Hemorrhoids!

First off, I've had UC for more than 10 years with an occasional hemorrhoid here and there. I developed a rather large one last Wednesday which I believed to be an external hemorrhoid. For the first few days I tried everything to get it to shrink...my doctor even prescribed a hydrocortizone / steroid cream to help shrink it. By Saturday I noticed a dark purple area forming and also bleeding from that area. By late Sunday and Monday morning, the purple area had grown rather large and I was in extreme pain. I was due for a regular GI checkup on Monday morning so when he looked at it his first words were "woah". He immediately called to a general surgeon in the office across the hall to have it "lanced". He had it written down as a Thrombosed Internal Hemorrhoid but I still believe it to be external. When I saw the surgeon he recommended to remove the blood clot immediately. After local anesthetic, he made a small incision and proceeded to squeeze out the clot (sorry for the gory details lol). What I'm left with now though is a hard lump of skin the same size as the hemorrhoid originally was. There is no pain except for the tenderness of the incision which has not healed yet. He said it could take weeks or even months for the skin lump to tighten up or retract. He said its just a flap of skin which is hard to the touch. Has anyone had an experience with this same procedure ending up with the hard lump of skin on the outside and if so did it go away? He said after it heals, he'll prescribe me a steroid cream to try and shrink it. I would appreciate any suggestions or information if you've had a similiar experience...I'm just concerned about this large lump which I would love to go away!

Thanks

Thanks for you input Christine...I agree, the procedure was not the most comfortable, the worst part being the injections of the anesthetic and about passing out druing the procedure which he explained as vasovagal. After the anesthetic wore off, the throbbing pain that day was unbearable...the pain meds barely made a dent! The next day the pain was 80% better and have not taken any pain meds since. I've been taking hot baths, cleaning it with witch hazel and using vitamin e directly on the incision area. I really just want this large lump to go away...it's not shrinking at all.

On another note, I'm not to familiar with what Ulcerative Proctitis is, I assume it's similiar to my Ulcerative Colitis as I see you are on many of the same meds as me. I'm on 6MP, Prednisone and Colazal. I was on the fence about starting Remicade as I've had a flare for over a year now which seems to be controlled with about 30-40mg of Prednisone. I'm now down to 5mg as my doctor is trying to get me off the steroids...I have found a report online about UC and the vitamin called "boswellia". The clinical study I found said that the people taking 1200mg of boswellia in the study achieved 85% remission and was able to stop their steroids all together. I don't know if that is what is helping me but I started 1200mg / day when I was at my 30mg of Prednisone and I have not had many major flare issues at all during my reducing of my Prednisone dosage. I have very mild mucous and no blood at all. I plan on continuing to take it as long as my UC is under control. I also take fish oil.

I don't find too many doctors that will actually suggest a vitamin supplement...mine has only suggested a probiotic and actually had samples to give me. Boswellia is an all natural plant based supplement that has been used for years to treat arthritis due to it's natural anti inflammatory properties. I hope it's the reason my colitis has been under control so i can finally get off my steroids. The one I take also has Devil's Claw in it as well. Like you I'm extremely hesitant about starting Remicade due to all the recent warnings I have read about it. That will by far be my last resort for meds if my flares really get out of control. I consider myself very lucky as my colitis has always been fairly mild to moderate...my sister on the other hand was an extreme severe case and eventually had her colon removed.