HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

anal fissure?

Support Forums
>
Crohn's Disease
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 12/4/2009 6:04 PM (GMT 0)
Only here can I discuss such lovely items- such as the fact that my anus hurts and it occasionally bleeds. I have anal skin tags, and I thought it may be that. I briefly discussed it with my GI my last checkup- just that I have occasional bleeding, sometimes it hurts and/or itches. At the time though, my anus didn't hurt. I think he was more concerned about it being internal bleeding, and he said it's probably just an anal fissure.

I'm pretty sure it's external too, and probably a fissure. Is it common for the pain to go away for a few weeks and then come back? This may sound weird, but a lot of times when I don't even feel like I have to have a BM, I still feel the need to push, and I usually push hard. Sorry if that's TMI. I'm wondering if maybe that's why it sometimes gets aggravated. Has anyone else experienced this?

Is there anything I can do myself to ease the pain or help it heal, or do I need to go back to the GI?
Posted 12/4/2009 7:01 PM (GMT 0)
It is nice that we can be straight forward on this forum.  The same sensation happens to me and is happening right now.  I had been constipated for a couple weeks and recently opened up.  The feeling of itching for me is usually either a hemorrhoid, a tear that is healng, or residue that seems to be acidic irritating my anal area.

The feeling of needng to push for me is when I have irritated the anal canal and it is inflamed.    I have also experienced anal spasms which are a 10 on a scale of 1-10.  Have yoiu had those?  it has been at least 6 years for me maybe a bout here or htere.

Always call yoru GI . If you are going to a good practice the nurse should be able to address your concerns in a timely manner.  I am currently shopping around for a new gastro.   NO need to stay with one that is mediocre just because he has performed my colonoscopies and exams.  I don't believe Crohn's and meds is his strong suit.

Best Wishes, keep us all posted.

Jen

Posted 12/4/2009 8:42 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, I definitely feel like my anal canal is inflamed. It really hurts to have a BM right now! UGh!

As far as spasms, I just feel that right before the BM, because I know I need to, but when I start to it hurts so much, that I experience a spasm. Is that what you have?

I am also experiencing some kind of urgency. It's like I have gas, but I know that if I don't make it to the bathroom, I will um, be sorry. Is that what you have too?

Can I ask, did you find that anything helped them go away?
Posted 12/4/2009 8:51 PM (GMT 0)
I wish I could say there was a mirical remedy, but I haven't found one. I have had urgency since I can remember. I would LOVE it if I had more warning. The spasms for me occured after the bm and lasted hours, bm's accompanied by bleeding.

I try to avoid dairy all together and wheat, that is tough because wheat is in so many foods- so I do my best. No popcorn, nuts, beans, or raw fiber of any kind. Even avoid pretzels. If yoiu are in a state of flare up it would be wise to go on a liquid diet for a few days to let your intestines settle and yoru bum heal. Take sitz baths after bm's.
let me know if it helps
Posted 12/4/2009 9:12 PM (GMT 0)
Uh oh, I hope I don't deal with urgency all the time! This just kind of started happening the last few days. I'm sorry that you deal with urgency all the time!! I can't imagine.

Hmm, I've been trying to follow the SCD, although I've kind of gone back and forth between that and the Maker's Diet, so I have had some flax seed. I don't eat wheat anymore, but I do still have yogurt and some cheeses. Has avoiding these things helped your Crohn's in general or your anal issues?

When you say a state of flare up, do you mean for Crohn's in general or the anal area, as far as following a liquid diet?

Oh, and I do eat fiber, but it hasn't seemed to bother me in the past. I eat a lot of raw veggies.

Post Edited (Octobergirl) : 12/4/2009 2:15:07 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 12/4/2009 11:54 PM (GMT 0)

This is a link to a previous thread about perianal crohn's. Hope it helps.

