Hello all; I'm so sorry you all are dealing with (or have dealt with) this problem. My AF happened after a stressful few months, followed by a course of antibiotics that I probably didn't need. Going number 2 has always been extremely easy for me; I don't know why. I've gone twice a day for 99% of my life, and until I turned 30, I had no concept of what it meant to be constipated. So maybe this is a lesson in taking things for granted....I'm not sure. But I don't think I compensated properly for the antibiotics, and it has messed my GI tract up pretty badly.
Anyway, I didn't even know this thing had a name until I found this forum. And let me just say: this is the worst thing I think I've ever had to go through in my life. It feels stupid to say that, but it's awful. The past few days of it have been agonizing, and when I realized that it could go on for so much longer, I felt like crying my eyes out.
Today has felt like the worst day so far. I'm not sure that the pain has actually been worse today (in fact, I didn't have any bleeding; so that's a plus), or if I'm just worn out from bracing myself every time I need to use the restroom. My DH, who suffered from constipation and an AF as a teenager, tells me that this is just a part of life. But having never dealt with this particular part of life, I guess I'm just feeling depressed and unprepared. I just got over a nasty case of tonsillitis, to top things off, so I feel like my body is being abused from the inside out.
I haven't been to the doctor yet, as I just moved to a new state and am really not fond of the GP I've been seeing. I'm not sure if I should go or not; that's part of why I'm here, I guess. To get some insight and learn from people who know what this is like. I'm not sure how to tell how bad it is, or if it will go away on its own or not.
Thanks for being so willing to talk about something so humbling, guys. I'm glad you're here. =)