- Search CSN:
- Members: Login to search all areas
- Not a member? Click here to search public areas
![]() |
Dec 29, 2012 - 2:56 am
I love telling the world I have hemerrhoids since I've had my kids. And better is having to say that the radiation obliterated them and now I can't sit or go to the bathroom without cringing. Does anyone have any solution to healing this situation faster? We're already tried lidocaine, Hydrocortisone suppositories, hydrocortisone creams, even oxycodone doesn't work (although I did get a lot of sleep when I took it). I'm putting on the aquaphor habitually. All have been useless. Tonight I read vitamin E might help so I'm going to try that. Weight loss is also supposed to help so despite being told that I shouldn't lose weight because of the upcoming surgery, I'm going to try to lose weight in the next few weeks. |
Joined: Jan 2007
hemorrhoids
Spell it: Hemorrhoids (http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Hemmeroids)
I have been frequently called one, but I'm easier to get rid of.
A visit to a decent colorectal surgeon, and/or a Gastroenterologist (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastroenterology) can fix
the problem quickly; creams, lotions, etc., won't do you well.
If the hemmeroid is external, the gastro doc can fix it in the office,
if it's internal, you'll need the surgeon. But you should have a scope
(colonoscopy) to make sure it's only hemmeroids........
Best wishes for the best outcome!
John
Joined: May 2012
Thanks, I have both.
Thanks, I have both. Confirmed that that's what it is but the solutions being offered are not working. I'll call Monday, I'm not sure what you mean by fix it. But surgical suggests removal so I'm going to ask if that's an option. Aren't they swollen veins? I wouldn't have thought about removal.
Joined: Jan 2007
Ouch. I only hurts when I laugh sitting down?
They have a technique where they put "rubber band" type devices on
the bulging veins to shrink them into oblivion; fairly painless, the wife says!
She said that I had it backwards (?), that the gastro doc fixes the
ones inside, and the surgeon fixes the ones outside. She had hers
done by the gastro doc, right at the doc's office. The ones outside
remain and one of these days she'll have a surgeon fix them, but
the major problem was fixed by the Gastro doc.
I don't have 'em; according to the wife, I just represent them.
(John23: aka "Mr. Hemorroid")
Sit in the punch bowl ! It's the holidays, everyone does it!
My best wishes,
John
Joined: May 2012
lol Thanks John, I think I'll
lol Thanks John, I think I'll drink some of the punch before I sit in it so I'll stop the pain at both ends. I'm going to ask the doctor about removing the rroids during the surgery since I'm going to be under anyway, kill two birds (that's so not nice, killing birds) with one rubber pellet. I refuse to throw rocks at birds. The pain is less this week but it's still pretty bad. I was hoping by this week it would be gone. I can see this is going to be a chronic issue. With my surgery coming up, I hope it doesn't get worse!
Joined: May 2012
I swear I only hit the button
I swear I only hit the button once!
Joined: Nov 2011
roid rage
My gastro says my roids are awful. I know he's right. I've had constipation concerns since childhood.
Anyhow, on another forum I saw a post where a woman heard a commercial for a product used by homosexual men for anal pain. She went to an adult store and bought some. She said it stopped the spasms, pain, burning, etc. immediately. I believe she said it was called Anal Blu
I just checked the thread and someone said it's on Amazon for under $6.00 a tube.
http://www.amazon.com/Anal-Blu-1-5oz-Lubricant-Lube/dp/B00172R26U/ref=sr_1_4?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1356728594&sr=1-4&keywords=anal+blu
Joined: May 2012
You rock! This pain is out
You rock! This pain is out of control. Lidocaine does nothing at all.
Joined: Mar 2010
I had an anal fissure
so I KNOW your pain. My surgeon gave me a Rx for an ointment compounded with Cardizem (yes, the heart medication) to be applied to the area, to minimize constriction. It didn't help much, but it did help a little. He had me alternate that with Nupercainal Creme.
Unfortunately, the fissure wouldn't heal until I was done with chemo. That meant months where even thinking about going to the bathroom made me cringe. I hope you get your 'sit'uation under control more quickly.
Joined: Sep 2011
Oh the pain...
Helen,
Your story sounds identical to mine...very painful!!! I tried everything also and then a nurse suggested Desitin baby ointment with zinc ( do not use if you are currently doing radiation ). It helped me tremendously. Also, I started juicing using organic carrots, apple, ginger and some sort of green (usually spinach or parsley). That seemed to heal me from the inside out. Hang in there ... I used to put a washcloth in my mouth and scream in the bathrooms because it was so painful...ugg... I hope you have some relief.
"Minnesotagirl"
Joined: May 2012
I tired Desitin, it worked
I tired Desitin, it worked for a few days and then it got bad again. Maybe I should try again. I'm very familiar with the screaming. It's good that you healed which means this is not permanent. It feels so permanent at the moment. It's not healing at all! Gets better and then right back to worse. Not constipated at all and the stinging is still out of control.
