by Bum_UK » 26 Apr 2017, 06:12
Buttercup, I'd written a long message to you when the board website crashed. I'm writing this in Notes and will copy and paste it to avoid losing the entire message again. It'll probably be a bit shorter though.
I think it seems like a good idea to try the rectogesic cream and see if it works. If it doesn't, go back to your GP and ask for (demand)a prescription for diltiazem cream.
Is there any chance your husband can come along to GP and hospital visits? It might also be helpful to have questions and/or talking points written down prior to GP and hospital visits.
I'm so sorry to hear that it took them four months to diagnose you. I'm surprised that your GP didn't manage to diagnose you. Did you have the pass glass sensation during BMs too? It's at least good that you've been diagnosed now.
I'll call Bupa tomorrow and ask for my authorisation code for the treatment and I'll book the CRS appointment then as well. Today's task is go back to my GP's to collect the referral and pop by Boots to buy more WaterWipes (they're amazing!) and collar my Laxido prescription.
A bit of background for my AF troubles. I self diagnosed an AF in spring 2007 and it took several months to heal. I was only in pain during BMs. I was okay until November 2010 when the fissure reappeared. I went to the GP as it hurt a lot during BMs and it bled a fair amount during BMs too. He diagnosed what he called a nasty looking fissure. He prescribed a cream and Movicol. It resolved within a few weeks. Finding Movicol made me reclaim my life again! I continued to eat lots of fruit and veg while using half to one sachet of Movicol per day. I was fine with maybe one or two minor issues per year until spring 2014. The Movicol gave me the runs after we started eating far healthier than previously. I swapped to Flybogel (or whatever it's called, it's a bulking softener) but it made my BMs bigger, as expected, but that made the fissure come back. I went to the GP who prescribed another cream and Laxido. The problems resolved within a few weeks again. I only had minor issues ones or twice a year during 2015 and 2016. I read that Movicol was on the FDA watch list in the USA and decided to swap to lactulose in late March this year. I could have asked a GP but I didn't and hindsight is 20/20... I used the maximum dose of lactulose as stated on the bottle. I had some big sticky BMs five days later. The pain started a few hours later and was relentless for the first few days. I went to the GP two days later and he prescribed diltiazem cream and Proctosedyl suppositories. The cream took four days to arrive due to the weekend. I was improving a bit before the cream arrived. I was in agony until around noon when the pain levelled off to uncomfortable but ok-ish. The cream made a real difference and I was basically only uncomfortable during BMs after around a week. It burns at the fissure site after BMs. I wasn't able to use the suppositories as I'm too tight despite using the diltiazem cream. I suspect it's a mental block but I can't seem to let go of it. A larger hem popped out after my fourth BM on Sunday (I have always had three plus BMs per day) and I went to the walk in centre to have it formally diagnosed. The GP popped it back in along with I suspect two skin tags and some smaller internal hems that had been out for a while. He sent me home with a Proctosedyl ointment prescription which I managed to fill at 3.55pm and the store closed at 4pm! I had a fart a few hours later and the pain was extreme. I think the skin tags and a few of the smaller hems popped out again. The bleeding stopped after that but the pain increased and I only slept two and a half hours on Sunday night. I started feeling better after lunch on Monday and both yesterday and today have been ok. I saw a GP yesterday and he said I have three or four internal hems on the outside as well as a small fissure. That's where I'm at now.
I'm a firm believer in as little intervention as possible but to be fair had someone offer d me LIS on day one or two after the most recent incident I'd gone for it right away. It'll be four weeks nice I re-tore the fissure tomorrow. I'm doing okay pain wise now. BMs are a bit uncomfortable and it burns at the fissure site until I've cleaned off, I use the WaterWipes to dab the area. I think I can feel them hems a bit when I sit down and I get a tad bit of chafing when walking but things are okay now.
I look forward to a chat with the CRS. I'm mainly concerned about the hems now as the bigger one really freaked me out. I want to avoid banding or surgery but will see what the CRS suggests. The GP I saw yesterday recommended banding but I'd rather avoid that if I can. I can cope with some minor discomfort and the CRS may be able to provide me with some advice on how to get the small hems back inside. I hope the Proctosedyl cream works and makes them smaller before I see them. Again, the problem is that I can't really get anything up there but only around the opening. I use that cream twice a day and after BMs and the diltiazem twice a day.
I would consider Botox if the fissure hasn't healed after around three months with the diltiazem cream. I'll have used it for three weeks today. It'll be interesting to see what the CRS recommends. I looked him up on Google Scholar and he's published a lot relating to both fissures and hems.
It's so nice to be able to vent here!