Hello all. :)
Just a short little intro:
I am 20, female.
Found this website through a NYTimes article, which I found while searching online for treatments for my rectal pain.
I would like to share my own experience here, in hopes that I could get some advice from other people here who have experienced it....

This is the very first time this condition has ever happened to me.

Basically:

Tue, July 15 - I had an afternoon dump. It was hard/large, and I forced it out. There was a slight pain, but not much, so I ignored it. Many hours later, at night, I couldn't sleep well because the pain got worse.

Wed, July 16 - Went to the bathroom in the afternoon again to take a dump. This time, it seems to be harder/larger than the dump I had yesterday; again, I forced it out (huge mistake). Only two little pieces of stool dropped onto the toilet, one of them stained with red. This is when I started-- well, panicking -- because I've never had blood in my stool before. The first time I wiped with tissue, there's a decent amount of blood; wiped again, and there were only little spots/specks of blood.

Thu, July 17 - Went to the local drug store/pharmacy. I bought:
- stool softener capsules (upon searching it up online, I believe there's a difference between a stool softener and a stimulant laxative?)
- glycerin suppository
- Preparation-H cream (the box says that it "shrinks hemorrhoids" and "reduces pain and itchiness". This also has an applicator tube that can be attached to it.)

Came home, and inserted the suppository first. Waited for an hour (I was also already having an urge to take a dump by that time), then I finally pooped. I guess that was very effective, because the stool was soft (liquid-y). No blood this time, although the pain was there (a "stinging" kind of pain).

After that, I went to eat some whole-grain bread, a plum, some prunes...also had some Kellogg's All-Bran cereal. I've also been drinking more and more water lately. After eating (+2 hours after I used a suppository), I took a stool-softener capsule. An hour later, it felt like I was about to have a diarrhea, so during the next 4 hours, I managed to take a dump for 2 different times: stool was soft during those 2 occassions, and also, no blood.
(Also, after each dump, I applied some of the Preparation-H cream.)

Fri, July 18 - I did basically almost the same things I did yesterday, the only difference is that, this time, the stool-softener capsule didn't have the same effect as it did yesterday... Took a dump twice today; in both cases, the stool was a bit soft I guess, but not liquid-y (not like yesterday's). On the 2nd dump, there was a veryyy little amount of blood stain on the stool (almost unnoticeable).

Right now, at this moment, I can ~feel~ the stool "down there", but I currently don't feel the "urge/need" to take a dump, and the poop also feels harder rather than soft.

The pain is still there; I have to sit very carefully because it kind of "stings". (I was, however, finally able to sleep well during the past 2 nights, unlike on Tuesday night.)

I haven't tried a sitz bath yet, and will be doing that soon.

Also, I actually am not sure either if it's hemorrhoids or anal fissure? (although i'm leaning more on the latter one).

From anyone's experience here, how long did it take for it to heal? A week or two, or perhaps, several weeks?
It's been bothering me for a few days now and has been the only thing on my mind; I haven't called the doctor yet about this; I also have no health insurance.
I also had the urge to just not eat for a while (or rather, eat only little food), and only drink water, which is, hey, probably not a very smart idea.

If anyone could give an advice, I would be very thankful!

Hi Peggy,

I am sorry to hear about your discomfort. You should make an appointment with a Colon Rectal
Specialist to have the area looked at, so you can properly treat the problem. An office visit should not be that expensive. If you have a fissure, NOW is the time to start treatment. A new fissure properly treated can heal in two or three weeks.

I would recommend you do the following that will help both a hemorrhoid or fissure until you can see a CRS: drink at least 64oz of water a day, use the stool softener Miralax as directed, high fiber diet, two or three sitz baths a day.

You goal should be to have one or two soft BM's per day. You need to eat regular meals as you need your BM's to be regular. Not eating regular meals creates irregular BM's and hard stools.

A doctor's visit to a CRS now can save you a lot of future pain and money as you do not want a fissure to get chronic.

Hi Peggy,
I would recommend you take miralax every night and do sitz baths (just sit in some hot water). Sounds like a fissure to me.

Sounds life a fissure. Start doing research so you do not make it worse. Prep H is bad for fissures.