My Hemorrhoid Story
I first started experiencing hemorrhoid symptoms about twenty years ago, when I was in my mid-twenties. The first doctor I saw was only worried about the bleeding and making sure it wasn't coming from my colon. Later on a friend advised me against having surgery as it was a very painful recovery. At around the same time my wife had surgery for hemorrhoids that she acquired giving birth to our third child and I observed first-hand the painful post-surgery recovery. On the other hand, once she recovered she had no more symptoms and has been symptom-free for the past seventeen years.
A few years later the symptoms again reached a point where I sought out medical help. The doctor did not think they were sufficiently problematic to warrant surgery but did prescribe a steroid cream which was very helpful. I survived on this prescription (and many refills!), as well as other preventive measures, for a number of years. For a while I even figured out how to prevent them entirely using a combination of dietary and bowel measures.
A few years ago I settled on a solution that works regardless of whether the other preventive measures fail: putting the hemorrhoids back where they belong after every bowel movement. Although I will probably never be "cured" of hemorrhoids, this solution has made me as symptom-free as I can imagine. No longer does the the fear of the consequences of a bowel movement dictate my daily activities.
My goal for this website is to give you some useful information and some lighthearted but practical advice on how to deal with hemorrhoids; something that one can't find much on the Web. If it achieves that goal or if you have suggestions for improvement, please let me know!