Problems with hemorroids

[Lokismum]

I’m struggling with asking this question but have been unable to find an answer anywhere else. I am in my late sixties with a history of addictive junk food eating. My digestion is not the best but providing I took a tablespoon of Psyllium every night I was mostly ok. I have had a small external hemorroid that caused me very little problem as it would push back in easily. However I started a whole food vegan diet one morning and jumped straight in. Istead of going once a day which was perfect for me, I started going three times in the morning, sometimes having to get up at five in the morning. Then about two hours later I would have to go again and then another two or three hours later off I would go again. After a couple of weeks of this my small Hemorrhoid turned into a big one. I could push it back in ok but spent the rest of the day sore and irritated. I have had to cut right back in the fibre having a big salad once a day and veg in the evening but not as much as I used to. I have gone back to eating animals purely because my body can’t cope with such a high fibre diet. I was loving the food, losing weight which I certainly need to do and starting to feel better.
Has anyone had the same problem and if so how did they solve it? I really want to go back to my delicious vegan diet.

 

[Lou]

I never heard of someone who could "push a hemorrhoid back in". I didn't even know that was possible. So I just looked it up and found this article.
https://beatsofhealth.com/can-you-push-your-hemorrhoids-back-in/

it pretty much says what I was going to say next. You should see a doctor.

And the pooping 5 times a day doesn't sound right to me either. So there is another reason to see a doctor.

 

[Lokismum]

Thank you for replying. I was going three times a day not five! I understand this is perfectly normal andthat some people are going more than three times. Since I stopped eating such high fibre I am back to once a day and the hemorroid is behaving itself again. I just really want to get back to my high fibre vegan diet but I guess that is a no no.

 

[Emma JC]

You can still eat a whole food vegan diet without having excessively high fibre. I have some gut/butt issues on the occasions that I eat too much raw food like broccoli and cabbage and the like so I have solved that issue by cooking my veggies (except lettuce) and making sure that my beans are well cooked and that I eat a lot of starch like sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, rice, pastas, whole grain breads etc. Limit your nuts and seeds and consider having white rice and pastas. Also, when you eat oatmeal, make sure it is also well cooked and not "overnight oats".

It could be a fine line that you walk by having a diet that is too low in fibre (the standard american diet) so you may wish to get professional help or reintroduce fibre a bit at a time and not going all in.

Good luck! Emma JC

 

[Lou]

Oh. Three times a day is normal or at least not excessive. I am like you used to be. Just once a day.
And like Emma said there are lots of strategies to cut back on fiber and then gradually reintroduce it into your diet.
As a first step, I would cut out the psyllium. If you cook dry beans be sure to soak them and then rinse them thoroughly. You can eliminate some of the indigestible sugars they contain. You could even cut out some of the 100% whole grain products and go with the more refined grains. Then after a while re-introduce the 100% whole grains.

But I still think a Dr visit would be a good idea.

 

[Lokismum]

Thank you Lou and Emma! Very sensible advice. Unfortunately I should have heeded a doctor’s advice to add fibre slowly but I jumped straight in. I started taking Psyllium again about a week ago when I cut way back on the fibre in hope of not irritating the hemorroid too much and going once a day again. It works really well for me. I am hoping fruit for breakfast, salad with less beans than I ate before and potato or sweet potato and cooked veggies for supper. I used to eat porridge for breakfast and a grain at night therefore taking those two away for now will cut back the fibre. I need to stop being so impulsive in my life but at 68 I don’t think there's much hope. As for seeing the doctor I won’t unless things get really bad. I’m ok at the moment.

 

[TofuRobot]

Side-stepping the other portions of the discussion - what is wrong with pooping 3/4x a day? Pooping more often is better for you than otherwise (unless you have constant diarrhea or something)... ?

I can recall an episode of 'the doctors (?)' (which I do not watch - I saw a clip on YouTube) where they brought on Alicia Silverstone and he seriously asked her how her poops were and she said something like "Pefect! I poop all the time!" LOL

 

[Lou]

Everything you wanted to know about Poop but was afraid to ask
https://draxe.com/poop/

BTW, I poop once a day. Usually first thing in the morning. But I was like that even before I was vegan.
sometimes eating out causes another poop. I think my GI track is afraid of strange food and just wants to get rid of it ASAP.
I get constipated on camping trips. My rectum is afraid of the woods. Probably more mental than biological.
I also get hemorrhoids from time to time. Ever since I was in my 20s. Not sure why.

 

[Lokismum]

Side-stepping the other portions of the discussion - what is wrong with pooping 3/4x a day? Pooping more often is better for you than otherwise (unless you have constant diarrhea or something)... ?

I can recall an episode of 'the doctors (?)' (which I do not watch - I saw a clip on YouTube) where they brought on Alicia Silverstone and he seriously asked her how her poops were and she said something like "Pefect! I poop all the time!" LOL

Nothing wrong with pooping three or four times a day. After all fibre bulks out the diet and it has to go somewhere. My problem is that one poop fine, two poops it irritates my anus. Three poops out pops the hemorroid and then I’m even more sore for nearly all the day.

 

[TofuRobot]

Nothing wrong with pooping three or four times a day. After all fibre bulks out the diet and it has to go somewhere. My problem is that one poop fine, two poops it irritates my anus. Three poops out pops the hemorroid and then I’m even more sore for nearly all the day.

I've had hemorrhoids before, but they've always healed on their own (and it was a long time ago - before I was a whole food vegan). ...I agree with the others - see a doctor