Bum woes - TMI

[bumwoes22]

Posting for traffic. Before anyone says see my GP, I have many times over the years although not now for at least two years but I will book an appt again soon. For now I’m just looking for people who’ve experienced similar.

My arse is a mess! Looks like a literal flower and has done for a long time. I’ve had piles in the past and I think they left skin tags - GP said this can happen when piles shrink and leave the skin stretched permanently. Can’t tell if what’s there now is piles or skin tags. Doesn’t cause me horrendous pain but is irritating. Stinging, itching and soreness in the area on/off. Plus bleeding from time to time. Doctors have given me cream and suppositories in the past but they don’t do a lot to solve the overall problem. I don’t think the pain is severe enough at this stage for me to consider surgery but I do worry that there is more going on down there. Never had any biopsies, just visual/digital (vom) examinations. Has anyone else got this? Any tips or reassurance?

I have this too! My bum also looks like a flower (not a pretty one, but I do have "petals" of skin all the way around). It's been like this for longer than I care to remember - at least ten years. Apparently I have/had piles. Mine don't hurt, but they do sometimes itch and/or bleed.

One thing that helps me is to eat plenty of fruit and veg, and I also eat two dried apricots per day. That seems to keep my stools soft, which means less of the itchiness and bleeding.

The other thing that helps is to keep an eye on my weight. If I gain weight, it seems to trap moisture between my bum cheeks and piles and I get sore, raw areas (sorry!).

Although piles do often lead to bleeding (bright red after a bowel movement), it's obviously not impossible for there to be other, more sinister causes of bleeding, so keep an eye out for warning signs and don't be fobbed off if you notice them. The other signs include: unintentional weight loss, sustained change in bowel habits (usually to loose stools), abdominal pain, feeling a lump or mass in the abdomen, dark/black coloured stools.

I've had a haemorrhoidectomy and prolapse resection under general anaesthetic twelve years ago. To put it in less than gentle terms, my guts were hanging out and I could not go to the toilet without losing a ton of blood. The post-op was not fun, but no where near as bad as what I had imagined. Keeping moving, laying off morphine (which bungs you up) and drinking water helped. I have ongoing problems with rectal psoriasis, and I think I have a prolapse again as I have started feeling like an egg bound chicken. I have Ehlers Danlos syndrome with very oversized internal organs proven by CT scan after a colonoscopy went very wrong (injured me with the camera requiring IV antibiotics). If it gets really bad, I would have the surgery again and recommend it as the long term gains are worth it. However, for now zinc cream helps, sensitive washing powder and cotton underwear. Have a good look with a mirror for signs of anal fissure. If you think you have a bum problem, ask for referral to a colorectal surgeon. If you think you have a skin problem, ask for a dermatologist to take a look. It could be that you have an invasive bacterial skin condition (for example, I have been treated for strep A down there before now). Good luck!!

Just wanted to say I have this! Skin tags left over etc, looks a right state. I, like you, have no interest in the op. Sounds like a complete waste of time for some people who then have to have it done again, and other people seem to be left in agony.

I have zero concerns about it being anything more than skin tags and hemerrhoids, but I am interested in a different procedure I’d have to save up for. It’s called exroid or something I think

Thank you for this. Have you ever had any tests/official diagnosis from the GP regarding yours? It’s not that I especially want a biopsy on my arse but when people tell you to be so stringent about lumps it makes me wonder how they can just say it’s piles simply by looking.

Can I ask what cream you got for fissures? Currently having no luck and the itching/burning pain and intermittent bleeding is driving me insane!!!!

Did it sort you out though? No more pain? I’ve been suffering over half my life, had banding from Ping the Merciless, private laser treatment, still it persists and is very debilitating!

Booked a GP appointment reluctantly for next week. Really don’t want to go through it again and I suspect the outcome will be the same but I just feel like there must be more than can be done and that someone should look as the area has changed a bit. Ugh.

arse.

literally

as I’ve recently asked the gp to refer me to potentially have this!

I have a large external one and some others now.

it doesn’t sound like it’s any better than what I have now?

also suffering with itching, pain, cleaning issues OP. Tamoxifen has made my hypothyroidism worse (I get constipation) and possibly extra pressure down there

id also like to know!

