Sorry you are suffering, the same thing happened to me with DS.
Dont eat the bran flakes though!! There is a book called Fibre Menace which explains why. Basically natural fibre is good (vegetables and fruits) but anything heavily processed like Bran flakes, All Bran, Ryvitta etc is very rough on your system. It is just forced through and can cause damage on its way down and out. It also swells and hardens on its way through making your stools larger, harder and therefore more difficult to pass. Fibre is not broken down by your body in the way that other food groups are, so although it is good for "getting things moving" its a bit like driving a tank down a side road. Although you need to avoid being constipated, you should aim to do this by keeping your stools soft so they pass easily.
Here are some things that can help:
Get a small footstool (toddler steps dont look too out of place in the bathroom) and use it while you go to the loo. This helps you evacuate your bowels completely and without have to push and strain as much.
Use Aloe Vera gel (supermarket, sun tan cream section) as a cooling relief. It wont cure it but it is very soothing and you can apply as often as you want.
Make it your goal to find out what kind of foods act as stool softeners for you and eat them regularly. Try black beans or kidney beans.
Add lots of apple cider vinegar to your diet, it contains lots of minerals that are good for strengthening veins but also helps you digest your food better and softens stools.
When you have had your baby (not before, because its not safe) take Butchers Broom and Horse chestnut vitamin supplements, both of which are good for your viens, so they help with piles and varicose viens too. (lets hope you dont get them, though, being cursed with piles is bad enough 
)