Upcoming hospital appointment for fissures

Hi Mellisa,

I'm not sure what the surgeon will recommend. I haven't been told to do anything before the appointment so I guess there will only be a digital examination. Thanks for the reassurance! I just worry about the embarrassment of not only having a Dr examine my rear end, but possibly leaking blood everywhere at the same time if I'm not bleeding enough to use a tampon.

I hear ya! hang in there, you'll be fine. Sometimes we usually overthink things and everything all works out for the best ( :

Hi Marcus,

Is calmoseptime like sudocrem?

I did think about getting one of those squatting step things for the toilet but haven't done so so far.

I'm wary of taking metamucil because I have ibs, however I do take dulcoease and a dietician told me yesterday to try ground flax seed, so I'll give that a go.

Considering that I've used rectalgesic for months and still have problems (I have been told I have to stop using it now so just have to grimace though the pain) I'm worried that they will say I actually do need surgery. I've never had an operation and am really scared that I'll have a reaction to the Anaesthetic or end up incontinent for the rest of my life...

Hi Marcus, I just had Lateral Internal Sphicteronomy surgery, its been about 3-weeks now. Im still having pain even before my stools. How long did it take you to completely heal from all the surgery pain and the fissure pain. And how long has it been since your surgery?

It took me around 3 weeks to feel free of discomfort while going to the bathroom, although this is probably different for most people. I will say that after the first week of having the surgery, I felt a tremendous difference in the amount of pain after going to the bathroom. that being said it was still uncomfrtbale but not the unfathomable pain from the fissure. I had my surgery around 2 years ago, and have had very minor issues with hemmorids since, but nothing of the fissure category. I still take metamucil every day, and I squat while sitting on the toilet as I have learned it is healthier and due to anxiety, I cannot sit on the toilet again.

Hope you heal more!

Best,

Myles

Calmoseptine is basically zinc oxide with menthol in it that ads a cooling affect. It is mostly used for leaking back there, but I use it occasionally if i feel sore back there as the menthol distracts me form the soreness.

Unless you literally have no leg muscle whatsover, if you can get into the habit of squatting without the help of one of the squatty potties I would do that. If you look up the words "squatting pooping" online, you will see under the images what I am talking about.

I would ask your doctor before taking the metamucil if you have IBS, although i don't see the different in taking metamucil over the flax seed as metamucil is just made from psicilium husk. If you do end up taking metamucil, do not overdose on it (as diarreah could make things more uncomfortabe down there). Maybe take just a table spoon of the stuff but make sure to drink lots of water with it as what makes metamucil work is the metamucil absorbing the water that you drink. 

 

As far as the surgery, I would definately get it done. I had a chronic fissure, and after a month, decided to have the surgery. It was the best decision of my life. I am not going to lie to you, it is a bit painful right after surgery but if you can endure the pain of a fissure, it is not that much different. I posted this before....this basicallly explains how i felt throughout the surgery and after.

I first want to give you a lot of credit for considering to do the surgery...It is not an easy desicion, as there are some stories online that can discourage you from getting it, but in the end in my opinion it it better. 

So basically, this is how it went down with my surgery. I had to fast the day before the surgery because they had to put me under anesthesia. I went in, waited, and then they put me under and the surgery was done. I woke from the surgery with morphine in my system, although once I woke up it had worn off for the most part. They basically told me I could get another dose of morphine, which would basically knock me out again, or I could stay up and move to the other room to wait until I was ready to leave. So, i skipped the next dose of morphine and went to the other room. As I was laying on the bed, the pain bagan to set in. The next part may scare you a bit and discourage you, but getting through this part is just part of the process of gettting better. So when the pain started to settle in, the paiin almost flt worse then the fissure pain itself. I was not only dealing with the pain from the fissure, but from the incision and cuts that were done form the surgery itself. This being said, you have to take into consideratino that the surgery is cutting into your sphincter muscle, so pain will come, but this is with any surgery. Unfortunately, with this surgery, it is in a very sensitivie area so the pain will be a little more intense. Some things I did in the hospital to deal with the pain was put ice on my butt, I bit down on a washcloth to decrease the tension that I would put into my butt area and to transfer the tension to my jaw biting into the cloth. They did give me percoset, but honestly it didn't help me a bit. I still felt the pain until I was able to fall asleep. The lady next to me said that the percoset made her feel that the ceiling was the floor and the floor was the ceiling, so I guess it affects some people differently than others. I also will recommend listening to music right after or watching a movie to distract yourself from the pain. SO that was basically it from the hospital. I couldn't leave the hospital until I could pee though,  which was not easy since I had so many drugs in my system and could  not really push to hard as it was painful and I did not want to upset the area.

Eventually I peed and was able to leave. Then, I took some percoset that night and slept. The next day I felt no pain, as I did not poop at all, and as with before the surgery,  the pain  only comes when  you poop. 

So the day after that I had to go to the bathroom. The first time you go to the bathroom will be very painful, almost more painful than pooping with just the fissure because you are trying to poop through a fissure and a surgery, but that comes with  the territory. I will not hide that I felt like I was going to puke the pain was so bad WHILE pooping. I also recommend listening to music while pooping as this distracts the pain  and gives some motivation  not to be afraid. The reason on put emphasis on the WHILE is beause after the pain is very dull and nothing compared to the throbbing unimaginable  pain of an anal fissure. Within  the next two weeks, I progressively felt myself getting better, and by the 2nd week I went back to the doctor and he gave me the ok that I was all healed up.

I never had any incontinence, although the only thing I still have is that its a bit harder to hold in my farts sometimes, but that is it....As far as the gauze, I only changed it because I would leak sometimes..I ended up just buying adult diapers at the store and used those until I stopped leaking. 

