Hi All. Firstly, I'd like to say I'm SO relieved to have found this forum! Reading through current threads there appears to be lots of compassion and knowledgeable answers.

So, my suffering began around 6 months ago when I started spotting some bright red blood on my toilet paper. Googling possible causes and reading about colon cancer etc scared the hell out of me and so I convinced myself it must be hemorrhoids and decided not to do anything about it. Then, a few weeks later after a BM I could feel a fairly big lump protruding from my anus. After 1-2 weeks of intense pain (still too scared to see a Doctor), I was sat in the bath one day and it "popped" with lots of red blood. I guess this was an external hem which had become thrombosed?

Since then, I embarked on a high fibre diet and the blood started to go away and now I've had NO blood for at least 1 month. However, my anus area still feels "tight" when passing a stool and the side of my anus where the lump occurred still doesn't feel quite right, it feels a bit harder than the surrounding skin. Also, I do occasionally get an itching sensation and the feeling that it is a bit "wet" down there although when I check there's never anything on the tissue. If I have a "naughty" weekend including lots of rich food and alcohol, then I suffer with quite painful BM's for 1-2 days afterwards, until I re-hydrate and my stools become normal again.

You will probably be pleased to know that I have FINALLY booked an appointment to see my Doctor in around 10 days time (which I'm still terrified about) but in the meantime I'm hoping that some other sufferers are able to offer some re-assurance. Do you think the tight anus feeling could be from the External Hem which I failed to get treated properly, maybe it has left some kind of scar tissue behind? Maybe I also have an anal fissure, associated with the Hemorrhoids? Of course I need a proper diagnosis from a Doctor, I just hope that I've not caused myself too much damage in the meantime by suffering for so long.

FYI, I'm a 28 YO male, otherwise healthy and attending the gym, but I used to have quite poor toilet habits e.g. holding it in during busy days at work, or sitting on the toilet for 15 mins "killing time" on slow office days. I now try to focus much more on keeping it regular and not sitting for long.

P.S. I used Germoloids cream for around 2 weeks but stopped using it as I read that it may contribute to damaging the skin in the anal area and causing the itching? So at this time I am not currently using any ointments to make it feel better.

Hi Dan,

It's good that you are seeing your Doctor. Don't worry about that - trust me they really have seen it all many times. From my experience it doesn't sound anything like Cancer. It could be many things, so you are doing the right thing by getting it checked out. Yes is could be a Hemorrhoid, but from what you are describing could also be a fistula-in-ano. Make sure you fully explain your condition to the Doc and get him/her to rule out an abscess/fistula.

Bottom problems are annoying, but try not to worry too much (easier said than done I know). The sooner you know what you are dealing the better - don't panic.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

LemonMan