Hi Everyone
It is such a lifeline to have found this support group! That’s the first thing I wanted to say.
The second is my story and where I’m at now. I have been suffering with anal fissures, on and off for a year and half now. I first got a real painful one last year April. I changed my diet big time, basically cut out most stuff and lived on boiled vegetables. I managed to keep my stool soft and the fissure subsided after a few weeks. It would resurface in a minor way now and again and I would switch back to just veges and it would fade.
However, this July it came back big time. It had been playing up a little in June and I tried the diet thing, I then got a bad case of tonisillitus and I couldn’t eat much, that’s when it returned. I had a holiday booked for the following week and it was really tough. I started taking a stool softener but couldn’t control my diet as much as I would’ve liked out there. When I came back, I went onto the vegetable, high fibre, lots of water and lactulose diet. It took about a month to get some relief from the morning pain that would last about 6 hours. I’d have a week when things were ok and then bam a harder stool than usual out of nowhere and it came back. It has been so demoralising. The pain is as most of you have experienced excruciating. I lost a load of weight and I was slim to begin with. It shocked me when someone said I looked like I had eating disorders. I was a vege and began introducing meat and some carbs. I enjoy food and was hungry a lot of the time.
Anyway, a few months later I still have a really painful fissure. My mornings are awful and at times, I feel like my life has switched to nightmare mode. It has had a big impact on my life and what I can and cant do i.e. I cant stay over with friends/boyfriend as need baths and have a multiple BMs in the mornings. The biggest impact has been the anxiety, but I’m trying to control it. There are good things in my life but this is really taking it’s toll.
I recently tried diltiazem cream and had reaction to it, burning, pain and bleeding. I know this is unusual, but it felt like it made things worse. After being afraid of surgery, I now think that’s the next thing for me. Its been really helpful to read everyone’s experiences. I’m feeling positive about the LIS (it goes me hope that there is at least that option out there although it certainly doesn’t sound pleasant). I don’t think I’d like to have a fissurectomy and my CRS said he thinks I should just have the LIS. I considered botox, but I don’t want to get a short term solution and end up having to have an LIS anyway.
I’m just wondering about the LIS incision site. Where about is it and does it stretch with a BM or is it usually far outside enough to not get pulled open like the fissure. I’d really appreciate any insights.
S