Piles - Would you go private - Bleeding every day.

[kerry19834]

I am after peoples thoughts, I have been having an issue with piles for around 18 months now and for the last 12 months they have been bleeding after almost every poo, drips in bowl. I also have a very large anal skin tag.

I have spoken to a GP and seen a private consultant and they have both confirmed the beeding is piles and nothing concerning.

I have no pain, but the bleeding is anoying and on a couple of occasions has bleed randomy through my clothes.

THe NHS waiting list is about 18 months just to be seen and my GP says despite bleeding every day the NHS are unlikley to fund but it is worth a try.

Due to the 18 month wait I had a private initial consultaiton and confirmed I need to have the pile cut out along with the tag. TO do this will cost £5K, I could just about afford this, but it is a lot of money for a little bit of bleeding into the bowl. If it was half that in cost to resolve I would consider it, but £5K is a lot.

What would you do, my thinking is wait for the NHS initial appointment (with the same person I saw privatly) and then see if they will fund it? wait and see if it gets worse and if it does pay or just bite the bullet and pay now.

I am fortuante to be able to afford to pay, so appologies for the doubt, but it is a huge sum of money. It is just the bleeding after every poo is so anoying and I hate the tag and I always worry I am going to bleed randon;y

I can't beleive many people bleed after every poo with piles, I will be stuck with this for life if I dont get it fixed!!!

It might be annoying and could get worse so if you can afford it I would do it

Did the private consultant suggest an operation?

The thing that puts me off is the utterly horrific descriptions of the op and recovery.

Mumsnet is full of threads from sufferers wishing they were being offered more than cream but also threads of people who have had the surgery and found it horrendous with a very long recovery time.

FWIW it is my impression that by a certain point in life, everyone has piles. My GP friends say a big part of their day is telling people they have piles.

I think the NHS criteria are so strict because unless you have horrendous piles, the treatment can be worse than the disease.

Yes, he did recommend the op and the beeding everyday is getting me down. I know it could be very painful after. He seemed to say I would be able to run 10K after a couple of weeks of the op, but I have also see the horror stories.

I think the recovery would be well over two weeks, but also in my mind is the fact I am rasing money for a charity for a half marathon next year (£1K raised so far so I need to be fit for that)

Part of me due to the cost thinks if it gets worse then I will pay for it. Apparently the cost will not vary that mych as it is already a grade 4 job!

If the treatment is worse than the disease I do wish the NHS would state that plainly, rather than leaving patients wondering about whether to blow their life savings!

OP did the GP give good advice about how to care for and prevent them?

Hi

Go private but I have a family member who had these for a long time. I believe he said it been happening for years and did not get the op as there was a good chance the piles return (I'm sure you have asked the doc re risks and post op prognosis etc in order to make your own mind up)

The reason I am posting here, my friend was losing a lot of blood. I recall seeing him a wedding and felt, WTH, he looked very pale and his wavy hair had gone flat.

It turned out that he had got something I think that is a 'Fisher' ie, a tear on the outside due to bouts of constipation, lost loads of blood over the months. He was seriously low in iron

Have you had your iron levels checked? Losing a little blood daily is nothing big but from what he told us he was losing a lot due to the Fisher. Since then the guy has changed his diet, reduce a bit of wait via exercise, speed walking, eats a lot more high fibre and drinks daily high-fiber liquid

Ask your doc for blood tests and if not already done so - as about the op and the chances of this re-occurring

The ops can go well but there is a chance they come back. However, I'm no expert so ask doc if not already done so!!

Yeah bloods are ok. I get a health check through work every year and all levels ok. Just cholesterol a little high.

Not loosing to much blood but enough to turn the water red. Some days worse than others.

That's great. However, do keep an eye on this.
If you don't suffer from constipation then that good but if you do and straining, that is when the Fisher happens.

As you may be aware, low iron will make you feeling worn out, hair looks dull, losing weight, feeling sick after eating, foggy brain, breathlessness, etc. Like many blood tests, the ranges between normal blood levels vary a lot and some people mange lower levels than others

Good luck!!

A family member had Botox in that area on the nhs to treat persistent piles and now no bleeding whatsoever. The wait was surprisingly short too. Is there any chance you could investigate this while you wait on the nhs for the bigger op?

@DistinguishedSocialCommentator I think the word is fissure (not meant in any way to be mean, just trying to help).

Get yourself on the waiting list , timelines given are long as they can't guarantee when you will be seen, but it doesn't necessarily mean it will be like that.

For reference, I went to GP around August last year, saw consultant in December (I also had pain on top of the bleeding) and surgery late April this year, despite being given a time frame similar to yours.

Cheers!!!
When we were by the gent, I recall visualising a fisherman - thanks again!!

People spend thousands on holidays, cars etc but I think health comes first, if paying to get relief is going to help you move past this and start enjoying your life sooner, then do it if you can afford it. It's sad we can no longer rely on nhs.
I read on another thread about Benenden health insurance, whilst this won't help you now it can help you get treatment in future if the nhs lists are too long, around £15 pm

Yes, you are right. But when it's only a minor issue I kind of think twice about it as it is a lot.

I do have beneden and had the initial consultation with them. Unfortunately due to the tag I need two types of procedures so they will not cover it as they are cheap they only cover some things.

If you're bleeding frequently it means you're straining too much. The most important thing is to improve your diet, even a little more fibre will help - drinking water is vital though, get a measured water bottle and fill it every morning. Honestly, I can't stress enough how important drinking plenty of water is.

In terms of treatment, I highly recommend amoils for hemorrhoids. It was the only thing that worked for me - genuinely game changing. There are two products, one for bleeding piles and another for regular use once the piles stop bleeding.

www.amoils.com/products/bleeding-hemorrhoids

www.amoils.com/products/hemorrhoids

I was too scared to have the operation after hearing to many horror stories. I did lots of research and tried a number of things but it was pranicura in the end that really helped. It is expensive but not as expensive as a private op.

Thanks for the amolis tip.

Yes, I have a fibre rich diet and drink loads and loads of water at work they joke how much I consume. stools are very soft and I dont strain, sometimes, I think the issue is they come out 2 quickly (TMI).

@SloaneStreetVandal, hope you don’t mind me tagging you…I was searching to see if anyone had used amoils.
Really interested to hear more about your experience of this oil. I have been using for about 2.5 weeks but doesn’t seem to be making that much difference.
can you tell me how bad your piles are/were and how long it took you to start to heal?
Thanks so much

My daughter went private but had a different procedure where it was cut out with a laser or something. Cost about £900. It was really successful.
Laser hemorrhoidoplasty is considered a minimally invasive procedure for hemorrhoid treatment. The procedure allows the patient to achieve the best possible outcomes with minimal discomfort, rapid recovery.

I'm seriously anaemic and it's due to haemorrhoids or colitis (trying to work out which one atm). I'd really keep an eye on your haemoglobin, iron, ferritin and transferrin saturation OP.

It has been nice to read through everybody’s stories here and it is so refreshing, these problems can be so ongoing. One of my friends has been having the same daily bleeding and thought it was time to visit a private doctor as the NHS waiting list was too long. They went to see this specialist and got a better understanding of what they could do, and what would happen to them after the treatment. I think that in such situations it is helpful just to talk to someone who has gone through such cases to make it easier in the decision making process.