Ughh piles

@FlorenceB19 my surgeon was very dismissive of pelvic pain and hypertonic pelvic floor being linked to my issues but he’s wrong, he’s just focussed on his area of expertise. I was also an academic in my previous life and I know how specialised you can become but the human body just doesn’t work like that. Problems in one area have knock on effects far beyond that specific tissue and it’s so easy for us to end up going down a path where we feel we’re falling to bits. But I think once you get to the bottom on it, everything will start coming together again. It is worrying not knowing for sure what’s going on and whether it could be the big c or something serious. Once I had my diagnosis I could get my brain in gear and tell myself I wasn’t dying and I would get better, and that has really helped. It sounds like you have a lot going on but you will likely find they’re all just feeding each other. I was also fine before all this kicked off, with a good base level of health. I’ve reminded myself of that a few times so I know it won’t take much to get back to that as you’re not starting from a very low point. Good luck!

Fibrous

Thank you for your reply, I will look into panicura.

Tbf.. I am awaiting results from an MRI on my Lumbar & sacrum due to overactive muscles in right thigh, buttocks as well as the internal anal sphincter! Unsure if it's all related as symptoms appeared around the same time. Which has also triggered gluteal tendinitis and bursitis hip due to my ITBand

I'm also awaiting surgery to remove a Dermoid cyst on my right ovary, so I wasn't too sure if inflammation was irritating the nerves to cause the constant spasms within those regions 🤷🏽‍♀️

If MRI is clear, I'm hoping they will refer me for a camera to see why/what has been causing long term pain & symptoms.

(Omg I don't think I could wait another 9 months for a proper diagnosis)!

I just want to be pain free & able to return to work asap.

I'm not usually one to have health anxieties, however we do hear horror stories of the big 'C' being misdiagnosed as haemorrhoids 🫣

I've never had issues in this department before, yet I am now 4 years post menopause & the past 18 months, my health has become systematical!!

I'm happy to hear that you have found relief from your symptoms 🫶🏼

@FlorenceB19 that sounds awful. I really feel for you. I’ve been using the diltiazem cream for six weeks now and I have no pain or bleeding on bowel movement. I have some pain from my external haemorrhoids but it’s pain I can ignore. I got some cream from the states called panicura after watching some YouTube videos and that is really mentholly and it really detracts from the discomfort in the region - maybe you could order some of that?

im not sure what’s going on - can you ask for a referral for a sigmoidoscopy for a definitive diagnosis? The wait list in my region was nine months so I paid for one. I did have a call with the nhs surgeon last week and he said since I seem to be on the mend they would not repeat it with the nhs as he said it would risk a re-tear and to just wait and see if it comes back. But he said their standard treatment for fissures now is the cream, and to just repeat as many times as needed.

My full sympathies to you!

I've also been experiencing chronic pain since March. Only had digital examinations and told it's a thrombosis haemorrhoid yet symptoms mirror a fissure!

Agonising pain 8-12 hours after a BM.
My internal anal sphincter constantly spasms and that's what causes the pain.

It has taken a GTN ointment to relax muscles, yet pain & intermittent bleeding remains after 5 months. (Unsure why I've developed these symptoms)

I've been off work since May as the symptoms & pain has been too much to bear! (Feeling embarrassed, pathetic and weak willed for not being fit to work due to bloody piles!!) but seriously the pain!!!

I've been bridging paracetamol & ibuprofen every 2 hours, days on end to take the edge off the pain.

I'm not even constipated & I continue to have 1 BM daily. Yet remain in constant pain for hours & hours after!

I'm at a loss as I don't know how or what to do to????

Be careful with using suppositories because they thin out the skin.

It wasnt the procedure itself but the aftermath. They made me stay at the hospital for 10 mins afterwards and I felt okish. Then drove home and got caught in traffic. By the time I got home I felt like I had something shoved up my bum and was being sick. The pain was awful for around 12 hours. Woke up and it had stopped. Mine were bad tho.

My DH and I felt absolutely nothing. Banding was fine and cured the whole thing. I wonder why yours was so different? They only put an elastic band round the piles to cut off the blood supply so they wither away and drop off, nothing to cause pain really.

