Childbirth, fissure, LIS and setbacks

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Childbirth, fissure, LIS and setbacks

Postby Tori-tore » 22 May 2012, 15:15

Hi All,
I wish I wasn't here but it's great that this site exists.
I had my first baby four months ago, and at the time the obstetrician told me I had a fissure (I had a 2nd degree tear that needed suturing also). The fissure didn't rear its' ugly head for a couple of weeks, but when it did I couldn't sit down at all or do anything faster than shuffle around the house for a good 2 months. I was in a lot of pain til about 5pm after a 7.30am BM.
I had a lot of advice along the lines of 'don't get constipated, wait and see', and some hydrocortisone/cinchocaine cream (which I was using incorrectly due to a complete lack of instructions and an excruciating searing pain in the butt making me wonder how on earth you were supposed to get it up there!)
Eventually my GP referred me to the public hospital system, but unfortunately the system is so choked that I was told it would take me a good 4-6 months to get an initial appointment. By this stage I was going so nuts with the pain and the newborn that I went for a private consultation. The surgeon advised by this stage the fissure had become chronic and the only thing to fix it once and for all would be LIS.
So we forked out the $$ and bit the bullet as the surgeon was very confident that this was the way to go and I'd be good as new in no time. I figured the money didn't matter because at this stage a holiday to Tahiti wouldn't be enjoyable anyway as I wouldn't even be able to sit on the plane to get there! Image We were just so lucky we had a bit set aside for an emergency.
I had a week or so where I couldn't sit down, but within two weeks I was back out walking which did wonders for my sanity. However I am now 6 weeks post LIS and have had a setback. The pain changed from being able to feel the healing incision during a BM to the raw stinging feeling of the fissure. It feels more superficial than it did, and is only slightly uncomfortable and irritated during the day. I can still do everything except sit on a hard chair. My surgeon is on holiday for a month, and my GP says it should be fine as the op has such a low failure rate. I really would like to get a second opinion!
I think there are a number of things contributing to my slow recovery - stress and muscle tension being a major factor. Actually I'm surprised I haven't had a complete nervous breakdown, given that I am prone to depression before any of this happened, and throw in an allergic reaction to antibiotics to help my post-birth sutures heal and gastritis which my GP said could be gallstones due to pregnancy, all while this AF has been taking over my life!
Also my pelvic floor is weak due to pregnancy and birth, I have scar tissue and adhesions from tearing during delivery and breastfeeding causing all my good healing nutrients to bypass me and go to bubs.
So, if anyone has any positive info to pass on I could do with hearing it! I'm keeping my chin up most days, and feeling more positive than not, but it's hard not to let anxiety creep in - it's a battle that's for sure. But if nothing else I am determined to see the day where I don't let this thing rule my thoughts.
I've got a lot of support but there is only so much friends and family can listen to when they don't really understand the mental trauma that comes with and AF.
Nice to meet you guys, but sorry to see you here. :D
Tori-tore
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Re: Childbirth, fissure, LIS and setbacks

Postby Deleted User 1497 » 22 May 2012, 18:52

Hello,
I am new here also. You will get allot of kind people on here. I can fully understand the mental part of this with you. It is a worrisome thing. I try to tell myself, I have a little ticking clock by my bedside, the ticking is a slow ticking to its not a rushed sound. I actually use it when I am going thru a worry like this. I say to myself, that each little soft tick/tock that it means I am that much closer to being healed. Its one of my mental tools I try to give myself.
I do as allot of people here do, drink water, and really watch my what I eat. It is so personal as each person has such different digestive system.
I have found that hormones also do effect my digestive system and does make it harder during certain times with my eating. I just read this and had to Wish You healing and most of all some relief from your worry.
Take care just look at the babys smiles
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Re: Childbirth, fissure, LIS and setbacks

