Hemorrhoids has nothing to do with what your rectum is sitting on and everything to do with what passes through it. The Western diet is the major cause of hemorrhoids. It is virtually impossible to get the recommended fiber as suggested by the FDA. Go ahead, try it. Look at the labels and try and hit 100 % every day. It is nearly impossible with what we have to buy as food options.

So add some fiber every day for the rest of your life in the form of Metamucil or something similar. Just take it like a vitamin and you will be suprised at the results.

Uh...you must be new here. This is quite tame compared to what gets discussed sometimes.

Being a recent recipient of 'roids, yes, this thread has been very helpful. I've learned more about heath topics on this forum than what's on some HEALTH forums.

:D

I suffered big big time of them 'roids. I had really bad years where I even missed work. My cure:
1. preparation H is worthless much better tucks pads.
2. Cleanliness is key. Good showers after exercising . I went to the point, by Dr. recomendation, of short showers to clean myself after every trip to the throne. It diminishes any possibility of infection and further flare up.
3. Learn to relax. Stress can help create them just like you get sore in the shoulders from stress. Some people take all their stress down there. Yup, hence the expression uptight. :)
4. Take lots of warm baths with epson salt even when you dont have a flare up.
5. Exercise helps a lot. If you cant ride at least walk.
6. What really did it was change in dietary habits. I became a vegetarian since then no more problems. Of course this increased significantly the amount of fiber in my diet hence they dissapeared. After 5 years of consecutive problems I been like 6 years 'roids free.

Good luck

Moving to a new saddle (a Selle Italia Flite) caused all maner of new and unusual problem in this... region. I changed the saddle and the problem went away, or at least the symptoms abated enough for the same practical effect.

What did I learn? Don't always go with popular opinion (the Flite is widely reported as comfortable) and do my own gear testing!

I don't believe riding causes it, because mine developed during a period of no riding. If anything, mine has gotten better since I returned to riding...full-time...(commuting everyday).

I increased my fiber intake to fix my flare up.
Strangely enough, it actually felt better while riding my bike. Once I stopped and sat in a chair I was in a bit of pain, to say the least.
Preparation H is crap. The cortisone cream my doc prescribed worked fairly well. Hot baths worked even better.

I have had this problem a couple of times. I don't think mine were related to riding.

There are many good suggestions listed here.

I have another one here, and it is going to sound very odd, but it seems to have worked for me.

Peel a garlic clove and insert in there. You don't have to remove it, that will happen the next time you have a BM.

I know it sounds really wierd, but mine cleared up in a couple days with this method, and keeping it clean and applying some Bag Balm cream. Your results may vary.

For those of you who have never had issues in this area, a healthy diet (fruit and veg and high-fiber grains) can keep you from having them. You can now stop reading...

A hard seat will not cause them. If you have them, however, a change in seat may be pretty painful.

Internal hemorrhoids are *generally* painless, though they may bleed a bit from time to time. If you keep straining, they will eventually swell and protrude (aka "prolapse"), at which time they can get exquisitely painful. Some steroidal ointments help out at this point, but only if you get rid of the straining. If not, they'll continue to get worse. Some people have them clear up with diet, some require conservative office treatment (infrared coagulation or banding (painful)), and some require surgery (painful). The pain can cause muscle spasms, which may lead to the next topic.

You can also end up with a fissure, which is a tear right at the exit. They can also be very painful, and can lead to spasms in the sphincter, which can lead to a cycle where things just get worse. It's not uncommon for fissures to get misdiagnosed. Fissures are treated with a 0.2% nitroglycerin ointment (works, but may cause headaches), Nifedipine ointment, or botox injections. Or a number of different surgeries...

You can find some good info on the net. Try getting more fiber into your diet (a supplement can be a real help, as can more veg and fruit). If that doesn't resolve the pain, get in to see a doctor. It's a bit embarassing, but there is good treatment and if your bleeding you should have a doctor look as there are more serious conditions with the same symptoms.

