Awful bowel problems

[ShakeVigorously]

I'm currently pregnant and have developed an anal fissure due to terrible constipation.
Been back and forth to the hospital a few times in agony as my sphincter muscle goes into spasm as well and I get horrible pressure and tingling pain.
It took a while for this diagnosis after them saying it was anxiety due to a previous loss at this stage.
Has anyone else any experience of this?
I feel like I'm banging my head against a wall with the Drs and I'm really suffering both physically and mentally.

I didn't have constipation to the level of your difficulties but did get pretty constipated. The relaxin that's getting your body ready for birth also relaxes your bowels Making it harder to go.

I found fruit smoothies were my saviour along with lots of veg. Bung anything in you smoothie you have. Oh lots of water too.. cold and hot, extreme temps are good.

Oh god lass I feel that.

I developed one after my choleocystectomy in 2012 and I have never felt pain like that.
Unfortunately when pregnant you cannot take the meds that work for it =ibuprofen.

You need laxido to keep everything fluid, a satchet a day works and if you are constipated then do the Impaction route then continue with the one a day.

Prep H wipes are excellent to use bit cheaper is distilled witch hazel on a dried out pack of wet ones (soak them one at a time with the hazel)

Mine took about 6-10 weeks to heal enough so I wasn't clutching the bath in agony to have a crap and using the above I was able to sit again quite quickly.
(A solid seat works better than a soft one).

If I can help anymore please feel free to ask anything.

The pain is unbelievable, I never realised it could cause so many problems. It's on a par with labour.
I've got the gtn cream, movicol and lactulose but I'm still having "attacks" of pain and pressure every day.
I feel like nothing's working properly.
Plus I've got the baby in there too which complicates treatment, I'm really fed up.

Yup - when I had my fissure felt like a red hot poker up my ass and it was getting swivelled about - takes having one to remember that agony.

I did find heat helped it a little, do you have a herbal pillow that you can microwave then sit on?

Are you having those horrid spasms of sharp pain inside?

I would defo go back to doctor and if they haven't already get a wee exam done and I'm not sure if a muscle relaxer is possible in pregnancy.

Another fissure is my fear- ten times worse than labour and toothache at same time.

Have you tried daily "Fruit and Fibres Cubes" (by Ortis)? That is my tip number one, after you've initially followed gryffen's advice above. You will obviously also want to consider getting one of those special cushions to sit on, and this actually reads: "buy it, now!" and then put it in a tote bag of cloth for easier portability. Unfortunately they're called "doughnut cushions" (from their shape) although some look more like ordinary cushions - they're ridiculously expensive but in hindsight worth every penny. My tip number three is to get a calendar; two weeks of big trouble, one month of endurable trouble, one month with little to no trouble but having to carry around that cushion, and - finally after something like 10 weeks - no trouble at all. There's a really long thread here on mumsnet from about one year ago where people discuss all sorts of remedies in detail, that thread is actually quite helpful so you might want to look for it and "revive" it.

Thank you both for your advice, I'm willing to try anything now!

The spasms are the worst thing, I feel like the pressure is causing me to want to push everything out, accompanied by an awful tingling pain.

I just hope that once baby is born they'll be able to treat me 'properly' because this absolutely sucks!

I tore my sphincter last June after morphine bunged me up. I paid 2k privately for botox and it didn't work. I was in utter agony with it up until mid January. I had had Rectogesic and the less headachey equivalent, I tried everything on Google to no avail and got the Doc to refer me to a colorectal surgeon. In the meantime he gave me Sheraproct cream to smear on it and Sheraproct suppositories to shove up and OMG I could not believe that after ten days the bleeding stopped and three weeks later the fissure has healed!!! After all these months and different medicines (and the bloody suicide headaches) and finally this one amazing drug has put me right. I don't know if it's suitable for you but ask for it. It was a locum Doc that gave it to me too. I shall cry and wear a black armband when he leaves my practice!

Hi I had the same about 2 years ago and it lasted 6 months it was awful...it was all I could think about most days, I feel so sorry for you to have it while you are pregnant🙈

I didnt go to the docs and tried to cure it myself, which was very hit and miss, but here are the things that finally cured me.

The spasms are the WORST and actually could be more painful than the shitting glass feeling! I read this tip on reddit to ease the spasm and for me it helped immensely.

So just before you imagine the spasms will start you start blowing your lips out like a horse.....sounds so bloody weird but it really did work for me and i think the more your bum gets a rest from the spasms the better the fissure will get as you wont be as tense. If it doesnt work the first time keep trying and Im almost certain it will work. It gave me about a 50-70% reduction in pain.

Second thing that worked for me was having a spoonful of coconut oil daily. It’s definitely not an instant cure but after 2 weeks I think it started to make a difference. I would perhaps check with the doctor if you are not sure about taking it while pregnant and I would maybe take a spoonful every other day to begin...see what your tolerance level is.

The last tip might not work depending on where your fissure is...but might still be worth a try. My fissure was at the top near my tailbone...when i was having a bowel movement i would put some tissue around my hand and press on the area above my anus...not the hole but still in the crack (sorry about the images im conjuring up) this seemed to help the poop to come out from the pressure of your hand rather than the anus doing all the work so to speak🤣 I sometimes still do it even though the fissure has been gone a long time, as I hear that fissures often come back and it just generally makes bowel movements very easy.

I hope the tips work and good luck with it and your pregnancy too x

I'm bordering on obsessed with my bowels and poo 😂
I am so grateful for everyone's tips. Anything to help.
Dr has given me buscopan to add to the list today, and I'm waiting for a bowel scan.

Drink plenty. Herbal teas can be soothing - chamomile, ginger, peppermint.

As you are pg, I would check with your doctor before taking anything not prescribed by him/her, including seemingly natural products from health store etc.

Good luck.

BUSCOPAN IS NOT RECOMMENED IN PREGNANCY!!

I was taken off it by OBGYN as it can cause issues (not 100% sure of all but she said don't take it!).

Sorry to scare the crap out of you there but be careful with it if you are on it.

Can't find my official note about it but a simple check from the makers is a clear warnkng.

I thought that too but apparently it's because it's not tested in pregnancy, same as the gtn cream.
The medical and obstetric doctors have advised me that the benefits outweigh the risks in my case.
I think if I was in 1st trimester I wouldn't be able to have anything. I'm trying to only use it if I absolutely need to.

I'm having regular monitoring and they're keeping a close eye, it's so worrying.

That's nuts as my consultant has banned it during pregnancy entirely - agree not tested in pregnancy but the risks not worth it in my case.

Always follow your consultant but if you notice issues then get seen asap

I'll ring them in the morning.
They didn't seem concerned at all about prescribing the buscopan, nothing bad mentioned. I known they checked with the pharmacist before prescribing the rectogesic cream.
I had a scan this morning and baby seems completely unfazed by all my troubles!
They're querying whether it's severe ibs or something similar that's kicked all this off, but I've never had anything like it before.
Thank you for bringing it up though, I'll definitely nag them tomorrow.

If your not doing it yet look at getting hypnobirthing CDs.

At least mentally it may help. I had hideous constipation and tiny fissure after surgery once. “Breathing” through stopped me from loosing it everytime I needed to poo.

I know it sounds bizaare