I went to see the colorectal nurse-practitioner today. Actually, I feel fine, and have felt fine for nearly a week, but I thought I'd go anyway.

What a bummer, she said the fissure is still there. I asked her why it's not hurting at the moment, and why I've had several pain-free months. She said it's probably a cycle of opening with any trauma, and then partially healing again. I don't think they really know, but I'll buy that for now.

I relate my two episodes of pain to stress (the first one) and diarrhoea (the second one). She agreed with both of those, and suggested that I keep a diary of stress and any other contributing factors. So I will do that.

I asked her about ways to reduce stress, but she didn't have much to offer other than yoga.

I can live with how things are. Even during the episodes, it's more soreness and a bit of pain during BMs. Nothing like the broken glass BMs and the agonising spasms I had last year. I really am OK for now. If the episodes get worse or more frequent, I might have to consider more drastic action.

I'm going to keep on with nitroglycerine for six weeks and then re-evaluate.

Hi Scientist,
You have a really cool avatar. You always provide useful information and it is nice to see that you are now a Moderator.

The stress issue with a fissure is something that the medical field seams to put their head in the sand about. I remember talking to my CRS who is an excellent doctor about my stress and how to deal with the pain while I was waiting for my LIS date and she said, "the fissure pain is not going to kill you, but you will wish you were dead." I gave her a smile and a fake laugh. She was trying to make a joke, but at the time is was not very funny as I was in a lot of pain that day.
I am happy for you that you are doing better and I hope that you continue to improve.

Thanks for the kind words, Roids. I thought it was time to get an avatar, and there were not many good ones of female scientists!

I'm glad your doctor is excellent, but I wish they wouldn't make jokes like that. What she said was really too true to be funny.
Sigh.

Great avatar scientist!

Sorry you were told the fissure was still there... That's so tough to hear.

At least you're not suffering the crippling pain of last year though. Hang on in there lovely lady!

OMB xxxxxx

I thought I might as well keep my diary here. I'm supposed to make a note of stress and other things that might trigger pain.
I was fine all weekend.
No particular stress. I did quite a lot of stuff around the house at the weekend, including washing floors. I could have got dehydrated.
Monday I had a slightly hard BM, and then some achy pain all day. Maybe a 1 or 2.
Tuesday better, but some discomfort sitting.
Today (Wednesday) much better.

So, no more pain til Sunday 21st Sept.
I wonder, could spending Saturday ripping linoleum off a bathroom floor, and then spending several hours scraping glue off the floor, followed by removing the toilet (Husband carried it out, but I did all the bending over and kneeling on the floor bit) have anything to do with it? Or could it be the unexpectedly hot and peppery Thai lettuce wraps I ate that evening?

Really, if I can't look after myself better than that, maybe I deserve this gently throbbing bum that I now have!

Scientist, sorry to hear of your throbbing pain. Why is that when we are active that these darn things hurt so much! Yikes! Thai wraps, that's living dangerously! I bet they were good though Hopefully a little TLC will get you back on track.

Hey, I have a question or you...I was wondering how you determined what was and wasn't successful for you as far as the 3 ointments go. Did you try them and notice right away whether they helped with pain and provided relaxation or was it more of a use for a while and see if you notice any relief/healing?

Thanks for the sympathy, msimon


I tried the nifedipine for quite a long time - several weeks. I had no idea what to expect, or I would have been re-assessed earlier.
I used the diltiazem for a few weeks before the itching and rash began. I don't remember now how long, but it's all upstream in this topic, if you have time to wade through it.

By the time I started nitro, I had already sorted out a lot of things, like how to keep stools soft, to use mineral oil and not too much fibre; and the usefulness of heat. So I got off to more of a running start with it than with the nifedipine. So I knew quite quickly that things were improving.

Hope this helps!

This is great!! Excellent! Hope it continues to get better and this is all a memory soon!

Thanks for the reply Scientist. Just wondering, when you would use the ointments, would you feel them 'kick in?' I think I can feel a difference about 20 minutes after application.