anal fissure

I have followed several of JA78's recommendations and the results are amazing! My anal fissure is almost better. I've started taking Magnesium tablets and using Vaseline before having a bowel movement - it is so much less painful! I had tried Rectogesis before - it seemed to help for a few days and then just seemed to make the pain worse. My doctor said I might be allergic to one of the contents - maybe lanolin - I can't wear wool, so that might be right. I have a bath after a bowel movement and I have used aqueous cream as a cleanser since I first visited my doctor about what has turned out to be an anal fissure and I would recommend that - as well as good quality toilet paper (I use Andrew Puppies on a roll) and unperfumed baby wipes for sensitive skin (Johnson's). Many thanks JA78 - you've helped me more than the medics!

I have found taking flax seed oil capsules (2 x 1000mg) helps with lubrication, apart from its' other excellent properties of helping with cholesterol.

A recent bout of constipation brought on by having to take antibiotics was helped no end, in-fact I was able to pass the stools with a lot less discomfort.

I'm sure that it works for me, I initially took flax seed oil for the omega oils benefits but soon found that splitting fingers healed and the skin became more smooth and 'elastic', then I became aware of the easier passage past the problem area, there was still some pain but for a lot less time.

I'm sure we all have different levels of the problem and pain but we are all united in that awful moment when 'nature calls' and we know what to expect.

Bon courage mon brave!

hi all, i wonder could anyone help me? i have had a fissure 8mths now and still in alot of pain but i did go back to work 4wks ago. im keeping to a diet of weetabix and roasted veg every night also about 3lts of water, i take 2 magnesium 250s and 2 stool softeners a day. my problem is i always seem to have a hard plug followed by soft movement, the hard bit makes my fissure bleed and leaves me in pain the rest of the day. could anyone please help me. thank u so much for listening.

I suffered this over 4 years ago now, and began to think it would never end. I used rectogesic and diltiazem and neither eliminated the problem. I was taking a couple of Movicol per day as well as the high fibre/lots of water diet, but found that making my bowels too loose made me sore and I still didn't seem to heal.

In the end I had the botox treatment. Took two goes, but after the second treatment (6 months after the fissure occurred) I was healed. My take on this is to be persistent with doctors/consultants who keep trying to fob you off with creams. If your situation has been going on this long, you may need an intervention. The week following the procedure was bad, but it buys you a couple of weeks without the spasm and gives the fissure time to heal.

As everyone is saying here, you must avoid constipation at all costs. I drank loads of water at the time I had the fissure, but now I just take one Movicol or Laxido per day and I don't have to drink so much. I conclude that my body just doesn't send enough water into the bowel without medicinal assistance. The laxido is more important than the water. But when my diet becomes unusual (like at Christmas) I do take more Laxido to be safe.

Good luck - I feel for everyone on here - but persist with the doctors because the longer it goes on the less likely it is to heal spontaneously.

first of all nicro thanku for replying to me i am laying on my side in bed crying with the pain in my bottom lots of blood this morning. im so happy that i have finally spoke to someone who knows the pain. i am a 44yr old woman with a grown up family. i got my fissure last november but it was treated for hemmies up to march. i dont seem to have spasms anymore but blood and the throbbing ache that can last all day. i am booked for botox on 18th june i am so depressed with this sickness my life has gone to the dogs im finding it harder everyday to cope. thank u so much for talking to me nicro i am so glad to hear from someone who got their life back from this horrible thing.thank u.anne.

Hi Anne. I feel so sorry for you, and know what it is like to search these forums looking for that magical piece of advice that might end your ordeal. One of the really bad things about this is that you suffer in silence ... if you had a broken arm you could tell people you are in pain, but this !! I remember rarely being able to sit down for breakfast and crying in front of my children because of the pain, and then doing the school run and chatting and smiling at people even though I was in agony because I couldn't tell them.

