Hi everyone! Hope you're all doing well.
I have good news and bad news...
I had a very slight retear of the fissure with my morning BM, there was a bit of blood but it stopped quickly. The good news is, it didn't hurt at all! So I take that as a positive sign. I have quit taking the Miralax and had a very big, hard BM so it isn't that surprising. Also I don't think I paid enough attention to water intake yesterday. Eh, just my butt reminding me it's damaged goods, I can't treat it like you would a normal butt you know.
I guess my attitude is that, even if I can't totally rid myself of fissures, if they could be at least reduced to a minor annoyance, then that's good enough. So I won't run back to the surgeon any time soon...but, if this is still happening a year from now I'll look into getting it fixed. I think I'm still pretty tight down there, to be honest. I don't have any incontinence or even any of the leakage others here have mentioned, and I sometimes have to push to go. So I don't think another surgery would be the end of the world, if it comes to that.
Hope everyone else is doing great... :)

Hi Alpine! I'm so glad to hear that you aren't in pain, but it is a drag about the re-tear. Are you a month past surgery yet or more? (I thought your surgery was in March, but I can't remember - sorry!). If you are still in the relatively early stages of healing, then I think this would count as a very minor set-back. I'm sure I've read posts here that describe experiences similar to yours - but those folks healed up quite well. Other LISers can chime in with more knoweldge than I have.
I don't think you'll be looking at a life of fissuers - but you might be looking at a life of lots of water and butt-friendly food! Do you think you should continue with lower doses of Miralax for a while?
How are you doing otherwise? Are you enjoying a pain-free life?

Thanks hope!
Yes, it seems a lot of people here have had similar experiences...which is why I'm not freaking out. I'm sure the skin at the fissure site is just weak still, it takes a very long time to heal and regain strength there. It's nice though that I haven't had the burning pain that would normally come on after the BM and last most of the day. Really, no pain at all, even though I can see a bit of a tear.
I'm just not sure whether I want to continue with Miralax, or wait and see what happens without it. I still have some nitro ointment laying around, if things don't improve I may give that a shot. For now, I think I'll just up my water intake.
Otherwise I've been doing pretty well. I've been having off and on episodes of stomach pain, not sure what that's about. Viruses, IBS, food intolerances? The only thing I can say for sure is alcohol is irritating, and so are onions, especially raw ones, whenever I have them raw I can almost guarantee myself several days of stomach pain. It didn't used to be that way, but I am getting older I guess. :(
How are you feeling? Do you think you want to have surgery, or are you coping okay?

It's so wonderful that you are not having any pain! I'm sure that means good healing going on. I think you're right that the tissue will be tender for a good while - people here say up to a year or even two (yikes!). You are very brave trying alcohol and onions - wow. I couldn't even think about that. You might be having some mild IBS/food intolerance. I think that's what I have. It might be just getting older, or we could have just triggered upsets with pain, anxiety and changes in diet ... or it could be age (was it Bette Davis who said 'getting old isn't for sissies'?) Have you tried probiotics?
I'm still struggling a bit with digestive issues too. I couldn't think about taking Miralax since my BMs are almost always loose. I'm actually in a bit of a catch-22 situation: solid stool makes me feel like I'm being split in two (anything near a diameter of a quarter and I'm in serious pain); yet, loose/water stool burns like hell
I think that my problem may be more than just the fissure. I can see red, raw tissue that isn't where the fissure is - it sometimes bleeds from other places as well :(
I'm not sure what I'll do if surgery is not an option for me, or if the surgery doesn't work. I'll find out on May 10 what my fate is ... but truthfully, I would love to be where you are now. Not to belittle your current struggles, because I know it can't be much fun for you even now. But I would love to be on the road to healing instead of in this limbo land of burning and bleeding and dreading BMs!
I'm so happy for you that you are moving forward with no pain - I'm going to do my best to be where you are very soon.
:D

Sorry about your set back but yes good that you have no pain when u seen a bit of blood.
how long has it been now since your LIS?
are u on any fibre sups?
Since my Fissure has appeared i have also have some problems with foods maybe because i am so careful what i eat and my bodys not use to somethings and buks when i eat them.
hope you have not had blood since

I'm happy you r feeling good but sorry about the retear, after more than a month without bleeding I'm sure my post LIS blood will automatically panic me I'm sure. I think my biggest fear is that it won't work and that the burning will return after a few days.
I'm glad it's behind you, Alpine, I'll be there soon!

I guess I spoke too soon about the pain--yesterday I had no significant bleeding (barely a speck of blood on the tp) but then it did hurt most of the day. Maybe it took my nerves down there awhile to wake up and realize that something wasn't right.
Anyway, today seems back on track, no pain no blood. I did not like feeling that pain yesterday, it wears on you mentally and you start second-guessing the surgery and wondering if it worked. I mean, the site of the retear is opposite of where the surgeon put his incision. It starts you wondering if the other side needs another LIS. But since this is only the third day since the retear happened, and I'm at least 95% better, I'm going to have to stay strong in my belief that the surgery did work. I even had a couple of beers yesterday ( along with heavy water intake!) and today was fine. I also managed to go for a walk in the woods and soak in the tub quite a bit. An enjoyable day despite the pain!
And, my husband got an awesome new job offer (within his company). It will be a change for him, he gets to change buildings to one that's 3 miles north of where he is now--new office, woo hoo! It's a fantastic opportunity for him too...he gets to fix a project that was absolutely run into the ground by the last people who tried to take it on, and he loves that sort of challenge. He'll be traveling more often, but hopefully my butt will stay intact so I can manage three kids on my own without self-destructing.

I know the worry about "what if it didn't work." And I'm only 3 days post LIS. I think I am going to stay on the miralax for a long time. My BMs have been soft and the thought of a firm one scares the begeesus out of me.
I guess we can expect some pain for awhile. In one of these threads, Bambi said she had some pain at 10 weeks out.
How are you guys seeing things? I try to look in the hand mirror and can't see any tears or incisions. I have to have my boyfriend look for me. That's romantic!

Just popping in! Sorry to read that you've had some ups and downs (well, sorry about the downs...). I hope it will get better soon!

Frustrated,
My tears have always been pretty visible because they are mostly on the outside...although it does take strong lighting and a hand mirror to see them.
Bumbutt--you haven't been around too much! How are you? I think I am better now, it was just a little reminder that things are still fragile, so I should probably take at least a small dose of Miralax for awhile longer. C'est la vie!