Joined: Sep 2011
Forgot to mention this
Yes the stinging is awful...I also would be in the bathtub many times a day (more like a sitz bath than real bath). I did sit on Ice packs too but the Oncologist said I could permanently cause tissue problems doing that so I stopped. Keep bathing and smearing desitin on it. One nurse told me to defecate in a tub of warm/cool water so it wasn't so painful. I tried it because I was desperate...it did help. Hang in there...it will get better~
"Minnesotagirl
Joined: May 2012
So far it's only slightly
So far it's only slightly better and when I called the doctor this week they said give it another few weeks and it might just heal itself. On a scale of one to ten, the pain has gone from a 22 to an 11. I hope to be on the scale soon.
Joined: Nov 2010
you poor dear
some serious butt pain comes with illness, its added for free. its in the very fine print but somehow my onc and surgeon forgot to mention one of the highlights of my cancer so far.
lots of great suggestions for you here from others. i hope they help.
i tried getting a towel, biting on it, then screaming loudly into it, seemed to work as good as all the pills, creams and potions. this kind nurse suggested the towel trick, it helped me, hopefully you dont need it.
during this painful journey, i took a real life journey to my friends farm, it was late one starry night, the cows were mooing close by, soon they were running scared as i was using the outside loo and the towel technique.
i have been back to that farm, the cows stay away from me even two years later.
the moral, time heals all wounds except for cows. my pain is gone now, i hope yours is soon. it will get better for you i hope.
hugs,
pete
Joined: Jul 2007
Too funny Pete!
LOL
Joined: Nov 2010
thanks traci43
noone else would appreciate or believe the story.
the fact its true and shared makes a smile, oh and forcing the smile during the toughest craps, well that works as well as the towel. hitech medicine possibly from the time of christ and earlier.
hugs,
pete
Joined: May 2012
lol thanks Pete! It doesn't
lol thanks Pete! It doesn't feel like it's going to heal anytime soon. It starts to and then right back to it. I've been biting a washcloth and screaming into it for three weeks now but that isn't doing much and unfortunately, the radiation makes me go often so it's 6-10 times a day of cringing and screaming. I just don't know what else to do at this point but keep screaming and talking to myself.
Joined: Nov 2010
dear helen
well many of us have been through something close to what your experiencing. i am glad you using the washcloth and not your finger. else you'd need surgery for the finger.
its just a shitty spot your in, somehow i got through my ordeal, somehow you will get through yours. ask your doctors, nurses, us etc etc, try and get help where ever you can, even praying.
maybe try a nice towel, that you can bury your face in, thats soft and comfortable, that blacks out all light to your eyes. My pain was during winter so I had a really nice scarf i used to use when out and about. I wonder what other people in the public toilets must have thought, now looking back. at the time i did not worry at all.
smile helen, your alive and alas pain is a part of our illness, i wiah it were not so. but your experience is so similar to mine and others.
if its some consolation, the burning *** and radiation phase was one of the most challenging. time dimms our painful memories, thank god.
I used to look myself in the eye, after the pain had passed and think god i am tough. my kids found the whole situation most entertaining in a morbid kind of way.
i used to use the kids potty and do the old yoga squat. given the pain associated with each passing, ensuring a full evacuation was a high priority. the other secret, was really holding the craps till the last moment. again the strategy was to ensure as full a motion as possible, so building up the pressure made sense to me, also defering the inevitable pain was nice. also when the pain comes i think i used a few implicit meditation techniques like being calm about the pain and then observing it while screaming. it makes sense to me, it may make sense to you.
look up the posts on meditation and pain relief, it helped me to some extent.
it got better for me soon, not soon enough. i hope it does for you as well. in the meantime try any and everything to get relief. its sad but this is the real nature of the challenge of surviving crc, you are more than a match for this pathetic illness. you are an inspiration. we all really care about you. smile!
hugs,
Pete
Joined: May 2012
Thanks. I've been eating
Thanks. I've been eating less. That seems to be helping. I think with the holidays, I was eating so much that the constant bathroom trips were out of control. Now that I'm not running so much, it's at half the pain it used to be. I do the same thing when I look in the mirror, how funny! I tell myself, if you can get through this, you can do anything! The things you realize when you're in pain.
Joined: Apr 2010
Moo!!! :) Thanks Pete, I
Moo!!! :) Thanks Pete, I was sitting here crying from missing my dear Rick, but I laughed out loud at your post. It reminded me of a time when Rick and I were driving by a dairy farm and noticed about 100 cows slowly walking up to the back pasture. Rick pointed towards them and said; "Look it's the great cow migration of 2010!! :) It hit my funny bone so it still makes me smile whenever I drive by the field. So thank you, no more tears for tonight, I'm off to sleep now with that memory. :)
And Helen dear, I wish I had the magic bullet for you, but it sounds like you're going to need a pain relieving cream, but what, I don't know. Sorry I can't help.... :( I hope that you can find something that might help. Hmmm, how about a dabbing of "magic mouthwash"? I don't know if it would sting, but at least it numbs! (I found that it helps if you spray your throat when you get a cold, so maybe it could help the buns too?). I'd try a very small area first of course before spraying. You'd think the medical community could come up with something useful for that kind of pain.
