Chronic anal fissure losing the will to live
Posted , 27 users are following.
GOOD AFTERNOON
IVE BEEN SUFFERING THE HELL OF THE ANAL FISSURE FOR A YEAR (chronic) AND ITS REALLY TAKING ITS TOLL ON ME NOW IM SCARED TO GO BM BECAUSE I KNOW I WILL BE IN TORTEROUS PAIN FOR HOURS AFTER ALL THE CREAMS DO NOT WORK ME IVE TRIED MANY
IVE TRIED SITZ BATHS ETC NO RELIEF THE ONLY SLIGHT RELIEF I GET IS SITTING ON A HEAT PAD
IM DUE TO SEE A SPECIALIST NEXT MONDAY ALLTHOU ANXIOUS AS THE AREA IS EXTREMELY PAINFUL
IF IT WASNT FOR BRING A MOTHER I HONESTLY THINK I WOULD OFF TAKEN MY OWN LIFE BY NOW
THE PAIN IS SOMETHING I WOULDNT WISH ON MY WORST ENEMY I FEEL SO DEPRESSED AND ANXIOUS ALL THE TIME ITS INTERERING WITH MY WHOLE LIFE SOCIAL WORK HOME ETC
LITERALLY CAN NOT COPE ANYMORE
PLEASE HELP 😦
0 likes, 189 replies
curtis59654 lou7272
Edited
Im not sure about the UK, but in the states Nfedipine 3% is offered as a compounded script. none of the creams are USDA approved here, but i've tried diltiazem, NTG, and they both made my spasms worse. The Nfedipine I could actually feel it relax the muscles, and I almost got over it using this cream, but all it takes is one wrong meal and your back to square one. I will still stand be my statement they are a waste of time for a long term solution, and get the surgery, but if you havent tried Nfedipine it woukd be CCB I would suggest.
andy9421 lou7272
Edited
hey lou i feel for you the pain is really bad esp after a BM. i dealt with it for months where i thought it was gone then it came back much more painful this past December and had 2 wait 2 weeks for emergency surgery.. but i was only dealing with a nurse practioner at the time. i didnt meet with the Dr/ specialist til the day of whatever it is they were going to do. after i woke up i was told i had not 1 but 2 fissure tears in which the pain was caused it being by a nerve.... so all they did for me is Botox... felt fine til just now... they also wanted to do a colonoscopy to rule out IBD or anything else. just today i had hard time with a BM and it was the 1st time since getting the botox done that ive had that same pain come back again. im real nervous now that the botox didnt work. im only 6-7 weeks from getting it. im calling tomm to schedule my colonoscopy cuz they also want to see if its healing or not. if it doesnt work its either another round of botox or Lis surgery. will see what happens.
lou7272 andy9421
Posted
hi andy
sorry to hear your in pain again
just when you think things are looking up you get knocked back again
i personally dont have high hopes for the botox but at the point im willing to try anything allthou very scared and anxious as not been under GA before
i suffer with bad aniexty espesially health aniexty think it stems back from when i lost my younger brother.
fissure pain is the worst... i often wonder if i have more than one now as the pain has got worse and lasts much longer
im due BM today as didnt go yesterday so i know im in for a day of torture
it sucks! living everyday in fear of just pooping
i hope you get some relief and good luck with your app
im due to see specialist monday fingers crossed
daz1967 andy9421
Posted
hi andy, i believe botox is a total waste of time! i have not heard of any success stories, i know there are some people who say they know it worked for someone they know etc. but what if that was from just changing their diet and their activities because of the Botox treatment or fissure pain etc?
lou7272
Posted
sorry to be so personal
but in relation to my last post ive had BM and so far no pain .... what a relief
allthou slapping loads of petrolium jelly in and around certainly helps stool slide out rather than having to use the muscle to push
ive then sat on heat pad for 30 mins to relax everything down there
allthou this dont work everytime im glad it has today as have things to do! phew
andy9421 lou7272
Edited
yeah will see how it goes from here on out. i go for my colonoscopy next month to check all my insides and to see if the fissures are healing with the botox which i dont really think it is... right now im not having any pain but im sure i will when i have a BM. it was nice for a while going to poop regularly with no pain but i think the botox is wearing off a lot shorter than its intented to. but if this gets worse again im just going to get the lis surgery screw the botox.
lou7272 andy9421
Posted
hi andy
ive ended up having two bm today with very little pain which is nice
but what is annoying its so itchy rite now allthou would rather that than the pain
i just keep squeezing my bum cheeks to try stop it lol
well i hope you get it sorted
we shouldnt have to suffer
do let me know how you get on as will i on monday
andy9421 lou7272
Edited
i had 2 Bms so far not too bad just the afterpain isnt like a shock pain anymore thank god but its that aggitating kind of pain that stays for a bit. yeah i scheduled my Colonoscopy for the end of next month so will see how it goes before and after.
