I have been reading around about this condition most of us here share and I thought it prudent to share my own experience; it might help someone.
I started this nightmare about seven months ago. On consulting Dr. Google, I narrowed my diagnosis to be Hemorrhoids, Anal Fissure or Anal Cancer. Due to the implication, I avoided giving the last option a lot of consideration. In the early days, I visited a clinic with the hope that my problem would be investigated. The ''Doctor'' who saw me didn't even do a physical examination on me but sent me for a stool lab test. The shocking thing was that what he was looking for and did get, like he will in almost 100% of his patients, Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) was really so irrelevant with my symptoms that I immediately dismissed him as a quack. I didn't have any Ulcers manifestation and I had clearly told him I had anal pain during BM with fresh blood at the tail end of my stool and on the tissue paper.
Anyway, fast forward. Both Hemorrhoids and Fissure as per Dr Google are harmless inconveniences that can be treated by diet, lots of fiber, water and sitting on hot baths after a BM. I also started using suppositories and Lidocain. These efforts seemed to contain my problem and since my BM will be normally once in the morning I did manage to live with the problem without much issues in the first months.
However, after months of my condition not showing any sign of dissipating like Dr Google had advised, the possibility of my problem being a bigger one started getting real and of course fear of doing a proper check set in. I know Cancer from my experience with my own relatives has got such dire consequences that I dilly dallied in seeing a specialist. As time progressed, I started needing to take pain killers to dull the pain after my morning ritual. Initially, one 400mg Ibuprofen was enough to get me through the day until the next morning. Progressively this started being ineffective and had to migrate to stronger over the counter options. Diclofenac 50mg was the next stop which eventually stopped being ineffective as well and had to start using 100mg. I knew I had to seriously address the issue otherwise long term usage of NSAID's would bring other complications sooner or later. But I kept getting excuses not to do it. I would dread my next bowel movement for the anticipated throbbing pain, itching once in a while and generally leading a nightmare for a life.