Hemmroids

[donna martinez]

hemmroids

Hello everyone. Well I don't know about everyone else but ever since i was diagnosed i have had this nasty hemmroid that wont go away and now after about a month it is starting to hurt. most say surgery for hemmroids is very painful is there a way to prevent needing surgery. i haven't seen the doctor yet to even know if i need surgery but previously ive never had hemmroids and not to sure how to treat them. i bought some preparation h and it had helped a little and am going to try a sitz bath later but is there anything else i can do to get some relief. and also do they ever go away or is this something i will always have to deal with now?

 

[MapleLeafGirl]

Mine have never completely gone away, but there are time when they bug me worse than others. The sitz bath will help.

 

[donna martinez]

i looked it up and a sitz bath is just warm water and salt right.

 

[Dunbar]

They may or may not go away depending on how they protrude. I've had a lovely one that was like a grape and quite sore. A year later it just looks like(a mirror on the floor to see and yes you are the only person(s) I've admitted that to) a flap of skin. I wiped with tp and witch hazel, soothing and healing. Ahhhhh A double whammy might be prep h suppository and polysporine triple healing after you have a bm. Hope this can help.

 

[Walt]

...end of the line

Hi Donna,
Sorry to hear you are suffering.
I'm afraid with all the 'traffic' back there, it's no surprise we often have trouble with hemorrhoids.
I think of it as adding insult to injury.

If you do the homework, you will find that surgery for such for Crohn's patients is contraindicated.
The risk of scar tissue and further trouble and complications is often considered too great to be worth trying.

There is a condition called Crohn's skin tags, which are often confused for hemorrhoids.
Fissures are cracks or tears which are persistent, and difficult to heal.
(dontaskmehowiknowthis...)
Fistulas are tunnels between intestine and other abnormal places.
Abcesses are infected cavities in the surrounding tissue.
All of these things tend to be painful and persistent.
Not to mention the hurting, itching and bleeding.

All can be entangled with our disease, which, when located at the end of the line, is referred to as perianal Crohns.
Usually that is added to and on top of the other forms of internal Crohns disease.
Anyone have the courage to state that they suffer perianal Crohn's?

Some sources consider these other problems to be 'early' warnings of impending onset of Crohn's and/or flare-ups.
These problems can challenge quality and enjoyment of life.

It's a real drag, when it hurts to sit, stand, walk or lay.
That is why I am glad I found this forum, and can chat with fellow sufferers who know what it can be like to endure these things.

Myself, my bottom gets little chance to heal, with all the ugly traffic down there.
It took me a while to be able to speak of such things, and I'd struggle to share them with non-IBD'ers.
Hope you feel better soon,
Walt

ps It is imperative to keep this difficult region as clean as possible.
I use Betaderm ointment to try to help heal.
And I use Proctosedyl ointment to try to help numb when it hurts,
which is corticosteroid and antibiotic hemorrhoidal therapy.

I wrap my fingers with cling wrap from the kitchen to apply.
Bet you didn't see that coming!

 

[Rebecca85]

I have suffered fissures for most of my life. Everytime it healed, I would do a solid poo and open it up again. Now I have Crohn's, my poo tends to be looser and I haven't bled down there for a while. Trust me to be the only person who stops bleeding when they get Crohn's!

 

[MapleLeafGirl]

i looked it up and a sitz bath is just warm water and salt right.

I used baking soda as it is easier on the skin.

 

[sdbook]

Thank you Walt for being so open and giving advise that I will definitely try!! I keep look for details that will really help, and most people are not as open.
Best,
Sherry

 

[acg101]

@ donna - well I could probably write a book about trouble with hemorrhoids. It has been one of my most enoying side effects of inflimation of my rectum, fisture, you name it.
It is VERY important to keep the area clean so it does not get infected and cause fistulas. I did as many baths as I could if I was home, just warm water for 15-20 minutes. Outside the house Prep H wipes.
Take stool sofeners and, if your diet permits, soft foods Lots of fiber and drink lots of fluids that will help so it shrinks and goes away.
In terms of medications, I had a prescription for hydrocortisone gel WITH Lidocaine which was a life saver.
I hope it goes away.
My proctocolectomy surgery removed all my hemorroids, fistulas and such.

 

[donna martinez]

Thank you, everyone who has responded to this posting. It has really helped me very much.

