Dealing with hemorrhoids – any advice?
in Health ·
I haven't had a chance to read everything yet, but I felt compelled to post because I’ve been dealing with symptoms for nearly two years now. I just left my doctor's office for the second time today, and she handed me a referral for surgery—specifically, I think it's a sigmoidoscopy.
To give you some context, my first run-in with hemorrhoids was about five or six years ago when I was twenty. It was an external one, nothing major, or so they told me. They prescribed some Fact ointment, and after a few days, the issue basically vanished. My doctor chalked it up to being a student and sitting around too much, which, honestly, he wasn't wrong about. He did advise using the cream more consistently—three times a day—and continuing even after the symptoms subside until you're certain it's completely gone. What's odd, though, is that this seems to flare up at almost the exact same time every year for me, usually around April.
The more serious issue, the thing that actually keeps me on edge, is that less than two years ago, I saw blood in my stool for the very first time. And I don't mean a tiny speck on the paper like you might get from a minor scratch; I mean bright red, liquid blood. When I wiped, it looked like I’d dipped the paper into a bucket of blood. It’s genuinely shocking when it happens to you for the first time; you suddenly start self-diagnosing every worst-case scenario you can imagine. You start obsessing over cancer, tumors... all those things you hear about suddenly feel very personal and very real. A neighbor tried to reassure me that it's definitely just internal hemorrhoids. Regardless, I have the sigmoidoscopy coming up soon, and maybe a colonoscopy after that, depending on what they decide.
Fear isn't really the issue here; I just want to find a way to fix this because it keeps happening. In the last ten days alone, it's happened at least four times. I've noticed the bleeding doesn't happen right away with the initial bowel movement, but rather during the subsequent straining. I can easily adjust my diet; that won't be an obstacle for me.
What I really need to know is this: what about physical exertion? Am I allowed to lift weights? Carry heavy groceries? I can drink more water throughout the day, no problem. I can eat more vegetables. But what about coffee? Cigarettes? Alcohol? I don't think I need those anyway. My main concern is the physical strain. Should I be avoiding heavy lifting entirely?
So, the problem is internal. Thanks in advance for any insight. Catch you later.
P.S. There's no pain, just the blood. Liquid, disgusting, bright red blood all over the paper—gross.
To give you some context, my first run-in with hemorrhoids was about five or six years ago when I was twenty. It was an external one, nothing major, or so they told me. They prescribed some Fact ointment, and after a few days, the issue basically vanished. My doctor chalked it up to being a student and sitting around too much, which, honestly, he wasn't wrong about. He did advise using the cream more consistently—three times a day—and continuing even after the symptoms subside until you're certain it's completely gone. What's odd, though, is that this seems to flare up at almost the exact same time every year for me, usually around April.
The more serious issue, the thing that actually keeps me on edge, is that less than two years ago, I saw blood in my stool for the very first time. And I don't mean a tiny speck on the paper like you might get from a minor scratch; I mean bright red, liquid blood. When I wiped, it looked like I’d dipped the paper into a bucket of blood. It’s genuinely shocking when it happens to you for the first time; you suddenly start self-diagnosing every worst-case scenario you can imagine. You start obsessing over cancer, tumors... all those things you hear about suddenly feel very personal and very real. A neighbor tried to reassure me that it's definitely just internal hemorrhoids. Regardless, I have the sigmoidoscopy coming up soon, and maybe a colonoscopy after that, depending on what they decide.
Fear isn't really the issue here; I just want to find a way to fix this because it keeps happening. In the last ten days alone, it's happened at least four times. I've noticed the bleeding doesn't happen right away with the initial bowel movement, but rather during the subsequent straining. I can easily adjust my diet; that won't be an obstacle for me.
What I really need to know is this: what about physical exertion? Am I allowed to lift weights? Carry heavy groceries? I can drink more water throughout the day, no problem. I can eat more vegetables. But what about coffee? Cigarettes? Alcohol? I don't think I need those anyway. My main concern is the physical strain. Should I be avoiding heavy lifting entirely?
So, the problem is internal. Thanks in advance for any insight. Catch you later.
P.S. There's no pain, just the blood. Liquid, disgusting, bright red blood all over the paper—gross.