Can we talk hemorrhoids?

[Anonymous]

I had a baby about eight months ago and thought I had escaped the dread hemorrhoid scourge. But a recent investigation confirms that I have not.

I have a few questions but don't know who to ask so I am turning to you, DCUM.

-Will they go away on their own?
-Should I go to a doctor?
-If I should go to the doctor, what doctor do I go to for this? GP? OB? Specialist?
-Is there anything I can do to encourage them to go away?
-If not, is there anything I can do to get rid of the pain/itch?

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

You need to go to a doctor. Please.

[Anonymous]

I tried to manage my one flare-up on my own with OTC products, but didn't have much luck. A prescription ointment cleared it up, never (knock on wood) to return.

So yeah, see the doc. If getting in to see your own PCP or OB is a pain in the ass (ha!), any old urgent care doctor can have a quick peek to confirm you don't have a thrombosed vein, and then write the prescription.

[Anonymous]

see your GP doctor. But what helped me was:

1) changing my diet. no more bagels, white rice, or pasta-based lunches. No bananas. Yes to salad-based lunches, fiberous cereal for breakfast, and more veggies for dinner.
2) get all the OTC products and use them regularly. the wipes, the creams. Also take miralax daily or colace for a few months --you need to shrink your colon back down.
3) Drink at least 64 oz of water a day. Fill one large container up at the beginning of the day and make sure you are making progress each day.

good luck, they are horrid. But at least they are not on your face like zits for everyone to see.

[Anonymous]

Psyllium Husk. I think I have the spelling right. It is a natural fiber that you add to water. It tastes gross but is really great at keeping you regular. My husband always drinks it and I just heard about from a doctor as well. BTW, I have had 1 for the last 5 years (internal) that has not gone away after the birth of my first DS. Now pregnant with 3rd child and it is pretty bad. I always figured I would wait until having all my kids to have it removed but now wondering if I should have tried the prescription stuff. Doctor never mentioned it though. Mine is internal so not sure if that makes a difference.

[Anonymous]

Don't mess with this. See your GP. (S)he'll tell you if you need more aggressive treatment. Mine became thrombosed and needed surgery -- and I was flat on my back for a week before surgery because of the thrombosis. I have never, ever had pain like I did with those things (and I am a veteran of all kinds of surgeries, etc., in a quest to have DC). Good luck -- and get to the doc.

[Anonymous]

about one year PP, I had infrared coagulation (IRC) done. Hemorrhoids are gone. I saw a colorectal surgeon. I make sure to take fiber, eat lots of fruits/veggies, whole grains, drink lots of water. But it seemed that one day of not getting quite enough water resulted in weeks of pain. Not worth it.

[Anonymous]

I had all kinds of troubles in that dept after DS was born. Saw a colorectal surgeon (had to have surgery anyway, so he helped with the fissure / hemmorhoid issues too). See someone. And in the meantime, take Colace and drink lots of water!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I tried to manage my one flare-up on my own with OTC products, but didn't have much luck. A prescription ointment cleared it up, never (knock on wood) to return.

So yeah, see the doc. If getting in to see your own PCP or OB is a pain in the ass (ha!), any old urgent care doctor can have a quick peek to confirm you don't have a thrombosed vein, and then write the prescription.

What kind/name of the prescription?

Anonymous wrote:see your GP doctor. But what helped me was:

1) changing my diet. no more bagels, white rice, or pasta-based lunches. No bananas. Yes to salad-based lunches, fiberous cereal for breakfast, and more veggies for dinner.
2) get all the OTC products and use them regularly. the wipes, the creams. Also take miralax daily or colace for a few months --you need to shrink your colon back down.
3) Drink at least 64 oz of water a day. Fill one large container up at the beginning of the day and make sure you are making progress each day.

good luck, they are horrid. But at least they are not on your face like zits for everyone to see.

Can you recommend some that worked well for you?

[Anonymous]

Sorry, I don't have it handy, but the prescription med was a petroleum jelly based ointment to apply both internally (ew) and externally. It worked within 24 hours.

[Anonymous]

Ah. I read the thread title, laughed, then cringed, then clenched my buttcheeks real tight.

[Anonymous]

This is OP. Since I've already been gross I guess I'll continue. I'm not having problems with regularity at all, so it can't be because of that. I've been itchy for a week but this is the first day they've really hurt. The pain is not too bad...it's mostly the itch that I can't stand.

Is there any way to tell if hemorrhoids have become thrombosed without going to the doctor? Because I won't be able to go until later in the week and I am kind of freaking out right now.

I had a vaginal birth with a lot of pushing and I had hemorrhoids while pregnant but not after giving birth. I am not sure why I am getting them now. But then, I didn't get stretch marks until a month after DD was born and then I looked like my stomach had been clawed by a tiger. Guess I'm just lucky.

[Anonymous]

That was exactly my experience OP. Regular as clockwork, poopin' like a champ. And then, one day... ow ow what the fuck ow??

If I were you (and I was) I would use tucks or some other witch hazel sort of thing til you can get to the doc. It won't really help much, but you'll feel like you're doing something. In my hemorroidic episode, the only urgency was my own discomfort. I really don't like thinking about my bunghole that much, you know? I prefer it to lurk quietly in the background, only taking center stage once a day for about 90 seconds.

[Anonymous]

The best OTC thing you can get (in my opinion: I went through this after birth) is called Tronolane. I never saw it in stores but found it on drugstore.com. It obviously won't help with thrombosed anything but it works very well on itch/minor pain.

If you had a thrombosed hemorrhoid you'd know it because it would be very very painful. And you would probably have a huge nasty lump.

[Anonymous]

OP, mine went away on their own. One of the most important things you can do is NOT it scratch at it AT ALL (I know, easier than it sounds). This will inflame and irritate the skin. As PP suggested, eat plentyof fiber and leave it alone. It WILL shrink back to normal. OTC ointments did not work for me. They just irritated the surrounding skin.