Hi everyone,
Relieved to have found a forum dedicated to this issue, I have been diagnosed with an anal fissure.
A little history - I have been having bleeding for around 5 years on and off. Always bright red blood, and usually after hard stools. I can feel when it is going to bleed generally. I've been to several doctors over the years who always said fissure. Now I have developed a groove in my stool, and when I bleed - the blood is typically along that groove. I just had a colonoscopy a month or so ago, and the doctor confirmed there was a fissure - "but could see nothing that would be causing the groove".
I believe the groove is caused by the fissure.
Anyway, from reading on this forum, the thing that gets me is: it doesn't really hurt. I would call it a mild discomfort while pushing out a big/compacted stool, but afterwards it's fine, there is no pain to speak of (perhaps a little "awareness" that the area is a little tender, but certainly nothing that impacts my ability to sit, stand, walk etc). The blood is sometimes not even there after a big stool, it can be a little random.
Very occasionally there will be pain, and when there is then I understand the pain people on the forum talk about. I usually have to stand in the bathroom for 5 minutes just breathing until it settles down. But this happens say once every 3-6 months.
I'm trying to drink more water, eat better, and take fiber supplements. It's helping to a degree, but I'm still bleeding.
Looking forward to delving into all the discussion here to try and find out how to fix this, I would really prefer not to be see blood on the toilet paper anymore.