Piles after birth...give me hope 😭

[RD15]

Hey,

Well I’m 3 days in after giving birth and I’m suffering terribly with external piles- at least 5 and 1 of them is monstrous. The pain is unbelievable, they’re so unsightly and distressing. Way worse than stitches!

I went to the doctors and they gave me a steroid ointment with a local anaesthetic in it but it’s not touching the pain or the piles at this point.

Please tell me it will get better...

You poor thing. I remember it well. Have you got one of those inflatable rings to sit on. Try to lie down as much as possible. I alternated paracetamol and ibuprofen to take every 2 hours and had lots of baths. Also are you taking lactulose (stool softener). Hope you feel better soon.

My sympathies 

Eat plenty of fruit & veg & fibre
Drink lots if water
Tepid baths
Use ointment especially pre-poo (apologies if tmi )
They will improve 

Congrats on baby

Drink more water than you ever thought possible and try witch hazel on your pad as well as all of the above. It’s going to get better but I remember thinking I was going to turn inside out. ☹️

Also... ice! If you can find a really slim ice pack, you’ll be able to apply. Or.... a frozen sausage wrapped in a bag. There’s basically no dignity!! x

Didn't want to read and run!! I totally feel your pain. I had my daughter last year and despite a 21-hour labour and forceps delivery without pain relief, the piles were BY FAR the worst thing I experienced! I was so, so upset by them (not helped by the health visitor describing them as "utterly horrendous" when I was checked a few days later). I was embarrassed, ashamed and uncomfortable - I'm also very squeamish and prudish so couldn't really address it properly! Thank the Lord for another HV bullying my GP surgery into prescribing a really strong ointment (I'm afraid I can't remember the name). With gritted teeth I applied it as directed, and the piles eventually went away - not immediately (I needed a second prescription), but they did. IT DID GET BETTER. I also made sure I was never constipated (I had to be given a laxative suppository in the first week), and took stool softener pills and Fybogel.

I would say if you're at all worried that things aren't improving, go back to your GP. I saw a female GP and bless her heart, she didn't bat an eyelid. It WILL improve, I promise.

One (tiny) word of warning...I'm not certain they always disappear completely. I'm very very overdue with baby #2 and the bastarding things have come back - only lightly, but I'm sure they're there! I'm hoping for a quicker birth (and much shorter pushing phase) this time and will just tackle them again if need be.

Solidarity! I hope you feel back to normal soon.

Oh im still having problems with mine and my son is 13 weeks! They have just got worse.
Iv had anusol oniment and anusol suppositories. Doctors gave me vagisil too, which works by numbing but thats done nothing either. Oh and i take lactulose daily.
Im in so much pain i dread going to the toilet going back to the doctors.
It awful isn’t it?

As pp said, drink buckets of water. And I was given fibrogel - tastes foul, but, er, loosened things up a bit. Also ate prunes. A lot of prunes. Softer poo=less straining.
I feel your pain...

Thanks for the solidarity and advice everyone. I’m trying to drink lots of water and have also been having lactulose. @skylucy if it makes you feel better, my first delivery was also long, forceps and episiotomy. Number 2 was a 4 hour labour. Hopefully you can avoid them getting worse.

@iloveyoubaby26 it truly is awful! I just want to enjoy our new addition but I’m in agony all the time 😭 xx

Don't was to alarm you, but mine are still around, and the 'producer' is now 52. They don't hurt anymore, but are still there. When the 'producer' had her 1st baby she developed them; she was not impressed when I said it served her right.

Oh dear @eddiemairswife that’s not good! Did your gp not offer further treatment or did they just stop bothering you? Crikey! I don’t fancy 52 years of these little buggers! Xx

They get better and less painful but my youngest is 17 and I'm afraid they never went away!

But they definitely got smaller and less noticeable

Get some duclolax tablets or liquid so you don't have to strain to poo and put more pressure on them for a week or two until they go down a bit

Mine took about 3 weeks to disappear but I used haemoride cream to shrink them as well.

They are such a pain but they should go away soon. If they haven't gone in w few weeks go back to the gp but they surgery to remove them involves laying on your side until it heals again

Hand hold OP! Piles are so unbelievably painful. I can only echo what’s already been advised - drink loads of water and apply lots of cream and suppositories. Lactlose to soften your poo will help with straining. Also recommend prep H wipes (moist toilet wipes) they are a total godsend.

