I remember being 14 and listening to my mom and dad discuss his hemorrhoidal issue. When I asked what it was I laughed so hard! I thought it was the funniest thing I’d ever heard!

SIX YEARS LATER…

I was about 7 months pregnant when I woke up one morning and felt something uncomfortable in my rectum and guess who said good morning to me for the first time! It was those evil hemorrhoids and now I wasn’t laughing.

Throughout the rest of my pregnancy I had them internal and external. I wasn’t able to stand for longs periods of time before i felt too much pressure and they would protrude. I had pain, burning, bleeding, and not to mention they itched like crazy!! I would just sit on the toilet and cry and look back when i was 14 and laughing at my dad, saying to myself “payback sure is a bitch”. I felt horrible for laughing at my father, little did i know how serious it can get and the pain it causes.

I did eventually go to see my midwife. I was told to use preparation H cream and i also used the gel kind. Some days they’d shrink and other days they felt like they were gonna burst! The worst part was when i was in labor.  My mom was next to me in the delivery room excited to see her first grandson be born, but she never imagined what else she’d be seeing.. The contractions were so horrible and trying to push that baby out was the worst pain i’d ever experienced, but little did i know it wasn’t the only thing coming out.. My mom saw my colon come out about 2 to 3 inches along with hemorrhoids attached! At that point the midwife got a warm rag and pressed against my rectum while I was pushing that baby out.

After labor i remember feeling like I had delivered my son through my butt. I was so swollen  and to make matter worse I was very constipated.  I could barely walk out of that hospital.

The next couple of months after delivery were horrible. I would black out on the toilet because the pain was so intense. I tried laxatives, creams, and even suppositories. 2 1/2 months had passed by and my doctor said I needed surgery. I was terrified at the thought! I just cried and told her to give me at least two more weeks and if I didn’t get better than I’d agree to surgery. So I tried everything i could for the next two weeks. I went online and did research and talked to other people. I prayed like 10 times a day especially before I’d go to the bathroom because that’s when I’d experience the worst pain, but here is a list of the things I tried…

• Tucks wipes- You can buy them at your local pharmacy.
• Preparation H creams and gels
• Soaking your bottom in a tub of really warm water (the hottest your able to stand, be careful not to burn yourself!)
• suppositories (usually prescribed by my doctor)
• Hot washcloth- At night I would get a clean washcloth and fold it into a taco fold. Then run it through the hottest water and once the heat evaporated it was really warm. I’d put that between my butt cheeks and put pressure on those hemorrhoids and sleep for a few hours and repeat. (the heat helps them shrink,but once again be careful not to burn yourself)
• I avoided sitting or standing for longs periods of time. I mostly would lay on a couch on my side and rest.
• Also I watched my diet..I started eating lots of fruits and drinking lots and lots of water. Constipation only aggravates those hemorrhoids. I also took Ibuprofen for the swelling and pain.

I did all of this faithfully and consistently for two weeks and they shrank and began to practically disappear! I was so happy. When i went to see my doctor she was amazed and asked me what i had done. She didn’t think they’d get better and I proved her wrong!.. I still continued the creams and I watched my diet for the next couple of weeks until I fully healed. These are just some things i did to help me, but always be sure you check with your doctor before trying anything.

I felt like it took me so long to recover after my labor and it was no fun at all.  I can truthfully say I feel for anybody who  has had hemorrhoids or have them now and I hope the things I tried might be of some help and give them hope that it does get better..