Well it was two weeks ago this past Thursday I underwent LIS for a chronic fissure. The first week of recovery was kinda rough but I got through it. I'm to the point now where my symptoms now are the same as my symptoms that drove me to getting surgery to begin with - i.e., very irritated (mostly itching) following a BM. This is mostly likely due to my difficulty in being able to get things clean down there despite using wetones, Balenol, a bath, etc. I still get a little blood on the wetones (about the same amount as before surgery) and it's probably any leftover stool on the wound that's causing the problem. Hopefully this is just part of the healing process and once the fissure closes up (with any luck for good), I won't have this issue but my patience is waning.

Just got myself a handheld shower to make it easier to keep things clean (at least when I'm not at work). This itch is going to make for a uncomfortable time at work. Even the Calmoseptine isn't soothing it. Any other creams/ointments work for people? I read a couple of posts regarding prescription cortisone. Also, how much Calmoseptine should I be putting on? I've read sparingly but it's kinda of hard to gage. Also, it seems liberally seems to maybe sooth it a bit more.

I'd be a little careful regarding the cortisone - one of the effects of it can be that it can thin the skin, which isn't what you want when you're trying to heal an already delicate area! However, don't be scared off, used sparingly and in the short term it might help. My surgeon said I could use it post LIS to help with any itching. (But I didn't because I had used it for too long prior to surgery and I felt so sick of having to use medications that I wanted to get clear of them all as soon as I could).
Or if there is any external irritation you could try a nappy (diaper) rash cream such as sudocrem which has zinc in it to aid healing and provide a barrier to the skin from any leakage you may be having. My physiotherapist recommended this.
Good luck, you'll get there! The more you heal the less tender it will be and the better you will be able to clean it.

hello sadies-day, any improvements?

Well, I'll be 3-weeks post-op tomorrow. No pain during or after a BM. Then again, I never had any before surgery (just the irritation) and only a couple days of moderate pain after surgery. Still have the issue with irritation. If I haven't gone in awhile, I feel great. Soon after I go, however, it gets irritated. It seems to be worse depending on how hard it is to get clean and if there's any leakage afterwards. For the most part the Calmoseptine works although 1) it sometimes it takes a couple of applications over the course of a few hours and 2) it's messy has heck (I wear two pairs of underwear plus a sanitary napkin to ensure it doesn't stain my clothes). I have my second follow-up with the CRS this Friday. My guess is he's going to say that I'm still in the 6-8 week recovery period so basically suck it up. I just hope the irritation resolves itself afterwards.

Had my second follow-up w/ my CRS today. I was right, I mentioned the irritation problem and he said he didn't want to seem dismissive but I'm still in the 6-8 week recovery period. He also seemed surprised that I really didn't feel any better then before the surgery. Other than that, he said everything seemed to be healing up nicely so I'm hoping he irritation is just a result of the healing. Next appointment is in 3 mos.