Hemorrhoids

[Rikter8]

Feeding off of THIS thread since it's dated..

For those of you that have had Hemorrhoids, what do you do to prevent them from coming back.

Was it a Diet change? (i.e. more fiber)
Was it a lifestyle change?
Was it medication that helped it change?

It's one of those Pain in the asses of life that tends to strike high stressed individuals on the go. (wow. I loaded that one nicely didnt I?)

 

[eurotop40]

Stop eating fiberless, processed US junk food.

 

[goodoneinlou]

I had a hemmorroid. It would become painfully irritated from time to time, and then eventually got to the point where it would inflame at the drop of a hat.

I ended up having it surgically removed.

WORST

PAIN

EVER

I swear I felt like I had been torn in half. What I thought was going to be a simple deal, was much more painful than I ever expected. The doctors decided to give me a spinal, instead of general anethesia. It was outpatient surgery, and I was in my early 30's so they thought I'd bounce right back.

Boy were they wrong!

Within a week I was back in the hospital because of severe migranes. They had come as a result of the spinal... it left a hole in my spine that was internally leaking spinal fluid. I could hardly move because of the head pain and when I did, I'd get severely nausous (sp.) None the less, I went to the emergency room where they rushed to give me a blood patch (injected my own blood into my spine.... eeeeouch!) that produced instant relief.

Well, that is, until I had my first big poop! I swear it felt like childbirth. It was awful. And what amounted to a tiny bowel felt like I had passed a watermelon.

The end result? I haven't had any problems since. No more hemmoroids, flare ups etc. I do have some scarring down "there" but only those who most intimately know me ever see it.

Would I have the surgery again? Probably, but with a lot more mental and physical preperation. I'd also refuse a spinal and insist on general anesthesia.

Good luck, hemmorroids are a pain in the butt!

 

[Rikter8]

I had a hemmorroid.

Yours sounds like a horror story. I had one externally, and it wasn't a big deal After it was numbed up.
Before its numbed...the needle going directly into the hemorrhoid was the absolute worst. That was very painful.

I'm wondering about Internal hemorrhoids - experiences too..

 

[FRE]

I had a hemmorroid. It would become painfully irritated from time to time, and then eventually got to the point where it would inflame at the drop of a hat.

I ended up having it surgically removed.

WORST

PAIN

EVER

I swear I felt like I had been torn in half. What I thought was going to be a simple deal, was much more painful than I ever expected. The doctors decided to give me a spinal, instead of general anethesia. It was outpatient surgery, and I was in my early 30's so they thought I'd bounce right back.

Boy were they wrong!

Within a week I was back in the hospital because of severe migranes. They had come as a result of the spinal... it left a hole in my spine that was internally leaking spinal fluid. I could hardly move because of the head pain and when I did, I'd get severely nausous (sp.) None the less, I went to the emergency room where they rushed to give me a blood patch (injected my own blood into my spine.... eeeeouch!) that produced instant relief.

Well, that is, until I had my first big poop! I swear it felt like childbirth. It was awful. And what amounted to a tiny bowel felt like I had passed a watermelon.

The end result? I haven't had any problems since. No more hemmoroids, flare ups etc. I do have some scarring down "there" but only those who most intimately know me ever see it.

Would I have the surgery again? Probably, but with a lot more mental and physical preperation. I'd also refuse a spinal and insist on general anesthesia.

Good luck, hemmorroids are a pain in the butt!

It need not be painful.

I lived in Fiji from 1994 to 2004. I made a trip to Sydney to have hemorrhoids removed; it was done at St. Vincent's hospital. That hospital has done considerable research on pain control and put into practice what they have found.

The theory they have is that a general anesthetic puts the brain to sleep so that it does not feel pain, but that the nerves at the operation site still respond to pain and the pain signals between the nerves and the spine build up. The pain signals are slow to diminish so that after the patient recovers from the anesthetic, then the brain feels the pain signals.

At St. Vincent's hospital, they use both a general anesthetic and a local anesthetic. Before cutting begins, the inject the local anesthetic to prevent the nerves at the operation site from ever generating pain signals. Then, after the patient recovers from the general anesthetic, the local anesthetic is still in effect and gradually wears off. The result is very little pain.

The result? My hemorrhoids surgery was practically painless. A spinal was NOT used.

So, if anyone is contemplating hemorrhoids surgery, I suggest discussing pain control first and making the hospital personnel aware of the pain control methods used by St. Vincent's hospital in Sydney.

 

[Florida Boy]

That discussion would go really well in most hospitals, I'm sure.

 

[horneyoldguy]

Had surgery to remove mine because I had so man and it needed to be done but I am now a little fearful of having things inserted up my ass because it took so long to heal.

 

[deleted136887]

This is probably too much info, but you asked....
I live a very active live, and piles were a major PAIN IN THE ASS.
HAd piles(internal) from early eighties, lived with it. My life was structured about when and where I could crap, used to spend hours in the shitter,then needed to shower afterwards, push them back in, it was a nightmare. Travel extensivily due to my work, it got worse by the year. Ended up in hospital in India last year, then finally bit the bullet and had them removed in July 2009. (Not in India, but I understand they do a good job there @ a very reduced price)PAINPAINPAIN. But 2 weeks later I was "operartional" in the sense of passing stool, as the medicos call it. I should have had it done YEARS ago. I live a normal life now, 5-10mins on the crapper! Done.Do things now that other people take for granted, like having a crap in a plane!

Diat: Always carry some herbal mild laxitive with me, as I cannot allways control my diet re Fibre, gotta eat what's in the canteen/mess. Try to eat as much fibre as possible. NO JUNK FOOD. (Yes burgers are junk food). Lots of fruit, veggies. Lots of exersice. Try to spend as short as possible on the crapper, don't push .
I have never stuck anything up my arse, so I won't know from that aspect.

