I’ve been reading this forum for a couple days and am surprised not to find enemas mentioned more frequently. Let me share my experience with a chronic (1.5 year) anal fissure and hemorrhoids.
After seeing a coleorectal surgeon and being given topical antibacterial ointments to apply for several months (nearly a full year), I realized that was not helping. At several points the pain was so intense I laid on my side on my bed for two days wincing and entertaining some of the darkest thoughts I’ve ever had. In a fit of desperation, I again took to the internet and stumbled across a site recommending enemas to treat hemorrhoids. Figuring I had nothing to lose, I ordered the most basic enema kit from Amazon, mixed a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of baking soda with warm water and did the enema.
And what happened next was nothing short of miraculous (for me at least.) About 30 minutes after the enema, the intense pain in and around my butt completely disappeared. After suffering with this agonizing pain for over a year, I was in a state of shock when it went away.
For one year, in addition to the pain, the skin around my anus was red and irritated. Doctors asked me what I was doing to it, and told me not to wipe so hard. He thought I was irritating it, but I was already getting clean after BM with a gentle shower nozzle no problems. It hurt and I wasn't touching anything about it, something else was irritating it. Several days after the first enema, the redness began to fade. After several more days of daily enemas like this, and the little bumps of irritated skin around my anus smoothed out and disappeared.
I am still not pain free, but the daily enemas have made a huge difference and the overall level of pain is drastically reduced. The redness around the area, and the irritated skin around the area are entirely gone (only the tag remains.) After the first enema- the pain went from 100% to 10%. After several days of this, the redness was gone and so were the bumps. The enema didn't fix everything, but it helped.
So what is going on with this enema remedy and why is it working? Could it be the insertion of the enema tube dilates the anus and therefore reduces tension and pain? Maybe, but that would not explain the disappearance of the red rash and upraised surface bumps in the area. Could it be the teaspoon of salt and baking soda (potassium) is having some effect? My gut instinct (excuse the pun) is that some kind of infection (toxicity) was going on right inside the anus, because cleaning the area out made the pain go away almost immediately and the redness (a sign that the body is fighting something) vanish entirely. This irritation and pain did follow a colonoscopy exam. I don't have the complete answer, but the enemas have become part of my efforts to help myself along with diet, mindfulness meditation, and exercise habits.
I wonder if anyone else here has had a similar experience with these enemas? I don't want to offer false hope. I still have pain and it is more or less ruling my life at times, but the enemas have alleviated it substantially and I find them very worthwhile.
For those of you that are curious, I followed the enema procedure that can be found on this website:
http://www.choosing-natural-health.com/enemas.html
The surgeon also suggested the sphincterotomy. I was considering it, until I was able to lower the pain by taking enemas. Plus I am scared of the procedure and want to try everything I can to avoid it. I’m not saying the surgical procedure is a bad route (I might elect to do it if a year or two goes by and this pain is not yet gone), I’m just saying try doing an enema before you elect surgery.
This is the best forum I've been able to find on the Internet for this problem, so thank you for all of this great info and your personal stories. I've had good enough results with taking enemas to share here. Good luck. I know how much this condition hurts and can be depressing. It will be fine.
Enema:
Mix a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of baking soda in warm water and add to a basic enema bag, then fill the rest with warm water (about a quart total). Do the enema, hold it for about 10 minutes, and excavate.
When the pain gets severe, all I know to do is take some pain medication, do some relaxation exercises, and get in a comfortable position. I try to list the things I'm thankful for. You might laugh, but thankfulness mind exercises are effective- just to be calm.