 

[countrycoffeehouse]

acg you said eat lots of fiber? That would kill most of us.. how can you eat fiber? Ouch at the thought.. I did get quite a bit of advice from this post thread though.. thank you all

 

[acg101]

I said if your diet permits.... stool softener or fiber. the idea is that your stool is not to formed. any pressure down there aggrevates the situation and once they pop it takes long to take care of the situation.

 

[Sue-2009]

Sitz bath, calmoseptine, steroidal enemas, and baby wipes...I am sorry to hear of your suffering. When I flare --- they come out bad. That is some kind of pain.....Unbelievable...Good luck! Sue

 

[Sarac8275]

There is a condition called Crohn's skin tags, which are often confused for hemorrhoids.
Fissures are cracks or tears which are persistent, and difficult to heal.
(dontaskmehowiknowthis...)
Fistulas are tunnels between intestine and other abnormal places.
Abcesses are infected cavities in the surrounding tissue.
All of these things tend to be painful and persistent.
Not to mention the hurting, itching and bleeding.

That bit of info actually helped quite a bit. I've been having terrible troubles with mine, even after a hemorrhoidectomy (about 8 months ago). Didn't realize skin tags were different than hemorrhoids. I just posted a thread on hemorrhoids... anyways thanks for the info! =]

 

[oldcrohn]

Sadly expert on hemorrhoids

Hey Donna, sadly, I tend to my hemorrhoid vineyard regularly and since I've had them for over 20 years, consider myself an expert. I've read the advice here and agree with most of it. Here's what I've learned over 20 years:

you must keep area clean. wipe with cottenelle wipes (they're flushable) after each bowel movement and take a bath

I use Calmoseptine every time I move my bowels and used to put it on before and after. I have used all the dr proscribed stuff and I find they don't work

NEW!!! Someone told me after bowel movement, wipe on a little VICKS Vapo rub. I was afraid because I have a lot of fissures and bleeding. BUT IT FEELS AWESOME and really helps the pain. There's my 2 cents. Hope it helps

PS Most surgeons worth their salt will not operate on hems for a crohns patients because there is a big change they won't heal and you will have open sores forever.

 

[Sarac8275]

PS Most surgeons worth their salt will not operate on hems for a crohns patients because there is a big change they won't heal and you will have open sores forever.

Going BACK to a colon-rectal surgeon with what I thought was another bout of extremely painful hems, I learned this. My first/only hem surgery was right before they found out I had Crohn's. In fact, the biopsy was apparently what led them to believe it was Crohn's. So here I am with badly healed scar tissue / skin tags. They hurt like crazy and are worse than my first hems. Surgeon is afraid to do surgery on them because of the Crohn's. So... I'm pretty distressed. :frown:

 

[oldcrohn]

Oh that sounds horrible. Did you get my post on the Vicks Vapo rub? It really does help cool them. Mine are awful too. I'm always anemic because of all the blood I lose. I went to surgeon and told him and he said "I doubt you're anemic from hems" and when he examined me he said "Oh, maybe you are". They are HUGE and I have the skin tags too. I guess just something we have to live with. I'm sorry you had surg and it made it worse.

 

[Sarac8275]

I will try the vapor rub, thanks! And as for the skin tags, there is nothing I can do about them, even in the long run? They make sitting and bending over (and of course, using the restroom, which happens frequently over the course of the day) so painful! Not to mention, they have ruined my intimate life; I told the man that nothing could really happen until they're gone. so it's been a little depressing, even though he's very supportive and understands. They're just ruining my life. Eek.

 

[oldcrohn]

Do the skin tags get in the way of conventional sex? I mean I'd never have back door sex because the pain would kill me. They are uncomfortable during intercourse but I guess I just try to ignore it. The whole Crohns thing makes the sex enjoyment really, really hard. I don't think there is anything they can do. With the Crohns, it is just too dangerous to cut anything, even with a laser. I'm sorry to tell you that but that's what every single doctor I've know of has every told me. Try the Vicks. See if that helps. You might be surprised how much it help.

 

[Sarac8275]

Oh, no back door for me! Mostly embarrassed because there is some drainage. :/ And of course, the pain. Eeuuugh.