 

[starstruck]

STOP using toilet paper !! It irritates. Get in the shower and wash your ass properly and without irritation. PLEASE. If you got shit on your finger, would you only wipe it off with a piece of paper? Hell no. You would wash it with soap and water. Do the same with your ass, please.

 

[FRE]

STOP using toilet paper !! It irritates. Get in the shower and wash your ass properly and without irritation. PLEASE. If you got shit on your finger, would you only wipe it off with a piece of paper? Hell no. You would wash it with soap and water. Do the same with your ass, please.

It is not always practical to take a shower after defecating. One may be away from home.

I suggest using wet wipes to minimize the need for using dry toilet paper. A bidet also helps. Dry paper alone does not do an adequate job of cleaning yet that's all most people use. So, much of the time, most people are walking around dirty. It's disgusting.

 

[bitchmyland]

I recently developed a hemorrhoid and the pain is unbearable! I can't even sleep some nights. Does anybody know roughly the cost to get them taken care of? I'm a broke college student.

 

[Rikter8]

I recently developed a hemorrhoid and the pain is unbearable! I can't even sleep some nights. Does anybody know roughly the cost to get them taken care of? I'm a broke college student.

Depends if its external or Internal.
If it's external, they do it right there in the doctors office.
You'll want to get it taken care of... if it bursts while your out and about...you'll be a mess.
The external ones are lanced it on the spot, pack it with gauze and then you go home, soak in the tub, then pull the gauze out.

Internal is a bit more difficult. Try some preparation H suppositories in the meantime.

I'd call your docs office and get a quote.
Are you covered under your parents insurance?

 

[Astro]

I rarely experience a mild attack. Feels like something hard there, but not at all painful. After a few weeks, it subsides. When I had a colonoscopy, the urologist injected them- I asked with what and he said 'oil!' So I tell people he used old engine oil on me. It worked. Attacks not more than twice a year at most, I usually get the odd mild case. Always associated with disrupted lifestyle/toilet patterns. I think trying to cultivate a 100% regular lifestyle, and taking great care of your digestive system is the answer. As said above, keeping a good natural laxative accessible, ensuring your diet is varied with plenty of vegetables, fruit and roughage (but not too much), exercise (walking!), not straining at defecating (very damaging), and excuse the expression, becoming anal about monitoring your own healthy digestive system. Hydration is a superb constipation cure- WATER, not coke or beer! Put all that in operation, cut the junk food out, or severely limit, and I bet your body responds. You can fight it, but don't carry on as before with the same bad habits expecting a miracle.

 

[jockbear]

This is a response for bitchmyland. I had prolapsed internal hemorrhoids fixed this summer and it does not have to be to bad and hopefully to expensive. Do a little research to try to figure out if you have external or internal roids or possibly an anal fissure. Learn a little about the treatments also. I had internal ones which did not cause me much pain but there was bleeding which could be problematic and embarrassing. It would prolapse during a movement and a few minutes after I finished I could feel it pull back up into me. Some people have to physically push them back in. For me a procedure called ligation worked wonders. The Dr. put a tiny rubber band on the swollen hemorrhoids causing them to shrivel up and fall off. After they were banded I had a little discomfort not pain just a sensation of tugging. After about a week they were gone... problem solved. When I finally got over the embarrassment of having a but problem and went to the doctor it really was not that bad. Your going to have to get over people looking at your but and yes they are going to stick their finger in there. I encountered professional people who went out of their way to make things as comfortable as possible. My family doc did a quick look-see and prostate check then referred me to a Colon & Rectal Surgeon (proctologist). The procto did pretty much the same stuff then we talked about the problem at hand. He explained about the internal roids and how to fix them. In my case he wanted to do it in conjunction with a colonoscopy. I was put out for the scope and the roids were banded during the procedure. Here are a few things which can save you time and $. Docs make some of their money by scheduling multiple appointments and referrals that could be combined. If you are sure about your condition skip the family doc and go straight to the proctologist. Don't let the procto talk you into a very expensive colonoscopy unless you really need it ex: family history of colon cancer. Ligation banding can be done in the office under local anesthetic. Since you are a college student you may have a student health office with a doc or nurse practitioner who you can see for free. After going through office visits and a colonoscopy that I didn't need I learned to educate myself with healthcare, procedures, and their costs before having them. If you google or bing hemorrhoids you can see lots of info and even some videos which help you to understand. I know that it can be gross but it is your body and you need to know what is going on with it. Lastly, don wait! I am very glad that I had this fixed and the treatment was not bad at all.

 

[JMeister]

I recently developed a hemorrhoid and the pain is unbearable! I can't even sleep some nights. Does anybody know roughly the cost to get them taken care of? I'm a broke college student.

Sitz bath at least twice a day plus a visit to the urgent care clinic at a local pharmacy to get prescription strength Preparation H.

$20 + ? $100 + ?$50. If you have a primary care physician you can call them. They might save you the cost of a visit by prescribing over the phone.

 

[bitchmyland]

Thanks for all the help guys!

 

[technopeasant]

I had class 3 hemorrhoids. Bled from the inside and the outside all it took was a little constipation or loose bowel and I was in pain for weeks. Best thing I ever did was saw a surgeon he banded them in the office. Took about 4 trips and it was painful but, three months later I was a new man. I thought why did I ever put up with them for so long. At least see a proctologist or a surgeon and get their advice. Not just a GP but the real surgeon. They will recommend medicine if that's all you need and the surgery is no big deal.