Hey all, I’m new here. I’ve been lurking the past couple weeks, as I’ve been going through my issues, and finally decided to join and tell my story and ask for opinions/advice.

It started on June 28th, my 33rd birthday. Nice present, eh? I had been having back and forth diarrhea and constipation for a week or more, and painful BM’s. I had a bad habit of sitting on the toilet for way longer than I should have, and straining to force a poo out. On the 28th after coming home from the movies I went to the bathroom and bright red blood shot into the toilet with a big painful fart. Needless to say, this sent me into a panic. I have an anxiety disorder and stressing and worrying about stuff is what I do, so I spent the next few days Googling and convincing myself I had colon cancer. My grandmother got colon cancer in her 80s, so that’s where my mind went. All the worrying, I’m sure, just made my stomach more upset. I’m fairly sure I have IBS, related to my anxiety disorder. I get gas, painful bloating, sometimes aching in the left side of my gut, stomach noises, etc.

The blood in the bowl/on the stool lasted a couple days.

I was able to get the diarrhea and constipation back and forth thing under control using Benefiber and eating differently. The bleeding stopped.

A week or so later I stupidly sat on the toilet too long again and strained. Out came a painful poo that felt like razor blades. I knew before I stood up that there would be blood in the bowl. Yup. I was right. And so the cycle continued. I’m almost certain it’s a fissure. When I have a soft, normal poo everything is normal. Whenever I have the tearing, glass shards pain - I have blood. It usually turns the water red and leaves red streaks on the stool.

Considering I only bleed when I have that razor blade pain, would you regulars here agree it sounds like a fissure? My guess is I have IBS, and the IBS and bad habits led to hemmies and fissures. Right now my poos are bulkier but it’s like they’re too big, and keep tearing me up.

I know, everything online says if there’s blood always tell your doctor. I’m trying to avoid that. I can’t even take my shirt off without having a panic attack, so having someone examine my butt and insides is something I’d like to avoid if possible.

Would using Miralax help me heal, you think? And is the fact that I only bleed when I have the sharp razor blades pain a good sign that it isn’t cancer?

Oh, and I wanted to mention I had an unrelated full blood workup from my primary care doctor last week. All lab results were normal.

you need to mention this to your doctor, and get examined, it's impossible for anyone to say if it's a fissure or not. Blood is not that uncommon, sometimes the exact cause is unknown and it goes away or may come and go.

Sounds like you are straining far too much. Any change in diet or lifestyle recently? Try adding a stool softener like Docusate, and get to the doctor again.

Wouldn’t it be the mother of all coincidences to be something else though when it ONLY bleeds when I have the razor blades pain? Every painless poo is blood-free.

I am not sure If I have a fissure or not as the CRS could not find anything, but I get the shards of glass feeling but it does not always have blood or the amount you describe. I would see a specialist, its not nearly as bad as you would think and will give you answers. In the meantime you could get a squatty potty to help with the straining. I would also consider upping/ taking magnesium citrate and a probiotic.

What else causes razor blade pain along with blood? Are there any experts here?

A fissure can cause razor blade pain, I had one for a long time, it was hell.

I agree with Thorgrim, see your doc or specialist, and if they confirm a fissure then you can get on the protocol.

In the meantime do what Thorgrim suggests. One more thing you can do is lube the exit with Vaseline or something before bm.

I’ve taken Miralax for the first time, for the last 3 days, and I’ve had three days of painless, bloodless poos. Definitely think that means it’s fissure/hemorrhoid related.

What may cause the throbbing pain that may last for hours after bm? With chronic af and taking stool softeners which is a great help...

My amateur assessment is that you probably have a fissure.

You can save yourself a lot of time and energy if you learn from my mistakes. I went to 3 doctors including a gastro who all said, "I'm not sure what's going on. Maybe try a colon rectal surgeon who has more in office tools to help diagnose. After months I finally found myself in an appointment with a respected CRS. He took a look and immediate confirmed my internet detective work. I still had the fissure and two external sentinel piles. He said the course of action is try nifedipine cream and if that doesn't work we could do the LIS procedure and cut out the piles. I was quite nervous about it but decided to do it and am currently feeling really optimistic about how it went. I'm not saying you need to jump right to thinking about surgery, but you need to get a specialist involved asap or else you're going to be stuck at this level for possibly years. Don't let that happen.