Haemorrhoid or Fissure?

Haemorrhoid or Fissure?

Author
Discussion

aaron_2000

Original Poster:

5,407 posts

90 months

Friday 19th March 2021
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A fun Friday night topic, but after around 6 months I finally decided to look into what's causing the pain in my arse, then I decided to hang up on her and tackle an ongoing health issue instead. I have a habit of either ignoring things until they go away or until I can't anymore, this has become the latter. It's not agonising but it's causing enough discomfort to distract me whilst working now. Symptoms are:

Burning
Occasional itching
Red Inflammation
Not so much as a couple of months ago but did used to have quite an amount of mucus and the need to visit the WC without any results

I have a doctors appointment booked in 2 weeks which is surprisingly quick for my hopeless local practice, I've been using Anusol which is comparable to lighting a shot glass of gasoline then clenching. I've pretty much been relying on pain killers to keep the pain down so I can work and sleep, the cream hasn't worked at all and it's getting worse now. I've had no blood at all and from Google I've seen varying posts about whether fissures of 'roids match my symptoms. I'm not going to post any pictures unfortunately but internally it's red and inflamed. I did use some Preparation H but that burnt like hell, I have some Proctosedyl coming tomorrow which is apparently better but I'd ideally like to resolve it before having to get rummaged about by my GP. Does it sound like a fissure of a roid? I'll also add that being 21 and posting this is about as much fun as reading it likely is.

gasman712

55 posts

145 months

Friday 19th March 2021
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Pain is much more indicative of a fissure than haemorrhoids. And is more likely in your age group.

55palfers

6,000 posts

171 months

Friday 19th March 2021
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Having previously enjoyed the excitement of fissures, your symptoms do sound familiar.

Had a small day case op and was much better within days.

aaron_2000

Original Poster:

5,407 posts

90 months

Friday 19th March 2021
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What should I do about treating it? I eat a bag of popcorn literally every day so lack of fibre has never been an issue

mikyman

115 posts

114 months

Friday 19th March 2021
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I had the same problem around 5 years ago and you have my sympathy. A fissure is an enlarged and infected sweat gland passage around your anus opening.In my case it would flair up and become very painful,
My docs were very good and got me a private bed through BMI healthcare.They put out an interesting, graphic leaflet on the surgery.Send me your e mail and iwill try to forward a copy for you to read.
The main thing i would warn against is the excrusiating pain after the anesthetic has worn off,together with the total black bruising in rear.
It is also difficult to sit comfortably for at least a month.
During my op the surgeon tied up three internal piles, i like getting value for money.
Good luck.

yellowtr

1,188 posts

233 months

Saturday 20th March 2021
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Fissures can get painful very very rapidly, I have had three, but now had it dealt with for good. Where exactly is the pain? Mine started as a lumpy feel in the inner lower buttock area-I'll leave it to you imagination where it was near. The last one I had happened very rapidly after coming back from working in Mexico City. I went out that evening for a event at Joe Macari's place, went home had a shower felt a lump, woke up during the night in utter agony. Pain is just horrendous.

Rang AXA (thankfully covered by that), same day appointment, consulted diagnosed the issue in seconds and literally was in surgery within a handful of hours as he was worried it would rupture, quick procedure, overnight stay as it was late, nice sandwiches for dinner and breakfast! Recovery was fairly fast with daily dressings. 6 months later consultant done more surgery that has appeared to have sorted it once for and for all. Moral of the story get it checked it!!

aaron_2000

Original Poster:

5,407 posts

90 months

Sunday 21st March 2021
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yellowtr said:
Fissures can get painful very very rapidly, I have had three, but now had it dealt with for good. Where exactly is the pain? Mine started as a lumpy feel in the inner lower buttock area-I'll leave it to you imagination where it was near. The last one I had happened very rapidly after coming back from working in Mexico City. I went out that evening for a event at Joe Macari's place, went home had a shower felt a lump, woke up during the night in utter agony. Pain is just horrendous.

Rang AXA (thankfully covered by that), same day appointment, consulted diagnosed the issue in seconds and literally was in surgery within a handful of hours as he was worried it would rupture, quick procedure, overnight stay as it was late, nice sandwiches for dinner and breakfast! Recovery was fairly fast with daily dressings. 6 months later consultant done more surgery that has appeared to have sorted it once for and for all. Moral of the story get it checked it!!
It's not at a stage of being very painful yet, it's more just discomfort. It looks like a fissure that's caused inflammation at the rear left. The Prep H has started to mask the discomfort somewhat but the inflammation isn't going away, still have 10 days until my appointment too

aaron_2000

Original Poster:

5,407 posts

90 months

Monday 22nd March 2021
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Managed to get my appointment changed for today. Shouldn't have bothered, despite telling him the inflamed fissure is what was keeping me up at night he didn't pay any attention to it, now I've got some prescription and a referral to be violated by a camera because my grandad dying of bowel cancer and the discharge I had concerned him despite me telling him that the fissure I have is what's causing me trouble.