Mkole lou7272
Edited
I know what you are going through. I suffered the torment for almost 5 years believing that I would get better. I actually would get better, but only for a day or two. It is like a ball and chain around your ankle. You know that even as you start to feel a little better as the afternoon progresses, it is really only a countdown to your next BM in the morning and it starts over all again.
I was afraid. I tried everything. Creams, ointments, and on and on. I saw 4 different colorectal specialists. The first two said it was prolapsed hemorrhoids, they wanted to do a hemorrhoidectomy. But I knew that the pain and burning I felt when having my morning BM was not that. Most people do have those, but they do not normally cause the pain and burning for half the day after a BM like an anal fissure.
I finally found a doctor who listened to me and diagnosed what my problem actually was...Chronic Anal Fissure. He told me that the only thing that would permanently stop the torment was a Lateral Internal Sphincterotomy.
I was still terrified and did not want to go through the LIS procedure. I put it off and put it off. In the mean time, I was always in a foul mood to my wife, my kids, and everyone else. We took several vacations where I would feel OK half the time, but only until the next morning BM. It was literally 5 years of my life wasted.
The reason I am registered for this site and am posting this is that I would like you to know there is hope.
It has now been just over 2 months since my procedure, and I feel like a new person. I no longer fear and dread the morning BM. I am not in pain for hours afterword. It has made me feel like a new person. Just for your information, I am a 56 year old male in fairly good health. A little overweight, but otherwise OK. You have to have this procedure done to get relief. It was a little painful right after the procedure, but really not much worse than what you have been dealing with. It took about a week before the fear of the BM started to get a little better. By 2 weeks it was getting much better, but still a little painful at times. Just watch what you eat, drink plenty of water and use fiber supplements to keep your stool soft.
By 1 month the difference was night and day. I have not had any problems with incontinence and I feel like the ball and chain has been removed. I don't fear waking up in the morning for my daily BM. It has now been a little over 2 months for me and I feel like an idiot for having been afraid and not done this years sooner.
You can do it. Time marches on for all of us and delaying it only means more of your life spent in misery.
I hope my post has helped you in some way, as this web site helped me while reading the testimonies of other who had had the LIS procedure done before me.
I wish all the best for you. Good luck, before you know it you will be posting here to help someone else.
curtis59654 Mkole
Posted
MKole, I am 7 weeks post LIS. During week 5-6 I had a crazy itch and what felt like a little glass cutting/stretching pain. I still have a little irritation after I have a BM, and very little blood maybe every other day. My job requires sitting 10 hours a day, so every now and then through out the day it still feels tender, I think the tenderness and itch is from the incision. Did you experience any of this 5-7 weeks out??? I was told i should be 100% in 4-6 weeks. I do feel better, but not quite 100%
Mkole curtis59654
Edited
Hello Curtis, I just made a lengthy response, but I may have accidentally replied to Lou instead of you as I had intended, not sure. I'm on my phone and it's a little tough for me to see.
Sorry, but if I did, please see that reply.
SK001 Mkole
Posted
Hi. Thank you for your post. I have had a fissure for nearly 3 years now and I am deciding between botox and LIS. I have a lot of pain and the doctor is saying it is also because of muscle spasms in that area. I am currently underweight since I went on a soft diet to keep my stools soft and added more liquids. I am therefore leaning towards Botox as I am concerned that being underweight might impact healing after the surgery. I am not 100% sure though and deciding between Botox and LIS.
You mentioned that you did LIS and you started seeing relief in 2 weeks. Did you have muscle spasms as well? I am wondering how much time it takes after LIS to start seeing relief if someone has an anal fissure and also muscle spasms due to the anal fissure.
Thanks.
bena56297 Mkole
Edited
thankyou for your post. gives me hope.
Mkole lou7272
Edited
Hello Curtis. At 5 to 6 weeks post procedure, I still had a little discomfort on some mornings after BM. Mine was more a sensation of soreness and pressure, like I hadn't fully gone and there was still a little left. That was not everyday, just once or twice. I still felt as if I was getting better each day, especially compared to how I used to feel.
It felt more like incision site discomfort versus the fissure pain I had felt for years. I would have a little bleeding on some days but it wasn't painful. It gradually got better to where now, 10 weeks out I am not having any pain or discomfort, and have had no bleeding for the past 2 or 3 weeks.
I think you definitely have the worst behind you (no pun intended), and should soon be 100%.
I do know that my doctor and others here have said that everyone is different and some people have said it took them months to fully heal. But at least it is better than before at least 1000%, at least for me.
I know you know, sit in the bath, drink plenty of water, fiber, eat vegetables, salads and fish and try to stay away from the steaks, cheese and such.
Good luck, at least you are near the end of it. Remember how you felt before the procedure. Seemed like I had kind of lost hope for ever being pain free again.
