Hello everyone! I've been browsing these forums for months and have appreciated everyone's contributions immensely. I apologize in advance for the length of the post, but I know when I was reading on here, I really appreciated specifics, so i'll try to be as specific as possible! Because of all of you, I gained the courage to finally have a Lateral internal sphincterectomy (LIS), fissurectomy, fistulectomy, and anoplasty.
***BACKGROUND***
I am a 20 year old male who has been suffering with a fissure for about 7 months. I saw 4 doctors, starting with a family practitioner who told me it was a combination of hemorrhoids and a fissure. First, I was prescribed a Cortisol cream which didn't help at all. Then I was given suppositories which clearly hurt like hell so I stopped using them fairly quickly. I sat on donuts, took sitz baths, and kept the area clean. In August, I finally decided to go to a Gastroenterologist who prescribed me 2 different antibiotics for 2 weeks and a nitroglycerin 1% cream for 3 weeks. Nothing helped. I went back to this doctor over Thanksgiving break who suggested that I have a colonoscopy to rule out the possibility of Chrons disease. After going home and researching further, I decided that this couldn't possibly be the case and did not want to be subjected to the pain before and after a colonoscopy. The gastroenterologist referred me to a Colon Rectal Surgeon (CRS) who I met with a week ago from today (last Thursday) on the way home from the airport at the start of my Christmas break. He examined me with a camera and told me that I do not have Chron's disease, and the only way this was going to be fixed was with surgery. This was the first doctor I went to that I left the office feeling confident. He said he sees this everyday.
***POST SURGERY***
I ended up having the LIS, fissurectomy, fistulectomy, and anoplasty yesterday at 2:00 PM. The anesthesiologist said I would feel numb until about 4 or 5 in the afternoon which was a relief. The procedure was very quick and I was prescribed hydrocodine with a recommended dosage of 1-2 capsules. At 3:00 they gave me my first pain pill, and I took another one later that night at 7, and 11 before I went to bed. I took the small end of the dose to avoid constipation, and really didn't need anymore. During the next few weeks I am 100% dedicated to eating healthy, drinking plenty of fluids, taking baths, and keeping it clean. I turn 21 in 6 days and will be going to Vegas so I want to be feeling as good as I can so I can enjoy my first taste of alcohol *wink wink* hahaha. I slept great last night and didn't really feel any pain until about 3:00 AM. Even that pain was tolerable especially knowing it was pain on the road to recovery. I took another hydrocodine in the middle of the night and within 20 minutes was back to ZERO pain and fell asleep until about 7:30 this morning. I woke up, had a healthy veggie/egg omelet, continued my Phillips Milk of Magnesia/stool softener, had a couple cups of coffee, took ibuprofen AND tylenol, and had my first bowel movement!! I was pretty anxious about my first bowel movement, but it really wasn't as bad as I was anticipating. I took a hot shower before hand to loosen it up down there, and the pain was no worse than pre-surgery. I took a bath afterwards to clean the area which definitely soothed it. When I got out I was in minimal pain and still am at 11:30 AM. I can walk around with no problems. However, when I'm resting I prefer to lay on my side. Sitting up doesn't hurt but it is a little uncomfortable. I'm praying I'm feeling pretty good for my Birthday, but am amazed and so grateful for the lack of pain that I am in now. To anyone suffering with a fissure, I would highly suggest going to the CRS. I wish I had done this 6 months ago. I will keep you posted on my recovery, and my wishes are with all of you suffering like I was. Don't be embarassed or wait to seek help! It hasn't even been 24 hours and I'm already optimistic and thrilled that I proceeded with the surgery. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me!