sfericwaves

in may this year, i was hospitalized for an oral herpes outbreak. yes, i have a very severe reaction to herpes. during this outbreak, i contracted staph and urinary tract infections, all of my mucosal areas were inflamed and i couldn't eat for days due to severe ulceration and blistering of the outside and inside of my mouth including tongue. my arms, legs and chest were covered in petechiae, tiny red dots that are hemorrhages of small capillaries. about 16 hours after the outbreak started, my hands and feet became red and largely swollen. the swollen red hands & feet and urinary tract infection were new to this outbreak, all other symptoms i've gotten with every outbreak of herpes.

a general antibiotic was given to me and cleared up the swelling, another one was given for the uti. the doctors suspected there was an underlying cause, hiv or an autoimmune disorder. i saw general docs, oral specialists and dermatologists, had a ton of blood drawn for tests and after a month, well after everything had cleared back up, i had my diagnosis: no hiv, no autoimmune disorder, you are fine and just have a strong reaction to the herpes virus and we've seen it before.
meanwhile, the antibiotic i was given for the swelling and staph infection had wiped out my good colon bacteria and i picked up a c. difficile infection (bacteria that causes extreme diarrhea and colon inflammation, for anyone who doesn't know). i was given yet another antibiotic to take care of the c. difficile, and it cleared up.

all was fine until the end of july. i developed a quickly expanding mass on my neck which was diagnosed as a branchial cleft cyst. i've had 2 more courses of antibiotics since then for infections in the cyst, which have knocked it back down to being barely visible. another of these antibiotics was an all over one that would've wiped out that colon bacteria again. i'm currently awaiting the start of my health insurance so they will schedule me for surgery to have it removed.

in the meantime, i've been having bouts of constipation in varying degrees during the past couple of months, and occasional green stools over several months, which i assume to be related to all of this antibiotic taking. about a month ago, i had a bit of pain a couple of times when i went, and then about 3 weeks ago, i was having an episode of constipation and felt like something just ripped open. i checked the tp and there were spots of blood! and that was it, i couldn't go after that pain. mentally, i knew i had to have a bowel movement, but as soon as it started hurting, almost uncontrollably everything would just suck back up inside me. finally, after 2 days of much water drinking and walking, i was able to go, but in smashing pain. since then i have upped my water intake and started eating handfuls of high fiber cereals throughout the days. unfortunately some days i don't get around to eating the cereal or eating enough of it and some days i am just not digging the water and want soda instead. almost every bowel movement i've had since then has hurt in varying degrees, i've had more without blood than with, but i am still seeing the blood sometimes. my anal area is itchy. it's sensitive to the touch for a while after a painful movement, but looks & feels ok other than that. i have problems getting my bowel movements out now because my muscles tend to suck the stool back in when it starts hurting. i had more constipation again 5 days ago and took a laxative this time, some m.o.m.. when it came out, it was the worst of the pain i've experienced due to this problem, and the largest stool i think i've ever had, this thing was a green monster! stool since then has been regular timing, no efforts to get it out, first was really loose and left a burning sensation, next couple were soft and didn't hurt at all. since then, there has been more and more pain, and today i bled again, this time with a stripe of blood on the stool as well. this is also the first stool i've had since the recent constipation that WASN'T green. so obviously, after taking the laxative, my stools were soft enough that i didn't hurt, but this is only the second time in my life that i've had to take a laxative, and i'd like to keep it that way. i need to figure out how to consistently produce that soft stool naturally and either solve the problem or keep this beast at bay until my insurance kicks in and i can see a doc about it. so here are my questions:

what does this sound like, a hemorrhoid, a fissure, something else?

what are my other options for fiber intake and pros or cons to these alternatives over eating it in cereals?

are there other dietary changes i need to make?

are hemorrhoids, fissures and the like diagnosable by general practitioners or will i need to see a specialist?

does anyone know how long it takes your good colon bacteria to come back and also any foods, etc that might help that along?

should i look into any otc ointments?

since i seem to be prone to infections this year, are infections something to worry about with these types of conditions and if so, how best to ward them off?

and any other suggestions for keeping my colon healthy and happy.

thanks in advance for any replies.