Hi all,

I've been suffering from anal fissure-like symptoms for 3 months now. It all started after having really bad constipation, which lead my GI to believe it was a fissure. He wasn't able to see the fissure so he referred me to a CRS. She wasn't able to see the fissure either, but also also believed it was a fissure. The main difference I had was that I didn't have pain while going, just irritation and swelling 10-15m after.

After 3 months of trying everything and not getting better I decided to go in for Botox. This was done using general anesthesia so the CRS was able to take a closer look. Surprise surprise, she didn't find any fissures, but instead saw some patches of irritated and unusual skin. Instead of doing the botox injection, she took some biopsies.

The results just came back and it's a skin condition called "lichen sclerosus" which has very similar symptoms as anal fissure: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-cond ... n-20028610

I'm going to see the dermatologist next week. But I wanted to let you know in case you're in a similar situation as me. I would strongly suggest going under general anesthesia if your CRS can't use their good scopes because of tightness or pain.

I'm very glad that I decided to go in for Botox, because otherwise I would've been going in circles for more months.

Hi Cuzco,
Many thanks for popping by to share your outcome!
Hopefully, it will help somebody else that finds this site.
All the very best to you in dealing with it :)

Np!

I also wanted to mention that anal lichen sclerosus in men is very rare (like 1 in a 1000). It's more common in women going through menopause. The only way to detect it is by doing a biopsy.

Hi Cuzco,
Did your doctor prescribe steroids? How are you doing?

Cuzco,

Thanks for sharing your outcome... To this condition

Scientist2516 wrote:Hi Cuzco,
Did your doctor prescribe steroids? How are you doing?

They prescribed Clobetasol, which is the highest strength topical steroid there is.

They told me to do a round of 10 days and then 10 days off (on day 6). Then repeat as needed until the symptoms go away. I haven't noticed any major improvements yet.

I'm also beginning to think I have a food allergy or sensitivity to dairy that makes my condition worse. Anytime I have something with processed cheese or ice cream, I have stomach problems and watery bowel movements. This irritates the anal skin for a few days. When I thought I had a fissure I just thought I had ripped it open again, but now I know it's irritation.

Well, it must be a relief to find the culprit!
Are you lactose intolerant? It's more common that people know! I cut out dairy years ago, but it's impossible to avoid it altogether! You might try laying off it for the next ten days. After that, carry around some Lactaid tablets with you, and even if you put cream in your coffee, take one before you drink it. Also, carry some GasX with you too!
Good health to you!

Update on this:

Unfortunately I had really bad side effects from the Clobetasol and had to stop taking it. I also met with a dermatologist and she didn't have any experience with anal lichen sclerosis and had some doubts about it being the cuplrit. She's having a second look at the biopsy slides.

I also stopped taking Miralax (big mistake) and just had a very bulky BM that caused pain and some blood. This felt a lot like a new fissure. So now I'm really torn on what's going on.

I'm seeing a different CRS tomorrow to get a second opinion. He specializes in skin diseases in the anus.

Another update:

I had a second opinion from a different CRS and he noticed that I had a very bad case of dermatitis around the anus. He even took a pic to show what he meant (beet-red rash where it should look like normal skin). He couldn't spot or feel anything else. This could explain the burning and inflammation.

He said that fecal matter could be causing the skin rash and suggested I use Balneol to wipe after a BM (squeeze some on TP instead of water). Now that I think about it, I stopped using soap on my bottom 3 months ago after I thought I had a fissure. I just used water and TP, when previously I would use soap every morning. I think I might have given myself the dermatitis due to this because just using water was not enough to clean the area throughly.

After using Balneol for two days, the discomfort was greatly reduced and rash like symptoms were mostly gone. I'm back to feeling the best I've felt and have high hopes that the dermatitis will go away with the Balneol and better hygiene down there.

I -strongly- recommend Balneol for cleaning yourslef after your BMs. It's better on your skin than just using a damp TP. My CRS even told me he uses it all the time.

That's really good news.
I used to use balneol... But it's hard to get hold of here in the uk. Lovely stuff.....sort of glides!!

I hope you continue to improve!

OMB x