Hi to all, just thought I would drop in to give an update. I have been following your posts with interest but honestly have felt I have little to contribute as I am now so confused by this whole thing.
After having what I was told by 2 GPs was fissures, I went to a CRS who told me he could see no fissures and that I had some hemorrhoids and a polyp. He elected to do nothing about this. Thats the British NHS for you!!! I then went back to my GP and got referred to a private CRS. He did a proctoscopy and an anoscopy and also said that he could see no fissures but could see grade 2 hemorrhoids. He then said that he could treat them on the spot if I wanted. Difficult decision to make on the spur oif the moment, but I was so desperate to get something done that I agreed. The treatment is called sclerotherapy, which I'm sure some of you know about. It is an injection into the hemorroid that causes scar tissue to form and ultimately the hemorrhoid shrivels and falls away. He injected 3 hemorrhoids.
This was about 2 weeks ago. Now I seem to be no further forward but the situation does seem to have changed. Before I had the uncomfortable squishy feeling that seems to go with hemorrhoids. Now I seem to have a more acute pain inside the anal canal. The problem is, that sclerotherapy it would seem, can cause an ulcer in the mucosal lining of the anal canal. Otherwise known to all of us here as an anal fissure!!!!!!!!!!! So.......I'm hoping to god that this is not the case, but from having ditched my rectogesic, I am now treating myself with that agiain in case it is a fissure. The pain certainly feels more acute, like that of a fissure.
I'm going this week back to my Gp to try to get referred back to this guy, but on the NHS this time. He will no doubt be a completely different person when I see him on the NHS.
Oh well, in the meantime I wish all of you the very best in your struggle with this horrible and totally underated ailment. You really can feel very alone with this and I totally sympathise with the post by small flower re this. I do have that feeling..."why me" cos all around me I se people happily going about their business completely oblivious to this horrible condititon...as I was before all this!!!!!

So sorry to hear about your pain : (((, yes , butt problems are highly underrated. They are not only debilitating, but embarrassing and even laughed at ??!!!
It is just horrible that you exchanged one bad problem for even the worse one : (((, but maybe it will pass soon ? Maybe it is not fissure but some part of healing process. I think Lecia would be the best expert in this area since she had all kinds of hemmie procedures done and I am sure she will post soon.
Just one thing - classic fissures look like a paper cuts , not an ulcer. If yours does look like an ulcer, than maybe you need some further investigation.
I wish you fast and complete healing !

Wow, UK, I feel for you. I know sometimes I don't even want to post here because I feel like I have very little to contribute and that I feel too down to even try to lift others up because I often don't have anything good to say about my situation.

I have had sclerotherapy (geez, what haven't I had?). I don't recall having any problems with an ulcer from that and if administered properly it shouldn't have that results. I have gotten an ulcer from infrared coagulation which was not performed properly. I doubt that you have a fissure but it certainly coulnd't hurt to continue with the cream. I think any of these internal hemmie treatments can cause pain if not done properly like below the dentate line.

Are you still working to keep your bowels nice and soft. Any spasming or does it just feel like a wound? It could be that since you had all three done at once that you are getting some scar tissue that might be painful.

I wish I could be of more help but I understand the frustation. It is exacerbated by doctors that don't realize just how much this affects every day life.

Hang in there.

Thank you so much for your kind words of support, it maens a lot.
Lecia , yes I didnt know much about this when he did it, but then read up about it on the internet. It certainly was very uncomfortable when he did the injections and for at least 24 hours after. When I read on the net about it , it said that it shouldnt be painful at injection because it should be done above the dentate line. This lead me to worry whether the injections had been administered correctly. I dont seem to have the spasming that I had when I had fissures, it just feels like a wound, but definitely different to when I had the hemmies. More painful now than uncomfortable which is where I was at before the sclerotherapy.
Did you find that the sclerotherapy helped much or not?

hey uk,
not that i had a sclerotherapy before but i would assume that your hemmies have shrivled up and fallen off and you are basically left with the wounds which i guess could resemble ulcers on the tissues themselves.
hopefully it is just a matter of time that the wounds will self-heal and that you will be on your regular routine.
what concerns me the most is the mention of a polyp. if that is the case, please get that taken care of as it may or may not be an indicator of colon cancer - don't want to freak you out but that is what a colonoscopy is for: to find these polyps and remove them.
i hope you feel much better.

