Having a sphincterotomy due to chronic fissure (over a year) and scared...advice? Guidance?
Posted , 3 users are following.
I'm a 56-year-old male who suffered a terrible anal fissure about 14 mos ago, but wasn't properly diagnosed until last October. Pain has always been nearly 24/7, not just with BMs. It always hurts.
First CRS gave me dilitiazem, and that did nothing. The next CRS did a fissurectomy and two rounds of botox. She said I was fully healed, but my pain never went away. I recently moved and saw a new CRS. She says the fissure is still open. I am now scheduled for a sphincterotomy in one week.
I am somewhat nervous of the incontinence risk, but it seems like I probably have little likelihood of that. I'm more concerned with the recovery, and whether or not the pain will ever really go away, because for over a year, my pain has never stopped.
This thing has ruined my life. I was training for a half-marathon when it started, and now I can't walk for more than a few minutes or sit in one place for too long without feeling like I'm going to black out from the pain. I have lost 25 pounds too (no appetite mostly...and I did have a colonoscopy...nothing there).
If anyone has had a sphincterotomy recently, can you please share on what the recovery was really like? What made it better? What helped? Were you eventually fully healed? Did you get your life back? How long until life returned to normal??
Thanks in advance!!
2 likes, 2 replies
Rich44 fishman1994
Edited
Well you probably already had your LIS so hope it went well. I had an anal manometry test BEFORE my LIS to make sure I could handle the surgery and not be incontinent. I was beyond ready for the LIS (he said I could crack a walnut in my ass!) so no worries going in. The surgery was 100% successful. I didn't even fill the painkiller prescription because there was no way the post-op pain was going to be worse than the fissure pain. Although for 6 years I lived with it. It was usually around a 5-6 on average so I was used to the pain overall. I had countless bad days but I lived with it. Glad it's all over. LIS was the miracle I needed. Recovery was no big deal for me. A few days of taking it slow and then after a week just about normal. I might have taken some Advil but that's it.
HorseMom fishman1994
Posted
I hope your surgery went well. I had an Hemorrhoidectomy Dec. 1 2020 , 2 weeks ago I had to have an emergency surgery of sphincterotomy due to 2 large bilateral tears. I'm not sure if my pain was more due to fact that I was still recovering from the first surgery or not . I had quite a bit of pain first 4-5 days. I'm 39 female and have never had any fissures before. I was in in extreme amount of pain due to the tears, apparently they were quite large. I am not sure how anyone can live with fissures for years. That seems extreme to me. You will feel better. I had issues with trying to control my pain meds with my fiber intake to keep the stool soft in the beginning. I do have some incontinence even 2 weeks after, but I am told that is normal even up to 6-8 weeks after surgery. I get better everyday. I took 2-3 baths with hot water as i could stand ( I mean don't burn yourself ) especially after any bm that I had. It makes a big difference with the pain. I also had a numbing cream given by my Dr. that I used 3-4 times a day. Drink Lots of Fluids. * water, juice* I started off on soft foods, and I am still slowly trying to bring normal food back. Sitting is difficult in the beginning, even 2 weeks after I still sit on pillow. I am not in really in any pain per say at the moment. I am just taking one day at time. Hope this helps, and I hope all goes well.