Help! Anal fissure! Tips needed… Sorry tmi…

[Mrsworried1]

So I’ve been to the GP twice recently with bleeding when I wipe and some stinging. She said probably an anal fissure, told me it would heal in 4 weeks. After four weeks and still having symptoms I took a look with a mirror and if I pull my bum cheeks apart a little I can see a hole the width of my little finger tip… also what I assume is a skin tag hanging off it (thanks for the info google) which prompts me to go back as surely that cannot close by itself, especially when I go to the toilet every day! It keeps bleeding every time I go (I’m not constipated!)
I saw a different doctor and showed her exactly the area this time, and she agrees it’s quite big so gives me GTN cream. Also there’s a small pile next to it, so she gave me cream for that too.
The pharmacy didn’t have it so I’m still waiting for it to arrive.

Now my questions are… how long shall I expect to suffer with this? It’s already been weeks.
Also does this sound right for a fissure to be that sort of size? I assumed it would be more like a small split rather than something this width. I can’t imagine how it’s ever going to heal!

Im worried it doesn’t “sound” like a fissure based on others description? it’s making me miserable.

Did GTN make a difference?

thanks x

Yes!! The GTN cured mine.

Was it quite big/deep? Thank you for your reply x

I got it, along with piles, after my first child. I was worried that I’d have to have a GA to fix it as it seemed so big, and it looked like I was haemorrhaging every time I went to the loo!
It was so long ago, but I remembering worried, and the cream was a miracle.

GTN fixed mine almost immediately but I hadn’t read about the side effects and thought I was dying with the palpitations and headache! They were very brief though and definitely worth it. Totally normal but you should be pre-warned!

Thank you, the doctor did warn about the headaches, I will make sure to carry some pain killers with me! I am praying it works, I’m sick of being obsessed over my bum hole! The hole/tear is so big it’s giving me anxiety it’s something else x

It’s not the kind of headache you need painkillers for, it’s like 20 seconds of being hit by a hammer but then it’s over!

Ah this is good to know thanks! I just managed to finally get it from the pharmacy… praying it works! I mean like I say It looks like it needs a stitch so I’ll be so shocked if it works lol 😂

@AnotherVice Oh my goodness the headaches! I’ve used it twice now and you are right it’s like you’ve banged your head rediculously hard! Then goes away! What a weird sensation! Distracts me for my bum for a minute though 😂

How are you getting on with the cream @Mrsworried1? I’ve just been prescribed the cream for a deep fissure too, I’m nervous to take it but also terrified it won’t work and I’ll have this excruciating pain forever!

Unfortunately mine wasn’t repaired until it contributed to a 3B tear when I had my son. It was all fixed in the surgery I had post birth and I haven’t had a problem since.

It’s giving me absolute pounding headaches! Don’t know what’s worse, sore bum or sore head lol. It’s bizzare, about ten minutes after it has been applied my head starts to pound, lasts around 20-40 mins and painkillers don’t help. But as I know it will stop it’s not the end of the world.

Can you see yours? Mine looks too big for cream to do anything! 😭

How long have you had it? I think mines been there a long time but I’ve never been brave enough to look until it started to bleed and I needed to!

Ouch, the headaches sound bad 😭 mine is directly related to giving birth a few months ago. It won’t be ideal to have such bad headspace and look after my baby 🙈

And I haven’t looked for it yet but I should!

@Moneyworrier123 I do my cream at lunchtime and bedtime eg. 11pm so I can try and just go straight to sleep for the second one! I was told to keep it 12hrs apart.

That’s a good tip thank you! Picking cream up this morning. Do you think it’s helping so far?

Bless you. Fissures are awful. I had one for a decade eventually fixed by an op and botox. Cutting back on food and being active really helped. I still have to do this even now, 7yrs after the repair.
I couldn't cope with the headache cream at all, I was a lone parent with tiddly children and the less miserable option was just to eat less instead of having a splitting headache.

Sorry you're suffering - fissures are awful - it's so hard to explain how awful they are unless you've had one.

I've had one for two years, which flares up now and again. I've managed it without botox or surgery so far by being super careful about what I eat, drinking tons of water, taking Dulcoease every day (I really would recommend this, it's helped me so much), sudocrem after each BM, heat for when it's painful, Vagisil for when it's very painful, and I've also recently discovered that Buscopan seems to help a bit. I did use the GTN cream for a while but not sure how much it helped me to be honest.

Good luck, hope you get some relief xx

I think my health anxiety sometimes gets the better of me when I see blood and after I saw it with my own eyes I questioned- is it even a fissure?
I can see mine if I look hard enough with a mirror and It looks wayyy worse than images I’ve seen online!

It’s like a crater with a skin tag at the bottom.

The doctor was obviously trying to be gentle so I don’t know how much they saw, as I can only see it with a mirror in a certain position. It’s quite wide like a hole.

I am avoiding spicy foods (ouch, imagine?!)
trying to drink plenty water and I could definitely cut back on coffee!

I think I’m on day 6 of the cream, the bleeding has reduced, and the pain is not as bad when I wipe now.

When I am put the cream on, the area feels hard though, again this is making me
very anxious. I googled and it said it could be granulated/scar tissue. I’m worried my doctor will think I’m crazy if I keep going back with bum issues!

The headaches are a really challenge in the day when I’m at work. But when the evening dose headache hits, I just try to go to bed!

I will persevere with the cream for a few weeks and try not to look at it, as the poking about looking at it might be constantly tearing it apart.

How are you getting on @Mrsworried1 ? I was given diltiazem for mine, it has the same action but fewer side effects, apparently. I had no headaches. I was feeling okay for a few months but I think my fissure is back now. I have a couple of bad external haemorrhoids and I think they cause/aggravate it. I've eaten too many mince pies recently, which I think has triggered my recent one. Although I eat a high fibre diet and do lots of exercise and drink water, so I should have been ok, but I think maybe I need to never eat sugary things again.

@Fibrous i paid privately to see a consultant, I tried the cream for weeks and apart from the headaches it didn’t do anything. He is going to add me to his nhs list for Botox! He agrees it’s not going to heal itself with the cream alone. Surgery was also an option but some negative side effects which are none reversible could happen. So we will try Botox first. X

@Mrsworried1 i hope Botox works for you! Is the waiting list long? It’s nearly a year in my area, it’s so crap. Good luck.

My DH had Botox for his fissure, it has helped where the cream didn’t.

@Lennonjingles was his big? Mine is like a hole. I can’t understand how it will work!!

@Fibrous oh god I didn’t think to ask him about the wait! I hope not 😂🤦🏻‍♀️

OP sorry, I’ve no idea on size. His wait time wasn’t very long, but it was 2 years ago.