Hello all, My name is Adam and I am 18 years old. I believe I have sentinel piles. It is not very painful but it is a little sore. I have had it for at the very least 6 months but probably longer. I went to my GI about a month and a half ago and she said I had two internal Hemmies and obviously to up the fiber. The internal hemmies are no longer really an issue but she never mentioned anything about the sentinel piles. I am going back in on the 15th to see if I can't get the sentinel tags removed. I assume if they have not disappeared over at least a 6 month period surgery is the only option. It just looks weird and feels weird. I do not think I have ever had a fissure so I am not sure how all of this happened. I just have skin hanging out of my butt and it is annoying. Im 18 and probably should not be having these issues... SMH. Anyway feedback from anyone would really be appreciated or if anyone has had a similar situation.

Adam -- welcome to the forum...glad you found us. I am sorry to hear you are dealing with this issue and hope you are able to find a good resolution.

I have not had a sentinel pile and hopefully someone who has had this issue will chime in...but here are some thoughts in any case.

Have you seen a CRS -- a CRS is a specialist in the area of butts. Asking your family doc to remove your sentinel pile may be convenient but will not be the best care you can get. What I would want to avoid if I were you is doing more damage to the area and i am pretty sure that your GP is not properly trained to give you advice on whether you should remove it or not...I would consult an expert. Also, if I were you I would want a CRS to take a look and try and figure out why you had a sentinel pile if you think you never had a fissure...what could have caused this. So before you get anything cut off...get armed with more info. One more piece of advice...take a family member with you to your appointment so that when the CRS is reviewing their findings you have a second set of ears to help you absorb the information and potentially ask other questions you may not have considered.

You are lucky in that the sentinel pile is not hurting too badly right now...it is just a nuisance from what I gather. do yourself a favour, live with the nuisance for as much time as it takes to get the best advice possible...the last thing you want is to turn this from being a nuisance to being a serious problem.

Let us know how it goes.

Best,
Canadabum

Absolutely I don't want to make a rash decision that would end up doing more harm than good. I'm not considering having a GP remove it for precisely the reason you stated. I am going into the GI specialists nearby and letting them take a look at it.

Great! Check out the section that is dedicated to discussion of Sentinel Piles for past posts that may provide more info for you and give you some food for thought and perhaps help you come up with more good questions for your doc.

Let us know how the appointment goes.

Absolutely!

Hey,

My understanding of a sentinel pile (which I currently boast a rather large one) is that they are a sign of trauma in the anus and are harmless in themselves. If you experienced pain and bleeding, it could be an anal fissure (as I believe internal hemmies don't cause much pain?). You may have noticed it swelling and then as you heal it shrinks a bit? I would seriously consider how much it is bothering you before you get it removed. Surgery could cause more pain and complications than it is worth as I believe removing it won't do anything other than make your anus look more pretty.

Understood Sasa. I have an appointment with my GI tomorrow to see what's going on. It may just be left over skin from prolapsed internal hemmies. In which case I still want them gone. It feels weird just being there and to the touch. I do get what you're saying though don't wanna do anymore damage.

Ok just had my appointment with my GI and I was way off. I have small external hemmies. Having a colonoscopy the 28th followed by banding a few weeks later to get rid of them.