I was a similar age to you and had suffered with haemorrhoids for about 15 years. I did have them injected at one time which eased things for a while. But what makes me cross in retrospect is that the doctors just told me to eat properly, and there was no conisderation that my body just didn't work as well as other peoples when processing waste. Like I said, I drank loads of water and spent most of my time popping to the loo (I already had a weak bladder). But on its own it still didn't take enough water into my bowel. I think of the fissure as advanced haemorrhoids, but nobody ever warned me about the damage I could do to myself just by straining when going to the toilet.

I don't know how you experience the spasm, but I always figured that the throbbing ache was the sphincter spasm squeezing the wound, and the pain only eases when the spasm subsides - I may be wrong though.

Good luck with the botox. Like I said, the first week is a bit rough, but when things start to settle down the relief is so great. Make sure you discuss options for a second course if the first doesn't work. I initially thought I would have to go back on the waiting list again, but the consultant was great and said just to phone her secretary and she would add me on to her next available list. Be persistant - it is your life that is being ruined here.

I have overcome some of my shyness about this, and if someone hints they have haemorrhoids I do warn them about where this can go, as so few people seem aware of this. I did have a recurrance one Christmas, and panicked - trying to get myself back on the botox list asap. But I did heal spontaneously that time - weird, isn't it !

Let me know how it goes. I will be thinking about you. Nicola.

hi nicola thank u so much for ur kind words. ive been really bad hardly out of bed crying constantly. spasms r back again i would discribe mine as sharp cutting jabs into my behind that tkes ur breath away. the point where the fissure is throbs and burns like slicing with a knife feeling. i seem to b getting worse. ive read that sometimes the botox doesnt work if u have a sentimal pile or skin tag with ur fissure nicola?? if u dont mind me asking did u have a tag? i have one and it gets quite angry somtimes. i walk with a constant limp now days and just tell everyone that i have a sore back. u sound as if uve had such a hard time nicola im so happy to hear that u beat this and got ur live back. all i have done this year is cancel holifays and missed loads of work, i have venice booked for two weeks after botox it was booked from last year before i got so bad. thank u again nicola for taking the time to reply to me. none of my family as ever heard of fissures i had never heard of them either. just living to get this botox and hope i get some relief i will as u did get it a second time im sure i might need it. thank u nicola

Well This is the first time Ive spoken about this to anyone....well besides 1 doctor.

I have been living with a fissure for over 6 years. Its one of the most painful things Ive ever experienced.

I am a veteran, self employed, so I use the VA for health care.

At first, they were treating me for hemorrhoids...but the stuff some foam stuff made things 10x worse.

Ive been using the Diltiazem for about a year now.

I take docusate 50mg/sennosides 8.6 mg 2 tablets 2x a day

I also take a daily laxative...been on these for a year also.

Im getting pretty desperate as the pain increases through time.....now I have so many "other" problems...

I hope they schedule me for surgury soon....

I had anal fissure 5 months ago & it was healed 2 months ago but till now i still feel discomfort after every bowel movements & feel a little needle pain while passing bowel movements . Do anyone can help me ??

Peter - Assumedly you are using laxatives/stool softeners etc as most people above do ?

Re the needle pain - It might just be that you need more time to heal fully. The scars from serious wounds take many months to heal so maybe it will resolve itself. Not sure exactly what your discomfort is - I just found that everything in that region was very sensitive for a long time.

Douggie - I can't believe you have been suffering for so long. The "foam stuff" I have used in the past, I I would only imagine that on an open wound that must have been extremely painful (although it was helpful for haeorrhoids). In terms of scheduling you for surgery, is this botox or something else. Are you not going through the NHS ?

Man EVERY day too. It stopped healing a while back. Work, life, anything is taxing.

On the 23rd I have a consult at the VA. Theyre looking to do botox. Initially, they had it pushed back to December. But hope they will speed it up.

More recently, Ive been having sharp pains from my testicles running down the back of my left leg. There also feels like a pocket of fluid behind my tailbone. Miserable!

