Winterberry...thank you so much for your response. I do have a bidet, also sitz bath. I've started to really watch my diet to help gain control. It's comforting to know this is "normal" and an end in sight. I really don't care about the frequency of going....it's the pain, burning and itching when it lasts for a long time and won't let up. It gets so bad I just want to bang my head against a wall to defer the pain or worse. On day three of watching my diet carefully and tolerable...fingers crossed. Thanks for sharing your advise.