Thrombosed External Hemorrhoid – A True Story Of Suffering

Monday, November 15th, 2010 at 3:33 pm

You may have heard of the thrombosed external hemorrhoid, but for your sake you’d rather not get too personal with it. I’ll be sharing a story with you today of someone who actually suffered with a thrombosed external hemorrhoid. His ordeal will be a powerful lesson for you.

But firstly, thrombosed external hemorrhoids are blood clots that result in sudden, intense pain. If you thought your hemorrhoids were painful, think again. If your condition should become this severe the only option for you is one that I try my very best to stay away from – surgery.

The hemorrhoidectomy is the only surgery that requires a general anesthetic and, incidentally, the only form of surgery that can remedy a thrombosed external hemorrhoid.

From surgery to recovery is a long process and even then, there is a small chance of side effects, as you can read in my article on hemorrhoid surgery.

However, by following some simple steps you can practically guarantee that this trauma will be avoided for yourself. As you read the article try to relate the story to your own situation and keep an eye out for the ‘lessons to be learnt’ section after the story!

Ted’s Story

Ted Baxter (name changed for privacy), a friend of mine, has worked in IT ever since he left university. He works with a large corporate firm and although he’s paid well, exercise is not part of the package…

For several years this very inactive lifestyle didn’t have an impact on Ted’s health. He was young, slim and had a fast metabolism – what it is to be young! But as the years crept by, and Ted’s lifestyle remained exercise-free, there were changes going on inside.

As he began to put weight on, he started to have health problems – one of which was hemorrhoids. While Ted service his body with creams and tablets to give him short term respite, the problem always returned.

For many years he suffered in silence, favouring the short term gains in his lifestyle, over the long term state of his health – a state of laziness and fear that is unfortunately more common than you think.

For 12 years he suffered with ‘third degree hemorrhoids’ and even his closest family was unaware of it.

But then his condition changed – drastically. Like the banks of a river that, little by little, lose out to torrential rain. The tipping point had been reached.

Overnight, he seemed to have contracted a whole new disease. He had got out of bed to use the toilet and was now well accustomed to constipation. He had bought countless treatments in the past but they all lost their effectiveness over time so he just gave up.

Besides, he reasoned, he could read a book – but it’s not always advisable to look on the bright side…

With a little strain he began to bleed. After suffering for over a decade he was accustomed to blood in the toilet bowl, but this was different, this was painful and he was bleeding profusely.

The pain became so intense that his wife was alerted. She phoned an ambulance and he was taken to hospital.

The bleeding was controlled immediately and the pain was numbed with drugs. But the whole experience left him in a psychological mess.

What would he say to his wife?
Why didn’t he take action sooner!
How long would he be off work?

The feelings of regret and depression swooped over him. He felt ashamed and unworthy. But, something did come of it. It turns out; this was the drastic experience that Ted needed to make big changes in his life.

The next day he had the surgery and he was out of the hospital later that day. On the outside he seemed surprisingly upbeat, but on the inside he was fuelled to flip his lifestyle of old, upside down.

No more ‘junk’ food, no more endless hours of sitting down exercise-free. Not only was Ted going to change his diet, he was going to revisit his college sports like track and field, and get a membership to the gym. Of course this would all be in good time; he had to recover from the surgery first…

Nowadays, Ted still works in IT, but his lifestyle would make an athlete look twice. He runs 4 miles a day around a lake near where he lives, he goes to the gym 5 days a week, and he ‘chunks’ his computer work into one hour sessions, followed by 15 minute breaks for exercise and a drink.

However, the real change in his life is happening on a much deeper level. And without it, no amount of exercise would keep him away from health problems. The real change lies in his diet.

After his surgery he vouched to find the healthiest foods and eat them religiously. After working his way through innumerable diets, courtesy of his wife, he found the perfect diet that had been carefully designed to the needs of a hemorrhoid sufferer.

This is the diet regime he follows to this day and you can read about it in my recommendation at the end of this article – this is the diet I also use.

Lessons to be learnt from this story

1. If you only take one lesson from this it should be to take action.

Fear is the reason we don’t confront problems in our lives. But if you sit down and tell yourself that it will be worse if you ignore it you’ll eventually buck up the courage and take action. If you can, talk to a close friend/relative. Opening up to a person that we trust is immeasurably more beneficial than trying to find sense in your own head alone.

2. The importance of Diet

Diet is the foundation of your health. If you neglect it, no amount of exercise, positive thinking or brain training will help you. If you struggle to change your diet, welcome to the club. We ALL struggle with our diets. However, try to picture yourself in this story and try to imagine the trauma you’d be put through, hopefully you’ll be motivated by the dreaded thought.

3. The importance of Exercise

While not as important as diet it is the icing on the cake for your wellbeing. Nothing cleans the emotional slate like exercise. It’s important for your happiness as well as the prevention of hemorrhoids, and this keeps you healthy across the board.

4. I’ll say it again, TAKE ACTION

But baby steps at first. I invite you to opt in to my newsletter that offers you advice, tips and tricks for no cost to you. Alternatively, if you are ready to make a commitment to your diet by following a regime have a look at my recommendation at the bottom of the article – I still use the advice in it today.

Food Ideas for you

Vegetables	Fruits
Avocado	Apples
Beans	Bananas
Broccoli	Figs
Brussels sprouts	Raisins
Cabbage	Berries
Egg Plant/ Aubergine	Prunes

Carrots	Pears
Egg Plant/ Aubergine	Prunes
Green beans	Oranges
Spinach	Guava
Mushrooms	Kiwi Fruit