Anal Fissure for 6 months, scared and sore

[MissTulipan]

Hi

Despite having a teenage daughter and having looked for words of wisdom from mumsnet many times in the past, I have never posted, until now...

I have had a sore bum on and off since a few slightly painful poos back in May brought about by eating a load of peanuts (never ever again) Having had mild piles after birth if DD2 I assumed I had piles and self treated for internal piles.

Had sore times and ok times all summer but more sore in recent weeks and noticed external piles appearing and feeling generally sore. Went to GP last week and she looked and said I have piles on the outside and thinks I have a fissure. She offered to refer me to hospital or to try a stronger piles cream. I said I would do what ever she felt was best. She prescribed a stronger hydrocortisone cream, Scheriproct and said to go back in few weeks.

Having now read about anal fissures (gone Google mad) I am now realising that the symptoms match what I've been experiencing but just not to the extreme as some people have described. But I relate to the nagging pain and soreness on and off all day. I don't have issues with constipation and am an active 42 year old. I am going to go back to the GP and ask for the cream that increases blood flow to bum area. I cannot see a tear in my bum but it feels like it is inside above where the tight muscle bit ends.

As it's obviously been there for 6 months and not cleared up I have got myself into a really silly state of thinking that it will be with me forever causing chronic pain (if it gets worse) or I will end up having the surgery that cuts the muscle and i will end up soiling my pants. I'm an anxious person generally but this has made me feel panicked reading about the difficulties treating these things!

Can anyone offer me some words of wisdom and hope as I've spent all evening crying on and off as the family are out. I've been on my feet all day with work and I feel scared and sore.

Thank you

Ah, sympathy to all on this thread, it's a crazy painful health condition. All the best x

I had years of trouble with this. An operation etc, etc. Regular flair ups. Every cream, ointment known to man. Nothing worked.
Then I read on mumsnet to try Sudocrem. I used it liberally before and after each bowel movement and it worked. For the first time in years I am symptom free.

It might be worth a try. I hope your problem resolves.

Miss Tulipan, thank you for your kind words. This is something I would never wish on anyone, that's for sure! My only concern is how bad my hemorrhoids are that I don't want the hemorrhoidectomy to worsen the fish are itself. So there's going to be a lot of healing going on for sure. I'm going to look up this sudocrem also, I'm desperate to try anything at this point! I'm going to be heartbroken if the surgery it doesn't fix things. Best of luck to everyone in the thread!

Fissure* I meant. Google speak doesn't recognize the word apparently Haha

This is so awful for people to suffer from. I have not read all of the thread but I wanted to add that if there is discharge as it’s not healing and there is an abscess. Be sure to do some research on the best local Consultants for this. They have to track the abscess right back to the beginning edge as The chances of it keep coming back are significant.

How is everyone doing? I’m a bit better but some days still nagging sore feeling...but staying positive that maybe in another few months I may feel better.

I had surgery 2 days ago. I had one hemorrhoid removed surgically, two banded, and the botox injection done. Yesterday I was feeling abnormally great, until the first BM. I've been in agony since, but, I'm hopeful because the pain post op was immediately different than what I'd been going through. I was worried surgery would irritate the fissure, but the sharp pain is gone. Now just terribly sore and heavy pressure. We'll see first the coming days bring. Thanks for checking in!

SoOverIt18 it’s good your operation is over and now hopefully the only way is up. It took me about 2 weeks to get over my procedure and I only had Botox. I felt worse before better. Hopefully things will improve for you over next couple of weeks. I take lactulose daily and lots of fluid. And I try to move around and walk as much as possible. Swimming helped me too. Hope you start to feel better

I'm about 20 days post op and I'm feeling amazing. Some discomfort at the site but nothing internal and no real issues going to the bathroom now. How is everyone else feeling? I was very doubtful that surgery would work for me but my fissure pain had been eliminated since the procedure to fix the others issues as well. There is hope of anyone had to result to surgical intervention! Best of luck to everyone, thank you for your advice and support. My cream arrived the other day and actually shouldn't need it now, thankfully!

Congratulations that is wonderful news for you. I’m 8 weeks post op and in the last week noticed I started to feel better, it has been such a relief and for the first time in a year I feel positive that I may be nearing the end of all this. Long may it continue

MissT I've been following your thread since the beginning and am still awaiting the day you say it healed! I have had mine on and off for years. They're literally such a pain in the arse.

I think a big turning point for me was at my follow up with surgeon a couple of weeks ago. I told him the Botox had done very little and that post op I was worse. He said that further Botox may make it worse as it’s an invasive procedure that traumatises the area. He said LIS was not recommended unless the pain is very bad. He said as my soreness was liveable to just leave it alone and hope it doesn’t get any worse. He said it will eventually heal. I felt a lot of stress lifted that day as was dreading further procedures, anaesthetics, time off work, managing kids whilst at appointments, people asking questions etc. It’s all stressful. The thought of no other intervention felt good and I just accepted that if I have to live with mild soreness forever then I would and I’d cope. Since that day I started to feel better, I can still feel it but not as much, I’m not as focused on it. It just shows how the stress of medical issues can make them worse. I still eat well, take lactulose daily and am very mindful of it all and will continue to be so. I really hope I’m now on the mend.
Keep going everyone suffering this irritating issue.

