I need help with rectocele

Submitted by mommynow on February 21, 2009 - 12:56pm
Body: 

I am at the point I think where it only gets worse before it gets better. I went to a gastrointestinal doctor because of the ongoing bloating I have and a fissure(s) since my daughters birth that still haven't healed. He said that I don't get enough fiber. He said even though I have a bowel movement once a day by the sounds of it I am constipated. This past week I have really been working on my diet. I have been having at least 8 glasses of water a day. I took two stool softeners, some psyllium fiber plus for breakfast I had oatmeal, flax and fruit. For snack I would have a homemade muffin and lunch lentils and veggies, plain yogurt, more fruit, for dinner usually a salad, some meat, more veggies and a grain. I got rid of my chip snack or anything sharp like nuts and had almond butter instead. However by the evening I still felt like I had stool caught in the kink (sorry for the description) but I can never go more than once a day and then the next morning when I went the beginning part is still hard and cutting my fissures. I don't know what else to do. I don't know how else to make the stool softer so that the fissures can heal. The only thing I can think of for why it is worse with MORE fiber is that my intestines and colon are now getting better cleaned out so there is backed up junk coming out. But I am just guessing. Any ideas. I can't believe I am even posting this but I trust you ladies and know someone out there has to have some insight.

Christine

February 21, 2009 - 6:58pm

Hi Mommynow,

I’m so sorry you’re having more trouble. I don’t know what the cause could be - it sounds like you’re not remotely constipated and very well fed.

I guess this is a good opportunity to share some of what I’ve been working on, although I have no way of knowing if it might relate to your situation. Even on these forums we’ve seen many women who fissure easily - including women like you who maintain healthful diets. So let me tell you a little story and try not to be disgusted. Disgust is a form of prudery, which causes people and cultural systems to close themselves to truth and understanding.

Did you know humans have a pair of anal scent glands just like other mammals? They exist on either side of the anus - from just inside the sphincter to a few centimeters up. Ours are less pronounced or active than dogs, but they most certainly are there.

About the only thing you’ll find in the medical literature about them is around the issue of anal cancer, because anal malignancy usually arises from these glands. Other than that...zippo. Kind of like the vulva, which I have deemed to be the most understudied area of the human body.

Menopausal women become very aware of their anus because these glands are supported by estrogen and when we lose our estrogen (something like 95%) extreme symptoms can develop in that area. These include horrendous itching unlike anything you’ve ever experienced, fissuring, and painful and bloody bms. It’s very easy to understand how malignancies arise from this level of inflammation - perhaps you remember that the 70s star, Farrah Fawcett, had a bout of anal cancer a year or two ago - she must be around 55 years old.

I have developed a very plausible theory for the hormonal imbalance that causes these symptoms and am working on developing a product that cuts the inflammation cycle in just the right place.

Is this area slightly affected in younger, cycling women who have no other symptoms of vulvar dystrophy? I have no idea. Just for the drill, why don’t you begin to track your symptoms. If your tendency to fissure is worse just before ovulation and for a few days after, you might consider the possibility.

Hugs,

Christine

mommynow

February 21, 2009 - 9:13pm

Thank you for your response Christine. The doctor did not even examine me. He went by the description of my symptoms. After my first baby I had the same feeling but it went away on its own. This time I am embarrassed by how long it went on before I said anything but I HATE doctors - I just mean I hate going. I have pain everytime I have a bowel movement and can count on one hand the number of times since her birth that I haven't. So I don't see any comparison to my cycle. I can not get my stool soft enough to let the fissures heal. I just remembered recently the first time that I started to take pure prune juice and finally it healed after that. But I was hoping by adding more fiber I could help things. It is funny that you bring up hormones though because I have been on a rollar coaster ride with mine. First of all being very sick the whole 9 months of my pregnancy and then all the problems related to my hormones afterward especially the insomnia. I felt like I was going through menopause because I had all the symptoms that women describe during that time. Once I stopped nursing and started my period again things have finally started to get better. I do know that my body is VERY sensitive to hormone fluctuations so I really don't look forward to menopause. I wonder if the fissures would not heal also because I was nursing and I was in a menopause like state with my hormones. It would be wonderful if you developed a product to help. I just want to let you know that I recently started to use one of your balms to see if it helps the fissures because I was getting spasms/twitching in that area driving me crazy and the doc said the constant irritation/inflamation is causing it. I am happy to report that so far (fingers crossed) it has helped so much. Thank you.

kiki

February 22, 2009 - 12:43pm

HI Mommynow,
I have huge huge sympathies. I've had similar issues, thought i know my fissures do have a number of causes. But whatever the cause, it's horrible.

