Hi everyone... I found this forum a month ago, much to my relief. At least there are others who know the feeling of what I am going through...it's a great feeling to know that.
Anyway... I'm 22, and this is the second time around that I had a fissure flare up. The first time it happened was in 2010, and it was the worst pain in my life. I was still going through college and it made it insanely difficult to go to class, to concentrate and to work on my thesis. I managed to get through somehow. My cousin/doctor told me to take laxatives for a week, and that fixed it--no pain, healed fissure... I thought I was done with it for life. The first time, it lasted for a month.
This time around, it started in about February or Early March... First it was just pain, not so bad, manageable... no bleeding... It was pretty much my fault for not taking care of the problem then. My diet had gone to hell and I was eating all the wrong things... but I didn't do anything about it. Now I am paying for it. It's been almost 3 months now and while the pain is not as bad as the first time around, it's gotten so bad that even my old fissure from 2010 has reopened. I can have anywhere from 1-3 fissures at the same time, I counted a time where it even went up to 5... Can you say agony? It's gotten so bad that these days I also have a hemorrhoid to go with the fissures. Miserable, that's what I am.
I haven't gone to an actual doctor yet. I can't do the laxative thing anymore because I tried it once last week and that was a disaster, I ended up fainting twice and nearly having to be brought to the ER for hypoglycemia. I guess that happened because I have barely been eating lately, brought on by the fear of having to #2 everything later on. Because of the fissures I have lost 2 kilos, not very good for a girl who's only 5"2 and (now, after losing weight) 107 lbs. I'm scared that after this whole thing I'll be skin and bone.
To tackle the problem this time around I have been soaking in hot water with sea salt and ACV at least once a day. I know I should do it twice a day but I always fail to find the time. I also apply cold pressed extra virgin coconut oil at least 3 times a day. The VCO really helps with pain and itching, but it's still not enough apparently, because I still end up tearing everyday. I don't know what to do anymore--I eat TONS and TONS of fiber (lots of vegetables, lots of fruit), I quit red meat, I quit white rice, coffee... I drink up to 3 liters of water a day. I don't know what's going on anymore! My stools just end up being soft and bulky, but big! I don't know how they get so big with how little I eat...
Anyway, I don't know what to do anymore. I've asked my cousin/doc to recommend a doctor for me to visit. I've also started trying to find a shrink to help me with stress issues that may be causing the problem. I'm getting desperate.
Sorry for the ramble. :(