ocd

124 posts

218 months

Monday 22nd March 2021
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Your GP has done the right thing given your symptoms and the family history. Some inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s can cause problems similar to what you have described. It’s important to get a diagnosis. Hope it gets sorted quickly.

mikyman

115 posts

114 months

Monday 22nd March 2021
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Hi, In my previous post i mentioned a leaflet i was given regarding anal fistulas.
To quote from the leaflet 'An anal fistula is an abnormal connection between the the lining on the inside of your anal canal and the skin near your anus.
Most af's are caused by an abscess that has developed in your anal canal.The pus can drain away onto your skin on its own or by an operation.
A fistula happens when the track made by the pus on the way to the surface of your skin stays open.
Pus collects in the fistula causing infection and pain.That pus may build up and drain every now and then,or it may leak all of the time.'
It goes on to say that some fistulas are caused by other disease, including Crohns.
It will not cure itself and will only get worse over time, needs an operation.
Whilst i understand the reasoning behind your gps recommendation, the problem you describe is related to your anus,not further up in your bowel.
Perhaps another opinion.
Hope this helps.
Mike.


aaron_2000

Original Poster:

5,407 posts

90 months

Tuesday 23rd March 2021
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Appreciate all the help and advice. I'm hoping I can be out like a light for it when the time comes, I start on a suppository prescription tomorrow and find out about my scan in the next couple of weeks

SomersetWestie

403 posts

187 months

Tuesday 23rd March 2021
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mikyman said:
Hi, In my previous post i mentioned a leaflet i was given regarding anal fistulas.
To quote from the leaflet 'An anal fistula is an abnormal connection between the the lining on the inside of your anal canal and the skin near your anus.
Most af's are caused by an abscess that has developed in your anal canal.The pus can drain away onto your skin on its own or by an operation.
A fistula happens when the track made by the pus on the way to the surface of your skin stays open.
Pus collects in the fistula causing infection and pain.That pus may build up and drain every now and then,or it may leak all of the time.'
It goes on to say that some fistulas are caused by other disease, including Crohns.
It will not cure itself and will only get worse over time, needs an operation.
Whilst i understand the reasoning behind your gps recommendation, the problem you describe is related to your anus,not further up in your bowel.
Perhaps another opinion.
Hope this helps.
Mike.
All the above applied to me at 21........ Was eventually diagnosed with Crohn's after going through everything listed above !

lemonslap

970 posts

162 months

Tuesday 23rd March 2021
quotequote all
mikyman said:
Hi, In my previous post i mentioned a leaflet i was given regarding anal fistulas.
To quote from the leaflet 'An anal fistula is an abnormal connection between the the lining on the inside of your anal canal and the skin near your anus.
Most af's are caused by an abscess that has developed in your anal canal.The pus can drain away onto your skin on its own or by an operation.
A fistula happens when the track made by the pus on the way to the surface of your skin stays open.
Pus collects in the fistula causing infection and pain.That pus may build up and drain every now and then,or it may leak all of the time.'
It goes on to say that some fistulas are caused by other disease, including Crohns.
It will not cure itself and will only get worse over time, needs an operation.
Whilst i understand the reasoning behind your gps recommendation, the problem you describe is related to your anus,not further up in your bowel.
Perhaps another opinion.
Hope this helps.
Mike.
I had a complex fistula that opened up a 1 cm hole in my right check and was draining consistently (I had to wear a tena pad!), I went in for surgery but woke up in recovery to be told it had healed it's self completely and no surgery was required. Having discussed the 6 week long recovery with daily packing of gauze I was facing with the consutlant, I could of skipped around the room! This was 7 years ago and no issues since!

aaron_2000

Original Poster:

5,407 posts

90 months

Wednesday 24th March 2021
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I've been given suppositories that look like half an index finger sized white bullets, I'm skeptical though as they don't seem to sit anywhere near where the fissure is. They're once a day use so I'll use them at night before bed and the Prep H through the day, on the plus side the redness has gone down in the last few days.

Thundersports

672 posts

152 months

Monday 8th July
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I had surgery 3 weeks ago and had a 50mm (2 inch) Fissure stitched up along with 5 Hemorrhoids. I'm still struggling to walk more than 200 metres and suffering pain. What are other peoples experiences with recovery time?

Edited by Thundersports on Monday 8th July 13:28

Dan-k

564 posts

173 months

Monday 8th July
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I had a fissure for ages, was literally a massive pain in the arse! Got told by the doctor is was roids and given the bullets and referred like you have been.

When I went to the appointment and the doctor was about to use the camera and he said it was a fissure and they would operate and inject it with Botox to help it heal. Done that and it was ok for a long time.

Then it came back and this time I went for a private appointment because I couldn’t wait and he said the same but said instead of having the operation straight away I should try this Botox cream (that I can’t remember the name of )that you rub on 3 times a day.

I used it for a month and apart from the unbelievable headaches it gives you within 15 mins of application it worked.

richwain24

62 posts

9 months

Friday 12th July
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It does sound like a fissure but I had a haemorrhoids op this time last year and it was not as bad as you think. Hopefully this gives you peace of mind? https://www.mrandrewclarke.co.uk/treatments/haemor...