Exercise is good as long as you don't get dehydrated - be really careful with that. I also find that soaking in a hot tub is helpful.

Good luck.

It is all about straining!
 

Symptomatic hemorrhoids are most commonly due to one thing: repeated increases of intra-abdominal pressure. The most common cause is straining to pass stool when 'constipated' (which is where the fiber + water + exercise becomes important), but I have seen this (I'm a primary care physician) in power-lifters, and also young men who work for UPS or FedEx (lifting heavy boxes all day long). The most classic example is in women just after delivering a baby: talk about increased intra-abdominal pressure! Cycling for prolonged periods can cause impressive swelling, abrasions, and pain around the anus, but this is not the same thing as hemorrhoids. The only way to really be sure is to get your 'behind' examined by a clinician. Cheers!

Some suggestions that may or may not be true/false.

I think from my experience that constipation has a role in this in terms of bike riding. Apart from the roughage/fibre intake, failure to maintain a good rehydration regimen on the bike will result in hard stools that sometimes are difficult to push out. The problem is even worse when taking painkillers like ibuprofen which naturally cause dehydration of the stool. Plus on long rides, if your fibre intake is deficient because you rely on gels or energy drinks... well, the whole problem becomes one big hard thing to deal with.

I know that if I do not pay enough attention to rehydration in particular, and if I dose up on the pain killers, the next visit to the dunny can be an experience that requires a large degree of holding breath and squeezing and verges on the excruciating. It's after those episodes that butt problems start of emerge.

So, not the saddle, but bicycling might be a contributor to piles.

what else is recomended to up your fiber intake besides metamucil and prunes?

whole grains (especially wheat, rye, etc. some brown rice doesn't have all that much fiber in it), wild rice, seeds, nuts,whole rolled grains, raw fruits and vegetables, dates, dried fruit, etc. Miller's bran, oat bran, rice bran("polish" {like "polish the table}) Make sure you drink enough water throughout the day. Sometimes milk, and milk products can "bind you up" so take it easy if you have noticed this with your system.

Fruit and vegatables are good. Look at whether there are replacements for what you're eating now - whole wheat bread or pasta, brown rice, etc. Make sure you get enough liquid with your meal and stay hydrated in between, and especially make sure you start hydrating right when you get up.

You need to figure out whether you need more soluble fiber, more insoluble fiber, or both. If you aren't eating much fiber at all, just increase it. If you have enough fiber to stay regular, get more soluble fiber - it helps keep things soft.

Oh, and watch it with sharp foods. Popcorn or some nuts can be somewhat abrasive, which isn't what you want during an outbreak.

This is a bit off topic but Howard Stern (TV Show) once did a bit where 6 contestants played a game show called Who Has the Biggest Hemorrhoids. He interviewed the folks with hemorrhoids and then had his assistant (Gary) check out each person as they spread their cheeks.

This one lady who apparently had hemorrhoids so big she had to manually manipulate them back into place on occassion was so happy when she won...jumping up and down etc.

I'll check youtube and see if I can find the clip.

Please do. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

This past summer I got some kind of butthole problem while making a patio. Apparently lifting heavy patio stones, and shifting them while sitting in dirt and sand, irritated something. It didn't start all at once, sort of over a few days. Then one night my butt hurt and throbbed so much I really started to worry. There was never any blood or any external roid thing that I could tell but there was a lot of pain burning and itching. I stuffed kleenex between my butt cheeks to keep them from touching each other!!

My primary care doctor suspected hemmorids and gave me steroid suppositories and anusol cream. Then I was sent to the butt hold doctor who said there was just some mild internal hemmorids. I can't imagine how bad fissures and external roids must hurt!

The riding does not bother my butt hole but sometimes doing some kind of home project, yard work, painting (up and down ladder and carrying stuff) will cause discomfort. The anusol cream works very well for me, I think it greases up everything so my cheeks are not rubbing each other raw, or something like that. I carry the cream with me on rides because it works good for small sensitive areas that may rub on a chamois crease. Also a dab on the bunghole because better safe than sorry.

