Some (overly detailed) background: I've dealt with Hemorrhoids on a near daily basis for over two years at this point. And I don't mean minor discomfort, mine were VICIOUS. There were some days I would cry from anxiety at the thought of going to the bathroom. Unexpected life changes: For completely unrelated reasons, my doctor recently ran a blood test for me. Turns out I was dangerously low on vitamin D3 so she recommended I start taking 5,000 IUs as a daily supplement. A glorious side effect seems to be that my Hemorrhoids have disappeared. Unfortunately I can't find any medical studies (just one sort of crackpot book that recommends TOXIC levels of vitamin D3 - don't poison yourself). But if you just can't seem to find relief from them, maybe have your blood levels checked to see if you should be on this supplement. And if you're a doctor looking for a potential clinical study, consider doing this one. Fingers crossed it keeps working