I developed a fissure years ago. Didn't really do anything about it -just used some preperation H and ate a salad. Then 1 1/2 years ago, it really started bothering me. Lots of blood during BMs, burning, itching, etc. Then a second one formed! One on both sides. I went to the GP, he took a look and told me to eat more fiber. It didn't help.

I stuggled for a couple months, and then the spasms set in. I would wake up in the midlde of the night with rectal spasms so painful I almost had to be sedated.

So I went to see a colo-rectal surgeon. He took a closer look, saw the 2 fissures, said they were pretty bad, and prescribed diltiazem ointment. This seemed to work for a couple weeks (bleeding was greatly reduced, so was the pain), but then I managed to tear one of the fissures open again and I was back to square one.

I scheduled a LIS surgery, and had the procedure done on 12-16-04. The procedure was a breeze, with no complications. It was like getting a tooth pulled. I even had a BM one hour afterwards, and it didn't even hurt much.

But recover is NOT immediate. That is a high traffic area, and it takes time for things to go back to normal. I had another spasm a couple weeks later, but none after that. Bleeding continued for a few weeks, but then totally subsided (this is normal after surgery).

I watched what I ate and tried not to stress. I even went in for a colonoscopy to make sure I didn't have IBD. It was all clear (I was being paranoid).

Full recovery can be expected within 3-4 months following surgery. By full, I mean that you can eat whatever you want, without worrying about blood and pain.

Risks regarding the surgery are totally overblown. I had no incontinence or anything like that.

Now I feel great. One thing that will cause problems for anyone is drinking a lot of alcohol, not eating right, and then having super hard BMs the next morning. Avoid this, and you avoid fissures.