Postby NewMummy » 24 May 2012, 17:42

Hi, I am in a similar situation to you. I have a 5 month old beautiful baby boy and I've found it really hard to enjoy motherhood with a fissure going on (you can read my introduction...I only posted it a week or so ago).
My fissure came and went for 2 months before I started taking it seriously. I just thought it would eventually go away.After finding out that I was by that stage suffering with a cronic fissure and read they are really hard to get rid off, I spent a week or two feeling sorry for myself and crying a lot. I also had anxiety attacks in the morning because I knew i had to do a BM and I knew what would happen. In the end the doctor prescribed me antidepressants and said I was on my way to postnatal depression. I guess that's what made me think that I just could't let this ruin my life. So, I ditched the antidepressants, my partner took a week off so that I had someone to talk to rather than just walking around feeling sorry for myself all day long. That helped sooooo much. Then, I started to look for a diet that would do the trick. I've posted it on this forum and I'll update it today because for the past week things have gone soooo well so I'm hoping I've found what's working for me.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I've gone from being extremely far down just 3 weeks ago thinking that my life is ruined, to accepting my condition and really making an effort to turn things around, and to now for the past week feeling very optimistic. So, there is hope for you too. As many others on this forum, I think diet is a major part of the trick to recover. And with diet, I don't just mean eat some more fibre and drink more water...you really have to get into what sort of fibre to eat and which foods work for your body. It's a lot of effort to start with, so maybe you can ask someone to help you look up things. I had a great improvement when I discovered the difference between soluble and insoluble fibre and what they do (there is plenty of info on this forum). Basically, soluble fibre makes poo soft and insoluble makes it bulk up and pass through the body quickly. You need to balance the two carefully.
Anyways, a great start for you today would be to take a breath, tell yourself you're not dying, you don't have cancer, you don't have a baby who is critically ill as a lot of other people have, and that today you'll find something on this forum that will bring you one step closer to fixing this shitty problem. then start looking through posts here to see what you can do...and get someone to help you with that, because having a baby and looking up stuff is really really hard!!!
I wish you all the best and let me know if there is any more info you'd like from me...I haven't tried many creams etc. but I am getting pretty good with the whole diet thing.
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Re: Childbirth, fissure, LIS and setbacks

Postby YS » 24 May 2012, 18:06

Hi
No expert but I went through similar thing 2 years ago.
I got my AF during pregnancy and carried it around trying diets, creams and the works, trying to balance a "healthy" pregnancy and getting rid of the fissure at home.
Finally i turned to a surgeon. At first it made me feel a little like a failure with all the "heal yourself tips" i got in all these wonderful support groups (did them all!!!), I had been convinced I would overcome it on my own one way or another, but after the surgery- so quick and minor! - i couldn't believe the months of suffering i went through first.
HOWEVER - also after surgery healing takes time.
Also i got the fear factor every time i felt a "set back". To this day my nerves are a little hightened occasionally, but I can actually go to the bathroom without worrying 95% of the time. My doc at the time instructed me to be careful about keeping it soft and easy and not further traumatizing the area, but also comfortingly told me it was perfectly normal to still feel occasional pain once in a while for the coming months. i remember all too well the "fissure scare" during the first 3 months after hte surgery - my body would freeze with nerves every time something in the bathroom felt like it was going wrong - some pain, occasionally it could be very sharp pain, or constipation. but there is a way of knowing if the "fissure is returning" - remember all the many hours of pain following the BM? is it the same?For me also working on my diet for another few months and forcing myself to believe it is getting better helped, eventually ALL the pain was gone.
I will never forgot the full trauma involved, pain shame and all. Also i found it very hard to enjoy motherhood with hours and hours of pain following each bathroom excursion, not to mention other "regular" challenges of new motherhood, so i completely identify both with your situation and with your nerves.
Please God if your operation went as planned within a month or two you will be a new woman and hopefully by then things will begin getting easier also with your baby.
stick to the fluids and the balance between soluble and insoluble fiber, but also do your best to relax.
if you have the time and the resources see if you can get someone to babysit even once a week and go find a post natal class on excersizes for strengthening the floor, that will also definitely be a help. if you can't manage an official class try the internet for videos of proper excercise. feel free to mail or ask, good luck and have a speedy recover!!!!!
YS
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Re: Childbirth, fissure, LIS and setbacks

