anal pain since childbirth - breastfeeding stopping healing?

[MaeBee]

hi,
tomorrow i have a hospital appointment again. i have, i think, an anal fissure.
i gave birth to my baby 8.5 mths ago, forceps delivery, episiotomy and all that, and a couple of weeks after got this extraordinary pain when shitting, and blood etc. firstly, was diagnosed as having haemorroids, but eventually they decided it was a fissure.
last appointment it was too painful for them to look, but they said yes, probably a fissure, suggested anoheal - which i have found is safe for breastfeeding and am using and helps - but im not healed yet.
possibly might have to have surgery, which carries a risk of fecal incontinence. ugh. but im getting desperate. at the moment the pain is manageable, but sometimes it hurts not only having a bowel movement, but for hours afterwards.
i havent had penetrative sex since the birth, feel too afraid and in pain, the vagina too close to the anus.
and, im worried it might be worse than a fissure. rectal bleeding, lost lots of weight, need to shit at 5ish most mornings, often really urgently and very loose (sorry TMI!) and ive been thinking its my period coming back but now imwondering if its abdominal pain cos of some irritable bowel disease?
anyway, if anyone else has suffered this please let me know! and, im breastfeeding, and ive heard from other bf mothers that there fissures healed after stopping feeding, maybe low eostegen interfering with healing???
dreading my appointment tomorrow, cos its embarassing and probably pointless (they havent yet managed an internal examination cos too painful), but then i dread going to the toilet every morning too.
wish me luck!

Manitz - I'm so sorry about you news. Take care.

grrrr.blood and pain again this morning. not too excruitiating though, and my dp got back from his gigs away last night so at last got to go to the toilet on my own! its that much worse when you're fighting a baby away from the infinitely fascinating nappy bin while trying to have a painful poo!

Yeah, shared loo times do not a healing fissure make. My LO is teething and I've got a rubbish virus now as well. Only bright spot is I found nurofen great for both throat and derriere pain

Tried sudocrem but is it supposed to sting? Had spicy food last week and just getting over that little hiccup, this is so annoying.

basset - sudocreme didnt exactly sting but i didnt put it inside. i really, really recommend getting anoheal from your doctor, the difference is incredible, and it has a fairly good track record for healing fissures without surgery.
not that im better yet, but its so much better than before.

Thanks Maebee, I'm gonna wait til I've finished my homeopathy (to give it a chance) then see a dif doc for the anoheal. The last one gave me rectogesic but kindly said, 'look after it cos it costs £30 a tube' LOL

Hope yours is improving.

hi basset - a load of bleeding yesterday and a definate tightness, but the pains not too bad. i have a pre-op hospital appointment next wednesday, where i hope to ask questions about surgery. ugh.

i tried homeopathy. didnt work for me, but that doesnt mean it wont for you! whats your diet like at the moment?

Glad the pain is a bit better. At least you can explore the options at the appmt and surgery does help a lot of people, with a high percentage of no recurrence too, so I wouldn't rule it out.

My diet: Branflakes and fresh papaya for brekkie (heard that papaya is good for digestion and full of soluble fibre)

peaches, plums, nectarines, pears and those yummy coconut macaroons as snacks throughout day (coconut is good for digestion too so that's my excuse)

Lunch: Baked beans on toast (found that these help to make things a bit softer) corgette, carrot and other cooked veggie sticks that I try to feed to an uninterested baby and end up eating myself! homemade carrot cake and flapjacks ahem...blueberry muffins...

Dinner: fish, chicken stirfrys, casseroles - basically anything but with as much veg as I can and I currently have sweet potato a lot (even tho sick of it now) cos that seems to help soften too.

I realised that my fibre intake hasn't been that high for years so am slowly upping it. Makes me feel like I'm doing something to help the situ anyway! I stay away from any hard foods, especially nuts and seeds which I used to eat a lot.

How's yours? I seem to be a bit obsessed but this makes you obsessed doesn't it?

My mother used something on hers, and it healed really fast...can't remember, Oh I think it was aloe vera gel?

She swears by it. Might be worth a try?

SurferRosa: Ta for that. It is supposed to be fab for healing wounds - I'll prob get some this wkd

i tried aloe vera, vit e, and comfrey. they all helped, i think, and comfrey was the best. im sure some people do heal with these things, i have a lot of faith in natural medicine.

basset - i am totally obsessed with it! being in pain every day does that to you i guess! my diet looks v similar to yours, although i have forbidden myself even chicken now.

At least since finding this thread, I've stopped looking at everyone I meet and wondering if they have one too!

I definitely go through phases, up and down depending on how much pain and/or blood there's been that day - not that it rules my life or anything

Might have to drown my sorrows this wkd, with gallons of water of course....

anyone still here?!?
ive been painfree for nearly a week now. am trying not to get too excited! cos it might not be totally healed, this has happened before.
im due to go under anesthetic in 3 weeks for them to have a proper look at my bowels, and to do the nasty op if they find a fissure, but we'll see how that goes.
hows everyone else?

