In so much pain

[Zebrina]

So I am going to get my 2nd colonoscopy on May 7th. Right now going to the bathroom is such a painful experience. I'm holding on to both sides and gritting my teeth.. My stools aren't even solid and it hurts like hell. I know I shouldn't avoid going to the bathroom, but it's so painful. I'm new at the whole fissures thing.. So I'm not sure if this is what I'm dealing with. I use the restroom and there is bright red blood in the water and not really any in the stool. I've done sitz baths, tried heating pads, preparation H, vitiamn E oil, and using vasaline. I have bad discomfort after I use the restroom so I'm usually taking a sitz bath and then sitting on a heating pad. I'm trying to tough it out but I still have two more weeks.. I've even been in tears from all this. My doctor says Pentasa doesn't treat fissures and I'd have to get a new medicine but he wants to do the colonoscopy first. When I'm prepping for my colonoscopy I am so scared I am going to lose a lot of blood and be in so much pain all day. You think they could temporarily put me on medicine that could help? I'm so confused. Any feed back will help. Thanks so much for your time. Xo

 

[theOcean]

Oh man, I'm sorry to hear you're in so much pain. I'm dealing with fissures too. Are you putting on vaseline before or after the BM? Also, if your stool is liquid: how much are you passing? Do you feel like you're not having a full bowel movement, or do you feel like your stomach is distended? I'm trying to figure out if what you have is a fissure, or if it's a flare causing it. Whenever my Crohn's is active I get loose bowel movements with tons of blood.

How many bowel movements are you having a day?

The only things I can think that would help with pain would be heavy-duty painkillers that your GI would have to prescribe you, but those can be problematic as well. It would probably be something like dilaudid (hydromorphone).

 

[Zebrina]

I was putting it on beforehand. My stools aren't liquid, I don't know how to explain it.. Kinda mushy. I've taken stool softener to see if it would help, but it isn't yet. With my BM I can get a little out, but I still feel like there's more in there but I'm in too much pain to keep going. I'm having like 2-3 because I'm holding them in. Is there any foods that help? I've heard witch hazel and aloe vera may help..

I'm scared to get on heavy painkillers because I have to go to hair school during the day and I don't want to be out of my mind and wanting to sleep.

 

[barelyalive]

Try a few tablespoons each of Olive Oil and Flax seed old before bedtime.

 

[theOcean]

Absolutely don't take aloe vera. Read our forum wiki article about it. I haven't heard of witch hazel, but I would personally steer clear of most natural remedies outside of food.

What kind of stool softener have you been using? I find that Miralax is really helpful (and is what I use), but it days 2 - 3 days to kick in, at least for me. I've also heard that Amitzia or Linzess help, but haven't tried them personally. It's more for chronic constipation problems (but also for softening). Otherwise Docusate Sodium/Calcium is what some people use, but you need to drink a lot of water with it. There are also psyllium husks, and fibre supplements that might be beneficial. Prunes can help, as well as prune juice or any food that's high in fibre.

Do you have an official diagnosis of anything?

 

[Zebrina]

Oh alright I'll have to read that. I was just looking things up on the internet. Umm I'm not for sure what it's called but I get it from Walgreens and it's a pill. So softer the stool the better? Should I keep taking them? I feel like even if it was soft it would still hurt really bad. Where do you get flax seeds at and what do they do?

Yes I have Crohns since 2011, but i still feel like I have a lot of learning to do.

 

[theOcean]

Orchid just informed me about witch hazel and says it works.

And yep, softer the stool the better, as long as it doesn't get into diarrhea territory. I used to get a lot of bleeding from fissures caused by hard stools, and once I started taking things to soften it, it really helped. Before I was totally unable to sit and in tons of pain, like you, and now I'm fine.

Flax seeds they should sell at a health store, or a place like Whole Foods.