A few thoughts. As for the once a day thing, I go through that and there is no rhyme or reason half the time. Sometimes a huge bowl of lentils followed by a good walk at lunch moves everything on, other times not. But, like you, if it doesn't the next morning everything is hard and painful. I have found prunes help with that, so before my period when i tend towards constipation I eat a lot of them (not dried though--that zaps water). Also a few people here have recommended positions that help some women--twisting to the right, foot up on the seat (though that can overstretch and hurt the fissures--so put it straight down if you feel it working!). I also find eating a lot of raw veg all day long helps--especially carrots. But it is so frustrating--like you I'm eating really really well, and it doesn't always seem to matter.

Re the fissures--it is horrid. I get them constantly. Things I have found that help re healing are shallow warm baths (meant ot increase circulation), putting something healing on the area first thing in the morning to soften the skin and throughout the day and then again right before going to the bathroom (a natural aloe vera gel, healing balm, etc), and i'm using neem oil a few times a day around the area and also a bit in as fissures can go quite a way back. (sorry, I'll stop about the neem--i'm just finding it so helpful though i want to sing it's praises--but promise, i don't have stocks in it!!!). For aparticularly bad fissure after birth few years ago i did get a weird foam thing from the doctor that did heal them quite quickly however it was a hydrocortisone which i don't like using but i did again a few months ago when again, it wasn't healing, figuring it was only for a few days, and at least got the initial healing going. but ultimately it only helps if you can stop it retearing...
also re the hard stools in the morning--sometimes pressing on the perineum, to one side, helps direct things a bit (my rect seems to go off to one side which doesn't help...).
and some people say don't use toilet paper. i personally don't like baby wipes because of chemicals on my insanely sensitive skin, but some people swear by that (using a balm / aloe vera before going also helps with this issue).

i hope some of this might help a bit. if prune juice worked before maybe it can work again.

glad to hear the balm is helping with the spasms / twitching. that's one positive...

kiki

mom30

February 22, 2009 - 9:56pm

OMG! I have the complete opposite. Mine is soooo soft and mushy that it just gets stuck and won't come out all the way. Then I have endless wiping. I have to reach up and press outside and inside like a tube of toothpaste just to hope to get some of it out so I don't feel like I'm going to have to go all day long. I've just gone to the gastroenterologist and colorectal surgeon (getting a scope done in her office, yuck!) just to see what the problem is. I swear, I just want to get a colonoscopy just to make sure that there's not a tumor up there blocking/doing something. I had a ct scan just to see. Came up okay. It doesn't seem to matter what I eat, healthy/not healthy/fiber/no fiber, it's still one day bad, one day semibad.

One thing, the barium sulphate and xray dye that they gave me for the ct scan gave me complete diarrhea for the next two days after. I think I lost ten pounds! The doctor did tell me to try a Probiotic called Align. They sell it at Walgreens. I'll let you know if it seems to do anything.

Uhhhggg. I just wonder how I'll ever be able to work or anything when my kids get bigger. I was always so not a bathroom at work kind of person!!! Now what?!!

louiseds

February 23, 2009 - 12:07am

Have you tried dampened gauze swabs? L

mom30

February 23, 2009 - 6:27am

I keep a jar of olive oil in the bathroom, and if I do need to have endless wiping, I pour some on tp and it really helps.

weefaith

March 20, 2009 - 8:08pm

I will give you four things: fish oil, magnesium, flax seeds, & hawthorn. I take Carlson's brand fish oil 1,000 mg a day, around 300-600 mg of magnesium (Peter Gillham's Natural Calm is a great product). These two things help IMMENSELY with softening things up, in fact, they work so well, you may want to start on half the dose I recommended, and see how your body does. The flax I grind daily in my coffee grinder, and stir it into some warm tea. Keeps things very soft. The hawthorn doesn't impact the stool, but has helped me with hemorrhoid issues. It acts to strengthen the blood vessels in the body so they don't break so easily. These supplements also have other wonderful health benefits that you can read about online. I purchase them all through Vitacost.com. They have the best prices I have found, and only $4.95 shipping no matter the order size.

I also want to say that maybe less is more when it comes to the fiber. Sounds like you are consuming an awful lot, and some people aren't as efficient at processing roughage. Good luck!