How Long Does Hemorrhoidectomy Recovery Last?

Jenny · Site Admin Joined: 03 Mar 2006 Posts: 514

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Hemorrhoidectomy Recovery – How Long Will It Take thread.

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JoeSantill · Newbie Joined: 08 Mar 2008 Posts: 10

I am a 54 year-old male that underwent a hemorroidectomy 11 days ago and the procedure was performed with a harmonic scalpel. I can say the post op pain and recovery has been an absolute horror.

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.

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

Over the first nine days post op passing a stool was excruciating. I nearly passed out from extreme 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 just passing a dime sized stool. I was on the toilet at all hours of the day and night.

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

I still need about two 10 mg Vicodin each day to alleviate persistent soreness.

During the worst days and night I found myself taking the pain meds when the urge to defecate was felt. Then I tried to hold it until the pain meds kicked in.

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 squares that after each bowel movement I folded one in half and placed it against my anus to prevent blood and stool leakage. When the next bowel movement came, they gauze just fell off into the toilet. These were life savers.

I have good days and bad days. Sometimes I feel things are returning to normal and then I have these explosive bowel movements lasting an hour or more. After hours of extreme pain and discomfort, depending on your age and medical condition, you will get weak. Maybe even exhausted. I had no idea pain was so debilitating.

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

I have a post op exam scheduled in two days. If my doctor thinks he's going to look into my rear without sedating me, he's got another guess coming. I'll probably take some vicodin before my appointment.

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 excited about having a normal butt and clean underwear!

JoeSantill · Newbie Joined: 08 Mar 2008 Posts: 10

I am a 54 year-old male that underwent a hemorroidectomy 11 days ago and the procedure was performed with a harmonic scalpel. I can say the post op pain and recovery has been an absolute horror.

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.

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

Over the first nine days post op passing a stool was excruciating. I nearly passed out from extreme 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 just passing a dime sized stool. I was on the toilet at all hours of the day and night.

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

I still need about two 10 mg Vicodin each day to alleviate persistent soreness.

During the worst days and night I found myself taking the pain meds when the urge to defecate was felt. Then I tried to hold it until the pain meds kicked in.

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 squares that after each bowel movement I folded one in half and placed it against my anus to prevent blood and stool leakage. When the next bowel movement came, they gauze just fell off into the toilet. These were life savers.

I have good days and bad days. Sometimes I feel things are returning to normal and then I have these explosive bowel movements lasting an hour or more. After hours of extreme pain and discomfort, depending on your age and medical condition, you will get weak.

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

I have a post op exam scheduled in two days. If my doctor thinks he's going to look into my rear without sedating me, he's got another guess coming. I'll probably take some vicodin before my appointment.

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 excited about having a normal butt and clean underwear!

angmcg1 · Newbie Joined: 18 Mar 2008 Posts: 2

day ten and finally starting to feel like a human being again.

I had surgery a weel last friday and really and truly until this morning i thought that the neigbours were going to start up a petition to have me run out of town because of the noise every time i went to the loo.

Its funny how as time passes you forget just how awful it was back then. it has made me warn everyone i know with hems to please take care of themselves and avoid this op if at all possible. a friend of mine while visiting said, "i know how you feel, every time i pass a motion i feel like i am passing glass". i said well imagine what you are feeling right is now is passing cotton wool. i am passing the glass. think she went straight home to fill up on prune juice. seriously though i do wonder if i had to go through it again would i. perhaps when fully recovered and living a normal life again i might. my hems rules my life. if i travelled they went mad, if i drank they went mad, if i stressed they went mad, and if i just did to day things they went mad. so hopefully despite the absolute horrors that i have suffered in the past couple of weeks i will sit back and say it was worth it.

i kept a diary each day of how i was feeling. covering everything like pain, how i felt emotionally, just general jottings. its reassuring to read back over it and see how far i have come.

i have found the posts on here helpful in my recovery, in that i know that a lot of what i am experiencing is "normal". although i am in ireland, and so most of the medication is different to what i have here, you have helped me through this. not so sure if i would have went ahead if i had read this before the op, although i guess in my case there wasnt much choice.