https://www.healingwell.com/community/default.aspx?f=17&m=1077451

Posted 12/5/2009 3:21 AM (GMT 0)
Think of yoru bum like this... If yoiu had a scrape on the bottom of your foot, you wouldn't walk on rocks or maybe even sand, anything acidic. Raw veggies dont' digest all the way (to the best of my knowledge) and can be like rubbing sand paper on a wound. Acidic foods would be like pouring acid on a wound. If you treat yoru wound and keep it clean and protected the more likely it is to heal more quickly. I suggested the liquid or partial liquid diet to give yoiru bum a rest. I consider myself to be in "flare" when my anus has issues. There are so many good posts on here and we are all unique to a degree with treatments, helpful hints, and things we really need to avoid.
Jen
Posted 12/5/2009 5:23 PM (GMT 0)
I have had a couple anal fissures, but also have perianal Crohn's. My last flare was all in the last 2 inches of my rectum. This led to a lot of bleeding and all the symptoms you mention - urgency, frequency, itching and some pain. After a big bout of prednisone, I now use Salafalk suppositories to keep that under control. If I get a little blood then I use the suppositories for a few days. Like the previous post I also try to make life easier on my system and reduce my fibre intake along with eating more basic foods - white bread, rice, simple meat dishes and just veggies like well cooked carrots and green beans or fruits like canned peaches or bananas until the pain and/or blood goes away.
Posted 12/6/2009 12:06 AM (GMT 0)
I've had an anal fissure since 2003. My (great) colorectal guy tried everything imaginable to get it to heal--and had high hopes that it would--but he finally gave up and told me that it never would heal (and that, although he could repair it, "then you would be incontinent," which seemed even worse than a fissure). So I have to live with it.

It does indeed get better and worse. It gets bad on those very rare occasions when I actually pass something formed--and also very bad when my diarrhea is more frequent and more severe than it usually is. It can feel like a little razor blade, and the area around it can get chafed and irritated.

The best thing you can do with a fissure is to take a nice, warm bath at least once every day. The relief is enormous. Couple the bath with some kind of painkiller, and you feel even better.

That's the only thing I know that helps.
Posted 12/7/2009 4:44 PM (GMT 0)
Oh my gosh, I am in SERIOUS pain. I'm definitely going to call my GI. When I have any type of BM now, it is so painful that I almost feel sick to my stomach. I don't know what it is, fissure, hemorroid or tag, but whatever it is, it KILLS. Sometimes I wake up at night and it's painfully throbbing. :(

In the meantime, if I can't get in to see my GI right away, is it better to go on a liquid diet or soft foods? Either?
Posted 12/7/2009 11:07 PM (GMT 0)
Go see your doctor! It could definitely be a fissure--which can be treatable, operable, and/or curable. It could also be an abscess, in which case you want to see your doctor right away.

So sorry you're hurting so badly and having such a rough time. Good luck!
Posted 12/9/2009 5:10 AM (GMT 0)
I sure hope you are feeling better by now. I have had a fissure and it feel like you are literally passing glass. It is excruciating pain. I would be in tears with every bowel movement. It took a few years for mine to heal, but it did in fact heal. The surgeon told me that it was the worst one he had ever seen. I opted to NOT have the surgery and am so glad that I did not do it. I was on rectal enemas (Rowasa and Cotriafoam), prednisone, several other meds and a low residue diet for a long, long time. Ensure was my drink of necessity and only food for a long time also. The enemas can help with the urgency issues. I hope you are better soon.
Posted 12/9/2009 4:04 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks, everyone for your responses.

Well, I got in to see my G.I.'s Physician's Assistant yesterday. I wasn't excited about having him check out "the area" (not that anyone is), but it wasn't as bad as I thought.

I actually have a hemorrhoid and a fissure. He gave me a a steroid cream and said that if it doesn't get better in a couple weeks, I may have to go to the colorectal surgeon.

Now here's the thing- he mentioned to me that I have hemorrhoids and asked if they bothered me and made reference to if I wanted them removed. I thought they might be tags from Crohn's. Now I'm confused. I know I've read of people who had what they thought were hemorrhoids and had them removed, but they turned out to be tags from Crohn's and they never healed. I'm assuming since he has experience in this area that he knows what he's talking about. So, can I get them removed without having to worry about them not healing, or is it different for Crohn's patients even if they aren't technically Crohn's tags...

I'm confused! I would love to have them removed, especially since lately I've been waking up in the middle of the night with them throbbing in pain and to have a BM makes me want to cry...

Has anyone had hemorrhoids removed and not had issues?
Posted 12/9/2009 4:21 PM (GMT 0)
Omg I know what you all are going through. Last year when I was a camp counselor (the worst time) I had an anal fissure for the first time in my life. I was practically in tears for four days anytime I had a BM and I avoided all foods with lots of fiber. I tried holding the poo back too but that only works for so long and that could cause complications. Right now my ass is really sore too and i've acquired a couple small hemorrhoids i'm embarrassed about. I really dread when my boyfriend finds out but i'm sure he'll understand.