@bumwoes22my gp offered the referral and I jumped at it as assumed it was really hard to get done on nhs.

Have you explicitly told the GP what your worry is?

I asked my gp to check for actual lumps. But I’m also going to be asking the hospital. I’ve had breast cancer and am obviously now ultra cautious

I have had steroid suppositories and a cream before which was really helpful. I sometimes only need to use for 2-3 days rather than the full 7.

Hiya, I can't remember exact name of the cream but it was a consultant prescribed cream that contains medicine used to treat heart conditions. It basically draws blood to the area to promote healing.

Can I just say op, I love your thread title!

You say it flares up for no reason. Mine always become noticeable in the days before my period is due (as does my sciatica) I use cream as soon as I wonder if it is piles again, no waiting to see if it gets worse/goes and doing this has definitely made a difference. Interesting about the fermented foods, I will also try this.

At my last appointment a few years ago I mentioned the bleeding and the lumps and asked if it could be anything more sinister. She said I’m too young for cancer. I do hope this is the case and it probably is just a case of piles and skin tags but I can only see this getting worse as I age and although the irritation is intermittent and not debilitating I still get worried every time it flares up.

the first thing my gp asked about was bleeding.

I’d get a second opinion

.

Nobody is too young for cancer. But the chance of this being so is vanishingly small.
See a different doctor. Tell him/her what your concern is and ask for details as to why they are clear it is not cancer. Your age will be one factor, but what they are seeing will also be in the equation. Ask them what it is about what they see that makes them certain it is not.
The reality is that piles look like piles and that they are so common as to be almost normal. The chance of cancer being present is virtually nil, but you need them to explain this to you on the evidence they see.
You clearly need that reassurance and they should give it in a way that convinces you.

I would suggest not looking!!

I second really being proactive about not being constipated and straining.

I totally understand I'd suffered since I was 18 but manageable until after my first baby. Another baby basically finished me off tried the banding which did precisely nothing. Anyway, after the op - happy to talk privately if you want the details specifically about recovery - it did work but how well I can't be 100% I was just about recovered and could be on my feet ALL day with no symptoms at 3 months after and then I found out I was pregnant, which was planned but not that soon! Piles aren't back like they were but i do get some sensitivity around the surgery sites but im still breastfeeding so hoping it gets better once everything tightens up again (TMI?) then I can look forward to the joys of menopause 🤣
Was it worth it? For me definitely but if you'd asked me in the first month after I'd not have said that with quite such conviction.

It has definitely been worth it for me. Happy to talk privately if you want the full low down 😂

As mentioned if you'd asked me during the first month I'd not have been sure BUT almost 2 years and another baby later it's definitely been worth it. I could hardly wash up without them bothering me.

I’ve had an external one for a while which has worsened. I don’t think they’re as bad as some experience but I’m starting to find it a life challenge and a worry that I’m clean

I have had haemorrhoid surgery and it was fucking horrible afterwards but I was not incapacitated and still able to look after my young child at the time, just doing a poo was real agony for some weeks - I fell off the toilet with the pain

I have “frills” left over from childbirth related piles, not a pleasant site!
They make keeping clean difficult. I don’t want to use wet wipes so use a bidet bottle filled with warm water and then pat dry.
i haven’t really had much bother with itching or pain except when i accidentally bought loo roll with lotion added and the scent irritated me.
i would use a barrier cream applied to the area to minimise irritation if I was you.

If anyone is interested in an update - I saw the GP yesterday who looked at the area and did a digital examination. They said that most of the visual stuff is indeed skin tags and she couldn’t feel anything ‘big’ during the examination (meaning internal piles). Clearly I have had piles in the past to leave the skin tags though.
She has given me a FIT sample kit and asked for blood tests to be completed. While I’m grateful for them being thorough I’m now even more confused as I always assumed the bleeding was the straightforward bit and caused by the piles. Now they are saying that there are none or they are very small (too small to be felt). So why am I bleeding still? It’s all a bit worrying to be honest.