What an embarassing question. I am at my wits end dealing with rectal bleeding for the past two weeks. I'm not talking about a little blood on the tissue, this is significant. I had a sigmoidoscopy and the diagnosis was internal hemorrhoids and a fissure. It was recommended that I see a color/rectal surgeon. This is a recurring problem, although the bleeding is more than it has been before, and I have never been diagnosed with a fissure before. I have seen a surgeon, but I did not care for her at all. I asked my doctor for a recommendation to get a second opinion and I was referred to the Lahey. After being on hold for 25 minutes I gave up on waiting for an appointment. I'm feeling so hopeless as I was hoping very much for self-healing. I have radically changed my diet, and believe me when I say I do not need to add fiber to my diet. The bleeding has not subsided. Has anyone else dealt with this and had a favorable outcome? I would love to know of a female doctor that anyone could recommend. One that has a decent bedside manner, has more than five minutes to listen to her patient, and has an appointment available without waiting months. I would prefer to avoid surgery, I have read that in 80% of cases these things heal on their own. The amount of blood I'm losing is breath-taking and my husband wants me to get taken care of.
Thank you in advance.
Wow! What an enormous outpouring of care and concern from my post about rectal bleeding. Thank you so much to all of you who expressed your concern and shared your thoughts. I am so grateful. When I posted I was on a vacation and feeling the effects of more than a week of what I had described. It was such a welcome lift to know that there are so many others who could relate, and who expressed sympathy. That alone met a need I didn't realize I even had...just to feel listened to. It was very validating and healing to have gotten all of your responses. One day short of two weeks the bleeding stopped, I am very pleased to report. It was my heartfelt desire to not return to a doctor's office as I had had such discouraging experiences. In my efforts to self heal I have been diligent in avoiding sugar, white flour, and processed foods. I have SIGNIFICANTLY increased the amount of fiber in my already high-fiber diet. I was faithful to taking daily (sometimes multiple times per day) baths with Epsom Salts. I was able to get off my feet and rest when I felt the need. I have tracked to ensure that I am drinking a minimum of 8 (8 ounce) glasses of water each day. I am happy to say that I have been symptom free for two days now. The effort I have put in was worth it to me to not have to see another doctor and I feel like I have made some very healthy changes to my life. I was a bit disgruntled at first as I felt like I was already living a healthy lifestyle, but if the changes were what my body needed then I guess it was a good wake up call for me to implement them before something worse happened. It took a good two weeks of the healthy habbits I described to implement a change. I definately got impatient waiting for results. I am amazed at just how much water 8 8 ounce glasses a day actually amounts to. A person needs to have regular access to the ladies room, for sure! It is also very enlightening to actually count the grams of fiber in your diet and realize just how much is needed. I have written down several of the recommendations I got for Doctors and will keep them handy should I need to go that route in the future. Thank you again for all of the support.
Hi A. - Try stool softeners. CVS brand is fine - I started with 2 in the AM and 2 in the PM. That might help a lot. (It's more comfortable too! :-)
Good luck!
I did have quite a bit of bleeding after my second child. The bleeding was similar to a heavy menstral cycle, but from the wrong place. It took me 1 week to see the GI doctor. At that point I was given steroids and started on a painfully high high fiber diet. My sigmoidoscopy was scheduled for 3 or 4 weeks later. Well by the time I had it done my symptoms resolved. I guess I was lucky. I would give Lahey another try.
It sounds like you have gotten some great advice - I too suffer from a fissure and the occasional hemroids...My Dr. just recommended MiraLax (a laxative/stool softener) and it works over night - it's a tastless powder. It's a bit pricey, but worth it for a little relief. It was nice to know I too am not alone. Thanks and good luck.
L.
Hi A.,
I actually had this same issue after the birth of my first child 9 years ago. After months and months of infections and a great deal of discomfort, I did end up having to have surgery. I went to Boston Medical Center, and was cared for by a wonderful doctor. It was a male doctor, and he was/is actually head of surgery there. My husband heard a radio ad about BMC and this doctor was the one speaking in the ad - he said "isn't that the guy that fixed you up?" LOL! The surgery went well and the recovery times was minimal, and best of all, since then I have not had any probelms!
