Stretching and bleeding

I've been playing with my asshole for more than a decade now. I'm into stretching and up until last year I cloud get XL plugs and dildos up there without a problem. I stopped anal play for about 6 month because I was too busy working and a couple months ago I started going at it again. However, my hole got significantly smaller. I'm only able to stick medium size dildos there now and whenever I force it a bit it starts bleeding. It's fucking frustrating. Then I have to wait a few days for it to heal to try again. But it's always the same. Does anyone know how to avoid bleeding? How come my hole got so small again? I've also gained like 20 pounds since last year, could that be the reason?

You are overdoing it.

Bleeding is caused MUCH MORE by friction and poor lubrication due to pulling on the skin, tearing the skin layers apart than stretchability of the anus. That DOESN'T mean that if you lubricate very well with a good slippery lubricant you won't have pain if you try to stretch too far, because the muscle will spasm or respond with pain to overstretching just like a gymnast doing a split.

Oils ARE NOT as good as some water soluble lubes regarding their ability to slide. Oils do not dry like may water soluble lubricants, but the good and very slippery water soluble lubricants like astroglide and probe have greater lubricity than oils. You can prove that to yourself by applying an oil based lube and rubbing your fingers together and then by doing the same thing with astroglide. The astroglide is MUCH more slippery on your skin, but you will need to reapply if you are playing for a period of time.

The anal sphincter is just another muscle. If a gymnast stops doing stretching exercises, they lose the ability to get into certain positions too. If you want to be stretched, you have to do it regularly.

Oh lord, why stretch yourself? ??. Aren't you worried about being incontinent? Perhaps your anus fibrosed or scarred so you can't dilate as much! Not for me!

Liquidsky, being capable of stretching to accept a fist for example doesn't mean you will be incontinent. I can fist my husband to my elbows and a few minutes later give him a three quart enema and he'll hold it as long as I demand.

A gymnast doesn't lose her ability to stand up just because she can do splits.

Oookay, just not for me, I guess.

Hopping in to add to the positive, rather than negative, feedback. As Susie suggests, bleeding and pain is a sign you're overdoing it. Stretching at your body's rate isn't something that will cause long term problems if you don't push it. I can relate to the OP since I've taken breaks in the past and I've had to listen to my ass while I work back up to my previous abilities. If you can, play a couple times a day. An enema session can help relax you, in addition to the obvious clean out effects. I know OP didn't mention this but it's worth saying: intoxicants are often recommended to help numb pain and speed the process, but that's a dangerous use; maybe for relaxation if you aren't ignoring what your mind and body are telling you as a result. I like Probe, as Susie recommended, as well as Maximus and J-Lube; each offering properties helpful for different applications. I use Probe for warmup and light play, Maximus for thrusting lubrication and J-Lube for moving to larger sizes and depth play. I've also found that wearing a medium plug and applying jojoba oil before and after play is soothing.

As Susie said, if you don't consistently practice you will slowly loose your ability to stretch your muscles. I have noticed this same effect even if I don't consistently use my modest toys of 1.5 inches in width.

Sounds like you need to start at a point with inserting what you can and slowly build back up to where you were. If you took months or years to reach where you were at your best, it will likely take a few months to re-trace your old trend-line of muscle conditioning. Look at the bright side, you should really enjoy the training process in getting back to where you were.

Anyone just use. plain Ivory soap as a lubricant. I've been using it on an inflatable nozzle. Works just fine

But soap burns.

DO NOT USE SOAP on irritated tissues.

It burns and will break apart immature healing cells.

Soap is great for cleaning wounds, but not as a lubricant on irritated skin.