My experience with a chronic fissure (2 years +)
Posted , 6 users are following.
My first episode was after a pretty hard stool, the next three/4 days were agonising, severe hemmahroids and a fissure it was like pooping glass. I was prescribed a steroid ointment alongside syringes of instillagel (i swear by this stuff, get some guys). This episode lasting 2 weeks or more, i'm a grown male in my 30's and these two weeks were horrendous, i was sobbing crying because of the pain and the hopelessness i was feeling and have not cried for 20 + years to give you an idea of how bad this stuff can be.
I was then prescribed rectogesic by the GP and a referral to specialist at thomas' hospital in London. The rectogesic seemed to help, substantially but I could tell i still had the fissure, BM's werent particularly painful but i could tell I still had it. I was only prescribed one month sadly so after stopping i had another horrible episode. (Where the glass feeling comes back, with streaked red blood).
I've tried ALL creams going nearly, hemosan (herbal), anusol, germolene, suppositries with hyaluronic acid, and recently i'm trying one called mayong musk. I recommend you all look on amazon.com and the reviews, so far it seems to be actually helping somewhat.
This is my final attempt at natural healing, as I have an appointment for botox - although the surgeon did keep saying that botox could cause permanent incontinence and they don't know why this is - despite me not seeing much literature of this, i'm not sure why he says it as I havent been able to find anything about permanent incontinence from Botox.
My last episode was roughly three weeks ago, again the glass feeling when pooping. I decided to fast for 48 hours and skipped two BM's which I do contribute to it healing up somewhat. Since then, i've been able to go toilet everyday without agonising pain and i'm currently taking movicol 1.5 x a day + twice daily rectogesic, 3 sitz baths a day and then applying this mayong musk ointment inside where i believe my fissure is.
I am so scared of the incontinence that I question whether I should just be very careful with my diet, and my routine to make sure I remain how I am currently where the fissure is there, but not causing me severe pain when going toilet.. I have tried everything .
The worst part about this whole process is that I feel like i'm healing, things are getting better, pooping becomes easier and less painful, then all of a sudden for no rhyme or reason, it literally just triggers full blast again, rips open and then the cycle continues. It is frustrating.
The surgeon did mention occasionally a fissure is not able to heal because it has localised infection scabbing over it preventing it healing, so sometimes they can just scrape it away to allow the fissure to heal, if this is the case for me it could explain why the maying long musk ointment could be working as it is fairly medicinal and judging by the smell alone is extremely antibacterial. I would recommend some of you to give it a try if you are running out of ideas as it does seem to be putting me in a better state than i have been in a while.
Fingers crossed it heals up this time, but 2 years going through this now I am starting to come to terms with the reality that I may have this for the rest of my life.
I am interested on the botox incontinence thing, were you guys told that it could cause permanent incotinence? Because if it can, then I don't see why it would be worth doing over the surgery, especially as judging by threads on here it doesn't seem to help in alot of cases...
0 likes, 20 replies
Betty786 anony42596
Posted
idk why your surgeon said that. botox is temporary and will NOT cause permanent incontinence.
maybe speak to a more experienced CRS
do go for the fissurectomy (removal of scar tissue), and botox.
if the botox doesn't work, get the LIS! it has a high success rate.
anony42596 Betty786
Posted
Thanks, ah maybe that's what he was referring to with the fissurectomy.
Because it was so painful for a proper diagnosis, the next appointment will be putting me under, and hopefully he will do the best course of action appropriate. I am going to suggest a fissurectomy and botox as the first attempt and then consider LIS if this isn't a success.
I hope he will be able to carry out the treatment when I go under, rather than just an examination because waking up from general and having nothing done to fix the problem would be a nightmare.
Hopefully it's nothing more sinister, but signs do not point towards anything else.. thankfully
lauren02803 anony42596
Posted
hey, i have had 2 lots of botox, incontinence was never mentioned. It hasnt healed my fissure, but I do have to mention that I have had minor occasional wind accidents, like I cant hold in the wind, but not soiling incontinence. Happy to talk if you need someone
jenny93938 lauren02803
Posted
im exactly the same it also hasnt healed my fissure not sure of next step to take but im in agony at the moment
jenny93938 anony42596
Posted
i had botox 3 weeks ago no issue with bowel incontinence
but it hasnt helped yet either
im in agony and like yourself in past seem ok some days and out of nowhere the pain starts again
i cant see a light at the end of the tunnel dont know what to do to help myself at all
Gstav anony42596
Posted
Ive just had LIS done 17 days ago, ive had my fissure for 4 months now, I found a good surgeon that I can 100% rely on and he first of all got me to do exams to make sure it wasnt anything else causing it, so I had all std's blood work, digital exam, retosigmoidoscopy to make sure there is no cancer, I also had a anal manometry to check if my sphincter was hypertonic and anuscopy as well. after all these exams i knew i didnt have cancer or any other issue that might be the cause of it, what happened to me was a hard bowel movement at a very stressful period of my life which i believe is the cause of it, it bled for a week then it stopped and then it started to hurt, ALOT. went on diltiazem, proctyl suppository, corticosteroid ointment and calcium channel blocker to ingest for 3 months, nothing worked so I got LIS.
People are afraid of incontinence but there are a few rules that if your surgeon follows it wont happen, unless there is a subgroup of people that are women that had given natural birth are at a higher risk. the rules are, only cut 1/3 of ur muscle, on the side of ur anus not on top or bottom, only one cut and not multiple cuts, and you should be fine. I was also scared of incontinence but since I knew that my surgeon was very experienced i knew he would not make that mistake and i have no incontinence at all, not even close to having it, to let air out I still have to push, age i guess could be a factor I am 29 but i do not have an active exercising routine.