This is something that you definitely need to be proactive about in resolving, even though it can be embrassing and awkard to talk about and have examined! I wish that I could be more helpful with a female doctor, but please do know that this is a problem that can be solved relatively easily. Good luck!
:-) P.
Hi A., My husband had the exact same thing going on. He goes to a Doctor that is fabulous, however, it is a male. I've met him and he is very kind, gentle & just an all around great guy. His name is Dr. Chen and he's out of Harvard Vanguard in Chelmsford (Surgical Specialties)and he has not had surgery. Hope this helps.
could you maybe see someone at dartmoth hichcock in lebon, they have alot of resorces but are a bit smaller than layhe
I know how painful this is and what you are going thru. I had this same problem after the birth of my first son. I did the sitz baths, medications, etc. The only thing that helped me temporarily was suppositories prescribed by my doctor. They allowed the fissure to heal. After awhile though, I did have to have surgery and it changed my life. I have not had a problem since (4+ years). I had to wait about 6 weeks to have the surgery and it was the longest 6 weeks of my life. I can't recommend a surgeon in the area since we just moved here. It is so embarrassing to talk about but once you start talking, you realize how many other people have gone thru this, especially women after childbirth. Hang in there and good luck!
ohh boy...you are bringing back memories. ouch!!!
i suffered for 7 months...it was awful!!
have you tried stool softners? i haven't seen you write about them.
they helped me!!! and they were the only thing that helped...i dont' think laxatives or extra fiber helped me...but thats just me.
stool softners...try them. and rest...think positive. cuz they may help you!!!
i feel sooo sooo bad for you cuz i will NEVER forget that pain and all that suffering i went through.
i will keep you in my prayers =[
A.,
Rectal bleeding of any kind is not something to mess with or let go! I don't know about having surgery or not, but if you're looking for an excellent GI doc look up Tamsin Knox, MD. I don't know where she is anymore (i.e. north or south of Boston), but I used to work for her and she is a love and an excellent doctor. Good luck!
Hi A., Thank you for writing about this. I gave birth 4 months ago and have been having bleeding and extreme pain during each bowel movement. I pushed for quite awhile during childbirth and my daughter was on the large side. Bowel movements feel a bit like shards of glass. My doctor advised I take stool softeners and they do help. I also do the sitz bath and apply Neosporin. Both of which also help. I also had an episiotomy and the very tail end of the incision still has not healed. This aggravates the situation as well. I have my next appointment in two weeks to check on the status of things. I am hoping there has been some healing but it still feels very painful and I get very anxious before I need to have a BM. My doctor mentioned surgery and I'm sure we'll discuss that at the next appointment. I will keep you in my thoughts and wish I could offer more useful advice. But sometimes it just helps knowing there is someone else out there with a similar problem.
Hi A.,
I feel for you. I had major bleeding about 5 months after my daughter was born. I had no pain at all, but a toilet full of blood. I didn't have to have surgery though. I did have a colonoscopy which diagnosed my internal hemorrhoids, but the bleeding stopped on it's own before I even had that done. I wish I could recommend a doctor for you, but I didn't really have one (except for the colonoscopy). I offer you my sympathy though. Maybe instead of looking for a surgeon, you could find a good holistic doctor that can give you some healing remedies that work from the inside out. Best of luck to you.
Hi A.,
I sympathize with your desire to find a nonsurgical way to heal these hemorrhoids and fissure. I am no expert, but it would seem that in order to heal something you need to not use it while it rests. This seems a tall order when referring to the colon and rectum which naturally need to be used regularly. You didn't mention it in your letter but besides losing a lot of blood, I'm sure you are experiencing discomfort and constipation secondary to your "holding back" on your bowel movements to avoid irritating the area. Likely there are other areas were your quality of life is affected. I am sorry your first two experiences with surgeons were not too pleasant, but I think you should ask for another reference. If it reassures you at all I am a nurse and I often find the most arrogant surgeons are the often the best surgeons. I'd rather have an expert surgeon who doesn't have the best bedside manner. However, I do realize you need to be able to talk to your surgeon freely and feel he is listening to you. It may help to bring an advocate with you when you meet the surgeon. (we are not our own best advocates when we are anxious about potential risks associated with surgery and anesthesia) Don't forget to write down any questions you have before the appointment. It is easy to forget something that is important when you only have about 15 minutes. It is in your own best interests not to wait until you are experiencing and emergency to have surgery.
