Male 31 years old, Canada
no other health conditions
no medications except for butt creams lol
Well my journey all started when I got this gastroenteritis infection in 2005, it caused me to have severe watery diarrhea (20 times a day) for 8 days followed by constipation for about a week. I took an antibiotic to treat the infection which worked to stop the diarrhea but caused the constipation. Well I do not know which caused the fissure, the diarrhea or the constipation. Anyway I have been battling this fissure ever since, here is what has happened so far.
After my infection, the fissure was diagnosed by way of anoscope (doctor said the fissure was small and more external then he thought) and I was put on stool softeners and some suppositories by my GP. That did nothing for me after 3 weeks of this treatment. Went back to my GP, he sent me to a surgeon (We do not have any CRS in Canada, just general surgeons) He put my on nifedipine 0.2 ointment which was successful for the time I was on it. I took it the nifedipine for 2 months then stopped, the fissure returned and I started a second course for another few months. Basically this cycle continued for the past 3 years with about 3 different courses with the nifedipine. I also tried that wheatgrass cream and that was the biggest rip off ever ! After the wheatgrass, I went to this specialist that is supposed to deal with hemmoroids and fissures exclusively http://www.haemorrhoids.ca/index.php
Well he gave me nitroglycerin ointment but at a dosage I have never heard of... 0.125, not the typical 0.2. He told me he has treated over 20,000 people with fissures and likes the nitro over the nifedipine although he did not mention the diltiazem. I am not sure what to think of this... he also said that he does not like botox because of the unknown risks and does not approve of LIS for me because of the risks involved. (especially at my age) I am not in severe pain at the moment, just some stinging and discomfort when I go to the washroom.
Well to make a long story longer lol, I feel pretty good but the thing is I go poop more then the average person and sometimes I get diarrhea. I go poop like 2 to 3 times per day, the stool is pretty soft but sometimes too soft. I think going that often is making the fissure more irritated!
So my fissure hurts me on somedays, It only hurts when I take a poop... normally I have no pain or discomfort through the day. I have no bleeding or skin tags, just some stinging after I poop, sometimes when I workout or exercise it bothers me. What scares me is not so much right now but of what would happen if I got severe watery diarrhea again or get really constipated. Another thing that I want to know is... will I have to stay on the nitro forever ? will I ever be able to come off the ointment ? everytime I go off the ointment the fissure returns
It also bothers me that this new specialist said my fissure was healed when he last saw me a week ago, if this is true... why am I having stinging pain after my bowel movements this week ?
is the nitro he prescribed me really effective ? nitro 0.125 ? not too weak ? he also told me to get it in as far as possible, he told me to put a pea size amount on my finger and get my whole entire in there if I could. He said the mistake some people make is not getting the ointment inside as far as possible.
My fissure remedies are as follows, I use my nitro 0.125 twice a day after I poop in the morning and before I go to bed, I always use baby wipes to clean myself. I also tried this carmex lip balm and that seems to be soothing as well. I carry vaseline because If I get diarrhea I may need that as a barrier, but I also purchased this zinc oxide cream which I heard was even better as a barrier and skin recovery cream.
Thanks guys and gals, I will be a regular member here :D
So glad I found this site.