[Maggie Jack]

I've been on the net for a few hours today and happy to know I'm not alone with IBS and all the related difficulties - staying at home most of the time, fears of public embarrasment etc. I'm hoping to get some guidance, and I'd be grateful for any advice or tips. I have a fissure-in-ano, very painful over period of 18 months, with IBS, but since January this year I've had chronic diarrhea. I've had a couple of sigy's and barium en's, and tested negative for coeliac as I've lost about 20lbs, so the consultant is putting it down to IBS. I may need to have surgery for the fissure - is there any alternative? Are fissure commonly linked to IBS? I'm currently prescribed Mebeverine (Colofac) tablets, but there's no impact yet after 3 wks. Hope to hear from someone soon, regards, Drummeg

 

[Yucaipa]

My daughter is the IBS sufferer, and has an anal fissure as well. The docs say the fissure was caused by the constant bowel movements; it won't heal until the diarrahea stops. So til then she continues to bleed a lot. That's the connection for her.

 

[leslie204]

I have internal hemmies and a fissure too. It only flairs when the D is really bad and then it bleeds. I was at first very scared to see blood but it was so obvious that it was from my butt being so sore. I went to my GP and he diagnosed the fissure. I have heard that for some, fissures are hard to heal. I was prescribed a cortisone creme that helped almost immediately. I have had 3 more episodes since and the creme takes care of it right away. I have leaned that with chronic D, people get hemmies from straining and get fissures from irritation and both are very typical. As far as surgery goes, have you gone on line to learn how to heal the fissures naturally? Also, IBS as you know, does not generally cause people to loose weight. I look at it this way: If you still have a good appetite but are just loosing weight because you are afraid to eat then you can probably rely on the IBS diagnosis. However, if your appetite isn't there AND you are loosing weight, then you probably should look into other causes of your D and anal fissure. Anal fissures can happen with any digestive problem. I hope this helps and I hope you feel better soon!Leslie

 

[Maggie Jack]

Thanks for the information. Yes I do still have my appetite, tho it's not what it used to be, and yes I've changed my pattern of eating due to fear! I have changed my diet a bit, almost no dairy. I'm off to see my GP again next week, if the mebeverine/colofac hasn't had any effect by then, I'll ask if I can try something else e.g. Colomin. I'll check the diet section too, thanks. Can I ask if anyone has developed a lump where the fissure is?(By the way, don't know why my name's come under 'junior', should be senior - maybe I entered my DOB wrongly!)

 

[Kathleen M.]

Junior vs Senior isn't about age, but how many posts you have made

I think for the most part anal fissures and IBS are separate issues, but both are common enough that a certain percent of people will have both.Here is a site I know of (no personal experience but I've looked this up before) that seemed to have some good information from others with the problem http://www.boardsailor.com/jack/af/ K.

 

[Daveyboy]

My first bowel problems started with an anal fissure after being constipated.This stressed me out that much I had to read a book when going to the toilet so my body could relax enough to allow a bowel movement!!!!!I sat there for so long my legs used to go numb.After the cream from the GP did not work I had a small operation which made BMs better but was still getting some pain.After being told I must change my diet to obtain softer BMs I ate that much bran,wholemeal bread,fruit,beer and fruit juices plus the stress I ended up with diarrhea.I was given colofac and fybogel which did not work.After reading posts on this website I now take imodium and a fiber supplement called Lepicol and follow the Heather Van Vorous diet this keeps me normal.It takes time and trial and error to find out what is best for you.

 

[Maggie Jack]

Thanks KMottus, the boardsailor site is very informative and I'll be reading this regularly. Can I please ask the bulldog what the Heather Van Vorous diet is?

 

[Kathleen M.]

If you click the books link in the blue bar above. It has a link to her website.She also posts on the "ask the experts" board under diet/nutrition.the book is "eating for IBS"K.