Riding with hemroids
 

I have a friend I ride with that is not riding much because of hemroids. Not sure if there is a friendly seat for this or not. Told him I would call on the collective wisdom here and ask.

Mike

Yowsa... we all know who your 'friend' really is ;) I had a hemorrhoidectomy that was botched, and required two follow up surgeries. I was riding a great deal before the surgery, and my approach was that the rest of my life was scheduled around my bowel movements. I was able to do this mostly because my job at the time was very flexible and could be done at home. If I recall, I just rode whenever I wasn't feeling in pain/bothered. Which basically was sometimes in the morning (if no bowel movement) and sometimes in the late afternoon (when bowel movement happened in the AM).
Trying to ride while he is symptomatic is not realistic, or advised. I did a few times, and they were miserable rides.

I'd suggest he get some hydrocortisone suppositories, switch to a natural food diet and lots of fiber and water (to keep his stool soft) I liked the clear and natural fiber metamucil, and take warm baths when he gets them.

If he's going to have them dealt with medically, make sure he has a colo-rectal surgeon with lots of experience... NOT a general surgeon.

I'd say try a harder leather saddle like a Brooks B17 to keep soft tissue away from the saddle since it is designed to support just the sitz bones. I ride a Selle An-Atomica with a cut out which may help as well. http://www.selleanatomica.com/

I ride saddles with cut outs and haven't had a single issue with them. Actually feel more comfortable on a bike seat than on any other seat. I'd suggest your friend look at a Spec. Toupe, Selle Italia SLX, Terry FLX etc. I'm currently breaking in a Brooks and will tell you how that goes later.

The brand Formula and the model preparation-eich comes to mind :D

If your friend is not riding is because soon one of the veins will do BOOOMMM!! My advice after seeing friends and close relatives with hemorrhoids, is to have your friend to get that thing surgery fixed. No cream will fix the problem. Once you have it it wont go away, it can be delayed or almost stopped but it wont go away.

Bet spicy food burns him twice :D

sounds like a real pain in the arse.

You knew somebody was going to say it. :D

Not in a classy joint like this. :beer:

In my limited experience, a good ointment that keeps the aggravating tissue moist and slippery, and hopefully also reduces the swelling and stops the itching, is the best solution short of successful surgery. I would ask the doctor for a prescription ointment as the active ingredient is much higher percentage than that in over-the-counter medication. I would think that the design of the cycling shorts would also be a consideration, as much as the saddle design.

I am certainly no expert on the current topic.

However, when I ride it seems most of the pressure is on the area between the scrot bag, and the anal orifice. Are you guys tellin' me that when you ride there are times when you're puttin' significant pressure right on the orifice? I ain't sure how far the veins can actually dangle, but it seems to me the orifice is not a direct contact area, and unless the veins are really dangling, then this should be a non-issue. That is, riding should be possible. Again, obviously I've never suffered from this condition, and I could be "way the hell" off.

YMMV

^^^^^ I now see the need for a medical sub-forum.

I could get mad . . .
 

. . . about all these comments. But I prefer to just be classy, turn the other cheek and move on.

But seriously, this seems like the type of thing that's funny to everybody except the poor guy who actually has it. Find a good doc, get the surgery if necessary. Your cycling life should not be ruined or ruled by this.

BBD

The area you're talking about is called the perineum.

While cycling can cause irritation in that area, especially if you're wearing ill-fitting shorts, have the wrong saddle, really hot out, etc., the biggest thing causing hemorrhoids is not enough fiber leading to irritation from the inside, if you will.

A hemorrhoid is really a varicose vein in the rectal area. The pressure buildup is caused by straining as opposed to whatever's happening externally. No straining = no hemorrhoid.

That's why the first thing to do is increase insoluble fiber and water or liquid intake. You can take care of the problem without ever going near a scalpel, unless it goes so far that surgery is the only option (you don't want to go there because recovery is painful) or you don't want to change your diet or add supplemental fiber.