Feel better soon Helen, I wish I could help you. :(
Cyn
Joined: Nov 2010
thanks cyn, a smile, a laugh and a tear
dear cyn,
that's why we are here, my dear. to be loved and remembered fondly.
i know the rhyming is corny, but thats me.
caring like you have for have for helen, on an emotional level is more important than the answer. it shows the power of our little community.
to be vulnerable and then cared for is very healing. so you don't have the cure for helen,but your support offers so much more.
its the example of our ultimate strength of a community, where we may not have the actual answer to help someone in need here, but the simple act of replying and caring
has mended many a broken soul here.
its a strange mix of emotions combined in a simple post, ricks memory, your tears, helen's pain and even my fears.
its another joyous day, the first for 2013. I wish us all the best.
hugs,
Pete
Joined: May 2012
Awwww cyn, I wish I had magic
Awwww cyn, I wish I had magic too for you. I hate that you are crying and glad that you could find laughter. I laughed at the cow comment myself. Moooooooo
There are all types of creams and supposotories(?) (You know cancer has made me realize that there are certain words that I never use and therefore don't know how to spell correctly). It's so sad. I'm really good at spelling usually. Anyway, unfortunately, none of these creams or suppositories(?) are working. Oxycodone didn't even work. It just knocked me out for 10 hours. I thought for sure at least that would work. Now I have to look up how to spell suppositories.
Joined: Feb 2012
Try Calmoseptine
It worked wonders for my daughter. You can get it at Walgreen's, I believe. CVS might have it. It's greasy - don't use anything greasy while getting radiation unless you can completely wash it off prior to the treatment.
Sandy
Joined: May 2012
Done with radiation so I'm
Done with radiation so I'm going to Walgreen's tomorrow. At this point I'm trying every suggestion. This is pure torture. Everything they're given me is greasy. I'm an official greaseball. Thanks Sandy!
Joined: Feb 2009
Pain
Since mine was a rectal tumor the pain was terrible from sitting and I'd only be able to sit on one cheek. My doctor gave me a prescription called proctofoam and it has cortizone or something in it to numb the area. It is a foam you insert up the rectum and it is used for hemrrhoids. It really really helped but it is very expensive. Think about $120 if you don't have insurance but was worth it for me. After radiation I'd cry going to the bathroom it hurt so bad. You should have a flex sig done if it's not external because you should make sure that there is nothing more going on. Hope you can get some relief.
Kim
Joined: May 2012
Docs both say it's
Docs both say it's hemerrhoids although neither of them looked. Both internal and external. Surgeon argues that I have to go for an exam third week in January so we should just wait until then and that schedule is full. Says that exam will just irritate the situation. I'm going to call Monday to ask about all of these things since I have very good insurance. So far nothing is helping at all even lidocaine and oxycodone aren't helping.
Joined: Nov 2011
Did you try Neosporin... If
Did you try Neosporin...
If it is the radiation burn causing the issue this helped me the most...
Joined: May 2012
Burn part has passed. I used
Burn part has passed. I used a burn cream. Thought it would get better after that and then this happened. It's gotten really bad at this point. Even more in the last three days than before.
Joined: Nov 2011
but remember you are
but remember you are ratdiated inside as well... Ask you drs what they suggest.. then ask their nurses...
I can't use that calmo....somthing.. the camphor in it bothers me and then then dr gave me this stuff with silver in it .. it made it worse.. Neosporin was the only thing that helped me..
I hope you find some relief soon,..
Also pick up a donut pillow..
Joined: Apr 2010
Up
Up
Joined: Aug 2006
Hemorrhoids
I've had hemorrhoids since my second bout with colon cancer over five years. I don't know I guess losing that much colon and the frequency of going to the bathroom really upsets them. Even wiping with baby wipes won't prevent the pain coming as it likes. My internals were so bad that I bled a lot but my Gastro guy said take medincuil (forgive the spelling) and it worked. But the externals cause me a great deal of pain. Fortunately I have my little pain pills given to me to help with the pain of my recent RFA for my third cancer for the liver. I take the pill and within a half to an hour no pain......anywhere. I used to take about one a week but now its about two a day. I try to watch it because they are "habit forming" but you know the pain is so bad well at my age and maybe dying of liver cancer (should find out in about a week) I really don't care. I do enjoy dreaming of ripping off the roids of a couple of doctors. You know give them the oportunity to feel our pain