Hemorrhoid
 

I got one. Bugging me pretty badly. Doctor says it's small. Gave me some steroid cream and suppositories. They kinda work but mostly don't. Witch Hazel provides the most relief.

What is confounding is I thought I'd be the last person to have something like this. I exercise regularly (daily). Eat a balanced diet (including years and years of oatmeal for breakfast). I don't sit for long periods of time. Constipation is infrequent. My weight and body fat is low.

It's embarrassing as hell. Feel like this is an old man's problem. Racing 50+ for the first time this year.

I've also got a new doctor that I will see for the first time at the end of January (first available appointment).

There's too much junk on the internet dealing with the issue so I stopped googling.

Anyone here have the problem and found a solution? i've heard about shots and surgery. I will have surgery if I have to.

Does bicycle riding cause this problem?

Not age related. had um in my early 20"s
Had em cut out.
Doc gave me a medium opening.

I have had a couple of flareups in the past 5 years, but only one roid each time. Prep-H or similar and warm water soaking gave some relief and both times the roid went away after a week or two. When I developed the first one, I didn't realize they could resolve without formal intervention. I have known a couple of people who had surgery (clusters of the painful things!) and recovery was slow and painful. In one case, they redeveloped after a year or so. I suspect some people are predisposed to this type of problem, but it isn't just old person disease. Give conservative treatment a chance and maybe you will be lucky too.

Like my bicycle's frame, when one gets bad, "cold steel is the best deal".

(Take some fiber supplements daily for a few days, keep the area as clean as possible, lots of hot water soaks.)

I've had them for years, though they only flare up every few years. Make sure to take fiber or stool softeners to insure soft bowel movements. I haven't had a problem in over five years, so don't despair. One of the difficult realization of growing older is that we are really not in control of the illnesses, maladies, or conditions we develop. We're alive. We develop health problems.That's the way it is.

You can tell this is 50+.

In Road a thread with this heading would be vituperative name calling.

Best wishes for rapid and complete recovery.

Last year, someone close to me had the rubber band removal method. Quick, relatively painless and rapid recovery. It should have been done sooner.

Lots of good advice in posts above. Salad is your friend.
This cream on Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Mayinglong-Hem...4294629&sr=8-1
is like putting an Altoid up there and lasts at least 20 minutes. Provides a little relief but does not remove the problem

I had an outbreak in 2002 that put me down in terrible pain for a day or two. Have had no serious outbreaks since, but a couple little "warnings" without full-blown pain. All of the above suggestions/remedies seem good. I do keep some ointment around to head off the start of anything... this was very bad pain when I had it.

Yep, must be the over 50 crowd here...ehh so am I! I had bad case of hemis myself. So the sawbones I went to had to rubberband some off, then later he did a colonoscopy and while having that done the same doc fixed two more. Then he told me to start taking Fibercon (though I get the generic version from Walmart because it's way cheaper) with the Psillium(sp?) grain in it at a rate of 3 caps in the morn and 3 caps in the eve, and I haven't had a problem in 2 years. I've also increased my intake of fruits, but the doc said fruit alone won't prevent I still needed the Fibercon.

The doc said that hemis are mostly genetic, so family members usually have it. Cycling just agitates it not cause it, so I had to stay off the bike for 3 months mostly to allow for the surgery good time to heal.

I recommend you see a doc that specializes in internal stuff and have him take a peek inside your arse, then have him schedule a colonoscopy to make sure your good further up, the line and then fix the hemis on his way out. The pre colonoscopy routine of cleaning yourself out is the worst part, it's like have a severe case of food poisoning. But get it done, because the sooner they fix it the less severe it will be and the quicker you can get back on the bike, and winter the best time since your probably not riding much anyway.

Hate to be a party pooper (pun intended) but I had hemorrhoids back in the late 1990's, had them removed via rubber band. It was not painless, although I suppose it was less painful that having them surgically removed. Now 10 or so years later... the are BACK. They really don't bother me too much while riding, it's the after effect that hurts.
They don't always grow back, guess I'm one of the lucky ones.

Since the doctor said it was small, it'll go away on its own. Don't feel so bad--anyone at any age can get a h-rrhoid. Surgery is really rare. One of the best things you can do is sit in the bathtub and keep the water as hot as you can stand it. Try to do this 3 x day for a minimum of 15-30 mins. If you absolutely can't get in the tub, use a Sitz bath, but keep adding hot water. Apply the cream generously and frequently. If you weren't embarrassed enough already, here's a really embarrassing suggestion that you may find useful: buy a box of women's sanitary pads called "LiteDays" to place in the rear of your underwear to keep any cream from seeping through onto your pants. It may take a few days, but once it starts to heal, it'll get better quickly. Keep your fiber way up (pickles are excellent). Good luck.

Apologies in advance --
 

This reminds me of a Texas joke:

What's the similarity between Yankees and hemorrhoids?

The ones that come down and go back up are not so bad, its the ones that come down and stay down that are a problem.

Don in Austin (Born and grew up in Ohio)

I have about 50 or so 'roids... but I only have to deal with them 8 hours a day, then I can go home.

It's the opposite in my case. I had a few back in my twenties and early thirties but none since, and no significant lifestyle/health changes during that period that would explain it, unless getting older, fatter, and more sedentary is the cure.

reading other's experiences helps a bit. Of course I want them to go away but I also want them taken care of now, in the winter, before my season heats back up. Don't think I need surgery but can't be off the bike for too long

I heard there are injections they do to harden the vein and make it die off. Anyone know anything about this?

and I thought the colonoscopy threads were bad. :eek:

Yep, but if they're lucky enough they'll eventually find themselves here having similar discussions. +1 on best wishes for quick recovery.

Tannic acid is a mild astringent, so if you take a tea bag and empty it out and jam the tea up there, it might work.

Then when the doctor does his proctoscopy, he can also tell you if you'll live a long life and whether some day you might marry into money.


That was just a GI guy's idea of a joke, believe it or not, although I've met people who swear by the tea bag method. I don't think it would be any better than witch-hazel.

Personally I find them to be a pain in the ass.

The bike-rhoider's thread.

For me certain mental tensions cause mine & constipation. Last bad case was while I was training people to
drive semi-truck's. Most didn't know how to use a stick & thought there were 18 brake's. You might check & see
if you have any thing like that bothering you & change your routine. Just a suggestion.

External roids are often simply a hygiene problem. Hindus bathe after a dump for a reason.
Keep it clean.
Internal roids are another matter.

With all due respect to those afflicted, when I saw a topic named "Hemorrhoid" with an image attached, I was almost afraid to look... :eek: :)

I think much of the issue I'm having is the negative stigma attached with the affliction. Hey, I'm this cool bike racer with a collection of sweet bikes and I race pretty good sometimes, how can I have a hemorrhoid?

I think fat ladies eating double stuff oreos watching reality television get hemorrhoids, the ones that need to use the scooters at the grocery store. Those are the ones that should have the problem, not me.

It's taken me a week or so to accept it and deal with it.

There's probably a life lesson mixed in here somewhere. The lessons you start learning when you're invited to a 50+ forum. Deal with your aging body.

Like a fellow 50+ likes to tell me, golf is dangerous; you never see ads for Viagra in bicycle magazines. Smile