My 10 years with Haemorroids ends successfully with Haemorrhoidectomy

I first had an issue with haemorrhoids 16 years ago (when I was 23). I spent a day off work with a bad stomach ache, and straining on the toilet a few times during that day. Later that night I felt a lump, which I now know to be a perianal haematoma which isn’t a haemorrhoid, but it is very very painful and causes haemorrhoids. It is basically a blood clot which the body can break down over two weeks. Pain killers and ointments etc don’t help, the only thing that did is a warm bath. After two weeks it was gone.

Fast forward 5 years to 2001, and after a heavy night on the drink I got up in the morning and fell down the stairs, I landed square flat on my back side, which hurt, but thought nothing of it. Later that day I felt a very painful lump, it was a perianal haematoma again, excruciating painful, it changes your mood and nothing at all helps but a bath, creams are useless. But again, because all it is, is a blood clot, the body breaks it down and it’s gone after 2 weeks.

After two weeks and 2 days after the perianal haematoma occurred (basically 2 days after the perianal haematoma had cleared up) I felt a pain coming on, getting stronger and stronger, but no lump or anything else I could feel or see. This was the start of internal haemorrhoids.

It was very very painful and again all the creams and ointments simply don’t do anything, the only temporary relief was a bath. It hurt all the time, whether I was sitting or standing, I tried carrying on but people must have thought I was miserable, and people simple do not understand, it’s not like you have broken arm that people can see, and you don’t want to tell people what is wrong, and those you do tell, still can’t comprehend the pain.

I gave it a chance to clear up, but it didn’t, so I went to the doctor after a month. The GP at the time referred me. I got an appointment for 2 months later at an NHS hospital (so that’s 3 months in terrible pain, having to carry on at work!) During this time I remembered I actually had private healthcare! So contacted them to hopefully get something sorted a bit quicker.

The NHS hospital banded me 3 times, it was a bit of a factory line, and a bit off putting by a female student being shown the ropes. It was a painful procedure, and as I left I nearly fainted in the car park walking back to my car. I made it, made it home and was very pleased this should be the beginning of the end. I had a follow up appointment just over a month later.

After 2 weeks I was still uncomfortable (but better), so kept my appointment with the private hospital. The consultant there couldn’t really help, he recommended a muscle relaxant.

I went back to the NHS hospital for the follow up appointment and said that I could still feel pain. The same consultant was dismissive, questioned my sexuality and said couldn’t I just ignore the pain. My opinion of him wasn’t a good one, and I didn’t want t go back there!

The relaxant from the private consultant didn’t help. I continued putting up with the discomfort (i’d no longer describe it as pain since the banding) and it eventually went away, by September it was gone completely, brilliant!

A year later I went back to the private hospital because some discomfort had returned. I work with computers so sit down for most of the day, and I was suffering with severe pins-and-needles down the backs of my legs which made sitting very uncomfortable.

He referred me to another consultant and in April 2004 that consultant gave me an injection, which seemed to solve the problem for 4 years.

4 years later I got a perianal haematoma due to a bike ride, I got it checked at the private hospital again and it cleared up by itself in 2 weeks.

A year later another bike ride brought on some pain, and I continued to manage this with off-the-shelf treatments. I was now getting a lump after a bowel movement, this lump would disappear almost immediately however.

I went back to private hospital about the pain and was referred for a endoscopy within the NHS (because I no longer had private healthcare) in Jan 2010. That came back OK, and was banded then also. Things were fine for 6 months.

Pain came back mid 2010 so I decided to go to my new GP (new doctors since moving house) and money was getting tight for the private consultations.

The GP would not refer me, and prescribed Protosedyl. This didn’t seem to work and I started investigating privately funded options like Halo.

I kept going back to my GP saying I was trying Protosedyl without much success, I did think it helped but it certainly isn’t a cure.

My GP referred me to hospital for a consultation. The consultant examined me and said it was a small pile mass and not much could be done. That was not good news, but he did want to check for an abscess, so that was good news in terms of progress. I was referred for an ultrasound and went for that in Oct 2010. It was not pleasant at all.

I was then referred for an MRI. A bit worried by that, and went for that in Jan 2011, again all on the NHS which has always been utterly brilliant since the first 3 bandings I had.

All results came back OK and I saw the consultant who then did some banding in Jun 2011. 24 hours later I felt really bad, faint, very cold, shivering, sickness, and slept as soon as I got home, it was like I had some bad reaction to the banding.

The pain had been relieved though, for only a month, so went back to the consultant who did some more banding on 24 Oct 2011. Again the pain cleared up and pain came back just after a month after a bowel movement.

I decided to go back to the private consultant and to ask his opinon in Dec 2011 and he just said enough is enough and it is time to be referred for an operation with the NHS. I got an appointment for February but could not take it. Got another for April and I went for that.

I went into hospital in the morning at 8am. Had an enema at 9:30am which cleared me out good and proper. 11am they came to get me for surgery, 11:50 I woke up, felt brilliant. Then rested.

Other blokes on the ward had trouble doing a wee, one wet the bed because he couldn’t feel anything. Luckily I was fine, did a wee so that meant I could go home.

I got home at 7pm, and slept slept slept. Got out of bed at about 10am the next morning, felt very uncomfortable but I wouldn’t call in painful, afterall the haemorrhoids were painful!

I went out shopping, walking slowly. There was blood, but had a pad to absorb that.

I went back to work the day after, I was getting on fine.

The next day I needed a poo in the morning, and nearly fainted, the pain was unbelievable, and had to take the day off work.

I went to my doctor and he gave me some Lactulose to loosen things up a bit. Going to the toilet became OK after 2 weeks, but successive bowel movements were never as bad as the first.

It is now almost 2 two after my operation, and I still haven’t fully healed. I forget about it sometime which is brilliant, a true test that the pain of piles has been eradicated for me. Some bowel movements can hurt sometime, and produce some blood, but it soon stops.

There has been a lump, which used to ooze puss, but that has stopped, and the lump seems to be getting smaller, very slowly over time.

The operation by the way, was a very simple removal of one haemorrhoid, they didn’t staple, just because it was one, they simply cut it out, good bloody riddance!

So after over 10 years, and creams, bandings, injections, the proper haemorrhoidectomy seems to have solved the problem, but the reluctance of doctors and consultants to refer me for the operation is a surprising one. I have heard it maybe because the cure can be as bad as the symptoms. If someone has been struck by this horrible condition in its worst form, they wouldn’t say that!

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