Anal Fissures

[zzzzlady]

Could someone please give me some info regarding anal fissures? What are the symptoms and how are they cured? Are they serious? I think this could be what I'm experiencing. I've never had bleeding or anything from my rectum but recently I've experienced a dull ache and feeling of "not getting it all out" after a bowel movement. Some of the symptoms of fissures have matched mine. Any information would be GREATLY appreciated !!!

THANKS !

[kdoss3]

Oh yeah... zzzzlady. I am rcovering from an Acute Anal Fissure (an internal canyon or tear in the rectum caused by very hard stools coupled with high internal pressure) In my case it was rather long and somewhat deep. My surgeon was very skilled. Some fisures are small and are not necessarily associated with pain. However, I had considerable bleeding and extraordinary pain when pasing a stool. Some fissures heal on their own, but some do require surgery. In my case, I put up with the pain for a little better than two years before finally breaking down as the pain became unbearable. ZZZZlady... have it checked out by a qualified doctor right away. Let us know how things turn out. God Bless - and Good Luck.

[chigs489]

I know all about anal fissure unfortunately. I had a chronic one that had been there 5 years at least. It would periodically open up, bleed, but then close again, so I never did anything about it. Then last year it opened and wouldn't close. My rectum then started to spasm, and this opened another smaller fissure on the other side. Now I was really hurting, and had to have surgery.

The surgery is nothing. It is done on an outpatient basis, and takes about 15 minutes. I was in and out within a few hours, without a lot of pain.

But my recovery has been tough. I still have a lot of dull aching in the backside, occasional spasms, and irritation, although the bleeding has stopped, and a lot of the stabbing, ripping pain. Looks like I'm on the right track.

My rule of thumb as far as fissures go, is that if you have developed a sentinal skin tag (or pile), that can be felt, and is evident in the stool (you will see a trench in the stool where the tag is rubbing against it), your scar tissue is so bad that the thing isn't going to heal on its own. Also, if you have been bleeding for months, and have modified your diet to no avail, I would consider the surgery.

If you don't have lots of scar tissue and a skin tag, it can very well clear up on its own. You may need to get a medication like Diltiazem to help relax the muscle and assist with bowel movements. Go see a gastro-interologist or a colo-rectal surgeon, and they will help you out.

One word of warning. When I went to the surgeon, he did a VERY painful exam on me in order to look at the fissure. It was pretty quick, and necessary, but it hurt like the devil, and I have a pretty high pain threshold.

But your fissure may not be anything like mine, and the exam might not be as big of a deal.

Stress is a huge factor with this stuff. If I get stressed out and anxious, the muscles down low clench up and make things worse. Do your best to relax, or even take a vaction for a few weeks to straighten this out.

Fissures are not serious at all, just super painful, and they can be difficult to treat without surgery.

[fissureman]

I've had periodic pain in my backside for about five years, gradually getting worse with each bout. I assumed it was hemorrhoids, and nothing that I read or that my doctor told me caused me to think otherwise.

Just over two weeks ago I reached "screaming point" and told my wife to make me an appointment with a "butt doctor"--the same one I had seen about 18 months ago. He had told me to take suppositories for the pain and increase my fiber intake.

My wife and I were both guessing that I needed some kind of surgery. When she phoned the doctor's office, the gal there said he does not do surgeries but could refer me. We both decided that I would be better off trying to find some doctor who specialized in this field. So we looked on the internet and found the Kendrick Center for Colon and Rectal Care in Mooresville, Indiana.

The doctor who was assigned to me couldn't believe I had had this problem for this long (I told him two years--not five) and not sought help sooner. He examined me there and then and within a few minutes decided I had an anal fissure. He explained that it would NOT get better without surgery, and then proceeded to tell me a little about the sphincterotomy that he would perform.

"But don't I have hemorrhoids?" I asked in amazement. "Yes, everyone does. You're born with them. But that's not your problem."

He scheduled the surgery and I had it Tuesday of this week (Feb. 22nd). The procedure lasted only 15 minutes. I had a general anasthesia. The whole thing went very smoothly.

Pain has been tolerable, except for the second and third bowel movements since surgery (the first one was relatively painless). The third BM, which was this morning, was accompanied by severe pain. That's why I came on the internet searching for other people's stories. My doctor said that my bowel movements should not be accompanied with pain for here on out, but so far he is wrong.

In my searching I found the following resource to be invaluable:

http://www.***********.com/jack/af/index.htm

I'm sure that this surgery was probably the only answer to my problem. I only wish my doctor had better prepared me for the pain that has accompanied my bowel movements.

[fissureman]

I would definitely get this checked out professionally. Please make sure you end up with a doctor who specializes in colon/rectal problems--especially if it comes to surgery. Definitely don't trust your backside to a general surgeon.