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Maybe it's time for surgery?!?

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Posted 3/3/2015 12:13 AM (GMT -5)
so I sent an email complaining to my doctor about my hemorrhoids (internal, had for years, even before IMRT). Perhaps I was a bit too dramatic in my words, but I just wanted to know what else could be done to provide relief for the discomfort and occasional pain. I take stool softeners, use the special wipes, sometimes the suppositories, take frequent sitz baths and it feels like things are getting worse.

so I send this email to the doctor complaining it ani't enough and is there more they could do, please, thank you.

Her reply, "want to think about surgery - it might be the right time."

what the...

My answer, "No, but yes, please send the referral."

darn, yuck, drat (please translate to your favorite four letter words. anything starting with 's', 'f', 'c', would be fine).

I can't believe this. I want a different body.
I am now off to write a poem about hemorrhoids.
Andrew
Posted 3/3/2015 12:47 AM (GMT -5)
darn Andrew, what a pain in the butt! Hope the specialist has an alternative route. Okay..no pun intended in the last remark.
Posted 3/3/2015 1:59 AM (GMT -5)
Wow - Be real careful with doing surgery. My Primary MD said he had one and it was a total pain in ...

Check out the doctor and grill them totally.

Don
_______________________________________________
Age 61 @ DX, 62 Now
DRE: enlarged w/"ridge"
Pre-Op PSA: 6.8
Biopsy: 5 of 14 positive, 12%(3+3),11%(3+3),20%(4+3),5%(3+3),4%(3+3)
da Vinci: 10/17/2014 Both Nerves Spared
Cath: 17 days
Post-Op Path:
Histologic Type: Adenocarcinoma
77gr - 4.5cm x 4.7cm X 4.2cm - 10-20% Involved by tumor
Largest module: 1.6cm Bilateral Lobes
Gleason Grade: 3+3=6 (down from a 4+3=7 in biopsy)
TNM Staging: pT2c pN0 cM0
EPE: Absent, SMI: Absent
Margins: uninvolved, Lymph Nodes all benign
Bladder Neck Negative for Carcinoma
Perineural Invasion - present, Vascular Invasion - present
PSAs: (Roche ECLIA methodology):
01/22/15 - <0.1 (Three Month test)
Posted 3/3/2015 6:31 AM (GMT -5)
A couple of weeks ago I had surgery , lateral Internal sphincterotomy to remove an anal fissure and for my internal hemmords - injection scerotherapy to shrink them .

I've suffered with anal fissure for amost a year and the pain was so unbearable it felt like a blow torch up my arse every time I had a BM .

The surgeon didn't want to remove the internal hemmords his words to my wife , "he suffered with pain enough " . Besides shrinking isn't there other options like banding ?
Posted 3/3/2015 6:38 AM (GMT -5)
My RO wrote me a script for Hydrocortisone Acetate 2.5 with Pramoxine hcl 1%. I also take Miralax every morning.. I swear it felt like I was giving birth every morning for about 6 weeks. Every night he had me take a gas x and stool softener before bed. It should calm down after treatment.
Posted 3/3/2015 10:42 AM (GMT -5)
I've been dealing with this problem off and on for about 10 years. Been playing the 'home game' with everything they give me but there seems like it resolves for awhile and then comes back slightly worse. Mostly this is an internal hemorrhoid with an anal fissure. In the past they've been reluctant to even suggest surgery. To see those words yesterday was a bit of a shock.

So far I've only had a brief email exchange with my GP and am waiting for a referral to the specialist. I did talk a specialist last year when GP was concerned I had radiation proctitis, but specialist didn't find evidence of that.

Well, here it is, my hemorrhoid poem:

You Don’t Want to Know

True is, neither do I but it’s a fact that you can’t retract.

Radiation made it worse
while fixing the front we broke the back.

Hemorrhoids, radiation proctitis
An interesting fact - nothing rhymes with hemorrhoids.

Making it an impolite subject for a poem
Call it the terror of the toilet
Giving new meaning to being a pain in the ass.

Throbbing when sitting
Sandpaper when walking
Wanting to pass out while passing
Blood in the bowl
Blood on the paper

Looking at food I no long consider the taste
but rather consider it’s effect just before it leaves the body.

