Hi,
I've been looking on this site on and off for the past year. It's been quite helpful at times, especially knowing that there are other people who understand the pain of an AF. I've been trying to deal with a chronic AF for two and a half years now. I've pretty much tried everything except diltiazem which I'm picking up next week from the chemist. I've been through countless tubes of Rectogesic over the past few years, which helped with pain but never cured the fissure.
Several doctors have told me it's quite small and I can feel that it's not too big but the pain is excruciating; especially about an hour or two after a BM. The pain begins to throb deeply like a pulse anywhere for up to 10 hours, depending on the BM. Sometimes I get away with very little pain. Other times I shuffle around groaning like an old man. And I'm in my early 30s.
The other problem working against me is that of having Crohn's disease for 17 years. My diet is limited to the point of eating like a reclusive monk. I eat mostly vegan, 100% organic, no sugar, refined food or alcohol. I cook every meal fresh at home (mainly steamed vegetables and rice) and never eat out. I drink at least 2 litres of water a day and several cups of green tea. I make 2 large green smoothies everyday with easily digested fruits and salads. Breakfast is either quinoa, buckwheat or millet porridge with rice milk and banana.
Nuts are just impossible. Even if I eat a few nuts it's like crapping glass the next morning. I also can't eat too much bread or cheese. Eggs guarantee no BM for at least two days when I eat them. My friend just told me a funny phrase:
"Eggs are binding, so is cheese;
Eat more fruit and sh*t with ease!".
But even on a diet like this the fissure is absolutely relentless. Having Crohn's I never know what kind of BM to expect in the morning, so one hard constipated BM can tear the fissure open and the healing must start from scratch. Sometimes I can actually hear the fissure tearing open with certain BMs. But the Crohn's is in remission and I rarely have stomach pains. And I can tell you that a chronic AF matches the pain of Crohn's.
Well, the diltiazem is the last option before facing surgery. I'll give it another two months. Every doctor I've seen has been extremely reluctant to cut this thing out. They all say I have to be patient and that there's no guarantee of healing with surgery. And that it can actually be worse than before because there's now a large wound to heal. Basically they don't have anything positive to say about cutting it out.
But I've gotten so used to this damn thing now that I've almost forgotten what life was like before I had it! I'm still hopeful that I can heal this fissure without surgery. I've seen many doctors and specialists and they say chronic AF can be healed without surgery. I'm determined to find a solution. But after two and a half years you really start running out of options.
Thanks for reading.