I'm a 44 year old male.. and I've had IBS-D for a few years now. I always feel pressure in my lower abdomen like I need to have a BM... in the past sometimes I strained just to get something to come out... this is what probably led to the hemorrhoids
I had hemorrhoid surgery in May 2015 to remove 2 hemorrhoids. After the surgery I was left with a large skin tag .
For the most part I was fine after the recovery but the area with the skin tag has always felt odd, and now it's burning.
About 2 months ago I started having a burning sensation whenever I had a BM. The burning sensation started out lasting about 20 to 40 minutes. Now the burning sensation lasts the entire day. About 3 weeks ago the burning got much worse... My family doctor examined the area and put his finger inside and did not see or feel a fissure, and the ER doctor also examined the area about a week after and also put his finger inside and did not see or feel a fissure... the ER doctor told me that it's most likely a muscle spasm and prescribed Petroleum Jelly with 2% Diltiazem. The area is very pink.
I'm usually a little better in the evenings and able to get to sleep but as soon as I have the first BM in the morning it starts burning again and gets progressively worse throughout the day after each BM.
Taking Sitz baths for 20 minutes at a time relieves the pain temporarily and I pass a lot of gas when sitting on the Sitz bath because I guess the sphincter muscle is finally relaxed. Most of the rest of the day I'm bloated.
I've been reading that with fissures people usually have an itching sensation and a lot of blood... Mine doesn't itch, it burns a lot though. And if I apply any ointment it starts burning immediately... so I think there is probably a break in the skin (as applying the same cream on the palm of my hand produces no sensation) It's very sore whenever I touch the skin, feels very raw. The only blood I've seen is a couple of drops the size of a pin head on the toilet paper but no drops when I have a BM...
Not sure if this is the beginning of a fissure or if it's Anusitis or something else... I would think if it was a fissure there would be a lot of blood.
Does the Petroleum Jelly with Diltiazem generally work? and I've been reading mixed comments about whether it's supposed to be used internally or just externally...