Case Studies from Piles Sufferers

Over 5,000 people in the UK have had their haemorrhoids treated with PPH. Here two of them describe experiences of living with haemorrhoids and undergoing treatment.

A 46 year old female deputy head teacher suffered with severe haemorrhoids for four years

What were your first symptoms?
"I began to notice some bleeding from my back passage when I went to the loo and this became gradually worse. I didn't have pain or itching as some people do because the haemorrhoids were internal, not protruding."

What did your GP do?
"I was referred to a consultant and investigated initially for bowel cancer because I was bleeding so much. No one could quite believe that haemorrhoids could be the cause, so at first the problem was missed."

What treatment did you receive?
"I had all kinds of suppositories and injections to try and shrink the haemorrhoids to begin with. Then I had a traditional 'banding' operation to cut off the blood supply. I was in hospital for about four days and afterwards I was shocked by the amount of pain I suffered. It took me more than two weeks to recover.

Was the operation successful?
"For a while, yes, but then the problem recurred and became worse. Each time I went to the loo I would lose an enormous amount of blood. I'm a f it person, I play hockey, ski and go to the gym, but I got to the point where I was so exhausted I had to lie down after going upstairs. I couldn't work and I became dangerously anaemic with a red blood cell count of four. Over a seven-month period I was admitted to hospital nine times for emergency blood transfusions. My husband had to virtually carry me in to hospital because I was so weak."

What happened next?
"My husband became angry that nothing was being done and saw my GP. I was referred to another consultant. He tried one more outpatient procedure but when I began to bleed again he admitted me straight away. I had a new operation called PPH (Procedure for Prolapse & Haemorrhoids) using a stapling technique and there was no comparison to the previous one. I had the operation the day before Christmas Eve, went home the next day, and cooked the dinner on Christmas Day. The pain was minimal. At the end of January I went off on a skiing holiday."

How are you now?
"Absolutely fine, thank goodness. The second surgery was a complete success and I haven't looked back."

We are always keen to hear from people who have undergone PPH. If you would like to contact us with your story, please get in touch by emailing pph@a-propos.co.uk

Please note that we cannot answer personal health care questions or offer medical advice. If you have any specific medical enquiries or concerns, we recommend that you consult your GP or surgeon.

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