Hey everyone, been awhile since I posted. Not sure what is going on and I have been told conflicting things by two different doctors so hoping for some opinions here. I've had skin tags for some time now, or maybe you'd call them minor external hemorrhoids. Usually they're fleshy & pink & not overly painful or inflamed, but they're always there pretty much. There's about 3 small ones in a little bunch & sometimes they get very inflamed but usually they stay nonsymptomatic. But a couple months ago, in November, I had a very painful bowel movement and some spotting, and they got VERY inflamed and swollen. For several days I had the worst pain ever every time I had a bowel movement. Like severe, sharp, shooting pain. I went and saw my CRS and he had me bend over and looked and said I had thrombosed hemorrhoids and that they would not get better and should be removed. He scheduled me for a hemorrhoidectamy. Both my parents had this done too but they were much older than me. I was a bit freaked out. But this CRS is one of the best around so I assume he knows his stuff. Well, I wanted to see how I did so I tried diet changes and stool softeners and olive oil with every meal and 2 sitz baths a day, and the swelling went down and the pain went away. I saw another CRS more locally a few days later and he said he was more cautious when it comes to hemorrhoid removal. He said see how I do on my own first and go from there. Now granted he is a CRS too but not as highly regarded as the first one I saw. So the first said to have them removed, the second said to wait for now. I was fine for a couple months basically with home care. Also used witch hazel pads. Although I was still kind of walking on eggshells and afraid to lift much, etc.
Fast forward to this week, had a routine bowel movement, and bright red blood on toilet paper again. No pain at all though. And no visible change in the external hemorrhoids appearance. Just the bright red blood on the toilet paper. I had a couple other bowel movements since, and they didn't have bleeding, but one today did again. I should also add that I had an anal fissure about a year ago, that I assume I healed from. So I don't know if the blood is from the hemorrhoids or the fissure coming back. I had a rectal scope done as recently as July of 2014 and the CRS said it looked boring, his words. In other words ok. A couple years ago, I did have an internal inflamed polyp that bled a lot and I had to have it removed. But I don't think something like that would come back so soon, would it? I also had an anal pap test done this past summer and it was normal.
But this continued spotting freaks me out are the chances it is just the hemorrhoids acting up? They are tender to the touch but not painful like they were 2 months ago.
Maybe I should have taken the first CRS's advice and had the hemorrhoidectamy. I'd just like to avoid something that drastic if I can. What are my other options? What about banding or ligation? I have anxiety disorder and also Asperger's and this is really freaking me out. Im doing all I can in terms of home care but I'm almost to the point of wanting to just have the surgery if thats what it comes to to be over all this. I know this is a long post I apologize.Thanks for any suggestions.