A:
The pain and discomfort from my butt problems has certainly affected the libido and has from time to time seen ED rearing its ugly head!

However, many health problems have the potential to affect the little fellow’s ability and performance . You should speak with a doctor to ensure there isn’t any other health problem that could be the root cause of the erectile dysfunction e.g. kidney, heart problems, vascular disease, etc.

It is important to be checked out by a doctor to ensure the blue pill isn’t going to cause you any problems.

The doctor has seen this all before and should be reassuring that a normal life can be resumed! Don’t allow any embarassment put you off going along to one. Goodness, if you’ve been along with the AF to a doctor then you should hopefully be through the embarassment stage with any doctor and “down there” problems.

I understand your frustration- I saw 3 different gastro Drs for my Crohn’s and terrible anal pain. The first one told me i was wiping too hard and said to use baby wipes. The second one kept giving me suppositories- which just aggravated things trying to insert them. The third one listened to me, then examined me and said I had a fissure and referred me to a CRS.
See if the next Dr will give you nifedipine- most of us here seem to feel it works better then the nirto or diltiazem, another cream often prescribed. Actually, my 1st CRS refused to give me a script for it- she said she only gives nitro , Botox or surgery. She also told me because I have Crohn’s, she didn’t feel I was a good candidate for surgery but told me I’d eventually get soo bad I’d beg her for it. I didn’t like that attitude, so I asked to have a 2nd opinion from her higher up, and have been with him ever since. Actually, my gastro DR gave the script for the nifedipine when the 1st CRS refused to give it – bless him! The 2nd CRS now refills it. Hope you can find some relief!

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I’ve been dealing with anal fissures on-and-off for 7 years. Writing this down helps me 
feel less alone and embarrassed about this debilitating condition.

When the condition started I didn’t know what was wrong. I went to three doctors, one
who was a colon-rectal specialist, and even had a mini-colonoscopy, which I now realize
probably made the condition worse. After all that, the doctors kept telling me that they
couldn’t figure out why I was so uncomfortable. Needless to say, I’m extremely angry at
these doctors for practically dismissing the agony I was in. I was young, embarrassed and
naive, so I didn’t pursue the issue further and tried to figure out how to live with the
extremely uncomfortable symptoms.

I’ve had long periods of time in the last 7 years without suffering from the symptoms. But
the fissures are back with a vengeance. I gave birth 9 weeks ago. During the pregnancy I
had horrible morning sickness. The only thing that helped to reduce the nausea was a
medication that made me constipated. Anyway, by the end of the pregnancy I had anal
fissures and the vaginal birth only made things worse. During the pregnancy, I kept
complaining to my OB about pain and spotting during BM’s. She told me it was
hemorrhoids and there was nothing I could do.

I was finally diagnosed 2 weeks ago as suffering from anal fissures. While I was grateful to
finally know what was causing my symptoms, I’m extremely concerned that I may never
recover from the fissures. I’ve been using the nitroglycerin ointment for about 1.5 weeks.
There is some improvement but I doubt that the ointment will heal everything. The doctor
said that if I didn’t see a significant improvement after using the ointment for 2 weeks,
then I’d need surgery to get rid of the fissures.

The idea of a surgery that could leave me flatulent or incontinent is absolutely terrifying.

I’m going to get a second opinion in a couple of days. I live in Seattle. Does anyone have
recommendations for doctors, acupuncturists or naturopathic doctors that can help with
this condition?