Let's talk anal fissures. Anyone had good treatment for one or need some support?

[Swaliswan]

So, I've been very brave and persisted with going to the doctor's about my anal fissures that I've had for 13 months now (three of them ). I've been prescribed GTN cream finally but I can't use it all of the time because of the headaches and lightheadedness. My GP has said that he thinks that I need to see the surgeon but I really don't want surgery. I'm going to keep trying to use the cream and tomorrow I'm going to phone the local complementary medicine centre to arrange some acupuncture.

Anyone else out there suffering and wanting some support? Or have you been there and got out the other side?

Hello, I share your pain! I have a prolapse and having the fissures are so, so painful. I too have been prescribed the cream and yes it does work but like you I suffer horrendously with the headaches, so I put it on at nights mainly.

I am going to have an op under GA soon for the prolapse and I am hoping upon hope that this will also take care of the fissures.

I personally cannot wait for the surgery.

Some info here on GTN in anal fissures

Are they a result of childbirth, Swal, or have you had an ongoing problem with constipation?

An old lady I knew absolutely swore by honey, both internally and externally.

She would drink a couple of cups of hot honey a day (a couple of big teaspoons with boiling water), and she would liberally apply honey to her bum, leave it for twenty minutes, and then take a bath.

She always maintained it eased/cured the symptoms ... until the next time, of course.

Hi there was a recent thread on anal fissures here.

Thanks for your support Ladies. I'm having a terrible day today - lots of pain and bleeding. I've told my manager at work about it so that she knows to expect time off for appointments and I explained about trying acupuncture. She has been very understanding (she is a nurse though ) but it was soooooooooooooooooooo embarassing. I don't really know what to do with myself whilst I'm waiting for appointments to come through

Candlewax, how did you know that you have a prolapse? Is that causing your fissures?

Mine is a bit of a mixed history. I had piles after the second child but I could cope with them as they were not too much of a recurring problem. As the years have gone on, they occured more and more and I was getting rectal bleeding. The fissures occured this year and I went to my GP as I was in such pain that it was causing me to cry. The GP referred me to a specialist who, after examination, told me I had a prolapse. I am hoping that the pressure from the prolapse will stop the pressure on the fissures and that they will then heal naturally. It is very painful to be sitting for too long.

Oh Candlewax, that sounds very painful. I know what you mean about the crying in pain. Sometimes I use a towel to bite on or muffle my moans of pain

I also share your pain! I was told I had an anal fissure last week. I've had so much pain and awful itching over the last four months since my DS was born - it's been making me feel miserable. I'm having a proctoscope examination on Thursday and have been referred for surgery for the fissure and skin tags (which I'm pretty sure used to be piles before I gave birth ). I'm hoping I can get some Anoheal on Thursday and avoid surgery by using that.

Sending you my support

I had one after the birth of each dc. Each bowel movement was like shitting broken glass. Uncouth, I know, but a more honest description you will not get, as you well know

I just made sure I ate masses of stool-softening foods (organic apricots are fab) in order to promote healing

I had one after DS. The doctor told me not to get constipated by making sure I drank and ate enough fibre but most importantly before a poo insert a finger inside the anus to relax it. I thought he was having a laugh, but I did try it (used a lot of vaseline) but it made pooing a lot less painful and luckily for me it healed by itself.
I also used a 'roid spray to numb the area after.
You have my sympathy.

GTN didnt work for dh either

he saw a surgeon who said most cases get better by themselves and got some more treatment (incl lactulose to prevent any problems with constipation) which was a cream but I can't remember the name.

seems to have done the business

I've had a recurring one for about 5 years and it will present itself most months and be very painful when going to the toilet and itches like mad at all other times which will last a couple of weeks. I've suffered IBS for years which is why I got mine and despite having a very healthy diet, I haven't been able to shift it, in fact I didn't know anything could be done about it. I don't like the sound of an operation. What do they do? I do get utterly fed up with it though.

Wow, five years is awful! I've had a terrible couple of days and am seriously wondering whether surgery would be a good thing. I've been very lucky and managed to get an appointment at the complementary therapy centre on tuesday so I'll have to see how that goes. I'm not convinced that the GTN is going to help at all in the long term.