i still have symptoms, the mos awful wind, being afraid to go out in case i need to go to the loo, when i go i have to go right then.

im intending to work from home in the coming week. luckily i am in a position to do that as i dont think i would be comfortable around people just yet. my brain was mush for while there, but it does seem to be coming round a bit now.

to those in recovery, i hope that you are well soon, and to those thinking about it, dont despair, its not nice, but hopefully there is light at the end of the tunnel.

my mother said today that she knew it was the worst op possible when my later father had it done many years ago. he was a big strong man, who never complained. he had the op done, not because of pain, but because the bleeding was interfering with him working, and my mum said it was the first and only time she saw him cry. dont feel such a wimp now.

anyone wanting to correspond or ask questions feel free to mail. might not be able to help, but sometimes its just enough to know there is someone out there who knows what you are going through.

angmcg1@hotmail.com (hope that its ok to give addy out here)

ftd · Newbie Joined: 03 Apr 2008 Posts: 1

Hi

I’m 35 year-old female I had this surgery done when I was 9 months pregnant. I was so ready to have the surgery because I was in so much discomfort and constant pain. I had a great surgery experience and after surgery it was awesome. I only took 1 pain pill and follow the post op direction to the tee. I return to work the next day and I was so happy that I did the surgery. I wasn’t in any kind of pain Just a little tender and I had to be careful on how I sat down. I had a full recovery within a 1 week. I recommended this surgery to anyone who wants to have it done. It’s worth it, especially if you are in constant and discomfort pain. Just to it!!! It will be worth it at the end and you will tell yourself I wish I would have done it earlier.

Guest · Guest

Hello. 42-year old male, 2 weeks and 1 day post-colonoscopy and "double" (my doctor's term - refers to removal of internal and external roids) hemorrhoidectomy. 15+ year roid sufferer, years of topical meds, Prep H, baths, lancing, shots etc to manage. Over the last 6 months sx's became myriad and so problematic dr thought I might have colon cancer (thus the colonoscopy). Doc first tried the banding procedure on the roids, but that seemed to make matters so much worse that he said surgery was the only option. Fortunately, my colon was completely clean, but I had multiple and massive (grape size) int and ext roids removed. Surgery lasted about 2 hours.

My BA is in english from Vanderbilt, and I did pretty well. However, I've found my vocabulary is simply insufficient to accurately describe the pain, the complications, and the utter nightmare my life has been over the last 2 weeks. Doc prescribed Percocet every 3 hours immediately post-sx, and I supplemented that with approx 15-20 ibuprofen tabs daily. Pain was still bad, and Percocet made me itch uncontrollably. Doc switched me to Dilaudid, which worked well (supplemented with ibuprof), but I should have read the fine print. Its synthetic Morphine, and getting unhooked from this stuff has been its own nightmare (sweats, nausea, manic anxiety, all the ridiculous Hollywood rehab symptoms). Still, to be totally honest, I'd choose the pain and symtpoms of morphine withdrawal over those of post roid surgery any day.

Post-sx BM's: indescribable. Searing pain in the anus, the stitches, even my legs and feet, sweating, vomiting, bowel tremors, constipation, diarrhea, yelling at the top of my lungs (scaring the wife, the kids, the dog), jumping immediately into the bath to soak for 30-45 mins, then laying prostrate on my stomach on the floor in the bedroom waiting for the drugs to kick in. Repeat 3, 4, 5 times just in the morning alone, maybe 2 or 3 times again at night. When this is all over with, I fully intend to redecorate all of the bathrooms in our house, in order to help me cleanse the memory (the chi?) of this horrific ideal. I'm quite serious about that. My recommendations: just know that its going to be bad, b/c there is little you can do. Have your partner buy industrial-sized TP and baby wipes at Costco, and try to time the pain meds to where they will be kicking in right before your first BM. I take an off brand of fiber that tastes like Metamucil but has more fiber per serving, and I ended up quadrupling the daily dose. It helped with constipation, and didn't make me feel like I was drinking molten metal (ala Milk of Magnesia). Plus, Magnesia gave me massive spraying diarrhea (sorry), and my doc made it clear that I needed solid stools ASAP after surgery in order to avoid sphincter narrowing post-sx. I'm still having that never-feel-like-I've-completed-voided-all-stool feeling, and man is that getting old. I will say that I'm voiding solid stool, finally, and this morning was the first mild pain BM I've had.

