External Hemorrhoid - Alternative to surgery??

I am a 29 year old female who got a LARGE external hemorrhoid during pregnancy. It went away right after labor, but came back shortly after and it has been there ever since. There are days when it is excruciating, and then it will calm down and only hurt after a BM. Its about the size of a kidney bean right now. I'm currently taking stool softeners, adding in fiber and drinking tons of water. I'm going to see a colorectol surgeon this week, but my question is... short of having a hemorrhoidectomy is there anything that can be done for external hemorrhoids? It seems like all of medical treatments for hemorrhoids are for internal hemorrhoids, and for external hemorrhoids your options are surgery or deal with it - is this right???

Also, any advice from someone who has had the surgery OR found some way to avoid it is also greatly appreciated... thanks!

Surgeons don't tend to band external hemorrhoids,
since the pain would be really bad (the pain comes from
nerves below the dentate line).

At least that's what two surgeons told me when I went
to see them. However, frankly, I think they could have
gone ahead. I've had external hemorrhoids banded before
on an outpatient procedure years ago. The pain was bad, yes,
and it also felt as if someone was grabbing your anus
all the while. Has some uninary retention too - you are going
to have a tough time passing urine. But I withstood it and
the pain went away after the first or second day.

Banding doesn't normally last more than 5 years though.
And big, confluential hemorrhoids can't be banded.

Other options you could ask them are infrared coagulation,
radiofrequency ablation, or galvanic current treatment.

I have had an external hemorrhoid removed twice. The second time was the worst. I am still suffering after 6 weeks. For those of you jumping in the bath tub you can go to your local drug store and purchase a sitz bath. This fits over your toilet and can be filled with warm water. It it much better than going into the tube continually. I am sorry for all of us, it has been a terrible suffering. I am full of fiber and pain killers. However, I am making progress slowly. Best Wishes, to all.

I had internal hemorrhoid and banded them,so this problem is solved for some time...But I got an external one and I don't know what to do.
It is so painful I can't go to work.All that I red about external hemorrhoids didn't encourage me to do anything radical as surgeon etc.I hate pain!
Is there anything that can make the pain disappear complete?


THANKS!