I' ve read through some threads and noticed that salads are a no-no. W hy is that, please? I thought they were fibre and been eating loads! Also why not bananas?Could someone give me an idea of their daily diet?Thank you!
Also, after a few days last week when I managed to get out for a little while, these last couple of days have been the days from hell. I've been up all night in pain and if I stand up too long or try to go out, the cramps get so I can hardly walk, and I have to go back to laying on the sofa. Has anyone else been like that, and if so, how long does this stage last for?
At the moment I wake up thinking what's the point of another day of hell, and I can't see an end to it. Sorry, I need cheering up!!

I think salads are fine, but just make sure you chew any raw vegetables really well so you don't have anything hard scraping past your fissure later. Cooked vegetables, which are softer, tend to aggravate the fissure less, at least that is the reasoning.
Bananas are said by some to be constipating, btu I eat one or two everyday and don't ntoice that. It is strictly an individual thing, there, I believe!

I am sorry Val. That kind of pain has to stop! Are you taking anything for the pain? What about baths or a heating pad?
Salads are fine in my book. I have never had a problem with eating any veggie raw or cooked. For some people (my two daughters are examples) bananas are constipating but it is not so for everyone.
I think you should eat veggies/salads. The only thing that has ever scraped me coming out was granola, seeds, nuts, chips-really hard things.
When do you see your doctor next? Maybe he can prescribe some lidocaine ointment to help numb that area. I am sorry. Hope you feel better soon.

Thanks Lecia!
I phoned my doctor today and asked for all the stuff you suggested but it's not available in the UK. The only blood pressure meds they make into creams are the nitro. He did give me the valium though, at 5mg.He also gave me pethidine tablets and steroid cream called Scheriproct. Are these any good? The doctors over here are awful and I don't trust anything they give me, so I thought I'd check with you first!

salads are great. the trick is not to add anything that will scrape on the way out if you don't chew everything immaculately. like don't add walnuts or pecans or nuts. also, you want to avoid dressings. have your salads natural if you can muster it. top it off with some fresh raspberries or blueberries.
also, if you can find a place that offers this, try to get in a seaweed salad 2 times per week. it sound nasty and at first will taste nasty but not everything that is great for you is meant to taste like blueberry pie!
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chinese medicine is the biggest advocate i have seen for bananas and constipation. they recommend eating 2-3 per day when you are constipated. just make sure they are ripe, soft, and ready.
they also recommend eating tangerines.
however, macrobiotics is not really big on bananas since they don't really grow in our climate zone.
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as far as the pain goes, have you tried SQUATTING at the toilet when you have your BMs? if not, you may want to try this. please lube up before you have a BM and apply warm/hot water compresses before having your BM and afterwards if you can't have a nice warm shower/bath.
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and yes, i think we all have had those days from hell that drove each of us nuts!!!!! it's no way to live.
but you will get thru this.

Thanks!
I do have the epsom salt bath every time I have to 'go', which was 7 times yesterday! I thought I was gonna die!Why is life so cruel!!!My doctor is talking surgery already, I've had it about seven weeks but been on the very strict diet for over 3 weeks now, plus I have my hot water bottle permanently glued to my bum! Should I be considering surgery yet or could it heal? Although I'm in lots of pain, the bleeding is only few and far between(fingers crossed it stays that way), so I feel that's progress because the bleeding was really bad at the beginning.

Hi Val,

I sympathize. I wondered if I would ever heal at times.

Healing time depends on how deep the fissure is and how long it is and how much it is irritated by things like bm. Mine took a from the middle of Feb to the middle of August to heal. If you want to count pre-abscess-surgery it took from Jan 2006 to August 2007 to heal. (Knock on wood. I don't want to jinx myself by saying that I'm fully healed, but I've been feeling pretty good for a while now after the botox.) The creams do help if you can get them. I found sitting on a heating pad really helped to calm the spasms and encourage healing.

I know it seems like forever, but if you have a large deep wound, 7 wks is really not that long as far as these things are concerned, and I've heard tales of people with supposedly chronic fissures who have healed themselves. The lessening of bleeding is a good sign. But the surgery decision is up to you. It may speed up the healing process.

Sometimes it's just a matter of how much you can take, how long you can last. I held off on surgery for six months, and finally caved, but it changed my life, turned things completely around for me...

i loveee eating salads i eat them everyday! I just make sure I chew chew chew as much as I can. I love lettuce & I advertise spinach salads 24/7. I haven't really had problems with hard raw veggies, I usually eat brocolli, green peppers, etc. The only time it really hurts is if I eat nuts or something. I haven't touched tortilla shells or nacho chips but if I have to eat the other chips (like if there's nothing else to eat and i'm on a road trip or something), I just chew it into a mush and it doesn't usually bug me.