I'm still here. Got my fingers crossed for you. It's my time of the month at the mo and things are always a bit worse then. I think it is v. v gradually getting better but like you, I don't want to get my hopes up!
I hope that if you do have the op, it reassures you as well as makes everything back to normal (have forgotten what that was like!)

hey basset! about to say good to hear from you, but actually losing interest in this thread is probably a good sign!
things are worse when your period comes? thats interesting, that could fit into the whole theory of hormonal change and fissure occurence, estrogen stuff??
you started on anoheal yet? i can now put the cream up with my middle finger and it doesnt hurt a bit! TMI!!!! but that makes me feel like im surely, surely getting better!

am still sticking to using ky jelly beforehand and wet wipes after each BM tho.

i would have DIED if i'd spoken like this to anyone before. i didnt even fart in front of my partner of 5 yrs til i was 9 mths pregnant, and now i discuss all sorts. he's still never farted in front ofme though.

Hey Maebee!

...tell me about it, since childbirth I have no dignity left! Sounds like you are getting better, esp if there's no pain with the anoheal. Perhaps the threat of surgery put your body into healing express!

I'm still hanging on in there not really wanting to get my hopes up but I've had less pain over the last few days so I haven't got the anoheal yet. I'm seeing the homeopath this week and I'll see if it continues to improve. Maybe my diet changes have hit the spot so to speak! (a lot less dairy interesting)

Just found this thread and am so glad (not in an unkind way) to find other people with sore bums! I had a painful bleeding bottom for several moths after having a ventouse delivery with DD1 and am a bit sore again after having an easy delivery with DD2.

I can relate to the clinging to the radiator, I hold tight to the bath and shut my eyes tight while silently screaming (don't want to scare the LOs!). I do find that crouching on the toilet seat helps loads though, it seems to help the angle somehow!

I haven't been to the dr about it either time as I was too and figured it would go away by itself. I'm not a great fruit eater and nothing (and I mean nothing) will keep me away from eating meat so I suppose I'm not helping things, but I do drink gallons of water.

Hope you're all feeling better soon...

had some cheese yesterday and still okay today....! but i do think dairy irritates it, meat makes everything more solid too.
its such a relief to go to the toilet without the silent screaming! although i am always trying not to wake the baby so go with light off and as quietly as possible, so its still not the relaxed time i long for!!! however, not fearing it, not being in megapain, is wonderful.
moosma- if you're not a big fruit eater, go down the dried apricot route. on the days when i think ive eaten too little fruit i add extra dried apricots to my muesli in the morning, or scoff 3 or 4 before bed, it helps keep everything soft!
please dont be shy about seeing your doctor. have you a female one? also, dont be fobbed off by the "its piles" line, cos it might be, but also ask them to look for a fissure. if its agony having a bowel movement,with pain often lasting afterward but improving between bowel movements, than thats more indicitive of an anal fissure. i know too much about arses now!!!

Just thinking about the hormone link..I had to stop bf about 1wk after the birth and got this fissure 4wks after. Also had an episiotomy which actually healed really well and quickly (huh! thought I'd got away with it!)
However, I've found that when I have my period, everything gets worse (harder stools, more pain and more bleeding) so that would point to hormone levels having some part to play in this I reckon.
Perhaps those levels are settling down now? I'm still not sure if things are OK yet, still stings but sitting on a hot water bottle helps when you don't have time for lots of warm baths.

grrrr, pain today. maybe i didnt get away with that cheese after all. and just a spot of blood. but its only a bit painful and more throbbing, maybe piles instead?!?

hot water bottles, good idea. always amused at the idea of 3 baths a day! imagine the luxury! almost worth having a fissure.

and you know whats odd? the pain is partly in my cocyx (cant spell it! you know, tailbone!) ive had that before.

I've had that coccyx (?) pain too. I think it must be bruising. Well, in my case cos I had a big baby (and I'm pretty small)

LOL at 3 baths!

Example A of how obsessed I am: just eaten a bowl of cooked kurly kale, nothing else...just that, as a SNACK! Good God, what's happening to me??!!

hi there again if you are still here, but hope you've all healed up now?!
im due in for general anesthetic and poss surgery next thursday. i really appreciate all the advice on this thread, and i know everyone said not to go for surgery. it just feels so long since ive been in pain, and i have tried everything else.
but, i think im possibly healed, and whats left is scar tissue.
i finally tried penetrative sex (vaginal i mean!!!) the other day, and we only managed a third of the way in before it was too painful to carry on. i know this is quite common after childbirth, but i also wonder if the anal problems are adding to the discomfort. i started to wonder if maybe it isn't a fissure at all but a rectoclese (can't spell this one at all!?) which is another pelvic floor problem from childbirth that can cause anal pain,incomplete evacuation, coccyx pain etc.
the obsession!!

I'm still here, DH has ordered me to the docs (although I haven't been yet) after he saw the toilet when I'd just had a little poo. The water was red and I was almost in tears with the pain. I seem to be getting worse rather than better at the mo. Hope your appointment goes well and you get a definite diagnosis.

at red water.
Good luck with surgery next week!
I haven't had pain this month, but did have a bit of bleeding a few weeks ago.
Still need to run to the loo if I 'need to go' cos I can't stop it - is that worth a trip to Dr's?
Also each time I leave the house to go out with the boys, I get the overwhelming urge to poo, yet can't actually poo until the boys are secure in their pushchair. Most odd!! (Not sure if I said that further down the thread)

Hi there

Really good luck with the investigations/surgery Maebee. If you can bear it, plse come on here and let us know how you get on? (you may just want to forget its all happened!)If it is rectothingie then at least they can sort it out and you'll know what's going on.

I ain't healed yet. The pain is slightly better but bled a bit this am and over the weekend

Anyone found some specific foods to make things softer? Running out of ideas here...