The hemorrhoid itself
What you notice
In the office
Surgical options
What it costs
Getting started
Read first
Where we see people
Get in touch
Reading
From Burlington
A reasonable way to use a single trip is to come in, find out what you actually have, and go home and think about it. That is a complete visit rather than a wasted one, and more people do it than you would expect.
One trip
You can travel in for the examination and for nothing else at all. You leave with the grade, which procedures that grade allows, roughly how many sessions a course would take and what the whole thing would cost, and you decide about all of that at home rather than in the room.
That matters more when you have driven in, because the pressure to make the trip count is real and it is exactly the pressure that produces decisions people regret. A visit that produces four answers and no booking has done its job completely.
Quite a few people also come away concluding that conservative measures are enough for now. Conservative care is a legitimate answer rather than a consolation prize, the examination page describes what the visit involves, and the grades guide explains the number you take home.
The single visit
Tell us you are coming for an opinion rather than a procedure. It changes nothing clinically and sets expectations.
The same examination as anybody else gets, because the grade is the thing you came to find out.
Grade, options, likely session count and cost. Written down so you are not reconstructing it from memory later.
In your own time, with the figures in front of you, and without having to say yes to justify the drive.
Why written matters
If you are going to decide at home, the quality of that decision depends entirely on what you can still remember about it a week later. People reliably retain the recommendation and lose the reasoning behind it, which is the half that lets them weigh it against anything else.
So the grade, the options, the session count and the figure all go down in writing. That also makes getting a second opinion much more straightforward: another clinician can see what was found and what was proposed rather than having to start again from the beginning.
Taking it somewhere else is an entirely reasonable thing to do with written findings. Choosing a clinic lists the five questions worth asking anybody, us included, banding against surgery argues both routes fairly, and the evidence guide covers judging a figure.
Nearby pages
Each nearby page covers a different part of the trip, so read the one for where you travel from.
Why a short course makes travelling in reasonable in the first place.
Learn moreAppointment times that survive a commute and a working day.
Learn moreWhat to settle before setting off, so the trip is not wasted.
Learn moreFollow-up, and which parts of it need another journey at all.
Learn moreCommon questions
What people ask when they want to know what they have before committing to anything.
Came from Burlington for an examination only, to decide later. No pressure to book a procedure that day.
The examination from Burlington was the first step and the decision came a week later after I had read the options.
They were fine with me taking time to decide after the examination. I booked the banding from Burlington a fortnight later.
An honest examination and a written summary to take home to Burlington. The decision was mine.
From the blog
Bleeding
Bleeding from hemorrhoids is common but frightening. Learn what causes it, which patterns are routine, and which warrant urgent evaluation or referral for colonoscopy.
Read article
When to Worry
Most hemorrhoid symptoms resolve with conservative care, but some signs demand immediate attention. Learn what distinguishes routine discomfort from complications requiring urgent evaluation in Hamilton.
Read article
Diet & Fibre
What you put in your cart at a Hamilton grocery store has a direct effect on how often hemorrhoids flare. Here is what the evidence supports, aisle by aisle.
Read articleGet started
Tell us you want an examination and an opinion rather than a procedure. It changes nothing about the visit and it means nobody is waiting for a decision.
If conservative measures are the sensible answer for you, that is what you will be told.