Anal fissure nightmare

Not yet but its the next step. Terrified

Me too, I have had Botox in Nov that didn't work and am scheduled to go in on Monday 16th March. CRS is going to decide what to do on the day, either Anoplasty or LIS and has taken consent for both. He says my fissure is so deep he can see the muscle base! I am petrified. X

omg that must be horrendous. You poor thing .Good luck with the op 😥😥

Hey Zara

I am petrified too. I'm having LIS on 21st march. I'm also worried how I'm going to manage till then. Every day is so painful all I can do is lie on my bed or sofa. Life is on hold.

I had botox in January but it didn't work sadly.

What is anoplasty? How long have you been suffering?

Has anyone out there had a positive recovery from LIS???

i had the lis surgery on 25 feb the first week was very painful and i developed an infection but this week its so much better and hardly any pain i would go for it!

Hi, Anoplasty is where they make a flap and suture it around the fissure. Almost like a skin graft or reconstruction of the damaged area. The CRS isn't sure about LIS as says that my resting anal pressure isn't tight so it may not work plus the fact that they don't like to do it much in the UK. He will check though by using a Retractor to see if it is an option and said he will make a decision on the day himself. I have signed consent and gosh won't know what I'll wake up to post surgery! The fissure has literally ruined my life....

Thanks Mary I'm so worried.

I'm also having 3 internal piles banded and 2 anal skin tags removed so I'm scared of the pain after to be honest

God Zara how awful. What has the surgeon said your recovery will be like? When are you booked in?

Lis I'm booked in for Monday 16th March, he didn't really say what the recovery will be like but I would imagine the worst as I didn't feel at all better after the Botox in Nov. My fissure started 18 months ago but GP gave me all sorts of creams and suppositories before doing the referral to hospital, it was 9 months after! First few months weren't too painful but since last summer its hit the roof....

Good luck for the 16th then Zara. Mines on 21st. I'm making myself sick with worry. My story over the past year is very similar to yours, with many trips to gp and misdiagnosis as piles several times.

I wish someone had stressed the importance of stool softener and diet before now. I guess we have to get to this stage before we realise.

I hope you are OK after the surgery. I am so nervous for mine.

I cannot understand why the doctors don't give a list of things such as stool softeners etc. Would save such a lot of agony

Thanks I will keep you posted and let you know what the Consultant decided to do. I am so scared too I don’t think people understand how different the pain is from that area compared to other kinds of pain.

I think the GP’s don’t have much knowledge and I was diagnosed with external haemorrhoids too initially and the worst thing was using the Diclofenac suppositories first pain, I think poking those up probably made the fissure worse and deeper. If I’d known about the diet and laxatives earlier then maybe it wouldn’t have got so bad. Anyway we’re stuck with it now, I am really anxious like you and can’t stop thinking about what will happen and how I’ll cope with more pain but we have no choice but to be at the mercy of the specialists and trust that they know what they’re doing. Try and stay positive in the hope that this step will make it better and we can resume normal life again, praying for all of us X

I know, I feel like they just knock out prescription after prescription without discussing diet and lifestyle changes which potentially could have saved us from this.

Thank you Zara, I agree all we can do is focus on being positive and looking to the pain free future.

That said, I'm also worrying that I know I'll still have the fissure pain on top of the surgery pain. I wonder how long it will take for that to subside.....?

It torture.

Hope you have someone to look after you following your surgery. Best wishes to you and thank you for updating I will be watching to see how you get on x

Have you tried adding oil into your daily diet too. Honestly is helps. I've had a life time of staying away from oil worrying about calories bla bla but seriously it lubricates you internally which helps with the bowel movement x

What kind of oil Barbara? Yes I agree, I was following low /no fat diet when this happened

I'm having 5000 mil of flaxseed oil. About 5 teaspoons. I drizzle it on salad or over pasta or rice. It makes the passing if the stool easier. Worth a try 😁😁

Thanks Barbara I will buy some ASAP. Well, will ask my husband or mum to buy it as I am housebound due to the fissure pain.

I intend to keep up the diet for ever from here on in as I am absolutely terrified of this ever happening again.

I eventually want to come off the stool softeners and laxatives (eventually - after a year maybe) so want to have all the right diet in place first.

Agreed. The thought of going through all this again isn't worth thinking of is it? Try n stay positive in the knowledge that there are alot of us understanding your pain 👍

thanks Barbara i will get some tomorrow x

Lis heat pads really help too only thing that worked for me compared to painkillers. At home i use a hot water bottle and at work i stick a heat pad in my trs onto the outer of my underwear. Poundland sell them they're brilliant. Pears, dry Prunes and Apricots help things too. Eating less carbs, junk and spicy food makes a difference and small portion sizes generally, to be honest though on a bad day the fissure leaves me with no desire to eat.

Diltiazem cream from the hospital is the only thing that helped me. Lidocaine 5 percent was rubbish as with other painkillers and creams. X

Hi Zara thanks for the tips. Yes I've got the heat bag (it's a tartan wheat bag like old ladies have) tbh I feel like an old lady most of the time with all this.

