Hello, all.
First of all, thank you for having these forums. I spent some time reading them and am finally starting to feel a bit hopeful about this whole situation. There's a lot of information to take in, and it'll take a while to digest
I actually had a super long post written up, but my browser crashed and I lost the whole thing :( Here goes attempt #2:
So yeah, where to start?
My butt has been in constant pain for about six months. I had occasional hemorrhoid issues before that, and I initially thought that's what this was. It started when I got salmonella six months ago (diarrhea 3-5 times per day for 5-6 days), and I ended up waiting around two months before finally deciding to go to the doctor about the pain in my bottom that came after the salmonella (I just kept wishing the pain would go away, but it didn't). The pain is constant, though sometimes after about 16+ hours since the last time I pooped, it'll start to feel a little better. However, when I end up pooping, it feels terrible again. I occasionally get random sharp pains down there, too (sometimes twice within a minute, and sometimes only once every few hours... seems random to me). There's also a little lump/flap/some kind of growth at the entrance to my anus, which never goes away, and there's usually a bit of leakage or something going on down there, which just really sucks and does nothing good for my already miserable self-esteem.
When I went to see my doctor (GP), he said that it was an anal fissure. He gave me a lidocaine ointment and said to apply it externally twice a day, to intake 20 grams of dietary fiber per day, and to take two sitz baths per day.
I spent the next three months or so lying down about 90% of the time (I'm unemployed... a housespouse, actually), taking baths (I opted for regular baths, which I'll ask about later), and eating a good 20+ grams of dietary fiber per day. I applied the ointment, as well, but it didn't seem to be helping. I stopped walking the dogs due to the pain, stopped sitting at the computer, and stopped wanting to go anywhere (getting more and more depressed, and sitting seemed to make it worse). I decided to go back to the doctor and this time he referred me to a general surgeon. The general surgeon prescribed me a nitroglycerin 0.2% ointment (to be applied externally) and suggested I give that at least four weeks before looking into surgery. I continued with the baths, dietary fiber, and applying nitroglycerin.
Things slowly started to feel like they were getting better,. I was actually able to go out and take the dogs to the park with my spouse, and had fun. I was able to go to the theater, even, and it wasn't bad. Things were looking up, so we decided not to cancel our plane tickets to visit my mom and brother on the other side of the country for Thanksgiving. The plane ride was shockingly not too bad. I slipped on my diet a bit during the visit, and the pain started to come back a bit (even though I still mostly stuck to my diet). Still, it wasn't too bad... yet. We went to a basketball game the day after Thanksgiving, and while it was a ton of fun, my butt started hurting more and more throughout the game. By the time we got home, the pain was basically incapacitating.
Since that time about two weeks ago, things just haven't gotten better. They feel just as bad as they've ever been, and I've been getting more and more depressed. My spouse has been getting pretty stressed out about the situation, too, because I haven't been able to do some of the things I would normally do around the house (though I still manage to make the bed, do the dishes, and make dinner every night). I haven't been walking the dogs, and we haven't been going out much (for the past four months). This includes the fact that we haven't been hanging out with friends lately at all, because I am never feeling well enough to want to sit through a ride in the car and then sit down at whatever friend's house or at a restaurant.
Additionally, I just mentioned last night that I would likely be canceling on going to visit my spouse's family for Christmas because I don't want to experience another excruciating setback to this long recovery process. Knowing how much this whole situation sucks for my spouse is making me feel more and more depressed and worthless, even though we both know that the situation is nobody's fault. I haven't even been able to work on any of my projects on the PC, and just generally feeling the pain all the time is really getting to me lately. Surgery isn't a preferred option due to monetary concerns :(
Thankfully, I found these forums, and I am hoping for some suggestions/tips/advice/anything based on my situation. Some questions:
1. I mentioned earlier that I am specifically taking normal baths, as opposed to sitz baths. Does this matter/is this acceptable? Should I keep doing this, or do I need to be specifically taking sitz baths instead?
2. I am taking docusate sodium for my stool softener, which only seems to work sometimes (taken alongside ibuprofen, which seems to do nothing). My stool is sometimes still hard, but sometimes randomly soft. Either way, it always hurts after I poop (though especially when the stool is firm at all). Should I try another stool softener? If so, what should I try next (over-the-counter)?
3. Should I be taking/using/applying something else other than a stool softener, to help make pooping more bearable?
4. I have been applying the nitroglycerin externally, but after reading some posts here, it looks like applying it internally may help a bit more. Should I try this? If so, how would I go about doing this? I'm guessing a q-tip (which is what I use to apply it externally). I have difficulties with this, as (embarrassing to talk about this...) I have a ton of hair down there. It feels like it's getting in the way, but no clue what to do about that other than to keep trying to apply it to the proper area. Any tips on how to make sure I properly apply it internally, if this is recommended?
5. I realize now that I may have been eating some foods sometimes which aren't really good for my pooping situation (chips, for instance, even ones containing dietary fiber). Should I just cut all those kinds of things out completely and strictly eat fiber-heavy foods (that aren't hard) and soft stuff such as yogurt/smoothies?
6. I have been lying down the vast majority of my time for the last several months. Aside from being depressing, it actually hurts to lay down on my stomach (my chest area starts to hurt a lot after a few minutes). So I mostly lay down on my sides. I've been avoiding exercise, as I mentioned earlier. Despite the pain, should I start to walk my dogs again, even if I have to walk slowly? Would this be likely to cause a setback, or would it maybe even help me heal if I were to exercise lightly?
7. I also avoid sitting down as much as possible. Given that I'm still in a lot of pain, should I continue to avoid sitting, or would that not really make the issue worse?
8. Any other suggestions on what specific things I can do to help with this long recovery process? Ideally and in the relatively short-term, I'd like to be able to spend at least two hours a day sitting, be able to walk the dogs every afternoon, and maybe even go out to see a movie every now and then without feeling like I'm causing a huge setback that'll end up taking weeks to reverse.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for any suggestions/advice that you might have! It is greatly appreciated. Sorry about the super long post :(