Appetites: I was 220+ lbs presurgery, and weighed 210 this morning. Not the healthiest weight loss plan, to be sure, but food just doesn't sound good at all. Prior posts suggest post-surgery nausea is common, which is comforting to know, but my doc didn't warn me about it. Sexual appetite? You must be kidding. Appetites for work, playing with the kids, even getting out of the house just to go for a walk? Virtually nil. My days are spent BM'ing, recuperating, reading, and watching TV. I have to travel (plane and car) for my job, and doc said to take a week off. I ended up taking 2, and could easily take a 3rd but for the fact that mortgage pmt and taxes are due. Not sure how I'm going to make it work, frankly. I quit drinking in 2006 and the doc won't prescribe any more pain killers, so my numbing options are unfortunately limited. I may have to risk burning a hole in my gut and upping the ibuprofen.

Most terrifying and depressing is the idea that my roids may have returned. I can feel stitches and bumps, and the bumps feel suspiciously like early roids. Wife is convinced I'm being paranoid and they are probably normal swelling and/or post-sx skin issues, but after a decade and a half of roids I feel like I know what they are and aren't. Going to see the doc in 2 days, hoping for the best.

In conclusion, I should have read up on this surgery much more than I did, if only to be prepared for a 2 month+ convalescence (as opposed to the 2 week version my doc sold me on). Knowing how much pain I've experienced, its hard to say whether I'd do it again if I was asked today, and I was beyond miserable pre-surgery. These have easily been the worst 2 weeks of my life. Still, I'm hoping that come May or June I will look back and feel it was worthwhile.

Guest · Guest

I had a hemmoroidectomy 5 1/2 weeks ago..was back to work after 2 weeks...but still not completely comfortable, do not sit too long and when I walk it feels like something might drop out, but this seems to be easing up, doc says all this is normal..outside I am almost complelty normal....
I have a lot of inflamation internally around the tailbone...and just started back with my accupuncture as all of the inflamation has annoyed my sciatica.....as far as BM I have been taking a cup of dieters green tea every night and go without problems every monring....I still eat a high fiber diet..but really the tea is the secret....
hope this helps...my doc says 3 months to heal completely internally...

Guest · Guest

I had the surgery 2 days ago. I stopped the pain med after 12 hours post op, fearing to be constipated. Today I had my bm's and it was painful... making my bottom so sored... Crying or Very sad

I'm 38 weeks pregnant and hopefully will recover a lot more before the baby comes. I anticipate another set of discomfort though...

jwr · Newbie Joined: 29 Apr 2008 Posts: 5

I am recovering from a hemmorhoidectomy April 11. Before I had the surgery done, my GP and I scoped out the surgeon who we thought was the best at providing this service. How you ask. My GP made appointments for me with 4 surgeons and we picked one based on the questions I asked.....and the subjective evidence paid off, or in other words, who told it like it is. I bought panty liners, a 15 dollar sitz bath that sits on the toilet and arranged for 2 weeks off work in advance of the procedure. After the procedure, I was given a script for 50 percocets, stool softener and anaestetic gel. I made sure that I ate like a saint....extremely high fiber, no junk, 5 small meals a day, no spicey food and I made a point of not staying stationary...lots of walking. After the surgery, I kept the percs going full tilt for 48 hours until my first BM. Other than a bit of discomfort after the sphincter pinch, it was like passing mashed potatoes with a just a wee bit of blood. I had my sitz tub ready with hot water so I did not wipe. I sat there until I felt somewhat comfy again and then cleaned myself with my finger in the hot water....much less painful than the wipe. Do not push when you poop! You will not feel empty after each BM for a couple weeks so dont force it. After weighing the level of pain against the constipating effect the percs may have, I cut the percs back to 1 every 4 hours and now I am at one before I sleep. At 3 weeks I will be able to give them up totally. The key to minimizing the effects? First, the surgeon I had was top shelf...she had tons of experience with this procedure and it showed. Next, prepare in advance and have your stuff ready. Eat a great diet, no crap, no spicey food and take 8 stool softeners a day. Use the sitz bath after each BM and 3 or 4 times per day in between. Keep moving even if its walking around the house. Be patient, I still have wee bits of blood and it still itches from time to time but the Doc said that will be normal for a couple months so dont get bent out of shape over it. Now my butt still looks like it did before but I am not entering it in a beauty contest so thats not a concern. My goal was to stop the pain and itching of internal and external hems...I was going thru proctofoam like it was shaving cream. I was told by the surgeon that the pain will ease a bit each day, the itching and blood will dissappear in four to six weeks and I will be back to normal at 2- 3 months. So far she was right and the prep work was worth it. Good luck!