Postby Tori-tore » 25 May 2012, 20:14

Thanks for all the kind words guys, it's just nice to know that someone else understands!
It definitely does take a while to sort through all the info on here - it's a great resource, but it's tricky with a four month old to make time for everything. But you really do need to empower yourself, as the health professionals I have seen don't have half as much knowledge about fissures and the best way to deal with them as this site does!
I'm looking into the fibre balance, and I am seeing a physiotherapist once a week. And YS, it is very comforting to know that other surgeons tell you to expect a bit of pain now and then for quite some time, as my surgeon honestly made me believe I'd be fine almost immediately.
It makes me laugh to think that I used to think of pregnancy as a marathon that would be over once I had the baby - that was a sunday afternoon stroll in the park compared to what came next!! But I guess we'll all be much stronger people for having coped with motherhood and these nasty fissures at the same time.
I hope you are all having a good day today :)
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WOW

Postby sajollie » 25 May 2012, 21:17

WOW , Its awful to see that there are so many of us ! People who dont know the pain just dont understand. I use a product called Analpram i LOVE it ! It helps along the healing process and helps the pain after a BM i also use nitro cream .
If im Careful and strick i can pretty much get the fissure healed but i also have celiac disease and lactose intollerance so it doesnt take much to set off a stomach ache which leads to frequent BMs and then to the fissure. i normally do acouple of days of a liquid only diet then apply both creams and at least one soak a day. Usually i can feel much better in 3-4 days im not saying great but at least im not clinging to rails thinking im gonna die on the toliet! Any relief is better than none ! Image
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12 years after childbirth am finally doing the surgery

Postby Kat » 12 Jun 2012, 05:39

I love this forum. Am so relieved to see other people have stories not so different to my own and have af caused by childbirth as I've never come across anyone else who has had this experience before. That said Ive never really talked much about my af as i felt embarrassed by the whole thing.
I had my af causing childbirth 12 years ago tomorrow. While I managed to treat it with Rectogesic quite successfully on and off for many years, the last ten months it has just refused to heal and I learned today I actually have two tears now.
So have finally bit the bullet and booked in for a lateral anal sphinctorotomy for Friday week. Fingers crossed this does the trick!
Look after yourself and enjoy your baby as they don't stay babies for long!
Kat
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Re: Childbirth, fissure, LIS and setbacks

Postby Tori-tore » 13 Jun 2012, 15:38

Hey Kat,
Happy birthday to your not-so-little baby! Even though my surgery hasn't been the instant success my surgeon made it out to be, I'm still really glad I did it as I have my life back. The first week post-op can be pretty rough but after that things just get better and better. This time in a month you'll be on the up and up :D
Good luck and keep us posted.
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Re: Childbirth, fissure, LIS and setbacks

Postby Tori-tore » 23 Jun 2012, 03:21

Just an update for those interested, I've finally been back to the surgeon after his 6week holiday.I'm now nearly 10 weeks post LIS.
He examined me with an anoscope, and said that my original fissure has definitely healed, but he can see two small 'cracks' in the mucosa. These are probably from BM's being a bit dry when I increased my fibre post-op (on his recommendation). I have since resolved this dryness by swapping some insoluble to soluble fibre.
These cracks would account for the pain I was feeling with BM (ironically the week the surgeon gets back is the week that things start to improve! Typical, but I had pretty loose stools all week which would have given things a chance to settle, along with the rectogesic.)
He said that the sphincterotomy worked, but that i have regained some anal tone since he operated, and that I am pretty narrow down there, so I will always need to be very careful not to get constipated. He thinks these superficial cracks should heal within a few weeks provided I keep things soft, and if they don't, he might get me to try self dilation. He hasn't recommended self dilation in years and years but thinks it might be worth a try if there are ongoing issues.
SO! The good news is that it's not the fissure, and that won't happen again unless I get constipated and rip myself a new one! However, before I had my baby I never had any problems, so I'm hoping that once I get over this, I shouldn't have to worry any more. I came home from the appointment and poured myself a big glass of wine, and forced myself to sit down and RELAX and stop worrying! And I do really feel like I can start to move on from this now. Image
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Re: Childbirth, fissure, LIS and setbacks

Postby Kat » 23 Jun 2012, 17:01

That's great news. Keep up that soluble fibre :)
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