Fellow pile sufferer here [hugs]. I've internal piles for the most part, I've been hospitalised numerous times due to pain and bleeding and the response is always to eat more fibre .
If mine come out and are inflamed, an effervescent tablet such as paracetamol or aspirin, dipped in water (to activate it) and placed on the pile really helps with psin and reducing swelling.
I make my own garlic suppositories for internal pain and they are a game changer. Basically cut the outer layer off a garlic clove to make it into a 3d rectangular shape (and cutting it exposed the garlic 'juice'), dip it in olive oil then insert. It stings like mad for a few minutes, then it's fine and is very good at reducing them in size and a natural pain killers. Be prepared for pungent garlic smelling poos though!

God i had mine banded. Never again. I threw up with the pain. Due to this ive decided against actual surgery which is meant to be worse.

Just go private and get rid of the piles why live like this in pain

I use a gel called Wype on toilet paper to clean mine. I can’t use toilet paper alone, it’s too painful.

I had a sigmoidoscopy and discovered it’s a recurring fissure causing me so much pain, I think the haemorrhoids are pretty stable. Have you had a camera to check yours at all? The treatment might be different - mine is now. I need to learn how to relax my pelvic floor so it can heal. I was gearing myself up for surgery but that’s no longer the preferred route.

it’s all miserable, though. I’ve had hardly any pain free days since December. It gets you down!

There are capsules you insert that shrink the piles but temporarily

That does sound worse than what I had, my son has the same. Good luck with your appointment at I hope they can help you. My life was transformed after they'd gone, haemorrhoids are very difficult to live with.

That’s great, you must be very happy. I have a permanent flower around my bum, I have a few permanently on the outside.

Anyway, after yet another week of agony and no help from my gp, I’ve decided to go private and have an appointment with a surgeon tomorrow to discuss a plan. I didn’t really want to spend most of my savings on a painful procedure but think things are just getting worse and worse the longer I’m on the nhs waiting list. I look forward to the day (if there ever is one) where farting doesn’t hurt!

I think mine had got to grade 3, they were protruding and I was having to push them back in. But when the haemorrhoids were gone a large polyp was hiding above them, so it could have been that too. All gone now and haven't returned after 2 years.

@CandleARBRA
It's such a depressing problem as there's no real cure, the surgery is very painful and not necessarily effective long term plus you risk incontinence etc.

Thats not true for everyone though. I don’t know the stats but my surgery wasn’t painful really. It was uncomfortable but less uncomfortable than not having it done. I’ve not had any recurrence.
I don’t know the actual risks of incontinence but I don’t think so many people would opt for surgery if it was a significant risk.

Hmm yeah that's pretty similar to mine although i usually have berries instead of the banana and not as many seeds. Maybe my calculations are off. I haven't weighed them, just used spoons and cups, but will tot it up tonight. I have all those in the cupboard so might give it a whirl.

It’s quite possible.
My breakfast is similar, I also eat overnight oats (25g rolled oats, 20g chia seeds, 5g each of hemp, sunflower and flax seeds, dried mulberries (10g), 75g of kefir and a banana is, depending on the size of the banana, anything between 14-15.5 grams of fibre.) It’s only 400-430 kcal so kind of a normal breakfast.

I think it was eating nuts and seeds that kicked mine off 😊- they seemed to scour out my insides!

Maybe you eat a lot more than me? I’m only 5’1 and eat a whole food diet. I have overnight oats with tahini, dates, chia seeds and nuts for breakfast and a coffee (5g fibre), usually a chopped salad or bean soup for lunch, and dhals, fish and veg, bean stews etc for dinner. That usually gets me 25g fibre. I add nuts and seeds to most things.

I disagree, I think the target is not difficult to reach. People tend to focus too much on insoluble fibre and assume they have to eat bran all day long, while soluble fibre is everywhere, including coffee.

Nuts and seeds are high in fibre, avocados, soybeans, seaweed and lots of textured leaves like cabbages or cavolo nero. I eat the same boring breakfast every day which is over 15g of fibre so that’s half of the 30 covered in one meal.

Yeah I agree. I’ve always been suspicious of diets that exclude beans and legumes - they are my staple gut food. I try and incorporate them every day. This current protein obsession is all well and good but only if you’re still getting enough fibre.

it’s not easy eating 30g of fibre a day though if you want to avoid supplements or upf breakfasts. I find I have to plan my meals - I can’t just whip up a sandwich at lunchtime. I usually end up making a chopped salad or a bean or lentil soup. Do you guys have any favourite high fibre lunches?

This is my experience as well. There’s currently no cure for varicose veins but they are symptoms free with lifestyle factors: diet high in fibre and no unnecessary pressure on the area.