Fissurectomy??

Hello-

Eight weeks ago I had a fissurectomy and hemmoroidectomy. It was tough the 2 weeks post surgery, but I felt pretty good at three weeks. I have a strenuous, outdoors job and I was back to work and doing pretty well. The last two weeks, however, I feel like I have stopped healing and may have even reinjured myself. I'm bleading, it hurts after a BM, and there is a good amount of discharge. I've been trying Aleve, Ibuprofen, etc. and nothing seems to work. I'm tempted to call my CRS and ask if he will prescribe a pain med of some sort; not sure if he will though. It is a different pain than my fissure pain, definitely not as bad since there is no associated spasm (thank god), but it still hurts like hell and is starting to affect my work all over again (I'm taking today off after a tough day on the job yesterday). I really thought I was on an upward path and am worried I'm heading back the direction i just came from. I went to the Doc the other day and was too sore for him to examine me internally, so he prescribed Percocet to take directly before my next appt. so I can go through with it.

Anybody else have this up and down type recovery? I don't read much about the surgery I had, I honestly thought I would end up with LIS since that seems to be the common one. My CRS said I didn't need it. The hemmy removal was a surprise as well, but the doc said it was interfering with the healing of the fissure and needed to be removed. A nice fella that responded to my intro post said hemmies are pretty painful to have removed, maybe that's my issue?

Thanks for letting me think "out loud" . Take care.

Chris

Well, I think the good news is in all likelihood you are *not* headed back down the path you came from. The LIS has not only "cured" the spasms, but has set things up so you can heal.

The problem now is, actually healing. It sounds as though your exertion at work is what is working against you, though it is also possible that being outdoors in the summertime, you maybe dehydrating and having some hard stools.

So you need to probably focus on what you can do to keep your tail as calm as possible until you can make it through a full 3-4 week cycle and heal, which is about how long it takes most people to heal their fissure after AF.

also if you are having to lift heavy objects while working, this itself puts pressure in/around the rectal muscles and thus could be putting pressure where your hemmy removal was done causing some pain/discomfort.

just a guess.

any strain or heavy lifting is probably not good to do for a while.

Thanks for the reply. It's a tough situation. I'm a field biologist, so it isn't really an option to not work strenuously and outside. The other option is not working, which I've already taken so many days off I'm at risk of having to take unpaid time off. I've already stopped doing some very imortant activities related with my job duties due to infection risk (e.g., snorkling and SCUBA diving). Yesterday I'm almost positive I felt something tear, or maybe just pull the wrong way, while lifting a canoe over a downed tree in a river. I almost screamed out loud. I tried not to show my pain all day with my crew of 6. When I got home I put a cotton ball between my cheaks and it was bright red with blood. It has been slowly bleeding ever since. I thought it would be an easy day but didn't realize how bad off the river was...... many downed trees. I bet I had to lift my boat over trees 20+ times. By the end of the day I was having a hard time moving at all and had to get someone to help me car top my boat.

I'm just so frustrated, I had this fissure for months and could hardly move for hours after a BM, I finally had the surgery which put me in bed for two weeks and then another week before I could really work well, now I'm still complaining and laying on my bed writing on a fissure forum. I just want this saga to end and feel I'm doing everything in my power to get better. It's really getting old.

Can anyone suggest any pain management? Any activities that will increase healing rates? I eat well and my BMs really aren't that bad (I'm a Miralax user and everything tends to stay soft). I'm trying hard but things just don't seem to be working out.

Thanks to everyone.

Buck

as much as we all want to quickly heal, we are at the whim of the timetable our own bodies subject us to.

even if you had pain medication to manage the pain you are in, if you continue to lift heavy objects, it will only mask the injury you may continue to prolong on yourself.

i know its very upsetting and annoying when you go thru surgery and you don't feel the way you think you should after a period of time. the thing with any butt surgery is that you will realistically need about six months to get to a point where you know you have "healed" but about a year to feel normal again.

i think the four-eight weeks post-surgery, there should be signs of your wound healing but there is way more to it than just that short amount of time for 'everything' to come together.

Thanks, Happyass (I like your name). I think I'm just depressed today. I need to get outside, check on my garden, breathe some fresh air, and count my blessings. Someday this will be over and I will look back with a newfound love of life and health. I can definitely say this fissure has changed my life, hopefully for the good. There are a lot of people in pain out there and I can now somewhat relate to what they're going through; my compassion for others has increased exponentially. I can think of other ways to come to such realizations, but this is my path I guess. I assume that is why some on this forum that have already healed still visit and share their stories. Thanks again for reading and I will try to take it easy for a while.

Take care of your bootie,

Buck

Hi Buck,

I think most of us know how you feel. I had LIS in January and was relieved of a lot of pain. However, I had ripped twice since then due to hard BM's, most recently this past Sunday. So, I went from only feeling pain a little each day to a constant burning now. I hate it! It is so depressing and makes me long so much for it to end. I work in a mental health office and have such empathy now for those in chronic pain. At least one day we will be healed and this will be a memory. Until then, we have to try and stay postive and I am so thankful for this forum as I felt so alone...