I developed a fissure after DS was born nearly a year ago. The doctor prescribed lactulose but it made bugger all difference (I was swigging the stuff out of the bottle all day!). The only thing which has helped has been making myself eat four slices of wholemeal bread every day and drinking lots of fluid with it. A bit limiting and boring but really worked for me. It seems if you can work out the minimum fibre requirement for you and stick to it then there's a good chance for it to heal. Having said that I've been run down lately and have got lazy with my diet and it's come back so I'm going to have to knuckle down to the bread thing again

It is totally miserable though so much pain and bleeding. Not the sort of thing you can share with others either, so you just have to wince and get on with it.

Vaseline pre-poo is good if you're anticipating trouble.

Hi IARC how you doing?

Inspired by this thread I've booked an appointment at the Dr for next week

So pleased to hear that gingerninja. Let us know how you get on. I'm counting down the seconds until my appointment on tuesday. I know that there is no miracle instant cure but the GTN is not helping at all and yet again today my pain is unbearable. At least DH and DD were out when I needed the loo so that I didn't have to worry about anyone hearing me scream

Thanks Swaliswan, good luck for your appointment too.

Hi ginger, all fine here thanks (awake lots, but tolerably so!). How are you and yours?

Good luck

Hi,

Just want to say that GTN did work for me, it is OK to take paracetamol to get rid of any headaches that occur as a side effect!

Drinking lots of water also helps to soften things before going to the toilet!

Hi! I wish I wish my experiences with anal fissure could help you heal faster.
I have had fissures twice in the past, both of which I managed to heal for a week and a half. And I noticed that the stages of pain and healing in those 2 fissures I had were similar. Let me share with you first the stages of pain that I had to go through, then I would share with you my everyday routine.
First day, I felt that there was a single cut around my anus. Defacating was manageable but quite painful.
On the second day, defecating started to grow more painful. I felt that I would pass out defecating.
On the third day, I felt that there were more additional cuts, and indeed there were. They looked like cuts and sores. The pain didn’t leave but grew all the more worse.
The pain started to subside when I reached day 5. As they say, It gets worse before it gets better. It’s true and here’s how I got through it.
What to buy: 1) Virgin coconut oil 2) Laxative (Mine was Lactulose Duphalac)

Daily routine:

1. I take sitz bath when I wake up and before I go to bed. The warm water helps blood to circulate around the anal area. This would make it heal faster.
2. I apply Virgin coconut oil every now and then the entire day. I make sure to keep the anal area moisturized with the oil.
3. I take Lactulose Duphalac (2 tbsp or 30 ml) before I go to bed.
4. Reduce consumption of rice and bread. Eat a lot of fruits and leafy vegetables. Drink a lot of water and Juices. Add more protein to your diet like fish. Protein helps in the healing of wound.

Before defecating in the morning, I take sitz bath, then I defecate, then I take another sitz bath to keep the anal area clean. I defecate only once a day to avoid putting force and friction around the area. After my sitz bath, I dry the area with a fan. Don’t touch it with hands or with a towel to avoid friction and infection. After drying it naturally wih air, apply the oil. I avoid applying the oil with my hands and just let the oil run through my anal area. Do this for the entire day (perhaps every 3 hours). Take another sitz bath before going to bed. In the morning, have a little exercise just to keep the blood running down below. Avoid sweating too much as, I think, it may irritate the wound. Also, if would help if you can shower with warm water while defecating. This could help you relax a little more while you struggle with pain.
The key here is consistency. Do not miss any step. You have to heal from the inside (eat a lot of fiber and protein) and out (exercise, sitz bath, and oil). You’d be surprised that it would heal on the 5th or 6th day. At least, this worked for me and I really pray that It would work for you too. Carry on!

Hi- I have an anal fissure and will not use GTN because of the side effect headache. The only other treatment given by the doctor was Diltiazem which relaxes the muscles allowing the blood to flow, therefore speeding up healing. I also use Aloe Vera gel which is working wonders! Check out this link: communalnews.com › 2019/07/23 › aloe-vera-as-the-magical-anal-f...