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My Situation - any feedback?

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Elliott
Elliott

Hello

I want to share my experience because I am frightened of what's ahead and this email is a way for me to to get something off my chest. But also, perhaps some of you with knowledge and experience on annual fissures and the treatment may have some words of advice and feedback.

Anyway, my situation is as follows:

About 2 to 3 weeks ago, I noticed bleeding with considerable pain on a bowel movement (BM). About a week or so ago, it was diagnosed as a fissure with an anal sentinel by a colorectal surgeon at a outpatient clinic specializing in colon and rectal disorders here in Toronto Canada. I was prescribed diltazem 2% ointment and litocaine ointment along with a lot of fibre which I have been following religiously.

However, over the past 4 or 5 days, the pain and discomfort has been significantly worse. I have been house bound and the pain on a bowel movement (BM) is like nothing I have experienced before. I freeze up with pain after the passage of a BM and, given that I have so many BM in a day, the pain lingers for hours. (My BMs are solid but often very small so I may have 4 or more BMs in the morning and then additional BMs late afternoon or night),

I went back to the colorectal surgeon today. He said that the only thing that he could offer which he was prepared to do right then was a lateral sphincterotony. He said that there were potential complications (incontinence, infection, bleeding), but indicated the risks are small (I think he said 1% but maybe that was for incontinence.) He indicated he never had a case of incontinence after this procedure which he does routinely.

Despite the pain I am in, I also learned that I may not have been applying the diltazem ointment and litocaine properly. (I was applying it around the sentinel but not a bit up the anus). So, I decided to give the creams another few days to see if there is any improvement. The surgeon will see me this Thursday - if I see no improvement and I continue to be house-bound maybe I will have the surgery on Thursday.

I wish I was back at work. I feel I am letting my team down. As embarrassing as this is, I guess I will just have to tell my immediate superior (who I have a close working relationship with) what's going on because I don't see returning to work at least this week but hopefully next....(I was told if I had the surgery on Thurs, I may be able to go back to my office work on the following Monday).

Thanks for reading this long email ...any feedback would be appreciated...

Elliott

0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    Hi there .

    Ive started other threads on here ,Im ROSS but listed as 'guest' cos I cant seem to login for some reason .

    Firstly ,Im not the boards 'agony aunt' !! lol!.and certainly no expert ,only by virtue of being a 35 year sufferer on and off! I wear my heart on my sleeve and Ive posted a lot ,cos there seems to be a lot of fellow sufferers who need a bit of support . I was told by a recently visited specialist ,to only apply the cream AROUND and not inside the anus.Supposedly it relaxes the muscles to aid blood flow /healing. Im lucky that when my pain is 'on' I can nip home from work and rest ,then go back!( I find sitting /laying on a bean bag (dunno what theyre called over there!!) helps a lot .I also feel there is a bit of psycology involved ,cos if I watch TV while on my bean bag perch ,i tend to forget the pain a bit ! dunno! BUT when I went to the hosp for pre operation checks ,they were surprised that I was still managing to work ! I head up a team at work ,and I too feel I am letting them down . P'raps we shouldnt be so concientious in this day and age ! After all its your body ,and do the guys really care ??

    Ive recently (2 months) had a bad attack that wont heal ,but I think the ANOHEAL is wotking ,in conjunction with a fibrous diet.It has certainly taken over my life ,and Im fed up with the pain etc.My wife is extremely supportive ,which helps a lot !

    I was told similar things re operation risks etc ,but the surgeon was confident he could sort it !

    Try to get in to a toilet routine ,of once a day if poss . Eg its 11.30 pm here ,but Im already psyching my self up for the mornings toilet routine !

    im not a medical expert ,but I hope my words have helped!

  • Guest
    Guest

    Posted

    Morning Ross

    If you would like to email me at webmaster@patient.info, I will try and sort your login problems out for you.

    Regards

    Lin

  • Pooh_bear
    Pooh_bear

    Posted

    I had a successful spherincterotomy about fifteen years ago. I have already posted my experience elsewhere. It was a positive experience and my fissure did eventually heal. I now have a small fissure which I treat with proctosedyl suppositories. If it gets worse I wouldn't hesitate but to have the op again. I did not become incontinent.
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