 

[acg101]

warm baths, 15 minutes long, as many a day you can

 

[David in Seattle]

Having a bit of a flare up myself. Did a Google search yesterday, got this result, among others (yes, this is an actual hit):



Note the date. Maybe it's just their way of saying "Merry Christmas"...:ylol:

 

[Sarac8275]

Haha, nice, David. I'll have to buy my boyfriend a few hemmies so he can feel the pain! Lol.

 

[Sarac8275]

Do the skin tags get in the way of conventional sex? I mean I'd never have back door sex because the pain would kill me. They are uncomfortable during intercourse but I guess I just try to ignore it. The whole Crohns thing makes the sex enjoyment really, really hard. I don't think there is anything they can do. With the Crohns, it is just too dangerous to cut anything, even with a laser. I'm sorry to tell you that but that's what every single doctor I've know of has every told me. Try the Vicks. See if that helps. You might be surprised how much it help.

Uggh, just re-reading this makes me so frustrated.. knowing I may very well have to deal with them forever. I'm wondering though if they can do something about the area that is draining. My surgeon took a look the other day and mentioned something about 'keyhole deformity' (?) and that there was indeed an area that was draining. Now, sorry to give a few too many details, but there *better* be a way to fix this drainage thing because I feel like I'm constantly on my period-- I constantly have to wear a pad/paper towel because of it. Day in and day out; I can't tell you how many paper towels I go through. It makes things pretty uncomfortable on top of the obvious.. :[ Oh what to do..

 

[oldcrohn]

Hi Sara, I've had Crohns for over 20 years, so all I talk about is poop, pus, blood from my butt, etc...don't worry about offending me!! I have never heard the term "keyhole deformity" so I did some research on it to better understand what it meant. I guess you have a fissure or something in your anus and they cut in some way. That terms means:

Additional weakness posteriorly can lead to what is called a keyhole deformity, so called because the resulting anal canal resembles an old fashioned skeleton key. This deformity promotes soilage and leakage of stool

I found a great site that explained everything but I'm having some trouble finding an answer on what to do when you do get a keyhole deformity. I will keep looking. In the meantime, here is the link to a good site:

http://www.medicinenet.com/anal_fissure/page3.htm

 

[oldcrohn]

If you want, I will research to see if something can be done about the deformity but that site also said this:

Failure to heal following surgery often is attributed to reluctance on the part of the surgeon to adequately divide the internal anal sphincter; however, other reasons for failure to heal, such as Crohn's disease should be considered as well. The risk of incontinence (leakage) of stool following surgery is low. It is important to distinguish between short-term and long-term incontinence. In the short-term (under six weeks), the sphincter is weakened by the surgery, so leakage of stool is not unexpected. Long-term incontinence should not occur after partial lateral internal sphincterotomy because the internal sphincter is less important than the external sphincter (which is not cut) in controlling the passage of stool. It is important to distinguish between incontinence to gas, a minimal amount of stool that, at most, stains the underwear (soiling), and loss of stool that requires an immediate change in underwear. In a large series of patients followed for a mean of five years after surgery, 6% were incontinent of gas, 8% had minor soiling, and 1% experienced loss of stool.

That said, most doctors I have spoken to in 20 still refuse to do anal/rectal surgery on Crohns' patients for the reason that they may not heal well. Do you still get a lot of pain? How long since the surgery?

 

[oldcrohn]

I also found some info about an additional surgery at this site:

http://www.healthboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=523521

they say there's a difference in lateral surgeries that don't cause keyhole deformity. This site really might help.

 

[Sarac8275]

I appreciate all the input! It's good to be able to have someone to talk to that has been dealing with... well, at least similar issues for a while. So, about the surgery- funny thing is it was last year, around this time, that the healing was basically complete. I was able to get up, get back in school, and work again. As I think I said, this was before they were sure I had Crohn's; the surgery was done by a general surgeon (as opposed to a colon-rectal surgeon). The biopsy suggested Crohn's. Well, it seemed to heal fine. After a few months, though, when everything seemed to be going well, I felt hemmies coming back. Just something small. Not painful or anything. But within the last month or 2, it's worsened considerably, and is now painful, and I've been going through all this crazy stuff, etc.. So, weird thing to me is that it *healed*. Then worsened. Another thing is that the surgeon recently was concerned that it was some kind of somethingorother grandulona something(???), which apparently is some kind of wart. But after further looking (right before a biopsy--thank god he didn't have to do it!) he decided it didn't look like the 'wart' thing. Oh, all of this is so confusing!