hello..

recently about.. 4 or 5 days ago i had my last bowel moment.. when i had it only a small piece of stool came out.. about a two inches.
i had to strain to make that happen which probably was not a good idea..
over the past couple of days i have been unable to have a bowel moment due to extreme pain.
The moment it begins to expel i go into an very painful stage as if my anus was being ripped. this is not an internal pain (although it is somewhat sore just a tad) but more of a external pain around the er.. anus. it feels like its kind of being ripped. and the pain is so bad that i have to hold it in.
i dont think i have an exposed hemorriod but i do think i may have swolen vains of some sort? im hoping this will subside..
im afraid to take a laxative of a stool softener because i dont want to have to go even more with all the pain I have now..

i know i didnt explain this very well.. but please can someone give me some input?

thanks.. chris