like spinach are good for this, in my experience). I'd have soluable fiber, like potatoes or squash if the BMs were too loose, because soluble fiber acts like a sponge.
Many of us here dealt with various doctors who told us we had hemmies! Arg! That's annoying! I think you should definitely see a colorectal surgeon (CRS). That's the person who will know what's going on and what to do about it. :D

Your welcome! Doc-o-lace is docusate sodium right?
Docusate sodium seems to be a really mild stool softener for most of us. Miralax is more effective so if you tend to get looser stools , I would definitely stay away from the Miralax.
I would think starting out with one would be a good idea. Hopefully you will find the right balance soon.

Thanks hopetoheal - I'm just wondering what the next bad thing will be! I need a break!
I am just starting to get back to the way I was eating prior to my radiation treatment, which kept me nice and regular for possibly the first time in my life. I was told to ease into it as effects of radiation can linger for a few weeks after.
Stupid me had peanuts and organic popcorn the last two days! I thought I had read about people eating peanuts to help them go, but it will be peanut butter on apples and/or celery for me. No more popcorn either! Live and learn (and read through this forum).
Dawn - I think the Doc-o-lace worked too well for me because I'm just getting off radiation (31 days worth). I will try taking one a day and see if that helps without making it liquid.
I just realized I used all of my Miralax as prep for the colonoscopy I had a couple months ago. I'm so glad I had it done because I would have thought I had anal cancer had I not gotten an "all clear" with the colonoscopy (and I made sure they checked me out all over in there, including the lower areas).

Morning Gizmodo,
I just wanted to say that with everything you have been through it makes my worry about my small little fistula seem a million miles away from the pain you have already been through and gives me the kick up the bum (pardon the pun) that i need....i feel very worried and tearful at the thought of going through fistula surgry but reading your story has given me a sense of guilt at the worry i am feeling and i wish you all the best in your future and hope all becomes well again.
Di x

Hi and Gizmodo,
I too feel for you and all what u r going thru! Can I just say be positive though ok! All the medics in the world still haven't figured out the power of our mind and functionings of the human brain. Positive thinking can have more effects than we realise! Self help along with your Doctors is the way to go. You are already doing 2 out of the 3. This forum is absolutely brilliant and the people on here so helpfull and friendly. (you already met a few.) To back up my positive thinking tale I would like to share with everyone this true story :-

It took place a few years ago whilst I was working on a Diabetic Ward: a patient had been with us for a few days as she was a newly diagnosed diabetic and her blood sugars where thru the roof. She was stabilized and we talked about sending her home the next day. Then, disaster struck!!!
A newly promoted junior Dr had the results of a CT scan for MR. X which showed up a tumour on his spine. The Dr. went to see our diabetic patient and gave her the bad news instead of MR X. We the staff did not know about this and the DR did not realise his mistake either.
Our patient went from on the mend to critical in just 24hrs! She refused to walk to the toilet saying it was too painful. She became bed ridden and withdrawn completely! The psychs were called to her etc.. and in the end she died 2 weeks later!!! It was only her family talking to us that we all realised that she was given someone else's results. At her post mortem is was found that she died of natural causes?????? Or did she die because some bafoon gave her no hope?? And, she simply gave up???? Mmmm know what I think!
So, let us be positive no matter what were going thru-we will get thru this no matter how big or small are problems seem?? Each problem is one, it is how we deal with it!

Di - I sometimes think how worse off I could be, and of the others that are worse off than me, but you know, no matter what is bothering any of us, it is still a big deal to us personally and there's no need for guilt. And for all I've been through, the tooth pain and this anal fissure are worse physically than anything else I've been through.
Being told you have cancer is certainly nothing any of us want to hear and I thought I was doomed at first. My surgery was major and it took a long time to heal - in fact, true healing for a radical hysterectomy actually takes up to a year or more (I'm still feeling pains now and then and I had my surgery March 29th).
But when you're in almost constant (or constant) pain from something like an anal fissure, it's there and it's hard to say, "Oh, things could be worse!" We all have a right to whine about our pain and wish and hope it will go away.
Thank goodness I now have my appt. with a colorectal surgeon for next Tues. I am going away for a weekend wedding (will bring my sitz bath with me as we're driving), will be home for 2 days and am then traveling to Arizona for a week. I'll have to buy a sitz bath out there. So I was able to get an appt. in between those two trips.