OK, I suffered for over 2 years. The pain was immense and I started to despair. Eventually I was given botox injections which I would question whether they did any good.

Here though is what I know has worked for me. There are hundreds if not thousands of people imparting advice and you'll probably find some a bit long winded, and what's worked for one doesn't always work for another. So my advice is more like a set of rules that worked for me.

1. Increased insoluble fibre intake, porridge and prunes for breakfast, I found prune juice to be to high impact though so left it alone when I realized it acts to fast. I only eat brown bread and leave processed foods alone

2. What goes in soft comes out smooth. So I have more or less cut the red meat out the diet. I have a tin of soup at lunch instead of a sandwich. Leave the pastry alone, cut down on the amount you eat. The more that go's in the more has to come out.

3. Drink loads of water, eat loads of fruit

4.Hot baths ease the pain and increase circulation

5. You might think this sounds stupid but it helped sitting on my wifes vibroplate exerciser for 10 -15 mins a day again it's about increasing the blood flow.

6. I use 1 x Movicol a day (trying to cut this out though) 2 x Magnesium tablets, 1 x Aloe Vera Colon cleans tablet These are starting to negate the need for the movicol.

7. I walk, run, cycle or take some form of exercise daily.

8. Looking on the positive side I've been pain free for 10 days now. I've lost 1 1/2 stones in the process and my fitness levels although not poor beforehand have increased.

I used to ask the doc why this was happening to me I don't lead an unhealthy life style, turns out you don't have to I got mine after a rather nasty case on campylobacter food poisoning. There is no absolute quick fix and the answer probably lies in a life style change for most of us. It's worth it to be out of pain though.

Douggie - cant believe you've had to wait so long for the botox. Kevjacko seems not to have gained anything from the treatment, but I did on the second attempt. They are trying to judge the dosage (as you don't want to lose all control over your bowels !!), so the second time the dosage is higher. The first time gave me relief for six weeks or so (although the first week was hell), but unfortunately it gradually returned. After the second time it did resolve. Problem with the first week is that a general anaethetic can contribute to constipation - the last thing you need. So be prepared to dose yourself liberally with your normal laxatives etc in that period (hospital will probably prescribe you something, but you will know best what suits you).

As for your other problem - I am the wrong gender to know anything about that. But if you are suffering, you must persist and be pushy/firm. After agreeing with one consultant that after 6 weeks on a cream he would refer me to the botox list, at the next appointment I ended up with a junior doctor because the consultant was running late. The junior tried to re-prescribe the cream for another 6 weeks. I stood my ground and said that was not what was agreed, and that I wanted to wait and see the consultant to get referred on. It struck me at the time that if I had been accepting of the junior doctors decision, that I would have suffered unnecessarily for another 6 weeks. It is sad, but you really have to stand up for yourself and your pain.

Good luck with getting the botox - it might just be the thing to break the cycle. Look after yourself, and I hope they can help with your other problems to.

Kevjacko - it's interesting that different things work for different people (which is why it is worth shopping around for different ideas ) I didn't find that hot baths eased my pain at all. But I agree about meat - I went practically vegetarian during the active period of my fissure. I already ate wholemeal everything. Pastry does tend to emulsify one's output - better avoided. Drinking water with fibre is important, and fruit and veg really help. And exercise is supposed to help with a good bowel habit as well. Ironically, I did exercise regularly and didn't eat too badly, but my body just doesn't work like other people's. I had a childhood history of constipation, and suffered from constipation and haemorrhoids from my mid twenties. Even if I drink loads of water (and spend the other half of the day in the loo !) it doesn't work nearly so well as a Movicol for me. I'm not bothered by ongoing use of that, as it just carries more fluid into the bowel, which works just great for me. What worries me is that my ten year old daughter is having problems with the toilet, despite the fact that we try to enforce a healthy diet - veg with every meal, eat fruit, must drink water regime. At least I can try to stop her going down the same path as me with earlier intervention.

Hopefully your recovery continues - but there are better ways to lose weight !! Good luck!