I just wish I had done it 4 1/2 years ago.
curtis59654 Mkole
Edited
Thank you for your response, that makes me feel much better. I'm pretty positive the little bit of discomfort is from the incision. The incision was very sore through at least week 4, then started to get better each day. Hopefully the itching is healing. Ive had this going on 19 months, which is not as long as many others, I just hope to get out of the cycle where I almost get better then back to square one. My experience was I would go 6 weeks and almost get better for a few days then it would start all over. I definitely am not having the spasms I had before the surgery, the issues now are just a small annoyance still, but I'm hopeful in a couple more weeks its all behind me for good. I have an 8 week check up next week, so hopefully all is healing well. Thanks again for the response, I wasnt trying to high jack the thread.
barbara19257 Mkole
Edited
I'm waiting for surgery. Was is a short stay in hospital! Sooo anxious about having it done but I can't cope with the pain any more. So you would recommend having it done?
Motocaster Mkole
Edited
Thank you for posting your positive experience and I'm glad you have healed. I see that most who have recovered from LIS have continued with laxatives/stool softeners. Is that something you are doing, as well? I am recovering from LIS (done yesterday) and my surgeon did not suggest the continued use of stool softeners. Frankly, I am so tired of months of stool softeners, and I believe they are not needed as long as we drink enough water and consume enough fiber. Thanks again and continued health and well-being to you.
Mkole barbara19257
Posted
You can't be any more afraid than I was, that's why it took me over 4 years to go through with it. LOL
I kept thinking it would heal on it's own, or with the various ointments. It would get a little better for a few days, but it ALWAYS came back.
Yes, I would definitely recommend it. The first week will be a little tough. The second not as much, by the third or fourth about the only discomfort will be at the incision site, but it's not nearly as bad as what you are currently experiencing. Sit in the tub frequently, take fiber supplements, watch what you eat, all the things the doctor says.
I'm at about week 10 now and am finally free from that beast. Of course, I'm told, if you don't maintain the water, fiber and diet, they can always recur. I shudder to even think of that so I will do my best as I'm sure you will.
Good luck!
Mkole Motocaster
Edited
At least every day should be a little better than the last for you. I'm sure you are glad it's over but still a little too soon for you to feel a lot better yet, at least for most people. Hopefully within a week you will be feeling better and within two only occasional discomfort from the incision site, not the fissure itself. The last time I had any real discomfort was around the 4th-5th week, mainly soreness, pressure feeling around incision site. I still had a little bleeding with BM every morning until probably week 6 to 7, but no pain.
Funny you should mention that. Yes, I still do take one stool softener (Colace) pill every evening. I do not take any other kind of laxative, other than a couple of tablespoons of fiber (Metamucil) every day. Yes, everyone says to drink tons of water and my wife stays after me constantly about it. Alas, I still don't drink as much as I should. The stool softener was something I had gotten used to over the past couple of years and I just have not stopped taking it yet, just one of those small fears I still have that I definitely don't want to be constipated again. My doctor really didn't seem too concerned or direct me to stop it, though I may start trying to sometime soon. Maybe just one every other day, then gradually less.
Main thing is now I feel stupid for having waited so long to do this. My fissure started about 6 months before I retired from my job. Well I've been retired now for almost 4 years and really have not had a chance to enjoy it the way I always thought I would. Been on a couple of trips where half the time I was in pain. I now have another coming up in a couple of months and am looking extremely forward to enjoying to with my wife and family without the constant fissure aggravation.
Good luck to you, hope you heal quickly!
barbara19257 Mkole
Posted
Thanks for all that information. 😁😁
Mkole barbara19257
Edited
I tend to get a little wordy sometimes. At least that what my wife says. LOL
Sorry.
barbara19257 Mkole
Posted
Not at all. It's an interesting read
Lis000 Motocaster
Posted
Hi moto. How is your recovery going?
Did you have any other procedure with your LIS?
Hope you are well
ana63083 Mkole
Posted
Hi,first time writing on this forum...
I have a question: after LIS did you go back to your work right away?
and also:I'm not from US (but I'm stuck here now) and I don't have an insurance - anybody knows how much that cost for self-payed?
Thanks!
Mkole ana63083
Edited
Hello,
My situation was probably a little unique. I am retired from my previous career, and have my own company working at home now. I design bridges, which involves me working at a computer all day. In previous years I got a stand up desk since I didn't want to sit all day with my fissure problem. So anyway, I was able to go back to that within a couple of days, though it was still painful.
I would think that if I had still had my previous desk job it would have taken me around 10 days to 2 weeks before I would have felt good enough to go into an office and sit at a desk all day. I guess a lot depends on what your occupation is.
Though my fissure pain was much better after about a week, it wasn't totally gone, and I still had some pain at the incision site. Advil seemed to help my pain more than Tylenol.
Today it has been 4 months since my LIS. I really don't have any pain now, though I still do have a small amount of bleeding after BM. I believe this is due to an internal hemroid, and perhaps still a little bleeding at the incision site.
However, my pain level now is almost nonexistent versus constant aggravation prior to surgery. I definitely recommend having it.
As far as cost without insurance, not absolutely sure but I would guess in the 2 to 3 thousand dollar range.
Hope some of this helps. Good luck!