anal fissure

Let me give you a little background about myself.

Im a 7 year Veteran, I was in 2 wars, 9 different countries (whenever there was strife) .

Ive come out with several illnesses. One of which is the Persian Gulf Syndrome.

Several years back I was having a REAL hard time...foul mood. A lot of personal things happening the Rep had me fill out a 10 question sheet that asked general questions like....are you sometimes happy then all of the sudden get angry?

Are you sometimes angry then happy shortly afterwords?

Well with the 10 question sheet they determined I was bi polar. so...they put me on sertraline. Whatever, but the problem is....2 or 3 times a year they let my prescription laps...so sometimes Im cold turkey for 2 weeks to a month. I know thats not good.

I went into the emergency room saturday, The spasms, contractions and overall pain was too much the bear. They advised me to stay away from the Veterans Administration.

The Veterans Administration I use is in Battle Creek Michigan. My primary is in the little town in SW Michigan called Benton Harbor. The VA will not prescribe me pain pills because theyre addictive...Isnt that the mot stupid reason you can think of....what about the 30 million other people that take them? I have no history of addiction, I dont even take aspirin.

Well the ER prescribed me Vicodin and valuumee (however) as the diltazem stopped working and actually put my recum into a contraction that lasted 3 days.

I called the VA and told them about my trip to the ER. After hearing this the nurse told me not to worry. 6 years with a problem that could have been dealt with in a couple of hours is too much for her to take also. I told her I could not take the 6 hour road trip to Ann Arbor, MI and back. She told me not to worry about it that she is going to get paperwork done so I can go to a civilian office. So, listening to her. I didnt plan to attend the long trip just so they can add a sentence in my file to allow them (the VA) to help me.

She said her job ends on Friday (today) that she will have the paperwork taken care of before then. I called the office 2x yesterday. I never heard back from her. So, I called first thing this morning to find out she didnt even log anything into the system. So, now, I missed my appointment which will push things back yet another year. (3 months for the new appointment 6 months for the procedure).

I would love to have a bowel movement while talking to these people I would throw my bloody fecal matter in there face!

Hi douggie0001 have you considered taking a few sprays of Glyceryl Trinitrate for you bottom problem Even sniffs of 'Poppers' in an emergency

Oh It's not a voodoo idea, they're well known to help

Brother I will try anything as long as it doesnt burn another hole in my rectum.

You'll have to elaborate a little more about poppers.....hve no idea what they are...

The diltiazem is that .02% nitro....I think thats the same as glyceryl trinitrate

You get Poppers from an Adult store in little bottles it's called things like 'Liquid Gold', 'Reds' and 'Rush' etc, they contain random nitrites. You have a couple of sniffs and (amongst other things) the muscles in your bottom relax, you will definitely feel it's effects, it's best to be sitting down whilst having a sniff just in case you go all dizzy.

No Diltiazem doesn't contain GTN it's a calcium channel blocker with similar effects (do you have a Heart condition?) it's not really for a AF.

I don't know if you can buy it over the counter in the USA (you can in the UK) but what you want to try is a spray called / branded 'Nitromin' (not 'Nitrolingual' it's rubbish), 400 mcg dose a spray, you have a couple of sprays under the tongue and in a minute you'll feel it's effects,, again it might be best to be sitting down.

If in doubt Google these things. Hope this helps

Thanks House.....I ended up in the ER again last night. Since this was the 2nd time in a weeks time. I got the 3rd degree. Get this....the ER director came out and told me I have to get this taken care of. No shit dude.../youre the doctor.

After that they marked me as someone trying to get drugs for resale. The funny part is...I dont even take aspirin. What a fucked up system. So for about 800.00 I got 6 pills.

I ordered the spray. I got it off of amazon.

Thanks again

Yes you have a lot of problems in the USA, a lot of people are suffering because of a relatively few idiots Give the spray a go, what you are aiming to feel is a nice warm bottom feeling, I hope it provides just a little relief