I am a long term sufferer following the birth of my two DC. Sadly mine have never cleared up and have resulted in a very severe rupture and lots of blood loss. I am on the waiting list for removal surgery after DC3 is born. Do all you can now to lessen the effects but don’t be afraid to seek help if they aren’t improving.

I had to have surgery on mine. I need a second round but I'm currently pregnant so can't have it. They don't hurt anymore but stick out so I constantly feel like I've got something between my butt cheeks and I can't hold in wind or poop for very long

I’m sorry to hear that some of you have had long term problems with them- I hope there is some light at the end of the tunnel for you at some point. I’m hoping and praying I can escape such a fate 🤞.

I'm literally in the same situation - 5 days post birth.

It hurts so bad I've been crying when I try to have a poo. I've literally just shoved a load of vaseline up my bum, and the next time I needed togo the world biggest poo slid out with only a brief painful part.

I had them worse in my last pregnancy, they dogo by themselves after 6-8 weeks.

My sympathies

Thanks for all the replies everyone. I had a feeling that it must be a fairly common problem. I guess I’ll just have to ride it out and hope that they’ll get better. I’m trying to keep at bay the panic that I’ll be stuck with them! I’ll definitely go back to the doctors though if there’s no improvement. Xx

Ahh OP I feel your pain! Literally! I'm nearly 32 weeks preggers and been suffering severe constipation and piles since very early doors - I've tried everything -
Know I can't take the 'evacuation' laxatives, Lactulose is working, but maybe now post natal you can? Something like Movicol? Anything to stop you straining the piles??
The doc has given you some cream? (I'm using Anusol, tepid baths also - and so sorry if tmi - small finger whilst your in the bath and gently push back up if this doesn't cause you any pain) - then cream, try and keep your feet elevated whenever you can -

Plus a new discovery that prunes/nectarines and oranges seem to have done the trick over the past week! And trying to do a Low fodmap diet (although baby does tend to fancy a burger king/chippy occasionally :) )

Congrats on your new arrival!!! X Hope you feel better soon x

It does get better. My labour was short but back to back and my piles were horrendous
1 has never properly gone. It comes and goes but not too painful
I call it DCs evil twin! It is 20 next month

Are they deffo external or are they internal that have slipped out when pooing? I had this with my first and second, excruciating when "out" and as awful as it sounds they were fine when I popped them back in 😂😂😂😂😂

Thanks guys. One of them is definitely external- I think it is thrombosed if that’s the right word? Incredibly painful, large and hard. No way it could be pushed back in 🙈. Yeah be heard that people can be left with external skin tags from them and now I’ve got myself all upset about that. Probably doesn’t help that my hormones are all over the place, but at this point, I can’t imagine ever letting my DH anywhere near me again. I’m so embarrassed and feel disgusting 😭 xx

Yep. I got piles during birth to first DD 7 years ago, they went away but come back out (external) when I've been drinking/wearing heels. Cue last Saturday night, DH booked a lovely seafront hotel for our wedding anniversary, went out for a few drinks, stumbled back to the hotel with DH gearing up for some romance and me 'DH look at my arsehole, my piles have come back'  waste of an hotel night. I don't know if I've become more tolerable to the pain or if the pain has got better but they're certainly not as problematic as they were after just giving birth. I wouldn't consider an operation at this stage.

Oh dear @rackhampearl. I suppose at least they don’t bother you as much now 🙈 xx

Hey,

I also suffered with terrible piles after my first DS was born!

They have come back a few times, mainly if I let myself get even mildly constipated!

I have significantly cut back on carbs - no rice, pasta, bread etc - and this has helped, they've not returned since may 2017.

Top tips, paracetamol, suppositories are your best friend, not wiping your bum (wash it instead), loads of water and fruit and veg, espeically dried fruits like raisins and apricots!

I'm pregnant again and on piles watch already!

Good luck!

I've had piles since I was 18, no baby involved. I eat lots of fibre and drink lots of water and have a great diet, it's bloody annoying! My dad says he has also suffers.

It gets REALLY bad every time I go to the US for work, the food there is so unhealthy. How they don't all have terrible insides is beyond me.