Hi Tanya,
Naturally we will always see some stories where people have been unfortunate and it looks like fprincess may be one of these.
As for my diet that is probably one of the few positives that I have gained from having a AF. I will always stick with bran at breakfast time, wholemeal bread and wholemeal pasta and I intend to keep up my water intake but probably not to the level i am currently throwing down my neck each day!
I have read many things that say that full healing takes a year following LIS however most of these relate to sphincter healing rather than the fissure. The fissure should heal in around 2-4 weeks and the sphincter should gain around 80% of its strength in around 12 months. (however i may be wrong on this fact)
I would like to say my father is shining example and adhered to a full and varied fibre and water diet but i would be lying!!! He just went straight back to his old ways within a week however he was extremely lucky and he never had any re-tears since the reversal!
I agree that LIS does not totally gurantee a fissure free future however before my episode my diet was terrible, i was constantly eating junk food, zero fibre and zero water so in some respects the writing was on the wall for me. So if my diet improves after healing and i have a lower resting pressure surely my chances of a re-tear will be significantly reduced.
How are you feeling now Tanya, I know you seemed a little down lately?
Davo

Hey Davo,
It's a super tough decision only you can make.
You could go out and eat a whole pizza hut pizza with a bottle of wine and your decision would be made for you tomorrow! lol :)
I'm doing OK, same old same old. I just get down because I don't know how to heal myself and docs aren't much help. I did get put on a cancellation list for my second opinion. Hopefully I can get in to see him sooner than July. Thanks for asking!
-Tanya

Hi Davo,
Glad to hear that you've almost healed. If I was in your place I'd probably say no to the operation because I'm afraid of the mere thought of getting something done down there.
But since you never know when you're going to tear again, it is frustrating.

Davo, LOL at your avatar :)
Going to do nitro myself. I hope I dont have to do the LIS thing. I am not even certain if Canadian healthcare will cover it! My doc yesterday said they wouldnt cover botox injection. Dont know if that is related to using it as a cosmetic or not.

Hi Tanya,
I think a full pizza, a bottle of wine and relaxation of the meds would certainly tell me if i had healed or not. I am actually flying to Italy this weekend (a wedding planning weekend as we are marrying in Tuscany) so my food diet will change drastically plus i have to go wine tasting!!! I guess this will be a good indication of whether i have healed or not. To be honest though i am not too worried if i do re-tear as a few days later i will be going for surgery anyway. I actually have a funny tummy today however this does not have seemed to bother things so far. I really hope your sencond opinion is sooner than July - this really has been going on too long for you now.
pgre,
I dont think you would be alone in a decision to skip surgery, i think most people would use any excuse to get out of it! I am not really nervous (yet!) just a bit apprehensive at the moment but what i am nervous about is having the fissure come back to haunt me so the fear of surgery is less than the fear of living with a fissure (if you get what i am saying!)
soothe88,
Thanks for your comment!! If you are just about to start the nitro route you dont even want to be thinking about surgery at the moment - There are many people on this board using nitro at the moment so if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to ask. As for Botox well yes this is still a relatively new procedure and is not recognised by a number of healthcare organisations. (you are correct that some people see it as a cosmetic treatment) I would imagine LIS would be covered by every provider though as this is the worldwide standard procedure for AF (Anal Fissure)
Davo

WEEK 14 OF GTN
The best and longest pain free period throughout my GTN course. I did have a slightly upset stomach onThursday and this did irratate things on the Friday but this soon passed
Mon 0
Tues 0
Wed 0
Thurs 0
Fri 2
Sat 0.5
Sun 0

Tuscany, I am so jealous. My hubby and I went there for our honeymoon. It was lovely!
such good food! Can't say as I really liked the wine though.
Let us know all the wonderful things you eat when you are there.
-Tanya

Hi WOI,
I just posted all the food I had on the meatballs thread - The strange thing is all this Non fissure friendy food didn't have any impact on my BM's.
So it's week 15 on the GTN, I am still pain free but the fissure is still lurking around. Only two days left until LIS now :)

'lurking' lol :)
I feel so close and then have a couple bad days and my anxiety ratchets up. I am going to try the self dilation. I just get too tight.
Still waiting to hear from the second crs. I emailed the chinese clinic and haven't heard back.
I used some neosporin yesterday and felt less sore.
I think I will use it once a day and cut back on the other stuff.
SO LIS on wednesday. You must be getting a wee bit nervous now. Since you have your diet so under control, recovery will be a breeze! Especially since he won't have to scuff up the fissure to help it heal!
-Tanya

Tanya,
Sorry i just asked on another thread aboout your CRS follow up before reading this.
As for my LIS well In a strange kind of way I am looking forward to it, that’s not to say that I am some kind of weird pain freak looking for a new high but more the fact that I am hopefully going to get some closure on this fissure once and for all. It has now been six months since this fissure imposed its presence upon me and in that time I have endured the most excruciating pain, the world’s most boring diet and my level of conversation rarely goes beyond my obsessive attitude with toilet visits and fibre eating. GTN has provided a source of relief for me and the past few months have been completely manageable yet each time I read the threads of newcomers to this board I can really sympathise with what they are going through and it brings home to me what may re-happen if i dont go ahead with the op – this really is truly an awful condition!
So roll on Wednesday!!! (Well actually Wednesday evening when its all over and done with!!)
Davo