I've just come back to this thread to have a moan.

Had current fissures for over a year (had chronic issues about ten years ago which healed eventually). I have been healing for maximum of five or six weeks, then would tear again.

Got pregnant in May and have been really trying to heal (as am terrified that pregnancy is going to make things much worse), movicol every day, and had managed the last three months without issues, really thought I had cracked it.

Missed my movicol on Saturday night (usually take it religiously) and this morning the fissure reopened.

I AM SO SO VERY FED UP. I want to cry.

Very sorry to hear of everyone else suffering, and very glad to hear the positive stories.

sexndrugsnsausagerolls I had Botox for 3 fissures last year at the same time as surgery for piles and a skin tag. My consultant was amazing and told me to take milk of magnesia while I was healing. It changes the consistency of your poo and allows fissures to heal.

It's safe for long term use (and safe in pregnancy) and I still take it now, 2 tablespoons before my movicol. You can buy it in a pharmacy or the supermarket by the painkillers etc. It's a royal blue bottle.

Good luck, you have my total sympathy.

Hello, you have my sympathy too, bloody awful things. Mine is thankfully a lot better however had a very stressful day at work today which has made me feel more sore, definitely a big stress link to mine.
I take lactulose which was recommended after my Botox although I did have the milk of magnesia in the past. Will keep taking lactulose for foreseeable future as it really helps.
If you healed before then you can again, pregnancy may not make it worse. The increased blood flow may help??

Thank you for the sympathy, much appreciated! Am so disappointed to have re-torn after three month, so feeling very sorry for myself.

I have not heard of milk of magnesia before, will give that a try. I took magnesium which worked well for a well for a bit but then inexplicably stopped having any effect for some reason.

I thought the pregnancy blood flow would help. I suppose the extra weight in the area might be exacerbating.

Am in line for Botox next year once baby is out so maybe that will sort it out. We live in hope!

I was in a really bad way last year and reaching a dangerous low. So we looked for a specialist and paid private for the operation. It was expensive but this guy was the best of the best. He completely fixed me when I thought I was beyond help. And he was right about the milk of magnesia, it's great stuff. Really do give it a go.

I will! Would you take it as well as movicol or would you do one or the other?

Do you mind saying who the specialist was? I have been thinking about paying privately for treatment.

How is everyone? I’m a bit sore and uncomfortable again, it’s so boring and just when I think I’m getting better I take a step back.

Hi all, sorry to have to tell you but I’ve had a fissure for over 16 years now, since around the time I had my first dc (I think it started during the delivery). I did have some treatment initially which did help but it’s never healed completely. I didn’t have any trouble during my second pregnancy though. I try really hard not to get constipated and use Fybogel and Lactulose if I need to. I have months without even a twinge and then it will open up again 🙁. My mother has had one for many years too. Sorry to break it to you but I suspect it’s common that they never completely heal. However when mine flares up these days I usually only suffer for a day or two.

I’ve kind of accepted that I’m with this for the long term but still am hopeful that one day it will be gone.

16 years, gosh that's scares me! What treatment have you had jellycat? The thought of having this forever makes me feel utterly depressed. I just want to be normal again. I'm a year in and 1 round of botox

I think there are more treatment options now than there were when I sought help. I had a cream which wasn’t licensed even-there just wasn’t much available to the doctor. I saw a consultant who prescribed it. I can’t remember what it was called but I think the active was dilitazem. I used it for 4 weeks as instructed and it improved matters massively but by the end of the course I had developed an allergic reaction to it so couldn’t continue using it even though the fissure hadn’t completely healed.

After I stopped using the cream I still had a lot of pain and I was using lactulose and Fybogel all the time to make sure I was not having to strain at all. The fissure gradually healed up almost completely so that I now have just the occasional flare up which as I said tends to settle down after a day or two. I don’t fancy having anything done about it now because it’s just an occasional problem. I don’t get constant pain-if I did I might think differently.

I do remember in the early days that feeling that all my hard work keeping the constipation at bay could be undone in an instant and wanting to cry when it happened. Because initially it took longer to settle down again and was much more painful. So I reckon it’s gradually healed over the years to the extent that it’s really tiny and mostly not noticeable. I’ve resigned myself to the thought that it’s here to stay, and I just have to manage it. As I say, my Mum’s had the same problem (and also was given the same cream with the same effects even down to the allergic reaction). She’s had her fissure longer than I have.

Just found my old thread on here and realised that Botox was discussed back then (which I’d forgotten). Hope you all find something that helps you. I posted mainly to say, don’t despair because it does get better, but don’t expect quick results-you are probably in for the long haul.