Well after 18 months of suffering and 2 Botox injections, I finally had my LIS 3 weeks ago.
To put those thinking about it at ease, the surgery itself was very simple and truly not a big deal. I never needed any narcotics and from day 1 I had no incontinence problems! (My biggest fear) I had a some bleeding on the tissue paper the 3rd and 4th day but never since (Then again my fissure was never a big bleeder)
Now the problem is I am not healed yet. After 2 Botox injections my fissure pain was very tolerable to begin with and now it has gotten if anything little worse. I feel no pain walking for a long time (occasional "stab") and I can sit for a couple of hours on very soft sofas. I also feel virtually no pain during bowel movements. However, sitting on a harder surface and especially being in bed (with my laptop, or watching TV) gets painful rather quick.
Now reading some research paper I was led to believe that vast majority of fissures heal after 4 weeks, and some after 8 and that has me worried. I am nowhere near pain free.
Is it strange that my pain is not during bowel movements but mostly when in bed? Is that a possible indicator of something else (infection???) or is anybody else on the board having a similar experience?
Tomorrow I am seeing my CRS and I will be updating.
Thanks,
Morningstar
Ps. I am being careful to the point of being obsessive. I only eat home-made green vegetables/bran/soups and I drink only water/take stool softener). I also take baths 4 times a day and use baby wipes. Is there something I can do better/differently?

Pain for a while after LIS and with a fissure is not out of the realm of normalcy. Keep in mind that most LIS ops leave patients with two open wounds to heal. The 4 week healing is variable at best. Anyone on this forum is generally not in the 4 week boat, sorry to say. I'm 3 months post LIS and maybe at 70%. CRS's are very optimistic in what they tell patients pre-op. That's mainly because most wouldn't opt for the surgery if they were 100% truthful with us. Surgery is really the only way to heal a chronic fissure and to reduce the rate of recurrence. Some folks do heal very quickly and I'm immensely jealous of them. Patience, good diet and BM habits are your best bet right now. Stay vigilant and optimistic in your healling.
Best of luck!

Also, no pain during a BM is possible after LIS. I have/had the same thing. No pain is good. The CRS told me from there on it should not get worse,only better. Some folks do heal very quickly and I'm immensely jealous of them. I think I over-did things too early and that is what set me back. Just take it easy for a bit and let that area rest.

Thanks Tim,
I guess I was just worried that this was a all or nothing deal, meaning I either heal in a short period or I don't. I am saying that because I know after 2 Botox I was always hoping that it would heal given enough time but after 18 months it never did!
Anyhow I saw my CRS and GREAT NEWS! He said I was healing very well! Then he started poking at my fissure (I will never understand why they love doing that), asked me if it is painful and it wasn't!!! Needless to say I felt so happy I could have cried :)!
Now what really worries me, so please all experienced hands help me!!! Can the LIS cut be what is causing my pain??? If so, how long does it approximately take for the cut to heal and stop causing pain?
I am asking because my CRS was in a major rush and did a very quick finger exam. He said no sign of infection but he didn't look any deeper and I forgot to ask him if a fistula could be further up? I am worried because pain in bed was my primary problem even before the surgery so I am hoping it is not something else then fissure (i.e. fistula).
Thanks

Hi Morningstar,
I am 11 weeks post-LIS, and I notice pain when I'm in bed, even if I'm having a relatively good day. The pain lasts throughout the night, too. The only explanation I have is that different bodily positions can affect the tension of the sphincter, and create pain. If I lie on my back, I can put myself in spasm because of the pressure on that area. If sitting causes pain, I think other bodily positions can, too. I don't think it means anything is wrong.
The LIS cut can absolutely cause pain. When my CRS did a quick finger exam at almost 9 weeks to see why I was still in a lot of pain, he remarked that the surgical site was still partially open; hence, the pain. I went into the surgery thinking I'd be fine after a few days, but that hasn't been my experience at all. LIS is traumatic to the sphincter, and the CRS said I would be having spasm (from the LIS; my fissures are healed) for some time. I'm at 11 weeks now, and still have a lot of back and forth with pain. At 8.5 weeks, I started to turn the corner, but I am far from rendering a verdict. So, don't lose heart. I'm now surprised that so many people say they don't have any pain after surgery. A muscle was cut in a very sensitive area, so I don't know how a painless post-op experience is even possible. But, everyone's different.
I doubt you have a fistula. I think you would be in pain all the time, but I'm not the expert. I think your CRS would have asked more questions if he suspected something out of the ordinary. I think we just have to give this time, and keep our stools very, very soft. Maybe you have occasional spasm, and need a prescription muscle relaxant. My CRS prescribed one last time, but I haven't used it because the pain hasn't been at the same level the last three weeks. Hope this helps.

Thanks Queenofpain, you made me feel much, much better :)!
I really am hoping that that it is the cut that is causing the pain, and for the first time I feel very optimistic.
As a matter of fact, today my pain was for the first time negligible, but then again I wasn't in bed. If I could now only go back to my 18 months old self, and tell myself to do the surgery right away instead of enduring all the previous suffering :)!
For all of those reading this post still deciding weather to do the LIS, my recommendation so far is definitely!