Hi guys,
before I start asking questions, I'll give a brief info about my situation. So 3 days ago my doctor examined me and told me I had an AF. Never even knew these existed! I thought I had internal hemorrhoids because I've been struggling with my BMs for about 3 weeks, I noticed the blood and the constant pain during and after BMs :( don't even know how I lasted that long without treatment, I was so busy with other stuff that I just shrugged it off until 3 days ago, I almost fainted twice in the toilet during 2 different  BMs during the morning. I was so scared so I booked a doctor's appointment the same day. As for the near-fainting thing, my mom said maybe it's my body's way of dealing with pain because I have VERY VERY low pain tolerance (not a good combo with AF right ) and maybe cause I didn't eat any meal before having those BMs.
So I've started eating fruits and veggies + drinking water. I gotta admit, I'm very young and childish and didn't listen to my parents when they told me to stop consuming bad foods/drinks, now I have to deal with my karma and grow up I never ever eat healthy stuff, probably just veggies from a burger haha! also, I get really scared and paranoid about any kind of pain so now I'm scared to eat much :( I'm on my school holiday but school is gonna resume next week. I'm so stressed with both school and this. To top it off, I've recently gotten a nasty burn and my doctor is checking if I have problems with my kidneys because before that I had problems with the area under my stomach. I'm getting all depressed and I've been crying a lot when I'm alone and during BMs. I even wanna drop out until it's healed but I can't cause my fees have been paid. For the past 3 days I've done nothing but research and stay in bed! :\ I haven't told anyone else about it except my family, boyfriend and 1 best friend. I can tell some of them are getting sick of me when I talk about it :oops: 
I've been taking both a cream called Rectogesic (Glyceryl trinitrate) - 3 times a day - and Lactulose syrup (stool softener) - 15ml twice a day.
sorry I'm falling out of topic sooo.. here's a few questions..
1. Is the stool softener suppose to make me gassy or make my stomach rumble loudly? And my last BM was yesterday at 3pm which was very diarrhea-like! don't need to describe it, it hurt so bad so I changed the Lactolose syrup to 10ml because of it.. and when I drink the syrup, my stomach hurts a little to sometimes a lot.. is my bad stool the fault of the syrup or it is because my body is surprised with all the healthy food I've been eating? All my meals are kinda healthy now so it was a BIG change for my body.
2. So my last BM was yesterday at 3pm, it is now almost 1am here which means I haven't had a BM for nearly 34 hours! I got scared so my last dose of Lactolose was back to 15ml to help prepare me for my next BM. I'm gonna sleep soon so more hours  
Within that 33 hours I ate:
THURSDAY NIGHT:
- steak with just a few sauce + buttered broccoli + small amount of buttered corn + salad with ranch dressing + bit of white rice
FRIDAY (today):
- bowl of bran cereal with no milk for bfast
- salad + salmon with ranch dressing / grapes & 1 apple for lunch
- fried rice + squid + veggies for dinner
I'm sooo scared my next stool will be too firm and hard :oops:.. has anyone had a day with no BM yet their stool turned out soft the next day?  do you think I'm eating to low which is why I'm not having any BMs? I'm not ready for this  the past 3 days (tues - thurs), i had 2 BMs each.
3. Is coconut oil better than vaseline to help with BMs? Should I apply it after a BM as well or will it irritate the skin and cause more tearing?
4. Does magnesium tablets really help? Or is a stool softener good enough?
5. Any tips on how to deal with AF during school/work?
And just for girls, during their time of the month? :oops:
I'm very sorry if I'm talkative and sorry if I don't give good advice as I am new to this..
But thank you advance if anyone replies!

