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Hemorrhoid banding

Cat-a-Tonic

Super Moderator
I'm curious, has anyone else gotten their hemorrhoids banded? If so, how long did it take for your hemmies to fall off? And did you notice when the hemmies fell off?

I had 3 internal hemmies banded last week Thursday. I was told it should take about a week for the hemmies to fall off. They said I may or may not see them in the toilet when I pass them. Well, it's been 8 days and I'm getting slightly impatient. I haven't seen anything in the toilet that looks like a hemmie and it feels like they haven't fallen off yet (there's still some rectal pressure, which I've had ever since the bands were put on). I just want the stupid things to fall off already. Anybody experience a longer-than-average wait time for their hemorrhoids to fall off when they were banded?

(For those who don't know, banding is where they literally put a tight rubber band around each hemorrhoid to cut off the blood supply. Over time, the hemmie tissue dies and it falls off.)
 

fuzzy butterfly

Well-known member
Hi Cat sorry i havent had that. But i hope it dosent take much longer n your hemmies to do a bunk quick sharp hun . If you dont think they have gone in a couple of days ,give your doc a ring to see what they say. Best wishes n hugs 💕💕
 
I had banding done to my perianal crohn's skin tags which were mistaken for hemmies, what a mistake that was on the idiot surgeon...kept my perianal crohn's skin tags from ever shrinking away on their own like they used to.

I went back for a recall about 6 weeks after my banding, did they not tell you to go back for a recall so they can examine the area? If it's bothering you, you should call them back to make an appointment.
 

Cat-a-Tonic

Super Moderator
PB, no, it was a colorectal surgeon who did the banding (first time I had ever seen this doctor) and she made it sound like this is a really routine thing that doesn't need follow-up. So no follow-up appointment was made.

I still haven't seen my hemmies pass so I have no idea what's going on. Of course mine are all internal (so definitely not skin tags) so it's difficult/impossible for me to see what's going on in there. I don't see my GI again until May so I guess I could have him take a look then.

On the plus side, there hasn't been any rectal bleeding since the day that the bands were put on. And there might be less pressure in my rectum now? I think? The nurse did say that I might not notice when the hemmies pass, so maybe that's just what's going on. I still don't know, though. Hopefully things are going the way they should in there and I just haven't noticed.

They did say to give it 2 weeks for the hemmies to pass and for things to heal up inside, and it hasn't quite been 2 weeks yet. So I guess I will wait a bit longer and see how things are feeling then or if I see anything pass by then.
 
Location
UK
Cat, my husband had a couple banded during a colonoscopy about two years ago. He never did see anything of them...unless of course they're still up there! ;)
Bunty x
 

Cat-a-Tonic

Super Moderator
Bunty, thanks! If I ever get hemmies banded again, I think I'll go that route as well and have it done in conjunction with a scope. Having it done in the exam room with no sedation and no pain meds, it was a VERY uncomfortable experience.

And that's reassuring to hear that your husband didn't notice his hemmies pass either. Thinking back, when I had the pill cam about 5 years ago, I never noticed that pass but I was later told by the nurse that it "definitely" passed (I am friends with a couple of radiology techs, and I've heard from them that sometimes the final images on pill cam are of the patient's face looking down into the toilet, so I wonder if I am one of those and if that's how they knew that the pill cam "definitely" passed!). So if I didn't notice a hard plastic capsule pass in my stool, I know it's feasible that maybe the hemmies passed and I just didn't see any of them. There were 3 that were banded so it seems odd that I'd miss seeing all 3, but I'm sure it's still possible that that's the case.
 
I wouldn't worry too much about not seeing them (lol about the pill-cam story hahaha) they could shrink up small enough that you won't notice them or mixed in with feces being undetectable. Since they were internal, it's very likely you wouldn't see them pass, just concentrate on feeling better, that's your best guide, so long as it feels like things are healing that's the main thing....I still think a follow up appointment would have been more professional on the docs part though. Remember, everyone heals differently as well, it might take a bit longer than 2 weeks but I hope you find yourself feeling better very soon.
 

Cat-a-Tonic

Super Moderator
It's been 2 weeks as of today and I think I must have finally passed the hemmorhoids. I've had just the slightest bit of rectal bleeding yesterday & today, but it's not like my usual rectal bleeding (if that even makes sense). I was told that after the hemmies fall off, that there will be wounds/scabs inside that might bleed, but that those should heal up fairly quickly. I'm presuming then that the slight bleeding I'm seeing is from the internal scabs. So I guess I'm still healing. I was told to stay out of the gym for 2 weeks, but with this little bit of bleeding, I'm going to stay out of the gym for a bit longer just to play it safe. I don't want to aggravate anything or make the bleeding worse.
 
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