I used to work in the medical field, and believe it or not, there were some people who would rather have surgery than do either. Their choice!

Don

But do the non-invasive things work . . .
 

. . . if you already HAVE one?

BBD

Depends on how far they have progressed. Once they get to the point of prolapse or bleeding, the excess tissue usually needs to be removed or ablated (laser), although non-invasive measures may work if the person is really diligent and patient. Most people aren't.

Much depends on individual circumstance and general overall health. Some people are less willing to have surgery, some are less healthy overall and don't want to undergo any type of anesthetic, etc. Ablation can be done with limited anesthetic so is sometimes an option.

One of the problems is that you don't want to do a major increase in fiber overnight because now you've got a different problem -- gas and/or bloating. You'll want to increase fiber and liquid slowly and let your body become accustomed to the change.

Don

Didn't work for me. Once you have a thrombosed 'roid, go see a colorectal surgeon. I was back on the bike within a week after suffering for a month.

At work (office) we have boxes of these in the stationary closet:

Happily, I've only used them for their intended purpose.


http://superiorshippingsupplies.com/...33d546c681.jpg

Out with them and be done with it. When they affect your life that much its time to be shot of them.

I had roid problems throughout the 1990's. For years I tried temporary measures including fiber and occasionally getting them blasted (pinpoint) with an electric charge. The problem would let up then come back 6 months or a year later. Bleeding could get pretty intense. I would tell the doctors about that and my perception that the blood loss affected my riding (fatigue). They'd all say "no way you could loose that much from roids". Finally, in 2004 I had a severe case and got a blood test. My hematocrit was about 27 ... where the blood dopers could get it up to 50 and normal is around 40. They were talking transfusion but decided finally on surgery. By all means, if you go that route have it done by a specialist who is experienced at the surgery. It's delicate and even in the best case the recovery can be difficult and painful for a couple of weeks.

Now, every case is different. But I don't think biking affects it much at all. It may depend on how "internal" your inflamed roids are. I think it's more affected by genetics.

Good news is that 10 years after surgery the problem has stayed fixed.

Oh, funny aside, this was during the height of the blood doping controversy but I asked my Doctor if he'd prescribe EPO to speed the recovery and he did and I used it and it helped a bit. It was kind of ironic doing the same thing the dopers did for good cause.

No ass-hats here. Thanks guys for a buttload of info. I have sent this info on to my "friend".

Mike

Wow. Your backside heals better than mine. Each time (3) I've been lanced, it's been a good 2-3 weeks before I even think about a saddle again.

Are there several causes of this condition? My buddy usually had problems in the Summer, especially Spring, because he had not made the transition to drinking more water needed in warm weather to stay hydrated.

I thought I'd resurrect this thread because a guy I know woke up with a walnut-sized (and recurring) hemorrhoid the other day and riding with it is like sitting on a razor blade.

Sympathy, brother.

... wonder who that could be... ;)

Conservative (read non-surgical) treatment of 'roids involves lots of warm soaks (the tub is your friend here), some witch hazel/Prep H to the area, and plenty of fiber, fruit and fluids to avoid constipation.

Riding in the drops may rotate your pelvis enough to take pressure off the area while the above allows things to calm down...

also known as the "taint".

Riding with hemroids
 

He has a lot of experience in these matters, I'm told.

My experience was that they just got worse over time. All the practices to ameliorate the problem suggested above helped but one blast of diarrhea will probably cause a nasty flare-up.

"In the end" surgery is probably in your future and will be a permanent solution. BTW, recovery from the surgery was for me VERY painful. The surgeon said if I hadn't stalled around with the salves/soaks/etc. he might have been able to do the rubber band treatment which would have been relatively easy and painless but I let them get too big. :eek:

+1. Riding a Sell Italia Flite Gel Flow 2nd gen for the last 10 years or so...like sitting on a donut cushion (I needed one when i "burned" my skin after an adverse reaction to icing my sports hernia...)