I called my Doc yesteray afternoon and told a nurse about the issues I'm having (lots of blood and pain). She said it shouldn't have anything to do with my surgery and that I should be almost healed. It was very frustrating to hear that. Here I am bleading after BMs, blood and discharge thoughout the day, and increased pain, and she basically said it was normal. I did have a minor episode of an upset stomach and had to use the bathroom more often than usual, but it shouldn't cause this, right? She told me if it continues to call back monday. However, I went poo poo this morning and the entire top layer of water in the toilet was covered in blood and when I wiped (carefully) it was bright red. I haven't had this much blood during this entire episode (fissure and surgery included). I'm not sure what to do..... I guess I will wait until Monday. I'm sick of calling the doc and hearing the same thing..... "take warm baths, eat Alleve, be careful with BMs, etc.". Could I have messes something up two months after my surgery? The nurse sure didn't seem to think so.

Buck

The thing to understand is, the fissure can bleed for quite some time after surgery, it takes time for the fissure to heal. If you are going more than normal, then yes, that could explain the bleeding, as your fissure is not getting a break to heal, to close up. *If* your spasms are gone, that is a great sign. You are set up to heal, but if you are stretching your legs during the day too often, and going more than normal, then the fissure is still taking a pounding and will retear and bleed and cause pain during BM.
The pus, of course is a sign of infection and I cannot speak to that...
But i would not be too worried this soon after surgery. It does take time, and in your case, you need more recovery time, I would think.
Try to stay and think positively!

get to the dr right away. and a new dr preferably. the amount of blood you're experiencing, plus the discharge does not sound right for 8 weeks post-surgery. granted, i'm not a success story either, but let me tell you if i'd had that much blood and discharge 8 weeks after my fissurectomy i'd head right back to the dr ASAP. it's been 10 months since my 3rd surgery and i still have bad pain everyday but i'm not having pus or discharge anymore and blood is rare thank god.

SEE A DR SOON. forget about the lack of spasms, that doesn't mean sh*t. i've never had spasms and have still suffered w/ ripping, tearing and severe anal pain for 3 years. sorry to discount kim's advice, but it doesn't sound like you're "set up to heal" with the blood and discharge continuing. you need someone to look at you and let you know what's going on.

I think it's up to a REAL doctor to decide whether Buck is "set up to heal" and I also think your tone in your reply is unwarranted. You are certainly welcome to disagree with anyone here but if you can't do it in a polite way it would be best not to do it at all.
If Buck was having spasms and now doesn't, then it's a simple medical fact that the major problem preventing his healing has been addressed. Period.
If he has other issues that one CRS is not catching, then that is another story. He should see other doctors as you mentioned.

sorry if you were offended kim...i didn't mean it that way

i think the symptoms Buck is experiencing right now sound indicative of a potential problem, not a normal occurence on the road to healing 8 weeks after surgery. i'm concerned for him and hope he sees someone that can evaluate his situation. nurses over the phone tend to downplay things and act like people are overreacting.

internet advice is never the same as having a real dr examine the area and none of us are medically qualified to diagnose a person's symptoms but increased pain, significant bleeding, and discharge from a recent surgical sight are usually bad signs. in my own personal experience that's been the case anyway.

I called my doc again yesterday and he prescribed a pain med to last until my appt. next Friday. The nurse basically told me that I shouldn't be having pain 8 weeks post surgery. Well, it's there and I don't know what to say. The blood has subsided some, but it is evident after every bm..... sometimes more than others. The pain is coming from the surgical area. I was doing so well but something must have happenned because it hurts as bad now to have a bm as it did the week after my surgery. The nurse said there is no way I tore anything and asked if it could be another hemmy, which I know it isn't. I've had frequent and watery bms lately and it has really increased my discomfort. I had to wake up at 2am last night to use the bathroom and couldn't go back to sleep from the pain. I just got back from a 7 hour drive for work and my bum is sore! Hopefully the doctor will find out what's wrong with me. Maybe I'm just crazy.

Thanks for all the advice and taking the time to read my mess. This butthole of mine is ruining my life, but I have faith I can rebound. I just need to feel like I'm healing.

buck - i completely understand your pain and frustration. i had a fissurectomy last september and by 8 weeks and still in serious pain i knew something wasn't right. at that point my dr couldn't explain why i wasn't healing, but my symptoms were no worse than they'd been before surgery.

i'm glad you get to see your dr soon and i hope he has more to offer than pain pills.

i think some people just have it easier than others, in that they have a simple LIS that ends the spasms and that's the end of their story. can't we all be so lucky!

i'm sure you'll rebound and heal eventually...it's just a bumpy road!

I'm dreading going to the CRS again, but I'm ready. I really couldn't tolerate my last appt. which was just over a week ago (he couldn't examine me), and I feel like I have gotten worse. He mentioned numbing me this time so hopefully it won't be too bad. I don't know what else he can do if the surgery didn't work. At least the spasms are gone. The spasms were miserable but the doc said my hemmy was the root cause for my fissure not healing. The spasms, fissure, and hemmy are now gone...... why do I hurt so bad! I just need to keep my spirits up and know that I can get thru this and my body can find a way to heal. I'm really trying.