To the doctors I look for relief
for a pill
for a potion
for a procedure.

and I get sympathy
and the litany of “home treatments”
Sitz bath, suppositories, Fiber, lots of fiber
Stool softener, don’t strain, use the wipes
Lots of water with more fiber.

For permanency, cure, lasting relief
there is the refrain, “You’re last PSA test is really good.”
Posted 3/3/2015 6:37 PM (GMT -5)
little annoyed with the doctor's office today. Looks like I have to make an appointment to get the referrals started.

grrr.
Andrew
Posted 3/3/2015 6:49 PM (GMT -5)
They've been a problem for my wife after birth. They said no to surgery.

What helped her was a high fiber diet (helps me too). We've found that you have to rotate through different fiber categories, or it seems your body adapts to it. So lots of fiber isn't always better....get fiber in different ways.

Also, lots and lots of water...buy the plastic bottles for convenience and always have some in your fridge, that way it's easy to take one and run. Good luck Andrew.

Post Edited (Squirm) : 3/3/2015 5:39:25 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 3/3/2015 6:58 PM (GMT -5)
My apologies in advance. I couldn't help it. Really.

Andrew,

I feel so badly for you
Doing things you don't want to do
Spending so much time in the loo
All for a painful poo.

You've done everything the docs say
Soften, wipe, spritz and spray
It's supposed to get better every day
So you won't go absolutely cray cray.

Well, the Doc can see you're about to break
So decisions you now have to make
Get rid of that Happiness thief
To provide you with long sought relief

So while you make your educated guess
As to what treatment would be the best
My heartfelt wish for you this day
Is that you "have a great PSA"!

Wishing you Hemorrhoid Wisdom,
Susan
Posted 3/3/2015 7:02 PM (GMT -5)
Just to add to Squirms comments, without lots of water, Fiber turns into cement. So its imperative.

Andrew, sorry to see you are having these troubles. Sounds awful. Hope you get resolution if and when you do surgery
Posted 3/3/2015 10:21 PM (GMT -5)
Guys I drink so much water that California water authorities are about to arrest me for violating drought restrictions...

don't get me started on fiber - doubt there's a type of fiber I don't or haven't eaten. Fruit and shredded whole wheat for breakfast, salad for lunch, roasted veggies for dinner... lately my only sin as been the two snickerdooles with my afternoon cup of tea. and it still hurts back there!

Susan - love your poem thanks.

I managed to get an appoint first thing Thursday morning. Time to get in a doctors face. grrr. They got me mad now.

Andrew
Posted 3/4/2015 2:37 AM (GMT -5)
Susan Suess. Loved the poetry, both of them. While there is nothing funny about the darn things, it helps to inject humor into every situation, I've found, and I know Andrew appreciates humor too. I really hope you can get something that works Andrew. You shouldn't have to suffer so! It's so funny how the snickerdoodle has become a favorite here. I have a new recipe for jam thumbprints..yummy. Maybe I should start a baking blog. Great therapy if you can find people to help eat results.
Beth
Posted 3/4/2015 11:48 AM (GMT -5)

celebrate life said...
darn Andrew, what a pain in the butt! Hope the specialist has an alternative route. Okay..no pun intended in the last remark.

Well said, a PITB! Those devils laid me low the 1st week after my surgery, it was the worst part of my recovery. Back to only a very minor PITB for now. Has anyone mentioned banding or one of the alternatives to surgery? I will certainly be exploring those if mine become a serious problem again:
www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/understanding-hemorrhoids-treatment-medref#1

WebMD said...
If you have been diagnosed with hemorrhoids, a high-fiber diet combined with sitz baths and Tylenol as prescribed often reduces discomfort within two weeks. If symptoms persist or are severe your health care provider may suggest one of the following procedures. Many can be performed in your doctor's office.

