Hi everyone! First, thanks for the wealth of information that's already here. I've been searching and reading constantly these past few weeks. I am a new mom to a two-month-old baby. I developed an anal fissure about 5 weeks after she was born, as a result of postpartum constipation and one very hard stool. It's been about 4 weeks since then. I have a BM every morning around the same time (7:30) and experience the "shards of glass" feeling and various amounts of blood -- sometimes a lot and sometimes hardly any. I've had a few days where I think I'm healing, just to feel extreme pain and have more bleeding the next day. Ever since this started, I've been eating a perfect diet, no cheating. Just fruits, vegetables, healthy oils (coconut/olive oil and avocados), and some poultry. I also take Colace twice a day, which makes my BMs soft (that toothpaste-like consistency that I've heard is ideal). I do a sitz bath for 20 min 1-2 times a day, after every BM. After reading stories of people who have struggled with fissures for years, I'm starting to get really worried that I'll end up in that situation and I'm feeling pretty hopeless. Here are a few specific questions I have:
1. I read mixed opinions about eating raw v. cooked vegetables. I've been eating a mix of both, but a lot of raw vegetables with hummus and olive oil. I love raw veggies, and to be honest, as a new mom it's hard to find time to cook food and veggies. It's so nice to just grab a handful from the fridge. Is it problematic to eat the vegetables raw? I've heard they don't digest as well and can scrape the fissure -- is that true?
2. I went to a gastroenterologist the other day and she prescribed me Ana-lex (a suppository mix of hydrocortisone and lidocaine). I've been reading that hydrocortisone can actually make fissures worse. Why is this? Should I stop using it? She said the second course of action would be nitroglycerin cream -- should I ask her if I can start on this instead?
3. I just bought some suppository molds, and I'm going to start making suppositories of coconut oil and a few drops of H-Fissures (https://www.amoils.com/anal-fissures.html). Has anyone had success with coconut oil suppositories or with H-Fissures oil?
4. Even though the majority of each stool is that ideal consistency, I'm finding what hurts the most is the initial tip of the stool -- which is fairly hard, considering it's been in there for close to 24 hours. I feel like it's this initial part that keeps retearing me, because once that passes, the pain is gone. Is there any way to get this to soften? I've tried going more than once per day, but I just can't, and I don't want to sit there and strain.
I'm starting to reach my wits end with this, which is maddening since it seems like this could go on for years. I'm trying not to stress, but I live in fear of the pain every day and while I'm trying not to let it keep me from living my life, it's hard to be in constant fear of eating the wrong thing or causing more pain. Plus trying to find the time to care for myself with sitz baths and perfect eating is so difficult with a new baby, and I'm starting to worry about how I'll manage when I go back to work in 3 weeks. Any help, advice, and encouragement is so welcome. Thank you!!