Hello All,
I found this thread recently and I provided me both great insight and anxiety into my upcoming procedure for anal skin tag removal. I went ahead and scheduled and just had my procedure one day ago. I wanted to share with you all a VERY POSITIVE experience thus far.
I am in my early 30s, live in the US. This issue originated when I began bodybuilding and straining while using the restroom due to eating inflammatory foods that I didn't realize were causing constipation. I suffered from some small hemorrhoids and subsequently skin tags. Over time, I would routinely suffer from a fissure and the skin tags would occasionally become inflamed, enlarge, itch, etc. I had one doctor tell me "well that's just the way your body is, nothing you can do about it." (wow, gee thanks so much). Another doctor INSISTED upon having me under a flex sigmoidoscopy which was the most humiliating experience. I cried throughout the entire procedure. Only for him to then tell me, nothing wrong, you're perfectly healthy, you just have skin tags. (Yea no kidding doc!!!!). Fast forward 6 years...I have been dealing with two skin tags- one the size of a kidney bean, the other slightly smaller being the size of a green pea. Their existence became rather prohibitive, making it uncomfortable to wear certain undergarments, and difficult to maintain personal hygiene. I was extremely self-conscious of them and became rather depressed about engaging intimately with anyone if I chose to date.
I decided to try to take matters into my own hands...which I DO not recommend. I tried to band them myself with a skin tag removal kit. LEMME TELL YA, the most excruciating self-induced pain I have ever felt. So when that didn't go well, because let's face it, bathroom surgeries have a very low success rate, I finally scheduled an appointment with a doctor near me. The doctor was so kind, sympathetic. I went in last Tuesday and was scheduled for surgery the following Monday! Over the span of that week I prepared myself by increasing my fiber intake from about 12 grams per day to over 25 grams. I recommend putting one to two tablespoons of whole flaxseeds into a small ramekin, pour 2-3 TBSP of water over and let soak overnight. Then blend into your smoothie in the AM. This makes the flaxseeds more easily digestible and the fiber ready accessible. Also mix in 1 tbsp of coconut oil. I added foods like pears, raspberries, quinoa, oatmeal, barley. I avoided foods like cruciferous vegetables as they can cause excess gas.
My out of pocket expense was $200- I had met my deductible for the year and had a 90/10 coinsurance. Otherwise, the full cost of the surgery would have been around $2,000 (that's was insurance reimbursed for it).
So I wanted to share a POSITIVE experience. My doctor explained that she would make a small v shaped incision to remove the tissue and the wound would remain open and heal from the inside over the span of 2-3 weeks. Upon waking up from surgery, I woke up calmly, without distress as some experience after anesthesia. I recovered and had no pain (probably due to the numbing). I went home, had one BM, and cleaned the area gently with unscented wet wipes. There was some blood, but not a lot. I had two servings of fiber supplement throughout the day. I started to feel some discomfort roughly 5 hours after surgery, more so an "awareness" of the area and soreness. I did take one tylenol and half a painkiller before bed. The following day (this morning), I had a 1/3 of a cup of coffee and took 1/2 a pain killer in anticipation of a BM. Due to all the fiber I had yesterday, it was painless. I took a little warm bath, used wet wipes and was perfectly fine!!!!! I cannot believe that I have not had more pain. I think that on a pain scale, this would be 1 or 2 out of 10. I hope that I can report the same in a few days. I hope this record of my experience is helpful to others.