That's my story.

man this thread is active again after I was reading it for two weeks.

Just some info on my situation -

I started as a newbie March of this year and really got into it in the summer months - 5 days a week I was riding - never a problem.

About two weeks ago - I got hit hard with this problem, tried prep h - no joy - after two days I went straight to the doc and got the prescription stuff. The stuff seemed to do okay - but I stayed off my bike for almost a week!!

In the middle of all this, I ordered some crap off the internet, Hem-relief. This is not a shill? for this stuff, I don't know if its the stuff the doc gave me or this other stuff, but I seem much better now. I rode both days this weekend and again tonite!!

On the onset of this, I did go with more fiber, fiber in the diet too.

I guess my point here is, there is lots of things you can do, don't let the damn 'roids kick you off the bike!!

Not exactly a fun Friday topic.

I've been suffering periodic outbreaks of external hemorrhoids for the last 19 years. I'm enduring another go around right now. I've done a good deal of research, doctor visits, and implemented prevention techniques, etc.

Questions:
Have any of you tried a "neurotransmitter nitric oxide" to help prevent outbreaks? If so, did it work for you?

Have any of you tried lubricating your anus before a ride? Cycling always exacerbates my outbreaks. I'm thinking this might be due to friction issues.

Have any of you gone the surgery route for external 'roids (hemorrhoidectomy, laser coagulation or infrared photocoagulatio)? If so, what was your experience?

Background:
I think in nearly every case the root cause can be traced back to irregularity (usually diarrhea). I've researched and implemented the majority of prevention techniques. This has reduced the frequency of outbreaks to around once per year.

In every case, the outbreak worsens with physical activity including cycling. In this most recent case, upon the outset I reduced my activity level (no cycling) and aggressively treated myself with home therapy (lots of baths, rest, extra healthy eating). This got me through the most painful period and reduced the size to a relatively comfortable level.

So, of course, I went riding (short rides). Three days later (14 days after the first), I have a new outbreak (slightly different location). Needless to say, I am utterly frustrated.

Here are some informative links:
Prevention:
http://www.4www.us/hemorrhoid/hemorrhoid.htm

Medication:
http://www.4www.us/hemorrhoid/hemorrhoid-medication.htm

Treatment:
http://www.4www.us/hemorrhoid/hemorrhoid-treatments.htm

Seatrain,
what saddle are you using?

Selle San Marco Era

Nitroglycerin cream is widely used to treat fissures, and it works well if you use it properly, though it may cause headaches. It could be useful for hemorrhoids if constipation is an issue.

But if consipation is an issue, that's what you need to treat. Any straining you do is going to cause issues.

Diarrhea can cause irritation but my guess is that it's not the root cause - you need to have the hemorrhoids there to get the irritation.

And yes, lubrication may help - something like petroleum jelly.

As for the treatment options, photocoagulation is used for internal ones, though its success rate is less than that of ligation. For external ones, if you can't deal with them conservatively, they can be surgically removed. It hurts about as much as you think it would hurt, with the added advantage that opiate pain relievers cause constipation.

Finally, who is doing your diagnosis? It's pretty common that fissures are misdiagnosed as hemorrhoids, and the treatment options are considerably different.

Hope that helps.

I know how to cure them :)

Constipation has never been an issue for me. The outbreaks are nearly always is preceded by loose stools. I limit my time doing my business, avoid straining and clean up after.

I've visited both my family doctor and a rectal surgeon for the diagnosis.

I'll add petroleum jelly to my routine and see what happens.

Hi.
have you ever considered trying a different saddle?
I was wondering about a different shape, and speculating that
a Brooks Pro just might conform to your shape and
relieve at least some of the problem. Pure guessing
on my part, but it might be worth a try.

Yes, over the last 18 years or so I've been through a number of different saddles.