For those of you thinking about surgery, you definitely need longer on the couch time than they usually seem to tell people. One of the most awkward things for me was trying to use my laptop during recovery. We since have bought an IPad and this thing has been great for us. I wish I had one or something like it ( smartphone) to check this board, email, and to play wonderfully distracting games.
We also did not have a DVR or On Demand TV then and that would have been great. A friend's husband gave her a Kindle right before her hip replacement surgery and she says that helped her during recovery tremendously. I am still a hold on to the book person and wouldn't want to use a Kindle while sitting in the bath, but getting books you have really been wanting to read and indulging in those after surgery really helped me. I started the massive Ken Follett book that is going to be part of a trilogy and read it while recovering. It was like a 1000 pages long.
Anyway, just thoughts as some of you may be preparing for surgery. Make yourself some fun things to look forward to during recovery, even if it is indulging in the latest magazines you like or buying a cheap crossword puzzle book for the bathtub (I became pretty good at easy crosswords and sudoku!).
My hubbie and I now have 2 IPads because our grown daughter passed their old one on to us so we are very lucky. But after that, a little over a year ago my husband's bladder cancer returned(about 6 weeks after my LIS). The nature of his treatments involves showing up at about 8:30 , getting tested, and then waiting while the mixture to be infused is prepared. So about 2 or more hours of waiting room time. We have developed quite the addiction to Words With Friends and it has become part of our ritual and routine to play that at his appointments and then as much as he wants that day unless he gets too sleepy from pain meds. Has really made those days a more pleasant time, if that is possible?
He has had good results and checkups by the way and goes in every 3 months for a 3 to 6 week round of treatments. Next up, November...
Any,way, food luck to those of you with surgery coming up and I hope this was helpful in getting you thinking of how you can add some fun things doable from couch or bathtub into your lives as you recover. I have never ever regretted my LIS and don't think my fissure would have healed without it. It is a hump in the road you need to get over on the road to recovery for many of us and I waited too long to have mine.
Bambi

Hi Bambi,
Thanks for posting and great you have no regrets about your surgery and are on your way to healing!!!
That really is great advice about resting up after the procedure and totally agree with you that CRS' underestimate realistic healing times for a lot of people. I was advised I could go back to work the following week after a simple Fistulomy - NO WAY! I really needed that time off and could have done with a further week too....I was told total healing in 6-8 weeks, which wasn't far off the physical healing of the fistula site but I still continue to have some discomfort even today with some BM's & after. I think there's a lot of internal healing that takes a lot longer....
Great you have developed a few distractions since the surgery too. They REALLY help don't they? My partner & me were playing Yahtzee on his tablet whilst waiting for my op last time and it's become very addictive!!! I've thrown myself into my latest project of Halloween Party planning!! Being quite arty in nature, I've been resorting to poetry writing, invite making, experimenting with cup cake recipes.....It's great when I keep myself busy!! Like you, I love puzzles and spend ages doing the LOGIC ones! but couldn't get my head around a Kindle either as I prefer the printed type for reading.
Really glad to hear your hubbie is doing well and hope you are both doing OK in your :)

recoveries!!!!!! :D

Hi ETP,
When did you have your surgery? Sounds like you are keeping busy! I'll have to try Yahtzee. Good thing to do per surgery!
And I should clarify that I really am healed and have seen a big difference in the sensitivity issues that were remaining diminishing over the last few months in spite of some mysterious loose bowel issues that I'm beginning to think are related to my fairly predictable eating routine at home. My thinking about that is that I was tons better in Mexico a couple of weeks ago and I usually get sick there...
Anyway, other than my strange out of the blue firm bowel movement earlier this week that required some pushing and subsequent painless slight bleeding, I have really considered myself healed. The rest of the week has been back to my current loose stools with no pain or bleeding, so even though that was a scare, it doesn't
seem to be a fissure returning.
Good luck with you continuing recovery!