The unbearable pain is gone so far, but it still hurts to sit and there is an annoying pain thats on with me and it makes me crazy sometimes, yesterday and today have been the best so far, i was able to drive a bit around and not have much pain bothering me, but as yall know there are ups and downs with this, one day ur good and the other ur not. I did get depressed and got panic attacks and had to go on medication which now im feeling better, what made it worse for me is that i had recently moved to Canada with my family and I had to come back to my country to treat it alone, so being far from my family has taken its toll on me.
jenny93938 Gstav
Posted
thanks for your reply
it seems lots of people get down with this issue due to the pain and feeling alone with it
i struggle with i think people dint believe the pain im in
obv my close family see me but when i go to see consultants i feel i meet a good one then see another thats not so good there has been no consistancy for me i keep seeing different people which has not helped.
Gstav jenny93938
Posted
Did you do a colonoscopy or a sigmoidoscopy? I decided to come back to Brazil to get all these done because I would rather pay than wait in Canada, Its very important that you get a sigmoidoscopy done to make sure its nothing else causing it, that was the first step for me, my doctor which is a very professional and experienced thats what he did first of all, he said if you have blood in your stool I am obligated to have you get these exams done before treating anything, I was scared to hell that I had anal cancer, we ended up with very high resolution images of my fissures, I have like 3 of them. I trust this doctor so much because he treated my uncles colon cancer and also one friend of mine both are cured now, I also had two friends that did do the LIs with him and they were cured after. I dont know how long uve been dealing with it and how deep it is so because mine i didnt wait more than 3 months to do it, its very small fissures and all he did was the LIS, nothing else, he charged me 2 thousand dolars and I had hospital and other stuff covered by my plan here. for daily pain there is a medicine that my other doctor gave me which is anti spasm and its how I do when I have pain, its a calcium channel blocker called Otilonium Bromide, it gets rid of spasms, it works good for me and it takes away the pain all day long. Check with your doctor, if you dont like the one you have now try another one, get your exams done and start getting rid of laxatives by eating lots of salads and whole wheat stuff, I got rid of laxatives by doing that and also taking omega 3 fish oil everyday it helps lubricate, cut out chocolate, coffee, alcohol, dairy products. Eat as naturally as you can, but in the end dont delay surgery if its necessary then do it, this will all pass its only a phase of our lives but we do have to take the right choices along with good professionals to help us through, some people say to not get surgery but the main problem with this is that its too tight and theres no way or its very difficult for you to get rid of spasm if its too tight.. hoping you get better and trust in God he will guide you through.
jenny93938 Gstav
Posted
hi yes ive had colonoscopy and sidmoidosopy
all clear that was 2years ago
its gone worse worse now after botox worse im going to go private to get next treatment as cant suffer like this for the nhs wait times
thank u for your reply
Gstav jenny93938
Posted
jenny you feeling any better? today im on 20th day after LIS and I think im getting back to normal life, just as a advice I did see a Dr to give me depression meds and it took all the anxiety away, which made me calmer and I guess its helping, I had really bad panic attacks in the middle of the night and I never had that before fissures.. hope you are better.
jenny93938 Gstav
Posted
hi no better 😦 seen consultant who has advised a test to check the pressure of my muscle before LIS as he said in women its more common to be left incontinent as our muscle isnt as strong so im waiting to hear sbout having this test private then the LIS on nhs
Gstav jenny93938
Posted
Thats it the manometry test, I did it and my results were not hypertonic, even though they were not my doctor said he felt it was when he did the digital test, he would not recommend LiS IF It was hypotonic.
lauren02803 Gstav
Posted
@Gstav could you talk me through the manometry tests, as I think thats the next step for me before surgery
Gstav lauren02803
Posted
hey Lauren, its a thing they will insert in your anus and it will inflate a few times, they will ask you to tighten your muscle and relax as well as ask you to pretend youre going to the loo force kinda thing, i was not really happy about doing it but its fast it didint hurt me its just a lil uncomfortable.
jenny93938 lauren02803
Posted
im due to have this and have been told as a woman its massively important to check your muscle is strong enough as our muscle is thinner weaker than a mans so more chance of incontinence so def have it before having LIS x
lauren02803 jenny93938
Posted
thanks, I am desperate to get this over with, i spend so mych time in pain - it makes it hard that its a "private pain" - not something you can talk about with friends or family (say like a migraine). I had to sit ona hotwater bottle last night as the pain was too much
Gstav jenny93938
Posted
Jenny, in the sigmoidoscopy you had did they show you the size or the pic of ur fissure? if you cant have lis you can still cauterize it or do a fissurectomy.
jenny93938 lauren02803
Posted
listen talk to your family honestly ive needed the support of my family as im in severe pain daily ive been off work for almost 4 weeks in pain everyday.
try talk to someone if not please feel free to message me for support
Gstav jenny93938
Posted
Let me share my experience with family support, I am from Brazil and my wife is Canadian, we moved to Canada in august and just 1 month before we moved I got this fissure and I thought with the creams it would pass, waited 2 months there and I had to leave my wife and my 3 year old daughter to come back to get treatment as I didnt have any coverage there yet, Ive been in my parents house now for 45 days away from them and been through a dilation and LIS, even though I am with my parents its been the most difficult time of my life to leave my family in Canada, my daughter is now at the point where she saying im taking too long and she cries.. shes only 3 poor thing, its heart breaking but I can say that I feel 80% better after LIS, flying back to Canada now on the 22nd, just sharing my experience as it was a tough one. hope you guys can get LIS and never have to fee this again. God Bless.