Any other piles sufferers?

[mrsb53]

Nc as this is embarrassing but long term poster. Just wondering if anyone else has gone through this, what was normal for you and how you dealt with it?

I've had piles for years and years. Lots of intermittent bleeding but this seems to have increased in the last few years. I have seen the GP many times and mostly just prescribed creams and suppositories. I did have a colonoscopy in around 2019 which came back clear.

They don't cause me pain unless I've had a bad bowel movement in which case they can become swollen and sore. The cream helps with this. But they do bleed a lot. I had an upset stomach this morning which caused a lot of bleeding and swelling. Later on in the day I (perhaps stupidly) went to the gym and did some weights and then when I got home I noticed blood in my underwear which doesn't usually happen. It's normally just at the time of bowel movement then goes away.

I know there are procedures I can have to band and remove them but I really don't like the thought of that until they become unmanageable. At the moment a warm bath and cream does seem to soothe them enough to just get on with it. But I keep worrying that there might be more to it - cancers and such like. Other than the colonoscopy I haven't had any further tests and GPs just keep saying I'm too young for anything sinister.

Does this sound typical of piles and if you've had/have them how do you deal with them?

Meant to add I'm 38

My husband at the age of 40 had been bleeding from his piles ever since I knew him (12 years at the time). He collapsed at work one day and had to be hospitalised for a week and have 4 bags of blood transfused into him due to the blood loss. As a result of this he had the operation to remove them. They have never returned thankfully

I used to get them and they were caused by mild constipation. I gave up gluten and dairy and my digestion has been significantly better and they haven't been a problem for a long time. My diet is very high in veg which helps with easy movement and if I'm having any inking of constipation I start my day with lemon water, or have a couple of prunes just to make sure things run smoothly and it doesn't cause any problems. What is your diet like? I feel like doctors treat symptoms and not causes and perhaps you need to look further upstream.

My diet definitely could be better and I do get IBS symptoms occasionally which makes everything worse. I guess I should make a real effort to improve my diet.

Piles veteran here. I have also had a colonoscopy and they just found more internal piles to add to the external ones.
I have on occasion bled through my underwear and onto my clothes. Sometimes it's not blood but some other weird stuff that the piles leak. When they're playing up I wear a pad. I also have really annoying stinging mucus. I know mucus is a red flag but as I have had a colonoscopy I just assume it is the 'body protecting itself from piles' kind of mucus and nothing sinister.

People assume it's always about constipation so tell you to have lots of fibre and keep hydrated to encourage regular bowel movements. My piles get worse because I have IBS with diarrhoea which means I pass stools frequently. Really irritates them.

Using a squatty potty for the last 3 years has helped immensely. I've only had 2 days off work since getting that. If they do play up I use a sitz bath that sits over the toilet and I add epsom salts to the warm water. Saves me filling a whole bath. During a bad spell the only suppositories that can cut it for me (and my mother and grandmother) are Scheriproct. Keep them in the fridge. All others are inferior.
I agree that reducing IBS symptoms leads to happier piles, but that's a lot of trial and error.
Good luck.

I had the op at the beginning of the year (I'm also 38) it's brutal but was worth it for me. As a last resort I'd recommend - banding didn't work for me.

I'm pregnant again though and constipated and I'm pretty sure they might come back, I'd say sort your diet and digestion out before going for anything surgical. It really is a last resort

It is my firm opinion as a doctor that after a certain age everyone without exception has piles.

OK I may be exaggerating but it is incredibly common. Plus the treatment is so limited - creams that make work a bit or make it worse, diet that may help or make it worse, horrible operations that are a last resort.

I’ve had recurrent piles since my first pregnancy. I’m now 33 and like you have ibs symptoms. Stupidly I thought given my bowel movements are always liquid there’s no way I’d get them. I use the creams and on really bad days I do need to wfh.

Had mine for years. Used to bleed, they don't bleed so much now, but cause incredible itching and soreness.
Creams don't work. They may give temporary relief but then the whole area reacts and feels inflamed and sore.
Baths are the only thing that help.

In your professional opinion is the level of bleeding I'm describing quite normal? It's not clots or anything like that but sometimes it can be more than a few drops. I was just alarmed today when I noticed it happening several hours after a bowel movement. That's not typical for me. However might have been due to the weight lifting and already sore area.

The joys...