Anal Fissure Support Forum

val · by **val** » 13 Dec 2011, 15:39

Davo, you are SOOO lucky to have a good GP who knows what they are talking about - they seem to be as rare as hen's teeth in the UK!
I used diltiazem, and the GTN, and, while they got rid of the spasms and most of the pain, it was only when I got a fistula and had to have surgery that I found out that the fissure hadn't healed at all and the creams were just kind of masking it and making me think I had healed.
Hopefully, you will heal with creams - the statistics are on your side! After all, anyone who has used GTN and totally healed with it, wouldn't need to be on a help forum - we are in the very small minority.

Davo · by **Davo** » 14 Dec 2011, 03:38

Thanks Val,
Yeah i do feel very lucky that i have an understanding GP - She basically made me feel part of a team (the two of us) and we worked together to try and heal the thing the best we could. Unfortunately after the six weeks and GTN she had exhausted all her options so booked me straight in for the CRS consultation which is the stage i am at now.
My CRS said they either offer diltiazem or GTN but they are both as effective as each other. GTN is normally offered first and if the headaches are too much then they offer diltiazem.
As the GTN success rate is 70% and since i have seen some pain relief improvement over two weeks i am hoping that I am one of them lucky 70%!!!
He said GTN was a big positive and a big negative with healing - the big positive being total pain relief can be achieved within two weeks however the negative is that this gives people the false impression that it has healed. This in turn makes people come off the medication early and return back to their normal life before the fissure has healed. He told me three times last night that i must take this medication without fail for six weeks non stop regardless of how i feel.

MattMecham · by **MattMecham** » 21 Dec 2011, 21:32

Anal fissures are terrible. There is no denying that fact. Now, we can pussy-foot around, and coddle people and feed them nice, soft, mushy milk toast, but at the end of the day, the damned fissure is still there. I had mine for three years before I finally caved in and had the surgery. I wish to God someone had encouraged me to have the surgery sooner, because as of March 31, 2011, I have not had one ounce of fissure pain. Not a one. So, peeps, don't pull punches. Sure, be compassionate, be understanding, but at the same time, be realistic. I am a champion for LIS, and I will recommend it to just about every fissure-plagued person I come into contact with, especially if they have suffered for as long as I did. Rosie couldn't handle the truth -- hopefully, she will come back with a different perspective after that fissure takes a few more chomps. I really hope she does, because this is where she will get the support and help that she needs. Like someone on this string said, you can either hide your head in the sand and hope someone sticks a miracle ointment up your butt, or you face the truth and do whatever needs to be done to stick it to the fissure.
I absolutely love many of the people on these forums. You people saved me. You helped me get my life back, and you did it with compassion, understanding, and a nice, big dose of reality. You gave me viable OPTIONS. You gave me hope. I was terrified of surgery until I read all of the success stories on this website. You gave me the courage to have LIS. I thank you for that.
Anyway, don't mince words -- be kind, but be realistic. Let people know where the meat hits the metal.

MattMecham · by **MattMecham** » 21 Dec 2011, 21:45

Davo wrote:Thanks Hopetoheal,
Fortunately i have a 'Straight to the point' GP who would not let me leave her surgery until she has carried out a full internal examination and this is during every visit. She diagnosed my fissure from day one and made me come back every two weeks for progress examinations.
I did feel like my life was ruined - BM's were agony, the spasms for the following 4-5 hours were just as bad as the BM itself - I couldn't walk, sit, stand or anything and was the most miserable person you could ever want to meet!
It is now six weeks to the day that my fissure was diagnosed and after initially using the fairly uselss Lidocain and Prostocydel i have now moved on to GTN (Nitro). I have been using GTN for 10 days now - since starting with the GTN my BM's are now pain free and my spasm pain has improved by about 90% (my pain factor went from a 10 to about a 1.5). This pain (well actually its more just discomfort now) only lasts around 20 mins about 1 hour following my BM and i seem to have my life back a bit. Two weekends ago i could not walk for more than 30 seconds, this weekend gone i was out walking for about 8 hours on the Saturday and 5 hours on the Sunday. However I am not taking anything for granted, i can use a mirror and still see the fissure and i still want advice from the CRN going forward.
Would you consider the removal of pain a sign of healing or would you think the GTN has just acted as a pain killer?
By the way if anyone has any general questions relating to fissures i can try and get them answered by the CRN tomorrow if you let me know. (obviously they have to be general questions and cant relate to an individuals specific problems)

Davo, I've heard it said that the absence of pain is often coupled with the presence of healing. I feel that many of our ailments are prolonged because we feel that horrible, endless pain, and I think it works on a person psychologically. If you can get rid of the pain, you may be tearing down some of those psychological walls that impede healing.
I don't know, reading back over my post, it sounds like a lot of hippy, new-age, happy-crappy mumbo jumbo (coming from a hard-core conservative former Marine). But maybe there's something to it.

Davo · by **Davo** » 22 Dec 2011, 03:33

MattMecham
Thanks for the comments
I am at Week 3 (Out of a 6 week course) with GTN at the moment - I am almost pain free but i know the little bugger is still lurking down there. If the thing has not healed after six weeks my CRS has suggested Botox as the next course of action. I have read many accounts of peoples expereiences of botox and whilst there are a few positive ones out there are also a fair share of negative ones and re-occurences.
In my opinion what is the point in going to hospital to have botox only to find out after a further six weeks that it did not work when LIS itself is only a 10-15 minute procedure. So i am hoping the GTN will sort me out but if it doesn't then I will be pushing for LIS. I am getting married next year and dont want to be planning my big day around my backside!!!! :D

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