Hi everyone,
I found this forum about two months back and have gotten many helpful tips from it but mostly has helped me stay sane and feel like I'm not the only one. 10 years ago I had some constipation issues as a kid and when I saw a GI she told me I had a skin tag in the area. It never bothered me till this year... In Feb I believe I first got this fissure. I didn't know what it was, hemmorhoids or a fissure, so I would try just about everything from proctozone to witch hazel or aloe wipes. I was in so much pain, the only thing that helped was taking Advil 800mg. I don't even believe it was from a hard BM. Anyways I made an appt with a GI to get it checked out which wasn't for another 6 weeks. By the time I went I felt a lot better but she told me it was probably a fissure from the way I described it. She checked me quickly and gave me some advice about stool softeners vs laxatives. The next morning I was in pain again which I believe was irritation from her exam. I phoned to tell her and she said to start docusate twice a day for the next two weeks. While this made my stools soft, I think they were a little too soft, and going every morning was never going to let me heal. So I'd take one a day usually. Finally one day I went two days without a BM and it felt much better. So I carried on just focusing on getting plenty of water and fiber to allow myself to heal. Now again, it is back. I got it yesterday morning and the pain didn't start till several hours later. It hasn't gone since. Even with the baths it's not feeling better. I used to go to bed at night and wake up with no pain until I had to go again, but now it doesn't even matter if I sleep. It seems like the skin tag has 2 cuts, I honest don't even know. I can feel 2 little bumps on it so I don't know if those are tiny cut or what. It does hang lower right now than it used to, probably because of the fissure. It never bothered me before so I don't even want to consider surgery because I lived with it for so long. I just want this thing to heal and not come back anymore!!! I've been applying aloe gel like twice a day and sometimes a little coconut oil. I apply vaseline before any BM. I just hope someone can shed some light and advice. I know patience is key and just have to go easy on myself. Thank you all for your posts. Especially about aloe!