Guest · Guest

This is day 5 post op for me. I read all the posts before I had the surgery so I had a good idea of what I was up for. I needed the surgery because the bleeding was quite extreme. I didn't just bleed on the toilet; one day at work I had what my doctor called a 'flooding' episode. That sealed the deal for my haemorrhoidectomy. I promised myself I would post something after the surgery because it helped me to read all the stories, and I thought my story might add something to the tapestry of stories in this forum.

The surgery itself wasn't too bad. I had an epidural and sedatives. It felt like it was over very quickly, but in reality it took about forty minutes to an hour. It took six hours for my legs to regain feeling and for me to feel the pain. That first night was really rough. I'm in Australia and it's not always a day procedure here - usually you have 2 to 3 days in hospital post-op. I was in hospital for two nights. I was glad I was there because I needed a number of painkillers that first night including morphine. I didn't like the morphine. It made me nauseous, sweaty and depressed. On the second day I took a number of painkillers again (but avoided the morphine) and a mild laxative I've been given to regulate the BMs. I had my first BM that night. It was painful but over very quickly. My second BM was on the next morning, also painful but over with quickly. I was discharged from the hospital that day with a box of mild laxatives, some opiate derived painkillers and an anti-inflammatory drug.

Yesterday (day 4) I stopped taking the painkillers, and replaced them with paracetamol, because I wanted to be clear headed and able to drive if the need should arise, I also didn't want to get addicted to the painkillers. For the first time in my life I can understand how people get addicted to prescription medication.

I'm not in as much pain when I have a BM now as I was at first, but there is still considerable discomfort afterwards. I usually time it so I run the bathwater before I go to the toilet. I have 2 or 3 salt water baths a day. Living in Australia (we're in the middle of a drought), I'm mindful not to fill the bath up to the top - just enough to give me some relief from the pain.

This surgery isn't just physically hard to deal with, it's also a psychological challenge because it's not easy to deal with the inconvenience of having to go when you have to go and then having to have a bath. It's hard to deal with being in pain over an extended period of time or to come off mind altering prescription drugs. Last night was also the first night that I was able to sleep through the night without waking up in pain in the middle of the night. The sleep deprivation over the last few days didn't help either.

However, all this taken into consideration, I'm still glad I had it done. I couldn't go through my life knowing that I could have another 'flooding' episode at any given moment. It was like sitting on a time bomb. This kind of surgery is really only a good thing when there's a good reason for having it, and I had a good reason to want it done.

I hope my recovery will continue to go as well as it seems to be progressing. My husband took time off work this week to manage the house and the children. I'm worried about how I'll cope with part time work and kids next week when I have to get back into it. Luckily it doesn't hurt to sit and my work is mostly sedentary.

I wish everyone on this board well. I hope you all recover quickly and I want to thank you all for your posts because people don't tend to talk about these things in real life and it's very difficult to face this kind of surgery with so little information. From these posts I learnt the importance of not allowing yourself to get constipated, that recovery will take time and the value of a well timed bath. Knowing the truth about how difficult recovery can be also helped me plan my life around the surgery this week.

Good luck with your recoveries.

How Long Does Hemorrhoidectomy Recovery Last?

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