One hint my pirformis problem taught me was to be super conscious about when riding is sitting on your sit bones.

Seek professional help.....This is not the time for home remedies....

I posted in the "original" version of this thread and would only repeat that and echo what Ken said:

"My experience was that they just got worse over time. All the practices to ameliorate the problem suggested above helped but one blast of diarrhea will probably cause a nasty flare-up.

"In the end" surgery is probably in your future and will be a permanent solution. BTW, recovery from the surgery was for me VERY painful. The surgeon said if I hadn't stalled around with the salves/soaks/etc. he might have been able to do the rubber band treatment which would have been relatively easy and painless but I let them get too big"

If you do go in for the surgery make sure you have a good aftercare plan. You will need something like a sitz bath to ease your movements for a couple of weeks or else you will be in a lot of pain. Surgeons are good at surgery but once you are released from the hospital they may not be reachable easily and they may not give any recommendations for or support in the recovery. That said, surgery fixed a problem that had been bothering me for a decade.

But each case is individual. You need a medical professional you can talk to and trust.

Friend recently had rubber band procedure and it hasn't complained about the results other than fair amount of pain for few days

fact: years ago mobsters/villains in London used to stab people in the bum hole because a) it hurts like hell and b) recovery time is lengthy.

Stool Softeners have worked for me as well as more fluid intake. Doesn't get rid of them just makes life easier with them.

Find a good colorectal surgeon. There is no one size fits all solution for this problem. I'd recommend Sam Oomen at John Muir for the East Bay If you're in the Kaiser system, Matt Dixon at Oakland Kaiser is excellent. If you want to come to SF, I'd recommend seeing the UCSF group.

A buddy of mine at work had the surgery. Echoing what others have said above, he did say that recovery was the most painful thing he's ever had to endure, but that he wished he had not waited as long as he did. I think he said that the 100% internal ones are really easy to fix. It's the other ones that are a pita.

Good luck. :butt:

You all have a lot of "friends" with hemroids. I am glad none of my "friends" do.

I woke up with my heal sore from what I think is a plantar faciitis issue, I was feeling frustrated. Reading this thread added a hop in my step, thanks.

I hope all you assholes get well soon. :D

Missed this the first time around and have been out. Anyway, what this guy said. I got them in my late 30s, got 'em lanced, came back and then it was just horrific.

The surgery itself was fine, I felt fine at home that afternoon - didn't take pain meds - big mistake - later that night (after taking pain meds around 8pm) moaning in pain. The bad thing was I had to pee and couldn't - for the life of me I couldn't go pee. Wife took me to the ER in the morning, over a liter of urine in me and they had to give me a catheter. Back home on the bed for, I dunno, four days maybe - with catheter. Warm tubs, slept a lot on pain meds. Probably a good 2 weeks off the bike and almost a good week of bed.

Here is what I would tell anyone, and most people I meet online who got the surgery agree. The recovery is way, way worse than what will be sold to you. You 100% will need help - I can't imagine recovering by myself. With all that said, they are gone - no more.

I once thought that that thread about just how far to shave and what to shave was a little over the top, but this one is clearly under the bottom. Other sports talk about torn menisci, blisters, and broken fingers. We talk about how to shave scrotums and labia and the best way to clip off bulging veins on our anuses. Here's where I long for attention deficit disorder. By the way, have you seen the newest frames from Tom Kellogg?

How can a heal be sore? ;)

If I had a problem with hemorrhoids I'd admit it. It isn't something to be proud of, but in the grand scheme of things there's a lot worse out there. It's an embarrassing issue only because we allow ourselves to be manipulated by immature emotions reenforced by silly societal hangups.

The world would be a better place if folks would deal with sex and poop in a more rational manner.

Makes me want to go ahead and start a thread about nipples. ;)