Injection. An internal hemorrhoid can be injected with a solution which creates a scar and closes off the hemorrhoid. The injection hurts only a little, as any injection does.
Banding. Prolapsed hemorrhoids are often removed using rubber-band ligation. A special tool secures a tiny rubber band around the hemorrhoid, shutting off its blood supply almost instantly. Within a week, the hemorrhoid shrivels and falls off.
Coagulation or cauterization. Using either an electric probe, a laser beam, or an infrared light, a tiny burn painlessly seals the end of the hemorrhoid, causing it to close off and shrink. This is most useful for prolapsed hemorrhoids.
Surgery. For large internal hemorrhoids or extremely uncomfortable external hemorrhoids (such as thrombosed hemorrhoids that are too painful to live with), your doctor may elect traditional surgery, called hemorrhoidectomy.

Hemorrhoid removal treatments are very effective, but unless dietary and lifestyle changes are made, hemorrhoids may recur.

Posted 3/4/2015 12:03 PM (GMT -5)
Always reminds of the joke that was spun off from the old preparation h commercial. The stats were 6 out of 10 people suffer from hemorrhoids. Does that mean 4 out of 10 enjoy them?
Posted 3/4/2015 12:49 PM (GMT -5)
BillyBob - I've been doing the surgery alternatives for years. and these are mostly internal hemorrhoids so the treatment options aren't as open as I'd like. Right now I am suck in referral hell - got to see my GP before the insurance will let me see the specialist.

rob2 - reminds me of a similar joke my father use to tell, "I don't suffer from mental illness, I quite enjoy it."

Humor is a good thing.
Andrew
Posted 3/4/2015 1:46 PM (GMT -5)
And in the church each hymn enjoy'd,
Lord spare us from that asteroid!
And in your grace
incline your face
and cure me of this hemorrhoid.

There are several other rhymes but they are even harder to use in a poem that makes any sense.
Posted 3/4/2015 2:03 PM (GMT -5)
Andrew-

How does the surgery work? I suppose they have to divert the crap while the stitches heal? I wonder if there's a youtube video. Do they do a green light laser or argon plasma resurfacing as well, or do they take out the whole area that includes the fissure and the 'roids.

You might be able to get a near rhyme out of "bloody hemorrhoids" and "glucocorticoids." I'll stick to novels.

- Allen
Posted 3/4/2015 2:55 PM (GMT -5)
PDA - not sure my pastor knows that one. Think I'll send it to her...

TA - not sure how that's going to happen or how extensive they'd have to be. I was hoping they could just do a little laser thing but none of the doctors I talked to a couple years ago didn't mentioned it. Don't think there are stitches and I think you just stop eating for a couple of days - no input, no output.

as for rhymes, I've been working on the word, 'roids' but the only rhyme that generated was droid.

Still working on it,
Andrew
Posted 3/4/2015 3:19 PM (GMT -5)
Andrew, I'm sure you could work "Freud", as in Sigmund, into something!
LOL!


Cheers, Doug
Posted 3/4/2015 5:27 PM (GMT -5)
hum, sigmoid?
Posted 3/4/2015 10:00 PM (GMT -5)
Andrew, I cringe at the nature of your problem.

For those few in real life I know that had surgerical attempts at this, they all wished they had never done it. Their recovery stories were horrible, and in the long run, they ended up worse than before. Not saying this to discourage, you are the one living with the problem for a long time.

Ever since my ER visit for total blockage back in October, I faithfully take the Miralax every evening, along with 2-3 stool softeners (OTC). I hate the stuff, but all I have to do is replay how I was feeling the afternoon I went into the ER, and I gladly drink the stuff.

BTW, I swear they lie about it being tasteless, I can always tell its there. What helps for me, I mix the powder in Diet-7 up, and stir in about 2-3 ounces of pure blueberry juice (like you can get at Trader Joe's) Even then, I can still taste it. I am more afraid of the alternative, so down it goes.

Hope you can still find a non-surgical solution. Just because your doctor couldn't find hard core evidence of radiation damage, doesn't mean its not there. I am proof of that first hand. Most of that type of damage will never show up on a scan of any type.

Good luck ahead
Posted 3/4/2015 10:55 PM (GMT -5)
David - that's the fear of surgery. I was told a long time ago that they could only operate once. I never verified the truth of that statement. The problem is that the current "home remedies" aren't working as well as they were an the pain is just getting worse. At the least I think I need to get them to put a scope up there and check out what's going on (I cringe that I even said that out loud).

Andrew
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