Best Wishes,
J. L.
I would not wait on this, its really not normal to be passing that much blood, godforbid/ it could be a hidden cancer and you should have it looked at asap
I've had simular problems for ages... the fiber thing actually made it worse. It made me go more frequently, and that iritated things.
I took a lotta sitz baths and it healed.. but comes back occassionally...
I can NOT, EVER eat popcorn.. I need to stay away from foods like this that don't digest... it makes me bleed every time...
It is a good thing you got checked... my step-father had Chrohns and didn't know it - and that was his indication - blood in his stools...
Sorry I can't help on the doctor.. mine was a male and was 'okay'. Not someone I'd recommend highly.
Good luck
Hi A.,
I agree with your husband. This is definatley something you need to get taken care of. I know the prospect of surgery is unpleasant, but your choices are limited. I am going to guess that you are near to Boston, due to your reference to the Lahey Clinic. That is an excellent facility. My mom had a fisure repaired there many years ago and they did a wonderful job. I had internal and external hemeroid repair surgery about 8 yrs ago. Though it was a difficult recovery, I am very very happy I did it. I am now very careful about my diet and activities, as I NEVER want to go through it again. A., if you would like to talk more, you can email me at ____@____.com
A little about me. I am a stay at home, self employed mom of 2 grown children... soon to be a grandma for the first time!
Although I can not recommend a doctor, I CAN direct you to a most amazing website where you can look up doctors in your area. All the doctors are classified by specialty and the best part is that they're all rated by actual patients who leave both good and bad comments about them. Go to:
www.ratemds.com
Sorry that you had such a long wait at Lahey, but that's where my Dad went and they were wonderful. It might be worth another try.
A.,
I had what was diagnosed as a fissure about 4 years ago, they gave me stool softeners, have you tried that? Mine was a decent amount of blood in my stool, to the point that I was very worried. Unfortunately I can not recommend a doctor in your area, as I saw a doctor in GA. Mine went away on it's own; however, it acts up every once in a blue moon. I had hemorrhoids after my son was born (due to the delivery taking so long) and since then I bleed on ocassion, but nothing like 4 years ago. I wish I could help you more, but the best thing I can suggest is stool softeners.
K.
Hi A.,
I have a 8 month old son, my first : ) , and I had the worst experience post partum. I had major rectal bleeding, lots of pain when I had the urge to go to the bathroom and there were moments when it hurt to walk. I saw Dr. Agari (gastroenterologist) at CMC in Manchester. I was diagnosed with internal hemorrhoids through a sigmoidoscopy as well. She put me on Anusol Suppositories (2 a day) and I got immediate relief. The first time I took them for two weeks, and the problem came right back. When I called her, she put me on them for 4 more months, and I have been symptom free for 3 months. I still take two stool softeners a day and I eat lots of fiber and exercise regularly. Maybe you should give your primary care physician a call and question him/her if the anusol suppositories would help--they have hydrocortisone which addresses the swelling. Let me know how you make out---good luck and hang in there, I know how scary it is to bleed that much and not know what to do!
Dr. Paula Muto is a wonderful general surgeon. I don't know if you have to see a colorectal surgeon for something like that, but I do love her. She has offices in 3 locations, her Lawrence location is below. You can always call and explain your situation to be sure she handles that kind of thing. Dr. Brian Callahan at Andover Surgical Associates is also fabulous, but I know you said you would prefer a woman, which I totally understand. Good luck and don't wait, it sounds like you're really suffering.
100 Amesbury Street
Lawrence, MA 01840
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Hi All,
I've sent A. a private email and then I read everyones responses. I've had the same issues back when my children were born. I'm not 57. And have no issues because I did it naturally. With no drugs, suppositories or surgery. There are products out there on the market that work wonders. All natural. I do not like giving out advice via email, because it can be misconstrued that I am practicing medicine, which I am not. I totally believe in natural healing and know what works for most things as I've been in the industry for over 25 years. So if you would like info, please email me at nehealthconnections.com with a phone number and we can talk.
thanks
C.
