Hey all, my name is Tim and I'm a 30 year old guy that has suffered with a fissure for over 4 months. Long story short (kidding these are all long stories from what I gather), I'm an athletic guy (helped keep me regular) who travels for work. Went out to Arizona for a business trip and must've overdone it on the Chimichangas, nachos and Dos Equis while there. I take metamucil when I travel as the variation in foods etc can cause issues so it helps to regulate. I came home on a Thursday with delays on the flights etc. and was probably dehydrated. Had a good work-out the next day and gave birth to something awful. Since then it's been the sting, shards of glass, spasms...you name it. It got somewhat better with conservative treatment but never 100% and would always relapse. On Friday, I went in for LIS and anoplasty (CRS sutured my 1 1/2cm fissure...big one I guess) and I was home 2 hours later. Today is day 3 and I've had two bm's since and they've been well formed and no pain! I'm on 2 tsp's of Konsyl a day (1am 1pm) and one scoop of Miralax along with a high fiber "soft food" diet. So far, so good. I was having trouble differentiating between swelling and post-op soreness to what I recall as tightness. It seems to be ok now and it's no longer like passing gas through a coffee stirrer. I have had no real need for the Vicodin prescribed and I'm just taking 2 Toradols a day for the next day or so to reduce swelling. My rear, I guess, just went into lockdown and the CRS said mine would not heal on it's own, too tight. I tried Diltiazem for months, baths, magnesium supplements, the whole nine yards...nothing worked. I really hope this works and I'm on the road to recovery. This cost me some sanity, 30 pounds in weight, dis-association from friends...you name it. We're a tough bunch so don't sell yourselves short at all! I would've gladly taken a broken bone to this! My main fear in doing this at this time is that I'm getting married on October 15th with an 8 day honeymoon afterwards. We're going on a cruise and I just hate to let my soon-to-be wife down by turning ill on the trip. That and the risk of infection etc. just scares me to death. I seem to be doing OK now but we all know with these things that they have a tendancy to fool us! I was also an everyday runner, weight-lifter and dirtbiker and this has basically shied me from all of that. I went from 192 pounds to 160 in 4 months. Co-workers, friends asking me if I was OK and nothing fitting....I'm not afraid to admit it drove me to tears a few times...nevermind the shards of glass, burning spasms....it's mentally exhausting. Also, this forum has been very informative BUT, I do not think it's a very accurate account of success with LIS. We are certainly not the 90%+ as who really comes online to say, "I'm healed"....it's usually the "Thank God I'm done with that knee, wrist, shoulder or anal fissure forum", you know? Well, I plan to update you all with my progress (if that's how it goes). I really hope this is the end of this and god bless all of you for what you've endured. If anything positive has come of this....it's my better appreciation for the small things in life. Family, friends and heck a chip or slice of pizza! Two other folks had LIS on the same day by the same doc right before me (practice specimens? ;-)...who knows. I wished them the best as my heart literally bled for them too. What's everyones take on my condition....2 good solid BM's that were soft and I'm not in too much pain...just a dull ache...but with the size of the fissure, I'm not overly optimistic with this. I just hope to god it works and my marriage starts off on a positive note. This thing has seriously taken it's toll on me and I'm looking forward to living life again.
Thanks!

Hi Tim,
welcome on board! Congratulations on getting your surgery done. The first week or so is the worst - hopefully you should start seeing some kind of improvement soon.
I really hope you can enjoy your wedding and honeymoon and that you are well on your way to healing by then.

Tim, thank you for writing, I am getting it done this Friday and I am freaking out with worry. Dawn is awesome but I am over thinking this and reading all the other stories has me obsessing over it. I think I will have to stay off here until next week.
Thanks man!

Don't stay off here Tony, u need support fm folk who have had this! Otherwise, Best of Luck and please don't stress out! I expect you on here singing LIS praises and helping others!

Lol, I only ment until after my surgery. I am causing myself mass anxiety reading all the stories that are not positive.
You know, you tell people where your hurting and they kind of laugh it off. Until you have an AF you cannot understand the pain.
Did you ever have those days where, omg I am normal again. Poop. Nooooooooo lol

We understand you Tonystone!!!!
And one day, all those crappy Gp's will do too!!!
We all should shout from the rooftops about fissures as it can happen to anyone and blinkin well does!
Oh and you will be normal again and happy!! Don't forget that :D

I hear you there Tony. The forum can lead to anxiety but you need to understand that everyone is different. If there is one thing the LIS will do it is loosen that area up and allow it to heal. You've already had an open jagged wound for months, so another cut if well taken care of should not cause infection unless unkept. Incontinence, well let's just say I could deal with a bit of that vs. fissure pain the rest of my life. I'm man enough to wear a pad...hell, I've got one on right now "with wings" LMAO!
I was scared most of being put under. For most LIS ops. they don't put you under general but more or less a combo of either Versed/Propaphol and Fentanyl. I guess I woke up a few times during the 15 minute operation asking for some of this stuff to take home, LOL. The Ex-partier in me I guess.
I'm doing ok with some pressure if I stand for too long, is that normal folks? I'm wondering if I still have some internal swelling as that "feeling" generally comes on when I note my Toradol wearing off. Also, I'm only 3.5 days post op...how long does this discharge, all while minimal, last? I'm just scared of the "lockdown spasm" returning. That was just god awful.

Read the Magnesium deficiency post Tim! Think its under: anal spasms and Magnesium deficiency! Hope this helps, it most definately helps me...just my opinion

When you say lockdown spasm, are you talking about the one that makes it feel like your butt is being turned inside out and all you can do squeeze your cheeks for hours?

Hey Tim, the pressure is normal. There's still alot of swelling going on in there at 3 days post up. It should get better each week. By week 2 there's usually a very noticeable difference. I just tried to stay off my feet and rear as much as possible those first 2 weeks. Take as many warm baths as you can. They really helped me.
Tony, you're going to do fine. Try and stay positive. I had some major anxiety before my LIS. Just keep the statistics in mind. They have been doing this same surgery for years because it works!
I remember thinking I wasn't going to be able to handle it, and I really was surprised how much easier it was. I think what brought much anxiety on many of the folks in here is they had no idea what to expect and were told in three days they could just carry on like this never happened and that just isn't so. It's sore and swollen but nothing unbearable. Pain meds and stool softeners and rest will take care of that.
Also keep in mind that many folks have extra work down there besides just LIS alone and that can also make their recoveries a little rougher.
I had a skin tag removed and LIS with my fissure being cauterized and a little after my 2 week mark, I think very close to 3- I was shopping and walking all day at the mall with my daughter. Before that I was able to ease back into some regular chores here at home that were almost impossible with my fissure.
You're going to do fine! Good luck Friday!