I've got the prunes (yum) and apricots. Need to eat pears. I had the diltiazem cream once but fissure did not heal.

You are nearly there now Zara, on the countdown. How are you feeling.?

Can anyone reading help me with this please?

I'm having LIS surgery on 21st march, with banding of 3 internal piles and 2 skin tags removed.

After I have bm I need to push the piles back up. How will I manage this with the wounds from the skin tag removal?

And yes totally agree smaller portion and healthy food.

I so over food now. Lost so much weight ill be a size 8!!! Like you I just don't feel like eating much.

I'll never eat huge portions or much of the wrong stuff again.

It's really hard to get enough fibre I'm finding.

how long did the dilt work....I'm almost at the 3 week mark....and a bit better...

but I'm still going to gym could be my problem...

Mak I tried that and it was successful the first time. However once better I forgot all the diet, issues etc, and it came back.

I think you need to use it the full 6 weeks, even if you feel better. And yes the gym probably isn't the best idea... I would take it as easy as possible.

Believe me,it will be worth it if you can side step surgery.

Once better keep up the diet avoid constipation at all costs

Hi Mak, the first time I used Diltiazem cream was in September. The pain started to go after a few days and I took laxatives etc and maintained soft BM’s so all was great for 6 weeks and I thought I’m getting better.

As soon as the cream finished it took less than two days for the pain to start again. I was then waiting for a date to come through for Botox which eventually happened mid November. I was then giving more Diltiazem mid December which didn’t have the same effect as when used in September but eventually has been giving me intermittent pain relief some days since late January. I’m scheduled for more surgery next Monday all being well.

I also continued to go to the gym until late September and I definitely think that post work out, my fissure felt more aggravated and then I stopped completely. I haven’t been since then. Lifting weights and squatting may have caused my fissure to become this deep but there’s no way to confirm this. I would probably give it a break and take walks instead.

thank you for your reply.

I dont have contispation per say as I eat pretty good most days...their just bulky lol sorry. as I eat a high protein diet due to my bodybuilding....and for the most part I dont strain. but maybe I should include a stool softener.

yes I will stop the gym but so stubborn hahah but desperate for this to go away

hi...

yea I do notice stinging post gym so I know I am aggravating it....I'm just too stubborn. but I will stop.

maybe not having totally relief due to that.

will include a stool softener despite no constipation or straining here but bulky bms so maybe not helping either.

I hope your surgery goes well . praying for you

Thanks, I will keep you all posted...x

I too would have said I wasn't constipated, however you do need a stool softener to allow the fissure to heal. If you are successful keep it up after you have healed.

Drink lots of water too

Hey Zara, all the best for tomorrow. Hope you are OK. My surgery (LIS) was brought forward to yesterday. I was very anxious the night before. I didn't need to be. It was OK afterwards. I also had a surprise of one internal hemorrhoid excised. I only found out when being discharged! My experience has been nothing like the horror stories on here. I would describe it as very sore, not much pain. I have used paracetamol and ibuprofen alternately, round the clock since. I have only laid in bed and bathed twice. Finished in Shower as I felt very smelly lol.

I hope you have someone to look after you. My husband has been fantastic and I arranged for my mum to come round this morning while he was out.

As others have said, it's not like the pain of a fissure.... Which we are used to.

I did have a small bm, which was very similar to before the op. The stinging wore off shortly.

I imagine you are now excited to start the road to healing. Xxx

Hi Lis,

thank you so much for letting me know and for your best wishes, the last few days have been filled with so much anxiety i have hardly slept. I am so happy for you and hope that this is the start to recovery for all of us. I will be going in shortly to the hospital and will keep you posted. Lots of love xx

Take care Zara, thinking of you and praying you have similar experience to me..... Or better even! I had the same anxiety and lack of sleep. But a new happy life is waiting for us soon!! Best wishes for a speedy recovery xxx

Thinking of you 🙏

Hi, I had my surgery yesterday. The CRS used a retractor as discussed and found that my resting pressure isn’t tight and didn’t do the LIS as said it wouldn’t have worked. He has also found muscle weakness and a small rectal prolapse with weak anterior rectal walls.

He did do the Anoplasty and pulled some skin from nearby and stitched it over the fissure to seal it. He’s put a few dissolvable stitches in and also also done more Botox to help the muscles from going into spasm so that the fissure can heal. I don’t know what to make of it as having read loads I don’t know if I’ve come across this kind of treatment having been done to anyone before.

I’m on ibuprofen and paracetamol round the clock too for pain relief, absolutely dreading having a BM 😟

Sending you all lots of love and wishes for recovery all round xx

Thanks Barbara, hope you are doing ok too. X

Well Zara I think it's good that your surgeon has had a good look and assessment of you. I'm sure he has done the best option for you and really hope we are all healed really soon.

I understand your fear of bm. I'm he same, I can't seem to get it soft enough, even though it was before the op.

It has been sore bms but not as bad as with the fissure. I hope you are OK too.

Glad you're on the road to recovery.

With all the uncertainty surrounding operations at the moment we are lucky to have ours done.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery Zara xxx