DH problem in delicate area, don't know what to do.

[Tanfastic]

Evening all

I could do with some advice really from you wise ones. DH has been having bleeding from his bottom for a couple of months now. Prior to that a severe "itch" up his bum and around the entrance to his anus. When he passes a stool he's in excruciating pain for hours, gets a couple of hours relief and then dreads going to the loo again. The blood is passed when he wipes (bright red).

He's been (forced by me) to see the GP (nurse practitioner as no gp available due to covid). Nurse practitioner said he wasn't allowed to look past the entrance to his bum because he wasn't qualified. He looked at the outside areas and said all looked okay. No fissure/piles or anything unusual.

They've given him sachets to loosen his bowels to make it easier to pass and lidocaine for the itching/to numb the area and have referred him as an 'urgent" to the hospital. That was three weeks ago. Hospital have said no appointments due to covid and they have no consultant at present. Will have to just wait, no idea how long. May be able to get seen at another hospital but go would need to re-refer. He's being given the run around. He's not got the criteria for a fast track referral.

Don't really know what to do. He's in agony, still passing blood (he's read if a fissure it would have healed by now).

All whilst this is going on his uncle is presently dying from bowel cancer and also his dad and another uncle have also had bowel tumours removed (benign). Dh is due for a colonoscopy next year (he has five yearly checkups due to a polyp being found four years' ago).

I assume we just have to sit and wait but it's unbelievably frustrating that if it is something that he is just not getting seen.

Any advice welcome if any gp's here especially. I work for the NhS but not in a clinical capacity so I know things are difficult atm.

@LJC1234

Possibly to provide you some reassurance but I was suffering very similar symptoms for months . Lots of pain. Lots of blood. I had a colonoscopy and was diagnosed as having both piles and a fissure fairly high up.

Annoyingly for me they decided I would need surgery to correct but wanted to do further investigation first but my appointment for that originally in March was put back a due to covid and my new date is feb 2021 for a phone consult so I don't think I will be getting fixed anytime soon so I also have decided to go down the private route as the scheme I can join and pay for via work takes on pre existing problems

Thank you for this

It might be worth trying a private GP?

What follows might be a bit TMI but I had v similar and couldn't get in to see my NHS GP but I found a private GP near where I was working.

I was bleeding a lot and in a lot of pain - the GP was wonderful, examined me very gently, took ages explaining, sent me away with cream and I had to phone if it didn't get better. They didn't feel mine needed surgery at the time: I still have to make sure I don't ever have hard stools as they are v painful (I got them in pregnancy they think!).

Please do push as this is one of the areas they can do something about pretty easily.

Has he tried suppositories and cream in the meantime?

I don’t understand why they say they “don’t have a consultant”??! Is it a tiny hospital? Most district general hospitals will have colorectal surgeons and Gastroenterologists. In our County the Gastroenterologists do more far colonoscopies than the surgeons and consequently diagnose far more conditions. Worth seeing a Gastro Consultant privately if you don’t get an appointment with a surgeon.

It sounds very much like a fissure to me, but never make assumptions about bleeding from the bowel.

I would be inclined to call back and say he has lost a stone and no appetite
So you can go on 2 ww Referral

Otherwise go private

Do you have Bennenden

How is he?

Has he been using suppositories? Because he should be.

Piles absolutely will bleed every time you go to the loo. You need to use the suppositories after every BM, and morning and evening. They will help pretty quickly.

Please make sure he's doing that, he'll be much more comfortable and may resolve it.

It def must be checked out. He's prob terrified too. As a fissure sufferer they do not Hall quickly but can take ages. On the other hand I've never been unable to move on the couch with one either. It might well be internal piles but they need seen too. Go private if you can.

Wanted to give my input to this. I think with your husbands family history he should be nervous. I had the same symptoms as him 5 years was fobbed off for years as having piles. I also have family history of Bowel and colon cancer in the family.

I have ulcerative colitis and believe me I do get bright red fresh blood as it’s one of the symptoms. I would advise if you can to go private and demand a camera test either flexi sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy . Any bleeding needs exploring. Please don’t leave it, it could be nothing or it could be something.

Thanks all, he's still not had an appointment through, still waiting. However he's been taking the laxative sachets for weeks now and in the last week or so he's been a bit more comfortable. Not as much pain, hardly any blood now. He's wondering if it's sorting itself out (whatever it is). He's in the spare room as he's got horrific wind from the bloody sachets he's taking.

I can't persuade him to go private or to keep ringing up. He just keeps saying they'll get round to me sooner or later. I think now he feels more comfortable he's put any sinister possibilities out of his mind.

Just to update, he rang doctors and had an argument with the call navigator as to why she didn't think he needed to see a gp as he's already seen a nurse practitioner 🙄. She said she would ring him back once she'd spoken to the doctor.

When she rang him back she informed him she'd spoken to the hospital who advised he has an appointment on 30th Nov. Not had that information from the hospital...but at least he's booked in now.

Glad he’s been booked in, has he been booked for tests or to see a dr?

Has he had a fecal calproctein test to check for IBD.
DD has bleeding and diarrhoea, first she tried pile cream but when after a week that didn’t work her GP ordered further tests which then showed IBD. The wait for her hospital appointment was ridiculously long for someone suffering so much so I took her to A&E where she was admitted and formally diagnosed and treated for Ulcerative colitis.

@lostandfound55

Glad he’s been booked in, has he been booked for tests or to see a dr?

It's an appointment with a consultant so hopefully he will be examined at least.

I’m glad to see he called himself to check this. It’s good he’s getting seen and yes hopefully they will do an examination to help give more info.

Just wanted to update and thank you all for your advice on this. Dh has had hospital appt and been examined and diagnosed with a fissure and large internal piles. Piles they think have caused the fissure. Fissure has started to heal but not completely so he needs to carry on with laxatives and cream for two months. They've also made some noises about the piles being removed.

So nothing sinister thank goodness but she only shined a torch up his arse..no idea why a nurse practitioner wasn't able to do that properly.