Hi everyone. I wanted to share the combination of tricks that have helped me work through two nasty fissures and return to a relatively normal life.
Of course, everyone's experience will be different and if this doesn't help you, I am truly sorry. My goal in sharing this is that I will be able to help at least one person.
Quick review of my story - I developed my first fissure in July of 2011 while on vacation. Typical circumstances. I was traveling, got constipated and made a small tear. I felt pain from time to time when I would go to the bathroom, but it was never consistent so I didn't do anything for months. That fall, during my physical, I mentioned the pain to my doctor who prescribed Dilatizem and a high fiber diet. The pain came and went over the ensuing months. I ultimately learned some things I was doing - rigorous weight lifting, not enough water, not enough fiber, etc. - were aggravating the situation.
In the summer of 2012, a combination of massive work stress, horrible diet and zero exercise turned my insides into a nightmare. Diarrhea constantly. Too much caffeine. No veggies. No fiber. The pain got worse and worse. I told myself that, if I could get to the end of the summer, I would focus on my diet and heal up. Unfortunately, by that point the pain wasn't leaving. I'd spend hours each night after a movement lying on my stomach or in the tub. I went to see two specialists.
The first was a moron. He prescribed tetracaine which did nothing but make the burn worse, and demanded an immediate colonoscopy. I went to doctor number two for a second opinion and he gave me a much different prescription:
Konsyl - fiber supplement in water every morning.
Water - lots of it, and ideally 20-30 ounces right after I woke up
Desitin - now this surprised me. The diaper rash cream applied as needed.
Diet - a dramatic shift. Cutting down / out caffeine, sugar and dairy. Focusing on fresh veggies, high fiber foods, etc.
Stress - I had to learn to calm down at work.
That was in September. Today, I believe I'm as close to normal as I ever may be again. Movements are pain free except in the rare occasion when i lose focus and either constipate myself or trigger diarhea. I continue to take Konsyl every morning, I'm back in the gym lifting weights. I feel like I have my life back.
I do stillc arry a tube of extra strength Desitin in my briefcase and I am always worried about a retear, but each day that goes by I feel more and more convinced that things are looking up.
I hope this helps!