I spoke too soon...
Posted , 3 users are following.
9 weeks after my fissurectomy and Botox at long last I was feeling human again - for 2 weeks at least. So much so that as suggested by CRS I cancelled my final follow-up appointment given I was pain free again. Then despite no hard BMs, for no discernible reason pain is back with a vengeance for the last 10 days. Not cramps (I think), just a really painful stinging. Needless to say, another appointment booked with CRS for this time next week to see where we go from here. Very frustrating!
Q. Do most people get pain from cramps, or is it the stinging/burning sensation from the fissure itself that is most debilitating?
0 likes, 6 replies
curtis59654 martin21370
Edited
so far in my experience it seems it will take much longer to heal than the 4-6 weeks suggested. I had LIS which is a little less invasive than a fissurectomy. I thought i was making progress in week 4, then out of nowhere in week 5 the itching/burning came back. Its so uncomfortable to the point i don't feel like doing much. I'm in week 7 now, and still have the same issue. I've read numerous places where its been claimed the pain from the fissure is gone immediately after surgery, that has not been the case for me. My pain may be from the incision site, and not the fissure, I'm not sure? Either way it is as bad as the fissure, still have pain using the restroom, with bleeding every other day. Some days I feel worse than before surgery. I hope it will get better, but mine is not an immediate success like many I have read about. Good luck, hope all gets well for you.
zara50317 martin21370
Edited
Hi Martin, I am so sorry to hear that. I read your last post and felt it was too good to be long lasting however I was still hopeful for you. Have you stopped using the Diltiazem? I find that if I don't use it for a day my pain is worse but more manageable if I continue with it. If you still have some left keep on using it. I don’t have any cramps mine is still the soreness and stinging burning kind of feeling. I find that no matter what you do with the diet, sitz etc nothing helps to actually make it go away altogether.
I went to see my CRS on 31/01 and have agreed for him to do an EUA and then decide whether he needs to do the Anoplasty or LIS. He says my fissure is not as big as it was but it’s still deep down to the muscle base. He said he would decide what to do on the day, after testing the anal resting pressure using a retraction procedure to establish which will be better for me and go with it. I’m on an urgent wait list but I am absolutely filled with dread!
When questioned he said that he has seen a few cases where a fissure does not heal but it’s always been associated with having tight resting anal pressure and he seems to think that mine isn’t so doesn’t understand why it’s not healing. He agreed that the Botox relaxed the muscles but did nothing to help the fissure. He keeps prescribing more Diltiazem each time I go and to be honest that’s the only thing ever that has helped me even if reduces the pain by half.
The answer to your question I think for me is that it’s the awful stinging pain sensation that hurts. I used to get cramps last year with the pain too which I felt was coming from the spinchter muscles but that stopped after they GP put me on Pregabalin. I stopped taking that as it made me feel like a zombie after 3 months. The cramps didn’t come back but I’m sure if you had that you’d know because the sensation was different to the pain coming from the fissure.
Hoping your appointment goes well next week. Hope things get better for everyone I think I’m getting depressed and it’s making me ill. X
martin21370 zara50317
Edited
Hey Zara and thanks for your message. This is definitely trying my patience. I've just restarted the Diltiazem and sudacrem so maybe they'll help. Failing that there's always red wine, which works when all else fails 😉 I'll post an update after I've spoken to the CRS next week. Try and stay positive. X
zara50317 martin21370
Posted
Hi Martin how are you doing? I hope you’re feeling better? I had my surgery on Monday. 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 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 for pain relief, absolutely dreading having a BM 😟
Sending you lots of love and wishes for full recovery xx
martin21370 zara50317
Posted
Hi Zara
I had the fissurectomy and Botox done on Wednesday. It was like a ghost town in the Hospital! Pain is pretty grim at the moment, and on the cusp of reverting to Oramorph, though doing my best to avoid given its side effects. Still early days and it was bad at this stage last time, so not panicing just yet.
Take care,
Martin x
zara50317 martin21370
Posted
Hi Martin, I am so sorry to hear that you had to go through it again. I pray that you heal and the pain eases up soon, its just dreadful. I had my first BM post surgery on Thursday and actually cried, the pain was on another scale!
When I went in for my surgery on Monday the hospital was also eerily quiet and ghostly, couldn't see this happening and it felt very strange. Sending you best wishes for a speedy recovery xx