Hello Everyone, This is my story: I got my first fissure while I was in nursing school in 2007.  I had very bad constipation from the stress of nursing school and my eating habits. I began to see blood in my stool which caused me to seek medical advice.  I went to a general doctor( big mistake) and she made the problem even worse.  She did a digital exam to check for hemorrhoids and after the exam she had blood on her glove! The exam was sooooo painful because she had long nails! I didn't notice that before hand.  That was very inconsiderate of her and made the fissure worse.  After that experience I was too afraid to ever see another MD about the issue.  BTW, I didn't have hemorrhoids.  Since I was in nursing school, I self diagnosed myself.  I would have long periods of a break and the fissure pain would return with a vengeance.  I have dealt with this fissure for 6 years but it has been at its worse since March. I have had daily pain since march with maybe a week break in between.  My quality of life has drastically decreased and I have even been to the point of thinking not living would be better than living like this. Those thoughts are nothing but the  . I have a lot to live for and that is why I need my life back.  I have a beautiful toddler and wonderful husband. There are so many times when I have cried because I feel like I am failing them :( . I have also lost a significant amount of weight because at one point I was even afraid to eat from fear of having a bm. The pain and spasms are at their worse these days.  I saw a GI doctor and he prescribed nitro and hydro cream.  Neither worked because every morning the fissure would just reinjure with my bm. I couldn't even use the hydro cream because of the swelling. The tube would not insert and I definitely wasn't about to force it  . He also wanted to perform a colonoscopy. Before the colonoscopy I had a week break from the fissure and things were looking up.  After the colonoscopy I was back to point A with the pain all over again   My stools are never hard anymore but because the area is so narrow it doesn't matter how hard or soft my stool is.  I have been doing sitz baths after each bm and that helps but not nearly as well as it use too. I have been avoiding surgery but I am actually looking forward to it now.  I think it is worth a try.  I want to be me again.  I want to be able to be the wife and mother that I know I can be. I found a CRS about an hour away from home and he has good reviews.  I actually have my appointment tomorrow and I hope it goes well.  I have read the success stories from the LIS and that is why I am leaning more towards surgery. I want to try something that has a high success rate. I have a sense of peace about getting the surgery now which is not at all normal for me.  I just hope I will be posting a success story soon.

Hi and welcome. So sorry you're struggling with the dreaded fissure. It's awful and most people don't understand how they change your entire life. If you've had your fissure for 6 years it's chronic and the chances of healing it and keeping it healed on it's own aren't great. What happens is that each time you heal and re-tear and heal you create more scar tissue which may be narrowing your bottom. Spasms also make it feel tighter. Don't be afraid of LIS, it's really a very simple surgery done on it's own. If your bottom is too narrow your doctor may suggest an advancement flap, in that surgery they remove the scar tissue and fissure and advance a flap of fresh skin over and into the rectum to make it more able to stretch during a bm. It's a longer recovery and there is some pain involved but it's not as bad as some of the stories I read online. I originally had LIS and unfortunately for me it wasn't enough so this spring I had the advancement flap surgery. The first few days I took toradol and on day three I switched to ibuprofen during the day and 1/2 norco at bedtime. I was off all prescription meds by week 3. I'm still healing 3 months out but I'm able to eat whatever I want and do the things I used to do. I know fear keeps lots of people from going to the doctor and getting help. When the word surgery was mentioned to me I wanted to run for the hills. It took me a year to have LIS and 5 years of misery before I had the flaps done. I wish I could have the time back because I wouldn't have waited so long. I hope your appointment goes well. Write down all the questions you want to ask your doctor so you don't forget and hopefully you'll be on your way to recovery real soon. All the best Suzy.

Hi Suzy! Thank you very much for your response and encouragement.  I had never heard of the flap before, thanks for the info.  It is so good to read that you are able to do things that you want again and are on your way to complete healing.  I believe that I will be able to say the same soon. I will give an update after I see the doctor tomorrow.