I am new here and I apologize if this question has been asked a lot, I searched around and to my surprise did not find very much. A little background on my situation:

Last November my poop started feeling like it had glass in it, I have felt this sensation before, but this continued for a week and eventually there was blood, I would describe bowl movements as uncomfortable with no lingering pain - I went to a DR and he said it was internal hemorrhoids told me to take RX hyrdocortisone suppositories and prep H suppositories- discomfort and bleeding went away in a day of two. DR looked me over but didn't look inside or anything like that.

Around Christmas the problem kinda came back, had small amount of blood used prep H suppositories, went away in a day.

In late February I got really bad stomach flu- lots of liquid and repeated bouts of it- about a week later I found some blood on my stool, not as bright as before but blood for sure. went back to Dr and did a few days of prep H and went away.

one week ago I had two pretty large (but not hard BM's) the next day I started to feel the glass feeling while going to the bathroom. Over the week I have tried to manage it the best I could with diet, sitz baths, moisturizing oils etc. it seemed to get a little better but this morning there was possibly a tiny amount of blood so I started doing the prep H again.

Now that this has happened a few times in just 6-8 months I am planning on seeing a proctologist, which may take a few weeks, so I am curious if this sounds like an anal fissure or Hemorrhoids? I have looked myself over a few times and I have seen nothing out of the ordinary on the surface, the discomfort while going to the bathroom always seems to happen in the same place (on the left side of my rectum, feels farther up)

I eat pretty healthy but do eat animal protein, I do believe that there is a correlation between red meat consumption and my "glass" feeling. I eat between 30-50 grams of fiber a day, I am a 29 yo male and I am an endurance athlete and get plenty of exercise. My stool runs a gambit of shapes and sizes from bristol 2-4, mostly 3-4.

TLDR: poop feels sharp or glassy, sometimes a little blood, feeling and blood go away with Prep H, no lingering pain during the day, internal hemorrhoids or fissures?

Thought I would update in case someone else is going through a similar issue- I went to a Proctologist who did a serious look over/ exam- he found nothing wrong with my hemmroids and no anal fissures. He said what I was describing sounded like a tiny fissure/ abrasion but it had already healed and the reason it went a way with prep H was because it was lubing everything up. We decided I was wiping too hard, sweating too much, and on top of that I live at high altitude (9000 ft)/ really dry area, which is probably drying out my skin more. he recommended some creams with zinc oxide and a stool softener if I feel like I need it, and less wiping/ jump in shower instead.

I have been using coconut oil around the area for healing and lubrication, I think that is the best stuff I have found, it seems to absorb better than petroleum jelly, works as a lubricant as well as moisturizer. Drinking lots of water and then getting adequate fiber helps as well- 14 grams/ 1k calories works for me since I eat a lot. I also think foods like steak, beans, and possibly too much oatmeal give me harder/ bigger/ wider stools. I read a lot of info on this sight about eating less fat, in my experience eating lots of good fats makes the stool softer and easier to come out- fats like coconut oil, olive oil, avocado, and duck fat. I also upped my magnesium, omega 3 and zinc consumption and started taking a really quality probiotic.

What made this difficult for me is the original doctor I went to kinda gave my butt a once over and told me I would need a colonoscopy to figure anything out, which is not true. If you are having issues go to a proctologist or CRS.

Was the exam made by a proctologist very painful? Did you need to drink lots of bad stuff like for a colonoscopy?

I'm not sure myself if I have AF or hemmos... very painful when stool is bulkier and then pain for a week, and then it's better for a couple of weeks, but still sometimes I feel like a fake-urge to go, like there is still some issue there.

No, it was pretty simple I got on a table and he looked around with his finger and some other instrument. Nothing like a colonoscopy, but I have never had one.

I would see a proctologist, I scoured the internet for months trying to figure this out, i think some of my feelings were in my head. I would not see you GP for this.

I put vaseline or coconut oil on there everyday and a cream with zinc oxide. Its kind of annoying but it helps when the stools are bigger/ bulkier.

Find a good doctor and make an appointment.

Thorgrim wrote:No, it was pretty simple I got on a table and he looked around with his finger and some other instrument. Nothing like a colonoscopy, but I have never had one.

I would see a proctologist, I scoured the internet for months trying to figure this out, i think some of my feelings were in my head. I would not see you GP for this.

I put vaseline or coconut oil on there everyday and a cream with zinc oxide. Its kind of annoying but it helps when the stools are bigger/ bulkier.

Find a good doctor and make an appointment.

Thanks, will do. Will ask my GP (I already have an appointment in two weeks) for a reference so I can see a proctologist. I just hope it won't be too long before I see one.

Do you see any improvement with coconut oil vs Preparation H?

The Proctolgist I saw said prep H was kinda useless and it works because it lubes everything up. I think its bad to use long term because if its the cream it has steroids in it, I have seen no difference between the two, but coconut oil does not have any side effects. The "vaseline" I use does not have petroleum jelly in it, I got it at Vitamin Cottage, it is probably better for skin. The cream he recommended is called Calmoseptine, I usually use it when its hot or I am working out- it has zinc oxide and a little menthol. Got it at Walgreen's.

If you have a a lot of really bulky stools, I would double check and make sure you are not eating too much fiber. When I first had this problem I really upped my fiber and was taking in like 50-75 grams a day, and I just had a lot of really big stools as a result. I found 35-40 grams is best for me, and upping quality fats like olive oil, coconut oil, and Avacados helps to make things soft and smaller. I would also recommend a really quality probitic- there are some specific strains that aid in making quality stools so do a quick google search before you buy. Also minimal wiping followed by a shower helps any irritation, no soap, just water and air dry. Also consider getting a Squatty Potty- it helps with getting everything out and may reduce your urge to need to go again.

Thorgrim wrote:The Proctolgist I saw said prep H was kinda useless and it works because it lubes everything up. I think its bad to use long term because if its the cream it has steroids in it, I have seen no difference between the two, but coconut oil does not have any side effects. The "vaseline" I use does not have petroleum jelly in it, I got it at Vitamin Cottage, it is probably better for skin. The cream he recommended is called Calmoseptine, I usually use it when its hot or I am working out- it has zinc oxide and a little menthol. Got it at Walgreen's.

If you have a a lot of really bulky stools, I would double check and make sure you are not eating too much fiber. When I first had this problem I really upped my fiber and was taking in like 50-75 grams a day, and I just had a lot of really big stools as a result. I found 35-40 grams is best for me, and upping quality fats like olive oil, coconut oil, and Avacados helps to make things soft and smaller. I would also recommend a really quality probitic- there are some specific strains that aid in making quality stools so do a quick google search before you buy. Also minimal wiping followed by a shower helps any irritation, no soap, just water and air dry. Also consider getting a Squatty Potty- it helps with getting everything out and may reduce your urge to need to go again.

Yeah my problem started when I started to eat "better". All I ate for a year was vegetables, legumes, and my home-made bread with bran, flax, nuts, etc. I made foot-long turds for a while before pain got in. I'm trying to reduce my intake of fiber but it's not easy because if I don't eat enough then constipation is back with a vengeance.

I already tried probiotics in the past but saw no results. I've read that stomach acidity destroys most of them. Is there a way to get some that would somehow survive the stomach and get to where it counts? It doesn't sound like a long-term plan, but I will try.

I will try the squatty potty as well.

Thanks