Hi guys and girls
Hope everyone is getting better - and if someone's not, this forum is a great help in troubled times.
Doing real fine here. Stopped with diltiazem yesterday, and so far, so good! No blood, no nothing. I will go on, though, with Movicol for a period of time. And also if possible, dip my lower regions in this little baby bathtub I bought for the purpose. Lower regions ALMOST fit in ... :-)
And a tough test is coming up for the next 6 days: Travelling ... to places with no bathtub within reach. And breaking up the daily routines and food-intake. Am optimistic!
Good luck, good healing to all of you.

Hi, I travelled recently but was not brave enough not to take everything but the kitchen sink - where my bum is concerned - with me. I walked more than usual, and that hurt a lot.
Being optimistic AND careful is my motto. But good luck to you on your trip!

Bumbutt wrote:I'm just popping into the forum since I haven't been around much lately. I hope all oldtimers are well and all newbies are getting the benefits of this forum!
I'm holding in a pattern of being better - without any pain - but if I have a 3x-bathroom-visit day (no matter how soft or how little), there's blood on the TP and then my butt is feeling fragile. As if I am stepping a little too close for comfort back into the bad-old-days. I am eating a bit more normally again, but stick to the 2.5 tsp of movicol at night.
Here's to healing for all of us!

I still have an occasional zinger, i experience them as a bruised feeling. I've had a full week or nearly no sensation at all. But now it's back again. The most frustrating thing is that when i feel the area, it all feels exactly the same as it was months and months ago. The thing im grateful for is that the pain has really subdued so much that it's just an annoyance and a reminder there's something not right down there. But not in a painful way.
Im still a believer in beating it. Compared to 7 months ago, even 2 months ago. The pain has really gone away significantly. Especially when pushing during a BM, previously I would really feel the tissue stretching and the wound would really let me know it was there. Nowadays i go to the toilet, push and just have a bruised feeling occasionally.
I haven't started movicol yet, but i will probably tomorrow. kinda scared on getting the runs with that stuff.

Thanks mk, it helps to hear about your positive attitude... the past two days I started to have some familiar old sensations that I had hoped were in the past. Mainly just a bit of pain around the anus. I should know better I guess.
I think I have to eat a little bit less (I've gone back to pre-AF level) and maybe reduce the movicol a little. I wonder if the body adjusts to it, since 2.5 tsp now seems to be maybe too much. I also wonder if going back to work and sitting all day long affects it.
No runs for me - but it did take a little time to adjust to get the right amount... if you are afraid of runs, you could start out with small amounts and increase after. For me the problem is more that if I take too much, I have to go to the bathroom 3+ times a day - but never have to run there...

I thought i was in the ballpark a week ago. but i had two off days this week. Constant presence of the fissure. Not so much in terms of pain luckily :) but yeps it's still there.....
i have now begun using movicol, 1 satchel each day, see how this goes. it will be a long long road. It's already been a long trip so far.... but the specialist said, if it won't restrict your daily routines in life than she didn't want me to do any procedure and use ointments and pretty much wait it out and see what happens. Since it's already a completely different sensation as it was previously.
It's frustrating, that's for sure. Not like a normal wound or whatever...

Hey Bumbutt! I'm glad to see you're still around here once in awhile. It's such an up-and-down healing process with these things...so mentally draining at times.
Do you think you'll pursue the botox or surgery? Or just give it more time?
And yes mk87--what you say is true--it's nothing like a normal wound. It's the dumbest thing really, that something as simple as a tight muscle can keep you from healing.
Well hang in there guys, I believe there is a light at the end of the tunnel, for all of us. I was listening to NPR yesterday, and they were interviewing Carly Simon, and she was saying that the thing that keeps her going through the tough times is the faith that things will NOT stay the same. Whether it's an illness, a lost love, or whatever the situation...you can move past it.
It's not really profound advice, but she makes a good point I think.

Hi - just popping in here for an update. And I think about the people here and how great this forum is... Unfortunately I have some major work deadlines and I'm doing a whole lot of sitting in front of computers right now. Which I am pretty sure is not helpful for the AF. In fact, I notice that if I sit all day, that my my butt will definitely start to hurt more.
Fortunately, I still feel as if I am slowly healing. I don't have any pain, which is great. Strangely enough I still have some blood, maybe once a week or every other week - usually with a cause such as going to the bathroom more than once in a day, sitting for the whole day, or taking a long (over 2 miles) walk. Sometimes moving in some certain way feels weird - as if I am pulling on the skin or possibly opening a wound around my butt.
Still get the painless twitches in the butt. No zingers at all! Still taking miralax and fibergel but not rectogesic.
I hope all old- and new-timers are doing well.

Just from reading the title of this thread, I knew exactly what it was going to be about. I've been experiencing zingers lately too, and can relate to the "bruised" feeling I've heard others describe.
This sounds like a weird question (though as I am going through this, I realize everything about this is weird...) but what is a normal butt supposed to feel like on a day to day basis? I'm obviously really fixated on the pain/discomfort right now. When everything's good, should it be like my ear - there, but not really noticeable?

hey bumbutt, sounds like your doing not too bad. So am i. Haven't paid much attention to it anymore really. Strangely enough i have a lot more blood these days than i previously ever had, but no pain.

Adoredance, it's been so long I'm not altogether sure but I think the ear analogy is a good one. I never gave a second thought to my butt before all this, now I'm an expert on butt issues!