I developed a fissure around 11 weeks ago following the birth of my baby. A couple of times since then I've gone a day or two with no pain, but an even slightly firm BM would cause a minor relapse. I'm now on day 6 of no pain at all, but my BM's have been very soft. I'm taking Restorolax (Miralax) every two days and my diet is perfect, nothing but fruits and veggies, oatmeal and salmon. I guess now that I"m feeling good I'm wondering how long I need to keep this up. If I stop the stool softener, is there a chance I'll end up right back at square one? I don't like the stool softener because it makes me gassy. I would also like to start reintroducing some of the foods that I've cut out ( which is practically all food). How do you know when you're healed enough to go back to a normal (though still healthy) diet?

Daisy Mac --

I and many others here wonder the same thing...first of all, good to meet you. Second, i am happy to hear that after only 11 weeks you are starting to feel ok and thirdly, congratulations on your new baby!!

It is very very hard to know how long it takes to heal - everyone is different. Read some of the replies that i got in my initial posts in the "New to the Forum"section called 6 months...what to do? There is some very very good perspective there from others.

I have found that keeping stool soft is essential and to do this i have been doing the following:
1. I take 450mg of Magnesium Citrate a day (3 x 150mg capsules, one with each meal)
2. Eat probiotic foods -- kombucha, kefir, sauerkraut, miso soup, tempeh etc etc
3. Eat 1 tbs of either flax oil or olive oil with each meal
I have found that with this regimen i have not needed softeners -- though many on this forum cant say enough good stuff about them.

You may want to try the above regimen...but it may not be as effective for you (we are all different and you will likely need to experiment a bit)

I think you know you are healed when you have been able to honestly stop thinking of your behind for a good month without interruption....that at least is what I am using as my guide post. While I am feeling much better than i did initially i still think about it and am aware of certain sensations. I will really feel "healed" once i am not always aware and after a good amount of time has passed.

You know the cliche "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"....well i say take that cliche seriously :) My advice (again, just my own opinion) is that I would stick to a pretty strict or controlled regimen of eating well and soft stools until you really feel healed (as defined above)....and if it takes a week, a month or three...that is how long it takes.

I hope some of this is helpful...of course, make sure you get a bunch more input and do what works for you.

Congrats again on your new baby..enjoy!

Canadabum

Hi Daisy Mac,
Canadabum has great advice. How will you know when you are healed? I agree that you can start to think of yourself as healed when you've had no pain for at least a month. However, even then, if you challenge your bum with a hard stool or too much physical exertion, you may relapse.
After several such set-backs, I've tentatively started to say I'm healed, after about 4 months with no pain. I've had a few harder stools, and have done some strenuous gardening, and I'm fine.

As for your diet, I'd take it cautiously, cutting back the Miralax very gradually, and introducing one new food at a time.

Congratulations on getting such a great start to your healing. 6 days without pain is awesome! Feels great, doesn't it!

Thanks for the replies! I guess I'm not totally healed. This morning I felt a sting during BM and though it's not super painful I could feel it for about 30 mins. .afterwards. Guess I'll keep up with my regimen until I'm positive. I think one month without feeling anything wrong down there sounds reasonable. I suppose I'll stick to what I'm doing for now. I sure miss the foods I"ve given up (cheese especially) but I don't ever want to feel that pain again (the ripping feeling following by half a day of agonizing spasms). This fissure is seriously the worst thing that's happened to me and I'll do anything to make it go away. If I'm still feeling it even a little bit in a couple of months I think I'm going to opt for the surgery because I just can't be this careful for the rest of my life.

Daisy, it could take longer than one month of no pain to be 100% sure. As long as you don't get back to square one, as long as you are generally improving over time - give healing without surgery a chance. If you have surgery, you'll have a wound to heal all over again. LIS wounds usually heal faster than fissures, but still, you don't want to deal with the possible complications, unless your pain is strongly interfering with quality of life. I lived with occasional pain for a long time, over a year, and I'm glad I persevered.

Only you can know how much your fissure is impacting your life. You should be able to reintroduce most of your favourite foods, once you've figured out how to keep your stools soft. But I'd recommend not having surgery unless you really need it.

It sounds like you are on the right track Daisy. I don't have much to add to Scientist's wise words except that I agree. I am one of those complication cases following LIS, as I developed an abcess and required a second surgery that I am having a very tough time healing from (I think my LIS was too conservative to heal from the large wound my CRS now made). While most people do very well and infection is rare it IS possible, making surgery a LAST resort, in my mind.