Too Much Information....... squeamish look away now.......

I have had a fissure off and on for years, but I never had to undergo surgery. You poor thing!

Whatever the British equivalent of Metamucil (psyllium hull) is will help. There are also over-the-counter stool softeners; Dulcolax is what is commonly used in the states, I don't know what your chemist would call it. You may want to lay off solids for a while, as much as you can. Avoid bananas and rice. Drink as much water as you can stand, and then drink some more. Also, prune juice. It really does help, and my mom says she likes it better heated (I like it either way, myself--yes, I actually like prune juice!).

Lynn Siprelle, Editor

Thanks Lynn

I had this since last summer, with no improvement at all. Every BM is intensely painful and difficult to pass. Do you have the problem with the internal muscles going into permanent spasm? That is what has stopped me healing, and why I ended up having the surgery.

I believe ispahlluga husk is the British equivalent of Metamucil and I have been on that for several months. I have been on the maximum dose of Dulco Ease stool softeners for the same time. Nothing seems to make much difference - and even a soft stool, when I do manage it, is very painful to pass. I have just changed to Lactulose stool softener instead, thought I would give that a go.

My Doctor knows very little about the problem, the consultant who did the surgery is a long journey away and I can't have any more time off work. I have only been in the job three months and had three weeks off post surgery already. I didn't know to avoid bananas and rice, so will try that. Already avoiding red meat, eggs and cheese. Nothing much seems to help at all. Apple juice sometimes seems to help a little, but not always. I am so worried that the condition has recurred already, or surgery not worked at all.

I am a bit scared that stopping solids will result in diarrhoea, and I have to go to work! Might try that though, maybe soup instead of sandwiches and salad for packed lunches. And yum! prune juice I do have a carton, it sits threateningly on the counter and I am plucking up the courage to drink it

Honey.

Honey, I'm sorry that you're experiencing these problems.

Putting on my nurse's cap now ...

What is the active ingredient in the Dulco Ease? Is it bisacodyl? That's the active ingredient in Dulcolax on this side of the pond. If Dulco Ease is the same type of product, then you're taking a stimulant laxative, not a stool softener.

We give our patients Colace (generic name docusate sodium) as a stool softener. It helps to draw more water into the colon to soften the stool. The lactulose has the same effect but is generally stronger than Colace.

Are you still taking painkillers? They tend to cause constipation, unfortunately.

I've also seen some success with "Special Recipe" - a mixture of apple sauce, bran, and prune juice. (mwa-ha-ha!)

Hope you feel better soon!

Rose

It's definitely a stool softener, says it on the packet. It contains docusate sodium. I am familiar with Dulcolax, we have that here too. I just changed to lactulose this morning, hoping it helps.

Not taking any painkillers, as I know about the constipation issue.

That special recipe looks interesting! I have all the ingredients on hand too. Isn't it to help with regularity though? I am already pretty regular. I wonder if it would make things softer, or just make me 'go' more? Don't want to go more - even when soft it's too painful too countenance going more than once or twice a day

Thanks, Rose.

Honey

For whatever that's worth!

How about Miralax, I think you have that over there? I've never had this problem but I've heard good things about Miralax.

Or Bananas, Rice, Apples, Toast

The four main things that will make your stools firmer, according to one of my Dr.s. Avoid if constipated, eat if the opposite is the case.

Do you know if there is an underlying cause of the constipation? Medications, lack of exercise, Irritable Bowl Syndrome, and a half-a-dozen other things on can cause it. If you can treat a cause you treat the symptom.

As to alleviating the symptoms, I've always found that lacto-fermented foods soften stools. The more you eat, the softer it gets. Kefir, kombucha, kim chee and saurkraut are all lacto-fermented but they HAVE to be non-pasturized to be of any benefit. These are available at the health food stores where I live, though a bit expensive. They cost hardly anything to make yourself, though if you have the time. For immediate relief either buy from the store or make kefir (ready in one day) and kim chee (ready in three days). The rest take a week or more. The thing with kefir is you have to get the kefir "grain" first, so unless you know someone with extra, you'll have to order it.

As to homeopathics, which remedy to take depends entirely on your symptoms. Over here (and I'm assuming this is the case over there, too) the remedies are sold as little round pills in tube dispensers in two strengths, 6C and 30C. Boiron is the brand sold in our local health food stores. There is an article here that lists the most common homeopathic remedies for constipation and their indications. It's always iffy to self-medicate but if you don't have a homeopath nearby, or cannot afford one, you're pretty much forced to.

I was horribly constipated after the birth of DD and it took two years to get over the worst of it. The thing that really made the most difference was, believe it or not, a healthy body meditation CD that I listened to each night. Weird, yes? But it does suggest there may be a mental or even spiritual component to our illness and that meditation, guided or otherwise, may be of benefit. I haven't been able to find that CD since our last move and can't remember the name, sorry! It's probably out of print by now, anyway.

Hope you get some relief soon.

Anhata
www.familynaturally.com
Your Family's General Store, Naturally

Honey:

My old boss had a daughter that had chronic bowel issues. He highly recommended this book (available at Amazon).

it essentially addresses the bowel as being a "second brain". It makes its own decisions based upon sensory stimulation.

Interesting idear.

As for loosening stool, I strongly recomment Metimucil, or some equivelent thereof. It will make you regular, and will keep things moving. Not good for a current blockage, but once that is resolved, it helps things immensely.

I am getting worse, and now have fissure pain, pain from the operation site and chronic (and extremely painful) permanent spasm of internal sphincter muscle, which is the problem I had before surgery. I have phoned the consultant and he wants to see me again next week. I think I will probably have to have the operation again. In the meantime, I am still working on getting things softer, as a soft BM is a bit less painful, though still pretty bad

I am pretty p**d off. Three weeks off work following the op, very slow recovery and now to start all over again.....not to mention I will probably end up losing my job, if I have to have several weeks off again. I've only been back at work 2 weeks.

This operation works for 95%. Why me? There is not even much data available on the internet about people who have this done twice. All I can find is something that says 'there is little data available for this difficult situation.' Doesn't exactly fill me with confidence!

Rant over Thanks for all your help