As far as the anastesia, I would not worry so much. You go in, they inject you, you pass out, and it seems like you blink your eyes and its over. After though, you may experience some discomfort as I have described above due to the fact that they perfomr surgery on a very sensitive area. However, if you can deal with fissure pain, you can pull through with this. 

As far as food after surgery, I just kept to a well balanced diet. I take metamucil fiber supplement every day since, and I squat on the toilet all the time now. Make sure not to take too much fiber as this can irritate the area.

Hope this was enough information for you, and I really wish you the best of luck !!!

Thanks! Oh and FYI I had hemorroid surgery back in 2007 and by the end of the 3rd week it felt like heaven. I was fully healed by the 4th week. And they never came back. Well very small, and not enough to have surgery. The fissure is my only worries. -Thank you

Hey Marcus, You seem very informational  from your experience after surgery, I have to ask you, Have you ever been so Constipated after your surgery that you couldnt go to the bathroom? This morning i was in so much pain from being constipated i almost passed out. And Was terrified of what the doctor said about incontinience after having LIS Surgery. Ive been taking metumucil and yesterday i even took a miralax becasue i havent gone to the bathroom in a couple of days. And OMG...i was CONSTIPATED like CRAZY for almost an hour. I swear i almost reopened my wound from surgery. Tried so hard not to and just let it flow. but nothing. I was so desperate i even took a fleet at the time. And that barely did nothing. 45 min later i was releived.but now of course im feeling the excrutiating pain. I took my pain killer and i was a 10 but now im a 5. AS long as im off my anal and walking im ok. I am so desperate to go to the doctor immediately to ask my doctor questions about this. And get some answers. Im starting a New job Monday and im so worried of this happening. Its been 5-months now since ive been out of work. And hoped after this surgery i would heal finally. But after this i am feeling uneasy about the whole surgery ) :

My first question would be what kind of surgery did you have?

 IN my case, I had a sphnicteronomy and yes I was constipated a lot after surgery. I believe I had my surgery on friday and did not go until the follwoing monday. As my post explains, the first BM is not the most pleasant. That's when I recommend blasting the music. But after you go, it will still be painful but not as bad as the fissure. But relaize too that you are trying to poop through an open wound (the fissure), as well as a spot that was just operated on. If I were you, I would  not try to poop, as it will let you know when it wants to come out. If you feel like it wants to come out, try jumping up and down a bit, or even stretching (I do stretching by placing my right foot on the top of the toilet tub and my left knee close to the ground. Also, laying on the floor with the front of your body on the floor, and then slowly bringing your butt back by bringing the rest of your body back. This is a good stretch for farting as well as for your back). I would give it tie as you are still pretty fresh out of surgery relatively. Try not to get too worried about being constipated at the moment. You can't do anything about it accept take metamucil. However, with the metamucil, do not take too much as diarreah can do just as bad as constipation. Hope this helps!!!!

Thanks for your advice, I had the same surgery the Internal Lateral Sphincteronomy, the surgeon cut a little bit of the lump becasue he told me if he cut to much then it would cause more incontinence in my BM. Yeah ive been constipated before but Never like today. I felt like my muscles were completely closed. Just like they werent working at all. Very scary. I have drank more than a gallon of water today and still took my metumucil just twice today. Being very careful for my next bowel movement. 

Hi Moondust,

that is very encouraging - thanks for leting me know how your first appointment went. Did you haev any other problems after the botox treatment and how long does it take to heal? I am a cyclist and horse rider so don't want ot be out of action long if it turns out that I need the same procedure.

Hi again ot took time but I'm doing fine now about 4 weeks in total was concerned after 2 weeks as was still hurting and bleeding but was reassured botox took time to work I'm all good now inside though got problems with skin tags the fissures left so will what he says when I go back June

Hi moondust --

How long had you been suffering with the fissure before you went in for Botox? Also, did you try diltiazem/Anoheal first & if so, for how long?

I'm booked for the Botox procedure in a few weeks, but only will have given the diltiazem 4 weeks to work & I gather it can take 6-8 weeks to heal up a fissure. It's also a bad time at work to take off (though I'll do so if necessary). Also, how long did you need off from work (my doctor said 2 weeks)?

After 6 weeks of suffering now (nothing compared to what some people on here have gone through!), and almost 2 weeks of diltiazem treatment, things are actually feeling worse -- more painful. There's not as much blood, however-- the toilet used to be completely red & there were sometimes small clots. I find that staying relatively physically active actually helps (vs. lying down or -- worse -- sitting on my ass). I've been taking 4 ibuprofen at a time to deal with the fissure pain plus pain of spasms (the spasms are worsening). I just ordered a bidet attachment so I don't have to wipe. I take baths after I poop, when I can (sometimes a surprise 2nd poop comes & I have to be out the door to work, so there's no time for baths! 😕). Now I figured out that sitting on a heating pad also helps. As for pooping, I've rarely been constipated but, per doctor's advice, am taking a laxative/stool softener; hoping I won't get any dependence from it just because I'm taking it).

I'm scared about the Botox procedure. What's the prep, how did it go for you, and how was the recovery? Of course I'm tired of this pain, & missing my formerly more physically active life & sex life, so I would love to get this thing healed!

I'm going to seek a second opinion provided I can get in there before the May 13th Botox procedure. But I'm also tempted to cancel the surgery, give the Diltiazem some more time to work, and go back for Botox in late June or July, when I'm back from a family visit but still on vacation from work.

Hope you're still well & remembering to take your laxatives!