July 28th 2024.
My body had reached its limit and I couldn't believe what had caused it. My heart was racing, the smartwatch displaying a staggering 182 beats per minute. It was as if my heart was about to jump out of my throat, causing palpitations that left me struggling for breath. But above all else, I was overcome with exhaustion.
I knew I needed to go to the hospital and I told my partner as I lay in the backseat of the car, fighting to stay awake during the journey. When we arrived, I could barely muster the energy to walk inside. I slumped into a corner of the waiting room and closed my eyes, my body giving up on me in a way I never could have imagined.
And what was the culprit behind this sudden collapse? Piles. Yes, something as seemingly harmless as hemorrhoids had caused my body to shut down. I had been dealing with anal hemorrhoids since I was 16, but it was never a major issue. Just some bleeding, no pain or itching. But this time, it was different.
In my early twenties, I experienced a terrifying episode of heavy blood loss, which led to numerous tests and procedures to rule out more serious conditions. But it always came back to the same result: piles. At one point, in an attempt to control the bleeding, I had my hemorrhoids banded, but they eventually returned.
I fell into a cycle of months without any issues, followed by sudden and heavy bleeding with no apparent trigger. And yet, I never sought help from my doctor, thinking it was just a normal part of my life. But this time, it was worse than ever before. The bleeding was darker and I was passing clots. One night, I woke up to find blood everywhere in the bathroom, and even though I tried to clean it up, my kids found traces of it the next morning and panicked. I tried to make light of it and brush it off, but deep down, I was terrified.
The bleeding continued for two weeks, and I started to feel increasingly tired and weak. Even simple tasks like getting dressed left me breathless and with a racing heart. Eventually, I knew I needed to go to the hospital. My partner spoke to the nurse about my symptoms and the nurse immediately knew that I needed a blood transfusion.
I was barely conscious as I was taken to be triaged, and my partner had to do all the talking. She later told me that my numbers were dangerously low, and I was in need of four blood transfusions. My body was shutting down, and I was terrified. It wasn't until later that I found out just how low my hemoglobin levels were - well below the normal range and at a life-threatening level.
After a week in the hospital, I was finally discharged with low hemoglobin levels and feeling exhausted. It took six months of high doses of iron to get back to a state of normalcy. And even though I still experience bleeding from time to time, I will never let myself get to that point again.
I still don't have a clear answer as to why my bleeding was so severe, and I am now awaiting another attempt at banding or possibly surgery. It's a topic that many people, especially men, find embarrassing to discuss. But the truth is, three out of four people will deal with piles at some point in their lives. And in my case, it could have cost me my life if I had continued to ignore it.
So, to anyone dealing with hemorrhoids, please take the time to read the NHS advice and educate yourself on what is normal and what is not. And if bleeding occurs, do not ignore it or pass it off as your "normal". Because as strange as it may sound, piles can have serious consequences. Trust me, I learned the hard way.
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