OK guys and girls, I think its about time we share our experiences about the issues we have after we are healed.

I reckon my fissure healed up in mid october, and I have been painfree ever since. However, sometimes I still get 'issues' like itching, irritation, the feeling of tightness, prickeling etc. Usually these things are linked to a harder than usual BM, but they can also just occur for no apparent reason.

Since going glutenfree and following the FODMAP diet, I have had some more firm BMs, and pretty much ever since, I have had irritation. Its not like the burning which started 1/2 hour after bM and faded away hours later. This is more like an all day irritation, and I have found excersice can aggrivate it. Some days I can go for hours after a BM with no issues, and then it starts in the evening. (Not very caracteristic of a fissure)

I have tried to get a good look in the mirror, but I see nothing wrong. I just cant seem to figure out what is causing this irritation. My guesses include skintags, hems, scartissue and small retears. Lately I have ruked out hems, since I feel absolutly nothing in there. If its scartissue or tags, I can live with it, but my biggest fear is the small retears. I wish I could rule them out too.

So, if you have healed, and still have similar issues, please let me know your experiences and thoughts

After I healed previously I still used to get prickling feeling even after 1.5 years, and some worse pain occasionally which usually went after a day. I remember nearly slipping a few times and the tightening of the body in preparation for falling caused a pin prick feeling, but only very temporary. I too used to feel a tightness sometimes. I remember around 'toilet time' there would be a feeling there (fissure reminder) but after going the feeling usually went away as if the pressure building inside (fullness) would put pressure on the area.

This time I am struggling healing. I've just stopped using GTN after the 8 week recommended period. I thought that was causing some irritation (and might have been), but having stopped it for 3 days now I'm getting some days a lot of itching/external irritation. If I release wind sometimes that causes a bit of pain too for a minute or so, prickly, especially overnight for some reason (hey, I'm single, I can burp in bed :) ). Might be related to Gtn still I suppose. I think this flare up is more external than I've ever had before with a fissure, not sure why, as it started more internal although this time the doctor was able to see it externally. I think I'm healing but the itching can be quite bad. Having a shower this morning the soap caused irritation too, don't think I've had that in the past. I think I am healing though but not yet healed. A strange feeling I'm getting now is an occassional movement inside the rectum. It feels weird but I've had it before with previous fissures. So you tighten the bum and for a while afterwards it feels like something moving in there - weird

FOr me around the 20th of this month will be 5 months with fissure issues again. I say issues as it started off minor then seemed to heal within days or up to a week and this happened a few times before I got the full blown fissure that just one depart. I think I'm healing I'm going to see how it goes for a while but any more fissure problems in the near term and I think I'm going to push for LIS - it does my head in now - impact the life too much. Right now I have dating opportunities but just don't feel up to it so keeping people at arms length .

Regarding exercise,in the past it hasn't really had an effect once the healing process but currently after a fast walk I feel some irritation/itching.

I managed to heal my fissure, using Miralax, nitro, tons of water and a healthy diet. Yet even I was healed the irritation of my anus never went away. It was present every day all the time. I couldn't go without a dab of Vaseline to ease it and calm down my bum so I could go with my day. Later I changed the Vaseline for a French ointment from "La Roche-posay". At night I always applied coconut oil. But although it made my irritation bearable it never went away. Then I decided to go for LIS because the AF was taking over my life, affecting my social life and starting to cause problems with my job. I did it only 2 days ago and every thing is going very well. But I am wondering if the anal irritation will disappear after the LIS. I know I can no tell right know, because as is expected I am very sore and burning down there. So probably I will not know the outcome until weeks o maybe months from now. I will post again in this thread to let you know.

Hi
I had my fissurectomy and two hemmies removed 10 weeks ago and my progress seems to have plateaued. I have no pain and just slight tightness on my BM but I still have a soreness outside and it feels like inside my anus. I was with the surgeon last week who did a thorough exam in and out and says everything is healed. There was minimal pain with the exam. I am uncomfortable sitting and walking on and off throughout the day. He says it will just take time for things to settle down. But I just don't feel I have made any progress the past three weeks. Is this normal? Do others feel the same at week 10 or more....I really am feeling stressed over this now.....
Sue

I'm healed, more or less. By that, I mean I don't get those terrible spasms at night any more, and in the daytime I get mild pain only if I have to walk fast after a big BM. I rarely take ibuprofen these days, maybe one day in two weeks. I stopped the nitro about 3 weeks ago. I just got tired of it, and I don't think I need it. I do still use a hot water bottle under my bum at night.

Chalk me up as another person that still has some pain/discomfort after being declared healed. There is still some soreness with BMs, still some pain on walking to work, though not every day by any means. I do need to keep my stools very soft.

I never had any surgery, just the creams, and feel very very lucky to be where I am. I'll take this level of discomfort without complaint, because I remember what it was like before. Still, it's useful to remember that full healing might take months.

Hi Scientist, how long it took for your fissure to heal exactly?

Well, it's all in my thread "A one person experiment on anal fissure drugs" a-one-person-experiment-on-af-drugs-t7231.html

But the short version is, got fissure in May 2013, used nifedipine for a few weeks, no effect, used diltiazem for 3 weeks, it helped but I became allergic to it, started nitroglycerine in August, it helped, I healed. Saw CRS in September and he said I was nearly healed. I guess I don't know for sure that I'm fully healed, but the CRS was confident that I was nearly there, and I do feel SO MUCH better that I think I am healed. Other than the occasional soreness.

I continued to use nitro until around December, had some pain, re-started it over Christmas, but stopped it after the New Year.

Great to hear that you have recovered Scientist! I am struggling with the issue of damaging a perfectly healed/healing fissure every month when my "time" is about to come. That gives me a setback every time! Pretty frustrating. I'm still hopeful, though! People like you give me hope that chronic fissures can be healed!

JHH,

You described my symptoms almost to a T. I have been healed for a Year and half however I still have minor irritation/prickly/annoying feeling in the anus that still has not gone away. Exercise aggravates it for me too. Some days its not really ever there. And some days it is very bothersome.

You are the first person I have found to have the same problems as me. I am beginning to think I might have to live with it. I have used nitroglycerin on it in the past which has mostly stopped any irritation I had post bowel movement.
My CRS is unsure what it is and wants to do Botox on me to see if it will help. I think I might go through with it.

Please keep me updated.

I think I'm still in the healing process (no retear yet!) but anyone else had a healing fissure that is irritated by releasing gas? I've had it before where the fissure has been bad and releasing gas would cause yet more pain but with this current flare up that started in August I'm now at a stage where my BM's are fairly pain free,but not totally, but when I have gas during the day and release it in the toilets it sometimes hurts quite a bit but it's fine again once released.

One thing that kinda has to be admired with fissures is how different each one or flare up of existing one can be :). I have used Nitro this time and notice a bit of a problem with releasing gas when I was using that, but also during a time where the fissure was causing pain on and after BM's. In fact I wondered if it wasnt helping. I stopped using Nitro now a few weeks ago but getting more pain when releasing gas than i do during or after a BM..