4 years since Halo op, bleeding regularly again.
Posted , 3 users are following.
Had the op 4 years ago following a decade of pain and lumps and 3 years of regular bleeding. The op went well and lumps and pain are no more, yet the bleeding has now returned regularly, up to 7 or 8 times a month. This is still a huge improvement to pre op levels but has slowly got worse over the past year.
i find the bleeding really stressful and worry a lot about it. my mental health is badly effected by flare ups and my mood drops.
wondering if anybody else has had this sort of thing happen and whether it's something to live with or whether to seek medical help once again.
also, would be great to hear how people do live with the annoyance of bleeding and how they cope.
0 likes, 2 replies
Dubizzler ottoman15308
Posted
Hi @ottoman15308
I can relate to what you are going through - I had a hemorrhoidectomy 4 1/2 months ago and they removed 3 large hems. I have an internal suture which has overgrown skin on it (hypergranulation) and is something I have to find a way to live with because I don't want to go back to the doc to fix it. This overgrown skins gets nicked every now and then and leaves a streak of blood in my stool. It really causes so much anxiety and is very demotivating - feels like suffering all this pain for so many months was not worth it.
I am trying very hard to be careful about my diet - including things which help me keep me regular and soften my stool. As long as my stool is soft and smooth - things tend to be okay. Also, in my case, if I don't go at least twice a day, my stool stay inside for too long and starts becoming hard (but that just might be me). So my diet needs to include things which keep it moving and soft. I eat bananas, apples, pears, kiwi fruit, oranges and my secret weapon are dried prunes (I eat 5-6 through out the day - 3 in the morning and 3 in the late afternoon).
I also walk a lot - 10k-12k steps a day and for me this is very important (specially after meals). I also swim a few times a week and that helps a lot as well.
I know the bleeding is often related to the texture of your BM so try to keep is soft (or a little loose) so that it passes easily and you don't need to strain. I also invested in a squatty potty - it helped a lot (specially for the morning BM).
Mental health is something I am really struggling with and my spouse suffers because of my awful mood as well - I am thinking about BMs all day....when to go and how much it will hurt or worse, bleed. I thought I would stop checking it but that hard if you see it on the tissue afterwards. I am still hopeful that my suture might get better eventually but I am not sure.
I really hope you feel better soon and maybe this message helps in you in some small way. You can always write back - I will help in any way I can.
Best of luck.
ottoman15308 Dubizzler
Posted
hello, thanks for your message.
i know what you mean about it being constantly on your mind. my first thought in a morning is whether I'll bleed, and my last is too. sometimes my heart is racing and I'll be physically shaking when it's BM time. it's all ridiculous because multiple doctors have told be to just ignore it and put it down to one of those annoyances we all have but i just can't.
i drink over 2 litres of water a day, i eat wholemeal bread and plenty of fruit but it still happens. hard or soft poop doesn't seem to make any difference, nor does exercise. when the bleed happens it just does and i can't find a pattern.
before my op i used to bleed and drip into the bowl for a few seconds. now it's just steps on the poop itself and blood covered poop if there's ever a follow up after the main bulk passes. there's not loads but even a bit brings the fear of having to go to the doctor, potential visits to the hospital and all the fear that goes with it.
i wish i could just go to the wc with no fear like i used to years ago.