The itching is sooooo annoying i'll wake up and find out that subconciously in my sleep I was rubbing and scratching, and they'll be dry blood on my fingers and brown collections in your fingernails. It's really aweful guys, I feel ya. One thing that really helped me with the fissure was using baby wipes instead of the rough toilet paper. If I did use toilet paper, I'd douse it in cold water and wipe with that and it would help relieve the burning sensation a bit. I would try aloe vera too...I didn't have it then but it seems logical lol.

Posted 12/10/2009 12:44 AM (GMT 0)
Octobergirl, I have Crohn's Colitis and have perianal skin tags (if you asked me to say that out loud I would cry). I have had them for years (since I was a teenager at least) and doctors always told me they were hemorrhoids. When I had my last flare they became very irritated and swollen, I had an anal fissure and an abcess, which I eventually needed surgery to have drained. My colorectal surgeon was the kindest, sweetest dr you can imagine, but was only about 5 years older than me and super cute, so you can imagine how fun those office visits were. :) My fissure was so bad and so painful (THIS is tmi to the max) I would have to have a bowel movement in a sitz bath filled with water because it was like broken glass coming out.

I wanted to get my skin tag removed - I wanted to have every trace of my Crohn's erased as soon as I got better and did not want something as "different" as a skin tag. ***HOWEVER***from what my GI drs have told me and from what I have read, if you have them removed you take the chance that 1) the area will not heal well and you will need additional surgeries and create ten-fold problems for yourself or 2) they can come back as more than one, like 5 of them. This reads like a bad movie script! :) Bottom line to me, vanity is not worth the price. The area will ALWAYS be sore and inflamed when you are having a flare. I know the level of pain and it is horrific, but if you are even considering this get about 5 different medical opinions.

Good luck to you!! If you don't mind my asking, how old are you and when were you diagnosed?
Posted 12/10/2009 1:21 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Wednesday,

I'm 31 years old and was just diagnosed at the end of July.

I'm confused, because I thought they were skin tags, but then the physician's assistant said it was a hemorrhoid. I guess I am confused, because he said he didn't think I was in a flare. Can you be in a flare and not feel terrible and have only symptoms of the fissure/hemorrhoid. Now when I say I don't feel terrible, I mean that I don't feel like I did when I was diagnosed, which was seriously drained, fevers, mouth sores, arthritis, skin issues, weight loss and diarrhea. I (thankfully, and knock on wood), don't have any of those symptoms right now. The only thing that is bothering me is the fissure and the hemorrhoid- and that feels pretty terrible. So considering I was fairly recently diagnosed, I don't know what a flare is like for me.

I guess I'm also confused, because it was the Remicade that finally put me into remission, yet I never experienced any of the tags "shrinking" like I have heard other people say when they are in remission. So does that mean they are tags or hemmies? I'm so confused. I would never want to risk having the tags not heal or create more problems, and I can't imagine them coming back as more than what they are. They're actually more than one (sorry, this is gross), but more like a cluster. I've seen pics of hemmies that mine look like, but then I also saw a pic of the "elephant ears" that they kind of looked like too.

My GI never mentioned anything about perianal Crohn's. I actually never heard the term before I got on this site. But I do have Crohn's colitis, and I know that it is usually paired with perianal Crohn's.

Do you mind me asking what a flare like is for you? Do you have flares that only have symptoms of the perianal area?
Posted 12/10/2009 4:17 PM (GMT 0)
New to posting, but have been reading since I've been diagnosed with Crohn's in October. I don't see my GI again unitl January, but have questions about my bottom also. The reason I was diagnosed was because I ended up having an abscess that I had to have surgery on. My surgeon has told me that the abscess is a symptom of the Crohn's. My bottom is still inflamed and red. It's wierd it's mainly the left side of my bottom that is inflamed. I have bumps and rawness. I just want to know once I see my GI will he be able to give me something to help this problem? I don't know if this means I'm in a flare because I don't have any other "bad" symptoms, just the bottom issue. I do go to the bathroom like everyone is talking about, morning, ok during the day, but with some urgency at times. Sometimes loose stools. Been eating bland foods, but not really gaining any weight. Taking 500 mg of Pentasa 2 pills 4x a day. GI didn't want to give me anything more until the infection was gone and I see him in January. Sorry for the rambling, but I'm very frustrated and get down about what is happening to me, and not finding any realy answers. Thanks for listening.
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply