Hemorrhoid Surgery and Recovery

JoeSantill · Newbie Joined: 08 Mar 2008 Posts: 10

I am a 54 year-old male that underwent a hemorroidectomy on Feb 27 and the procedure was performed with a harmonic scalpel. The post op recovery has been an absolute horror. My surgeon is the guy who wrote the book on the adaptation of laparoscopic techniques in colorectal surgery. Accomplished as he may be, he did nothing to prepare me for what the recovery was going to be like. I thought I would be up and on my feet the following day. Wrong. I quickly realized I wasn't going anywhere or doing anything for a while.

Post op care and instructions included a prescription for 30 Percosets, stool softener, hemorrhoid cream (for itching and burning), gauze and fiber supplement.

Most of the moderate to severe pain killers such as Percoset and Vicodin can also constipate the patient. So on the one hand you can manage the pain (which is severe) but on the other hand, constipation is a common side effect of the oxycodone and hydrocodone class of narcotic pain killers.

It took me two days to have my first bowel movement and pass the gauze that was packed in. The inability to urinate was another real problem. It takes some effort to put pressure on the bladder to urinate and this too caused pain and the bladder just shut down on me. In fact, both bladder and bowels shut down because of the pain. So I experienced extreme pain and discomfort because of my inability to urinate while my bladder felt like it was bursting. I would stand over the toilet for an hour only to squeeze out a single drop.

The percosets were gone in four days. My mother had vicodins and those were a life saver.

The first week following surgery passing a stool was excruciating. I nearly passed out from pain and nausea while sitting on the toilet. The urge to vomit was overwhelming. I was drenched with sweat while sitting on the toilet for hours, sometimes passing just a dime sized stool. I was on the toilet at all hours of the day and night. The urge to defecate and urinate was always present and it was difficult to alleviate.

During the worst days and nights I found myself taking the pain meds to prepare myself for a bowel movement. Then I tried to hold it until the pain meds kicked in. Days and nights revolved around taking painkillers. The Percosets and Vicodins were effective for about four hours when taken two at a time.

Apart from anesthetizing myself to pass a stool, I found relaxation the most effective technique to prepare for a bowel movement and this was accomplished with a warm sitz bath. I took them before and after bowel movements. The pleasure of a sitz bath cannot be overstated. In other threads I have read where patients resorted to defecating in the sitz bath because that was the only time and place where they were sufficiently relaxed to pass their stools.

Alas, on day 10 I was able to pass a stool with moderate discomfort as opposed to extreme pain.

I still needed about two 10 mg Vicodin each day to alleviate persistent soreness for two weeks.

Forget toilet paper. It's one month since my surgery and I still don't use it.

Fortunately, we have a bidet and I was able to wash and irrigate my rear with warm water after each bowel movement which added some comfort.

I found it helpful to have an ample supply of "non-stick" sterile gauze 4" x 3" squares that after each bowel movement I would fold one in half and placed it against my anus to prevent blood and stool leakage. When the next bowel movement came, the gauze just fell off into the toilet. These were life savers.

I had good days and bad days following the surgery. Sometimes I would feel things were returning to normal and then I would have these explosive bowel movements lasting an hour or more. After hours of extreme pain and discomfort, I would emerge from the bathroom physically exhausted.

As a result of my own experience with this procedure I have developed a healthy empathy for people who live with chronic pain.

The rectal bleeding subsided within the first week where spotting would occur depending on the nature of the bowel movement.

Leakage of stool was a problem until the past couple days. One month after surgery I no longer wear the gauze on my rear but I do carry one or two with me in the event I have a particularly egregious bowel movement that is almost always accompanied by leakage the remainder of the day.

I know us guys don't always change our underwear every day, but this past month I've been changing twice each day.

The other day I was curious and wanted to see for myself what my rectum looked like. This is a difficult undertaking. I tried to position a magnification mirror with illumination beneath my butt and spread my cheeks and take a look. What I saw surprised me. I could plainly see the scar tissue as well as the wounds that were still healing.

I laid off all alcohol and this really helped with how I feel and my bowel movements have become "normal" for the first time in 10 years.

No more pushing them back in. No more soiled underwear. No more fear of being found out.

Good luck with your recovery. It is going to hurt. But I am already starting to sense the absence of those hemorrhoids and after ten years of carrying those free hitchhikers, I'm glad I had the surgery and would do it again.

JoeSantill · Newbie Joined: 08 Mar 2008 Posts: 10

It's six weeks and no more leakage of stool. I feel better than ever.

I went to the follow-up examination last week and was informed I had both internal and diseased external hemorrhoids removed. I had no idea the extent of my affliction before the surgery. So this might explain why my recovery was so difficult.

The surgeon explained that recovery experiences are wide and varied with some people experiencing moderate discomfort whereas others experience severe pain.

If I had to do it all again, I would do it. Like most bad experiences in life, the memory of them are often eclipsed as time marches forward.

I can sleep naked in my bed without soiling the sheets. I can wear any color underwear instead of black, black or black. And that constant irritation and discomfort of some appendage dangling from my rectum is long gone. I might even consider having sex again.

My best wishes to you all in your treatment for this, the most personal and perhaps most embarrassing of all medical maladies.

Guest · Guest

Good luck to everyone who is going to have a hemorroidectomy. I’m a 45 yr old man, and I had hemorrhoids for almost 20 yrs. Today May 30th 2008, is my 10th day after surgery, and I’m ok. Now I can sit (not well as before) and type some words. I think I’ll just need 4 more days to recover. Before I had a hemorroidectomy, I read a lot of these pages from other people who had already been through hemorroidectomy . I was really scared. My surgery took about 1-1 ½ hrs. They put me to sleep. When I woke up everything was already done. I had no idea what they did to me. I didn’t feel pain at all. Before the surgery I asked the doctor how he was going to do my surgery. They told me that he was going to do hemorroidectomy, not laser surgery, but they both had the same procedure. He cut 3 parts of my hemorrhoids, and then he sewed them. He told me that they will never come back.

On the first day I totally needed someone to drive me home and I needed someone around to help for completely 24 hrs. I was ok on the 1st day. BUT the 2nd and 3rd days were my horrible days. It started hurting me but I didn’t really feel like dying. I was prepared for my 1st bowel movement. REMEMBER that on the 2nd day you have to take out the gauze (like the long cotton that they put really deep in your anus.) you have to take it out on the 2nd day as early as you can. It hurts because the blood dries. You better sit in the hot bath for 20 minutes and while you’re sitting there it’s easy to take it out ( or some one can help you) After the 1st day you better sit in the hot bath for 15-20 minutes every day. that was very helpful and relaxing. I did that 5-6 times a day for 1 week. On the 2-4th days, it’s hard to control your pee and bowel movement. REMEMBER to eat vegetables, fiber (get FIBER ONE Cereal) and fruits. I didn’t eat a lot in 10 days. I only ate fruits, vegetable, fiber one cereal, and 100% prune juice because I was scared of the bowel movement. It killed me for the first 2-5 days. It HURTTTTTT. . I had to wear women pads until now. It’s very helpful. It really hurt for 2-7 days for bowel movement but after 10 days I’m ok, and it doesn’t hurt much anymore. The doctor gave me drugs which were 100 tablets SENNA for stool softener + 45 tablets HYDROCODONE/APAP 7.5/500 for pain killer, and the last one is 35 tablets DIAZEPAM 2 MG for relieve muscle. I want to write a lot but my English is very limited. My 10th day feels a lot better but I’m still wearing pads. I very appreciate the comment of a 54 year-old male who Posted: 03/26/08 - 18:34 I think his name is Mr. JoeSantill. His situation is very close to mine. Thanks a lot to him.

Hemorrhoid Surgery and Recovery

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