We have a tofu spread here that is like cream cheese. It's quite ok. Do you like/tolerate hummus? It's one of my favorite soft spreads for lunch. I don't tolerate beans well, but hummus is quite ok.
I know a lot of people like oat-milk products too - can be worth a try.

I didn't really know about the skin 'tag' until a few days ago, or at least I didn't understand what it meant. It is also called a sentinel pile, is it not, or have I got that wrong? I have this tiny lump, like a minute hemorrhoid, which doesn't hurt (everything else hurts down there so I suppose this is one joy...so to speak). I had a day without pain yesterday, but today back with a vengeance. I have just tried this evening putting some zinc oxide cream on the outside which actually brought some immediate relief. Earlier, with the knife like pain that I often have, used Analpram inside (which a surgeon gave me to use on the outside, though why he did I don't know when my skin is thinning outside). He said I had hemorrhoids, but as I have had three ops and a thrombosed one too, I knew THAT wasn't right. When all this first started, before I altered my diet, etc., I had bleeding, but have managed to get that under control with my very boring diet.
Sorry just jumping in on the conversation. Hello everyone!

Jump on in - the water's fine! :)

For me the main source of pain comes from this " skin tag ".
I've been hurting for 6 months now.
Tried lots of things, nothing helped. Till a week ago. I knew that if you didn't have BM than it wouldn't hurt anymore. Till you had your BM.
Im not the kind of person that needs a whole lot of food anyway, so I didn't have a BM for approx 1.5 / 2 days. Than had a regular BM, pain came back, but not as much as it used to be. The pain is starting to withdraw more to the inside of the sphincter.
I mean, compared to like 2 weeks ago the pain is noticable different, less. maybe a bit more dull but not as if you're pouring salt into an open wound...
I still have my appointment with the specialist the end of the month, but perhaps it's starting to heal.
Trying my best to restrict BM till i have to, and when i have a BM than I try to push the least possible.
sigh, i hope it goes away eventually, without the need of surgery.

Darn it Bobcat! Feeling your pain. For what it's worth, I've applied witch hazel to my fissures before to stop the bleeding/help the pain. It's no miracle, but maybe it's better than nothing. The diet thing can drive you crazy. As I've gotten older I've developed more intolerances and it makes you wonder how much they might be contributing to the fissures? I've seen several people here and there on other forums say that once they eliminated gluten, fissures went away. Obviously that's just anecdotal info, but it does make me think.
mk87--do what you have to do for now, I've been down the same road where I thought I could heal if I had BM's every two days instead of every day. In the long run it really doesn't fully heal you, or at least it didn't for me. One bad BM is all it takes to start the cycle of healing and tearing all over again. Definitely keep that specialist appointment, no need to suffer endlessly with no real treatment.

Yeah the appointment still stands.
I occasionally still use wheatgrass. I now feel less pain when applying it, the site is still as if there's a tear but less painful.
Apparently a lot better as it used to be !

I had a lot of skin tags before and now I was able to get rid of it. Some easy ways are..
If the tags are bothersome, multiple home and medical options are available:
*Tie off tag at narrow base with a piece of dental floss or string.
*Freeze tag with liquid nitrogen.
*Burn tag using electric cautery or Hyfrecator.
*Remove tag with scissors, with or without anesthetic.
But it could be a bit ouchy. lol

I had a lot of skin tags before and now I was able to get rid of it. Some easy ways are..
If the tags are bothersome, multiple home and medical options are available:
*Tie off tag at narrow base with a piece of dental floss or string.
*Freeze tag with liquid nitrogen.
*Burn tag using electric cautery or Hyfrecator.
*Remove tag with scissors, with or without anesthetic.
But it could be a bit ouchy. lol

well, before you go about exploring the above options, it would be great to determine if you do actually have a skin tag or something else.
HPV can grow in the anal and genital area and it would be unfortunate to mistake it for skin tag(s) which is possible.

I've recently have had an anal fissure that has re occurred over 5 years now I thought it was a thrombosed hemmorhoid and treated it like such for along time with no results. Over the years it continued to get progressivly worse. I recently went to see a CRS and he told me I had an chronic anal fissure and that the skin was a sentinel pile. While he said they do not hurt mine tends to swell up causing a stinging and dull aching sensations while sometimes it last only minutes while other times it last all day. I know it's not the fissure because to me is a whole different kind of agony. Sometime it's just a flat piece of skin and other days it swells and hurts does this happen to anyone else?