douggie0001 I'm wondering how you got on?.. I am writing from a hospital bed after being admitted to hospital following my second presentation in a 3 week period to A&E. The first time It was pure desperation for help with a relentless spasm that I felt warranted emergency treatment. After explaining that i had been on GTN ointment for 3 weeks , I was sent away with Diclofenac and told that GTN can take 8 weeks to improve the fissure/spasms. If after 8wks of treatment I was still having problems, to go back to my GP and request a referral to the Colorectal Surgeons. Anyway, just 3 wks later (6wks of treatment but 10wks of having a fissure) I was at my wits end with the agony I was in. I was bedbound, unable to care for my children and exhaysted with the pain. My husband took me back to A&E who seemed cobcerned about the degree of pain I was experiencing and how much it was affecting my life (7 weeks off work and socially isolated). My spasms were triggered by standibg and sitting, eased with lying down and hot baths. I rarely sufferred during the night but was plagued throughout the day by spasms. Typically, fissure pain and spasms are triggerex by bowel movements and are frequent at night too, when lying down. Mine were the opposite and gad not so far responded to 6 wks of GTN. I saw three different Dr's who examined me after administering IV morphine. They thought that the fissure was virtually healed and would have expected the spasms to be subsiding, not worsening. As a last ditch attempt prior to looking at surgical options, they have switched me to Diltiazem alongside Tramadol 100mg, ibuprofen and paracetamol. The pain relief isnt even nearly strong enough to block out the spasm pain and after 3 days as an inpatient I am in just as much pain. There has been no talk of discharging me yet but I will mot allow them to force me to leave without this nasty problem having been resolved. It is debilitating and I will be right back at square one if I leave before the pain has been fully resolved. I have thoroughly researched all treatments and I think th as t I want to go down the route of a closed lateral sphinctorectomy, which has the best ling term outcomes. Being a 35 yr old mum of two with a full time job, I can not afford to go through thi s experience again.

TooMuchInfo - So sorry to hear that you are suffering like this. is this your first fissure ?

I was sent down the Rectogesic and Diltiazem route and was off work for nearly 4 and a half months. I returned to work on a rehab program when it stared to ease, but was still suffering pain and didn't start work till just before midday when things had settled. Soon after I went back I had the botox. It took a second dose around 6 weeks later to completely heal.

My pain was triggered by bowel movements. Once it started I couldn't lie down - I used to walk in circles round the coffee table - I just had to keep moving. I rarely experience the pain at night because my bowels had usually settled by then, but I knew the spasms would last between 4 - 6 hours from my last bowel movement. Then you wait for morning for the whole cycle to start again.

Like you I had children to look after, and crying in front of them whilst standing up trying to eat my breakfast was aweful for me and them.

I am just wondering though - if the doctors are saying you fissure has nearly healed but you are still experiencing the spasms, would botox be a better option ? The first week after it is hell because of the meddling and anaesthetic causing constipation, but then the spasms should stop and allow time for full healing. As I said, I had to have a second dose - I think because it is difficult for them to judge how much to give without rendering you temporarily incontinent. But my consultant was great, and told me that if it didnt work I should just ring her secretary to go back on the list (without involving GPs and re-referral).

It is not as invasive or permanent as the sphinterectomy. But you do need to understand the pros and cons of each approach and make a decision you are confortable with. Don't let anyone fob you off - all the creams did was make my bottom more and more sore and sensitive, and I then had unbearable itching where I didn't dare scratch ! You need a clear and defined plan of action before you leave hospital if no procedure is carried out now.

My initial fissure was over 4 years ago, but I have to point out that it has recurred - most recently around a month ago. However, none of the recurrences has been a patch on the original episode and all have healed spontaneously. You need to be continually aware of the threat that constipation presents, as everything remains very sensitive in this area and quickly starts to get sore.

First things first though - good luck with whatever option you choose. All of us who have suffered understand your pain and despair, but you will get through this. It is a strange view on life that a bowel movement without pain can seem like a luxury ...

Take care and good luck - keep posting !

I don't know if I have a fissure or not but I do know that its a bad tear! A few years back I had my first son and that's when the year first happend I figured it would just go away and tryed to forget about it. After a year and a half it just got worse and then I ended up geting raped wich just made things even more horrible! I kept quite and did not speak about it and hoped that it would just go away.... Another year passed and I had my 2nd son and he came vary fast so the tear got even worse my baby is three months now and my oldest is 3 years old and I have still not gotten rid of this problem I cant use the bathroom with out a lot of blood comeing out as well my husband has no clue and I am to embarrased to tell him but the tear is so bad that I cant have sex I cant find any motivation to do anything and I get vary light headed im afraid of infections or extream blood loss I have no medical so I cant go to the doc and I have no clue how to tell my husband what if he sees me differently ..... I cant put off this problem any more... I'm 22 and I feel like my life is over