IBS and fissures - Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Message Board

chigs489 · 02-09-2005, 03:13 PM

Has anyone here had problems with fissures? Due to constipation, diarhea, etc.? This has been a big issue for me in the last 6 months, and I had to have surgery to fix one of them. I still haven't recovered completely from the surgery, even after almost 2 months.

I don't get diarhea, but sometimes mild constipation. The big issue, is that I tend to get hard stools, no matter what I eat, and this causes issues down low. I also get rectal spasms, and tons of gas. Fortunately, I don't have stomach pains or anything like that.

Any advice would be helpful.

WATCHOUT! · 02-10-2005, 01:00 AM

Hey Chiggins,
It has been awhile since I posted...about two weeks ago I started having pain again....I had my fissure/sphinterotomy surgery in October of last year....I was doing really really well until I had a REALLY hard bowel movement recently.... I ended up back in the doctors office and asked to have the remainder external skin tags removed...though my DR. now says NO..because she is concerned it would be to painful...they have been swelling up so HUGE that is getting ridiculous....I even started getting spasms I think again....I do have IBS....and always have run to the bathroom since childhood because I don't have a gallbladder...but lately, like you I am constipated more...sometimes really severely. I asked the nurse if I looked healed up yet and she replied that it looked like I was...the area the fissure was on has been really sore lately because I feel like when I have a BM..I am being ripped a bit. I DID feel like I was healed up for months...but like you it seems like no matter what I eat or how much fiber I take..my BMs are hard as well. I have given up taking fiber, though still take stool softeners....I have serious trouble having a BM no matter what I do....I am hoping that I will get better like I did before, but because my DR is SO conservative (only doing the absolute musts) I might be looking at a second sphinterotomy surgery or I will be forced to go under anesthesia to see what is causing the remainder of my problems..she only cut one side..and I am suspecting I might STILL be too small...yikes!!!! Plus If she won't do the skin tags..I might be forced to look for another surgeon who will do them....It has been a tough road...I did really well post-surgery...bowel movements were a breeze..then 3 months into things...WHAM..I feel tight, sore and am bleeding again.....very frustrating! I even think with all the straining I HAVE been doing that I might have developed an internal HEMEROID...it burst a week ago.....more insult to injury! I am not afraid to do surgery...again if need be...this is no way to live if I don't improve again....I just want permanent results....I was well aware that things could go back to the way they were before...my DR told me this..but it is still annoying and discouraging.....I hate to go back down this road AGAIN...

chigs489 · 02-10-2005, 04:54 AM

I know how you feel.

I was doing pretty well until a week ago, when I got a stomach virus and ended up with diarhea for 24 hours. I took a bunch of Pepto-Bismol and then ended up with some mild constipation and then a really hard bowel movement with bleeding. I hadn't bleed in 3 weeks, so I was really angry.

Now it feels sore down there. Interestingly enough, it is the incision site, and directly across from the incision site that is bothering me, almost like the scar tissue is rubbing against the other side and causing irritation.

The high fiber diet and colace is killing me. I feel bloated and gassy all day long, but the minute I ditch the Colace, things start getting hard again.

Ugh!

WATCHOUT! · 02-10-2005, 12:34 PM

hey...I think it is going to take along time for this area to heal...I started using the NITRO again....I feel stiff in this area and am bleeding again and sore...I am going to give it another week or so and see what happens...I get really discouraged like you...its like enough already!....and WHY does it have to take so long to heal..the Drs all say after weeks we should be healed......but I don't agree...I think this area is just really hard to heal..plain and simple...UGH....I'm with you on that....being 32 years old...33 in a couple months...I'm too young for THIS!!!!!

chigs489 · 02-10-2005, 01:23 PM

Have you tried Diltiazem (sp?) instead of the Nitro? It seems to work pretty well, especially when you first start taking it. No side-effects at all.

I think fissure + IBS is a really bad combination, and you better believe I've had enough. I'm only 34!

I'm playing around with my diet, and I'll let you know what works and what doesn't.