Hi,
I will be travelling to the US (from the UK) this Thursday and looking for some guidance.
Firstly its a morning flight and at the time of day when my fissure causes me most pain - I have trouble sitting still for 10 minutes at a time never mind on an 8 hour flight. Unfortunately i am not able to fly anything other than economy, can anybody provide any tips to give me some comfort?
Also my BM's are regular as clockwork (once a day and straight after breakfast) however with a time difference of 5 hours my body clock can get messed up and sometimes i dont go for a day or two. Naturally i want to avoid this if i can - any tips?
Finally New York is not known for its high fibre food, fresh fruits and healthy food. I am going to have to try to find something more healthy rather than binge eat on junk each day - any tips?
Finally i am quite concerned about this whole trip, it is meant to be a relaxing Christmas shopping trip but i am worried sick about it. My fissure seems to be slowly recovering (due to GTN) and I dont want this trip to ruin all the hard word i have made over the past few months. It also worries me if i start to develop pain when i dont have the comfort of home close by.

Dave,
I truly feel for you. I have turned down multiple offers to go to England this year (lived in US for 25 years, but originally from London).
If the airline has power at the seats, you might want to see if they will allow you to bring a heating pad onboard. Take the GTN (nitro, right?) and lidocaine. Bring Tucks pads, or equivalent (you do not want to use aircraft toilet paper) and they will provide some temporary cooling relief. You are an experienced traveler, so I don't need to tell you, but don't dehydrate on the flight. Avoid alcohol, and only accept bottled water.
If it were me, I would take valium on the flight; it should help with spasms, and enable you to sleep for a good portion of the flight.
New York being one of the great dining towns, you should be able to find healthy food. Ask the concierge at the hotel, or check out one of the online dining guides. Also, due to the fact that regional differences in H20 can cause discomfort, I would stick to bottled water for the duration.
Try to relax, and have a great trip!

gosh, i'll be worried too if i'm u. Going to a place notorious for junk foods are not making it better.
my bowel movements are clock-work too and i have absolutely no idea what to do, if i'm on the plane and i can't do it. Which is probably y i haven't been holidaying ever since i got my fissure 7 mths ago.
Do close to what u normally do, and when the urge comes, no matter where u r, answer it.

Hello Davo
First I can tell you as someone who is NYC every week on business and goes there with my wife one a month to Broadway for shows as well as with my kids, NYC is not just junk food. Who every told you it’s all junk food is wrong. There are many health restaurants. You can find fruit shake places every few block or there are market all over the place that sell fruit. It is no different than any other place in that regards. You can find junk food or healthy food. That’s like me saying all you can find in the UK is fish and chips:)
As far as travel, I know what you mean. I have to travel about 50% of the time. I was doing well and was in Hong Kong returning the following day back to NY. I had a retear and I was at a 8 out of 10 in regards to pain. It was the worst flight of my life, it was 14 hours of being in a steel tube where I had to spend most of the time standing. I wanted to jump off the plane. Here are some things that have helped me.
When my fissure is bad and I am going on a long flight, I do the following and it works for me. First a few days before, I will start take Mirlax and I carry non-alcohol baby wipes. If available, buy a few of the instant heat pads. I am not sure if they sell them where you are. If not, buy it here for your return trip. Thermal pad is one of the names. Put that down on the seat with a towel or sweater over it. I use Lidocaine, again I do not know if it’s available there. I put a bunch on a q-tip. I will tell you it does stings, however in about an hour the area in numb. Do not use this if your fissure is a very open wound! I also take 2 Advil an hour before as well. I will say, that I will have a glass of wine or two and that helps and sometimes I will fall asleep. Above everything....drink water! At the hotel, take a bath at the very least once a day.
I am now in a good place where my fissure is somewhat healed and all I know have to do when I travel is pop a few Advil…
I hope you have an outstanding time in NYC, it’s my favorite time of year. I just went with my family to Rockefeller Center to see the tree…that is a must do!
http://www.bing.com/search?q=rockefeller+center&form=DLCMHP&qs=AS&sk=AS1&pq=rockaf&sp=2&sc=8-6&pc=MDDC
Also if you like art, go to lower Broadway around prince street, also great shopping there. After that you can go to Chinatown, by the way, you can find many veg dished there!