NC for this for obvious reasons. Highly embarrassing and very personal so please go easy. I'm not able to talk to anyone else about this, even dh.
Since my early teens I've had what I can only describe as a little flap of skin at the bottom of my anus. Pea sized probably. I saw a doctor about this and distinctly remember it because I was only about 14 and utterly mortified by the experience. She said it was a skin tag. Never caused me any issues except being a bit unsightly.
20 years on I'm now in my mid 30s and two pregnancies and IBS has also left me with piles in the area that have never gone away, the whole area is just a total mess to be honest. My IBS doesn't help because every time they settle down I have a bad bowel movement and things swell and flare again.
I've seen doctors before and have also had two colonoscopies in the past 10 years for IBS reasons. Nobody has ever expressed concern about the state of my arsehole. But I'm feeling really fed up and actually quite worried. The symptoms of anal cancer are very similar to what I have and while I know it's vanishingly unlikely that I've got that, it still plays on my mind. Topical creams help the itch and soreness so it doesn't interfere with daily life but I'm just very paranoid and wondering if this is how I'll be forever. There's so many lumps and bumps down there, it just feels unnatural.
Has anyone else had similar and how did you deal with it? I know surgery is an option but I don't think it's bad enough just yet to do that. Any solidarity would be good as I feel very fed up and embarrassed.