I cannot understand why a polyp would be ignored, either. Best have that seen about. If you have one, you may have more. I would consider a colonoscopy or sphigmoidoscopy. Good luck with all, though.

I think Gareth is right. That once the vein shrivels up it will leave a wound but it should not be painful-if it is then it was done too low. But it does feel different from a hemorrhoid and fissure Definitely like a wound. But the good news is that it will heal. Take some ibuprofen and baths until you get through this.

Were you hemorrhoids bothering you or did the doctor just tell you you had them so let's try this? It did help me temporarily but mine were so stubborn that after 5 years of trying every treatment known to man (and woman) that I finally decided to go the surgical route. But it did buy me some time but they just came back. But no reason to think that you will be the same!

Yes they were bothering me Lecia, thats why I went to a private CRS. I didnt know that it was the hemmies bothering me. They did feel quite low, but of course internal hemmies (ie those originating above the dentate line) can prolapse down to and even through the anus. I dont know where the injections went in but from what Ive read, they should go in above the dentate line. Apparently slerotherapy is not effective on external hemmies (ie those origiating below the dentate line ,the purple ones) But what you both say about there being a wound that will heal is reassuring. Its just a shame that the CRS couldnt be bothred to explain these things. By the way, out of interest, why would the wound from this heal more easily than a fissure? Also out of interest, how much is a consultation with a CRS in the States? Here in the UK its running out at about 300-400 dollars equivalent.

UK-- I can understand your frustration with doctors making all these different diagnoses!
For years! I thought that my problem was hemorrhoids, and that is what my gastroenterologist told me it was after I had had a colonoscopy. Colonoscopy isn't really all that fun, particularly when you are in the waiting area and the nurses exclaim "what are you doing here! your too young for this!" Makes you feel even better about it... but anyways...
That particular doctor told me I had a hemorrhoid but that it was attached to a muscle and that it would require a different surgery to deal with. I went back to eating right and using a lot of preparation H.
Fast forward another year, and my bum is still bothering me! This time, I get referred to a CRS, who is probably, out of all the doctors I've met in my lifetime, the one with the worse bedside manner. When he did his exam, it hurt so bad! He told me that I had fissures and that there were other things we could try before surgery. He just got me in and out of his office. Didn't send me off with anything to try other than a high fiber diet and lots of water. I was still in pain but he was convinced, since I had been able to heal it once before that I could do it again.
Fast forward another 2 months, i see him in a different office, he confirms that I have fissures and that I will HAVE to get surgery. I tried talking to him about botox, nifedipine, and he says that those aren't options in this state!
It was at that point that I threw in the towel and looked for another doctor who was the exact opposite. Gave me a diagnosis of fissure, but was gentle and let me determine my treatment plan.
A good doctor can make all the difference.
I am sorry that you are having such a rough time

kate

I had internal hemorroids that actually prolapsed out of the anus and an external one that kept getting thrombosed. I felt like I freak (33 year old) at the time wondering how my bottom could just turn on me like that.

It does sound like perhaps he went too low. The wound or ulcer is round and that seems to heal better than an incision or cut perhaps as it doesn't not go to far beneath the epidermis. Yes, sclerotherapy is not used on external hemmies as it is way too painful. I have been tempted to try it as I have a vial of the sclerosing agent but I am a bit wary of self surgery!

Are you still in a lot of pain from this? I wanted to mention another medication I used called tramadol or ultram. It is non narcotic and they even have it in extended release. If I have to be at work in the office I will take one and that seems to help. The extended release is new but tramadol has been around for ages so it should be readily accessible.

A consult here cost me $250 or thereabouts. If they do any procedure well, that is where they make their money! Are you thinking you might come to the US? Not to sound discouraging but it doesn't seem like the doctors here are that much to write home about. I am still, after seeing 11 CRS doctors, trying to fine one who is a problem solver. Maddening indeed.

Hang in there. You will feel better from this. I had an ulcer from a burn from infrared coagulation where she went too low and though it hurt lke crazy it did get better and much faster than the fissure.