Hi Happy,
So sorry to read of your suffering. An AF is horrible to deal with and I can imagine especially when you're having to go to school and deal with the toilets there and keep it quiet from others around you......
The good news is although it can take a while, you will get through it and feel better and normal again in the end. This doesn't last forever.
The Recto is good stuff, so keep using as you've been advised and hopefully, it will see you through the worst.
In response to your queries:
Lactulose can have an effect on your stomach, so could be causing some of the symptoms you describe but I suspect that with your sudden change in diet too, your body is adjusting! If you suddenly start eating lots of bran that can cause issues and it's always advised to build up slowly to minimise stuff like this happening. It should pass after a week or so though when your body gets used to the changes.
The most important thing you need to do is drink water like you've never drunk it before ( about 3 litres a day) but you can also have fruit juices (pure and not from concentrate are better) and fruit smoothies too. This will flush everything out nicely - just imagine your body itself being a bit like a toilet and you need to flush it to clear out all the waste!!.......
Looking at your diet, I would definitely suggest a few changes you could make.....Try brown rice (and unfried) instead of white. This is far more friendly for your body to digest & then poop! If you can lay off red meats and steak for a while, this will help a lot too as red meat is really hard to digest and can take a few days to clear out properly - Chicken/ Fish/ Turkey are much better at this stage, but again better baked/ steamed than fried/ battered etc.
Just try to cut down a little too on lots of buttery things - if you can switch the butter for Olive Oil, that's a great move.
To keep you more regular, lots of fresh fruits (figs & prunes!)/ apple purees/ soft cooked veggies/ salad/ beans & water!!
Reduce things like bread (eat wholemeal but no more than a couple of slices a day) Swap all the white foods for brown ones - like pasta/ rice/ bread products.....Try to avoid deep fried foods/ fries/ pies/ pasties/ cakes/ biscuits/ burgers - Yes, all the stuff we all love!!.....but it does help.......If you drink alcohol, keep it minimal and drink lots of water at the same time because this will dehydrate you.
Also try to stick to eating regular meals at regular times because this will also help you to get into a routine too with your BMs.
I use Vaseline before a BM to help lubricate my bum so everything passes out more easily & I used to apply Coconut Oil after a BM, once I'd cleaned up because I found it really soothing - You could really use either though before a BM.
Magnesium also really helps me to keep my stools soft but of course, you need to make sure you're eating all the right foods in the first place to create good stools. I take a supplement every night and in the end, as I got better, stopped taking Lactulose and switched to Magnesium instead. You have to experiment a little to see what works best for you personally.
Try to relax about your next BM because worry makes things so much worse. Just remember for some people, one BM every couple of days is actually normal - for others it's maybe 3 times a day!! It really depends on the person and as long as what is coming out is soft & healthy, then that's the most important thing. If you start to do all the above, you WILL start to improve your BMs a lot.
Being at school, it might be a good idea to talk to a sympathetic teacher if you have one, about all your issues. This way, the school can help you out and make special allowances for you too - They will be more understanding if you need time off or need time alone because you are maybe struggling sometime?? The more people you can be open with, the easier sometimes it is to deal with it all, but obviously it's up to you to choose people you know you can trust in.
I always carried a small pack of wipes and a small tub of vaseline in my bag for work, so these will help you too if you need to go to the toilet at school. If you have a lot of pain, it's good to carry a small packet of pain killers too.....
During the time of the month! - Yes lots of us women here have been through that one too and the main thing is just to carry on as normal!....Just drink lots of fluids again and up your fruits too.....there's not too much more you can do other than make sure you are keeping your body hydrated properly.
I hope this helps you you more & I'm sure others will help you out with their own tips too. We all understand each other here, which is a great comfort!! - So if you're feeling alone with it all, just come back & chat anytime. I also felt like I used to drive everyone mad going on about my bum!!!!
Try not to get too down about it all because you will get better in the end. It's just not a nice thing to deal with in the meantime but we are all here for you. Take Care poppet x x

And probably the most important thing of all!.........
When you go to the loo, try not to push anything out yourself at all!!
This can take a little time to learn but straining is what seems the biggest cause of all for fissures and retearing them. Once you start to eat better, your stools will be able to fall out all by themselves quite naturally and if you start doing this for life, your bum will be much happier :)

Hi Happythoughts! I love your username. I think happy thoughts will help you in this process. I'm sorry you are hurting. You can talk to us, we understand! And I must say I agree with everything Optimist said. :) The water thing is an amazing help, and no red meats for me has helped. The first few days I took my stool softener/laxative I had the stomach rumble too. I just took mine at night and got up early so I had plenty of time to get all my bms out before I had to go to work. But eventually my tummy got used to it.
And I'm a vaseline fan too. Around and in. I bought magnesium but havent tried it yet bk my stool softener (Kondremul) is working so well I'm afraid to change anything. Eventually I'll be brave and make the switch. And are you taking ibuprofen? That got me thru some long work days. I also brought my hot water bottle to sit on. Although in a classroom that may be more noticeable... I'm new here too and am learning. Everyone here is so kind and helpful. I'm convinced this site saved my life. :)