by Ever the Optimist » 08 May 2013, 13:53
AnxietyGrl,
You are so not alone in your intensity of stress that accompanies a fissure but in order to start the healing process, you do have to relieve yourself of some of that major anxiety going on. You are completely correct in saying that it's probably affecting your digestive system and you only have to read some of the other posts to see how much weight people lose, either because of trying to adjust their diets to being fissure friendly or because there is no urge and a fear to eat for fear of what comes out the other end! I ended up on anti-depressants to get me through the worse because I was scared, anxious, depressed and I simply couldn't see a way out and I have to say, they played a huge role in getting my poor obsessed brain back on track....I was also offered counselling, I started using relaxation CDs at night to encourage positive thinking, I kept a diary to plot my diet and moods and to see what helped & when. I hit rock bottom but after a while genuinely realised I had to pull myself together to get through it all. I accepted the situation, stopped blaming myself and adopted a lot of positive affirmations that I would constantly use to reinforce positive thinking and healing. I started to experiment with foods and get pleasure from creating fissure friendly meals, I became more open about my condition, I forced myself into distraction if I felt overwhelmed by negative thinking, I threw myself into new hobbies and became more mindful, dwelling on the good moments and dismissing the bad days by telling myself they were just bad days and it was just part of the healing process. I immersed myself in meditation at night time. Slowly but slowly, things got better and today, I'm nearly healed of my chronic fissure (but not quite!) I continue to "convince" myself daily that I am healing and I am nearly there. You are probably doing everything you already can and it really is day by day. There will be set backs ( I know, I just had one but it's not as bad as I thought it was!) but this is part of the learning and healing process. If you are not bleeding quite so much and your pain is lessening, these are good signs and convince yourself of that!!
If you are not using vaseline to pre lubricate the area before a BM, start doing so - this really helps and my final tip, would be Coconut Oil post BM - just smear over your anal opening and maybe a little internally to provide you with relief as it is naturally incredibly soothing and moisturising.
Truly wishing you all the very best but do work on your anxiety levels and eliminating that stress because you will feel so much stronger and so much more able to mentally deal with the whole issue x
Chronic Fissure diagnosed December 2011
Healed by Diltiazem around Feb 2013
Anal Fistula followed burst abscess in June 2012
2 internal troublesome piles remain & suspected, but undiagnosed, ongoing Levator Ani type symptoms & flare-ups