hemorrhoidectomy recovery time

Hey momof4:

Hang in there girl! I know exactly what your going through. That happened to me back in Dec 2000 when I had the "first" surgery done. I went 7 days before the enema but I purged once and out the hositpal door I went. The pain in the area is beyond what anyone thinks. Unless you've had it done, you just can't imagine. The pain can go one for 2 weeks. Stabbing pain that just comes and goes!
I just had my 2nd operation on March 12. Even last night I went through tremendous pain from a self inflicked over dose of stool softener and too much fiber that particular day. I was up at 2:00am sitting in the tub almost crying! Today much better.
You will recover! Your life will get better. You'll have to change your diet some, but it won't be bad! You need to do it so you won't end up like me having to do it twice!
I feel your pain and wish I could help. Right now the tub is your best friend!!
Good luck my friend.
BCA

Hang in there. At least you got vicodon.I was only give 30 tylenol 3's...and they were done in the first 3 days.
The first 8 days were brutal. I am on day 9 and think I may be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel...however. I think I won't be myself for another couple of weeks for sure.
My doctor didn't sugar coat it. He said it would be very painful. I just didn't think it would be worse than a c-section or labour and delivery.
BM was on day 6 and I really actually wanted to die.

I'm so sorry to hear that things are going hard for you. Keep posting and hopefully you'll get the support you need to feel better. Let us know how oyu're doing, okay?

Ok so here is my 2 cents-experience. I have had a grade 3 roids of death for about 5 years and avoiding surgery from fear. Recently I had a fissure that would not quit hurting so I had the Dr. do a colonoscopy since the examiation pain was even excruciating. Any hoo, only option was surgery so I figured to rid myself of the roidzillas as well since he would be right there anyways. According to the pics they WERE the size of a friggin grape. Doing research via web, sooooo many post are scary from pain expectancy. Dear God was I scared too. From a recovery stand point, find a DR. that rocks! First and formost. Mine was actually very selective on patient intake so that might be a sign to look for. Ok now the meaty stuff. From fear, I did not eat for 2 days prior and did a total saline bowel cleanse. I was in the mind set that I was not gonna eat till I recovered.

I was awake and well aware of my surroundings and took notes on where to go for a good steak dinner from the overheard conversations during my surgery. In recovery, I was extremely shocked to hear my Dr. tell me to eat WHATEVER I wanted. I thought he was crazy, shouldn't I be on some sort of liquid only diet? Logics kicked in. Eating normally, will let you HEAL normally and NOT constrict your insides while trying to heal up. So fettuccini alfredo here I come! Of course I was scribed many stool softeners as well. I will not lie, the first 3 days WILL be hell. Unfortunately for me, I have dealt with this pain from having the darn things inside anyways so I guess you can say I am seasoned for this type of pain. On top of that I guess my tolerance for it was pretty high. My guess is the online terror posts are from people that have never experienced pain of this magnitude. Tip: syche yourself up. Tell yourself it WILL HURT and be uncomfortable so you won't be suprised later.

I was so concerned with stitches and bleeding and all that jazz from mentioned post. For some UN-Godly reason, my first BM was a BOMB! Superman couldnt have done that splasher! To my grin, no pain, no blood. What? They said blood, bleeding? Frakkin anxiety. Again, good Dr.=good recovery. That stitch master! Sorry for such a long post but I need to let it all out since I NEVER came across "a light at the end of the tunnel experience". Now since I also had the stoopid fissurectotomy, that was the CRUX of all my pain. I thought for sure it would be the roid removal site. The fissure caused muscle spasams that made the canal narrow and DEAR GOD it was hard to have a BM even with fluffy stool. Instant pain! So much so I had to take matters into my own hands. After day 5, I stopped taking my pain meds (Hydrocodine) cause as I mentioned before my pain tolerance must be high cause they did nothing for me. Now, I WONT reccomend this to any one but for what it's worth, it's what I DID to survive. You gotta know your OWN body. I drank. Wild West style for anything painfull. NEVER MIX MEDS WITH ALCOHOL! I had to clear my system first. For some great reason when drunk, your muscle control is not so complex and "things" err "magic" happens. It was the ONLY way for me to pass stool and tolerate the death strikes that happens afterwards. Again no bleeding. ever. Just shots and sitz baths and neosporene. They say alcohol has an adverse effect on healing but, that is why I made the decision and judgement AFTER I felt my stitches and surgery site were good. Used for Pain padding ONLY.

A very rough week but all togehter, 2 weeks as said by my Doc. I am scheduled for a 14 hour flight to Asia in 2 days for some R and R. YAHOO! So yes, I DID have pizza and pasta, and Hamburgers all with Lentils, (47% daily fiber intake). And if any of you have heard of wheatgrass, I was on that too. The juice has some amazing cell reconstructuring qualities which prolly helped the no bleeding a lot. Prepped one week ahead and the following week juicing.

And if you play HALO, your pain WILL take a back seat from anger getting teabagged by other players. just another tidbit. So my nightmare, or fear of one, thinking I was gonna recover in a month like other post said, is almost over. Again, not 100% but well enough to take that intercontential 14 hour flight. just 13 days shy after my operation/rebirth.

Hope my experience helps someone outhere. Just remember to first and formost find a Doc that knows what they are doing. Second, make light of the situation. Humor will remind you of better things. I told my co-workers I was going out for a penile reduction then hit em with reality. Thirdly, find a proverbial "stick" to bite on cause you will need something but, I hope it will be for the shorter timeframe than the post that are floating out there. Fourthly, know your own Bod and bounadries. This is JUST MY EXPERIENCE and I AM NOT suggesting for you to pick up the bottle. For me, I just had to. People will need to gather their own intel for preparation. Godspeed and Peace.

I had a hemmorhoidectomy in November 2009. My rhoids were bad and I was passing a lot of blood. I would like to share some of the things that got me through my recovery.

First, your doc should give you a presecription for plenty (like 50) of strong pain medication (something like percocet). You will need it and you will want to have the prescription filled before you have the procedure. I was given two just after the procedure and I had to take another before I got home. Be sure you have somebody to be with you for at least a few days after the surgery. You will be very, very uncomfortable and will have a lot of pain. The percocet did offset that a great deal and made it bearable. I was taking one every 3 hours (even through the night). My doctor gave me a second prescription for an additional 50 percocets.

Using the stool softner is critical. Take the max recommended dosage. Drink tons of water (the pain killers are constipating). Take the fiber (I used metamucil). The first few times you have to poop (I know, I hate calling it that but I'm trying to make this a bit humorous also) it will be soft and very runny. That's OK. It will hurt (sorry). A lot (sorry again). Here's what I did and it worked very well for me once I figured it out. When you have to poop, get a paper plate. Get into the tub. Squat down with the paper plate under your butt. This position let the poop come out most easily for me and the paper plate made it easy to clean up afterwards. Doc told me to poop laying back in the tub. That just didn't seem to work and when it did I was in a tuib of hot water and poop. Do the math...It will take some time before you pee regurarly. I tried peeing in the shower and it just didn't work. It also caused me to get a bit anxious. DON'T GET ANXIOUS. It will work soon. Give it some time and relax as best you can.

You will need to be prepared to take a lot of hot baths. This is very soothing. I found that if I took a bath when I felt like I needed a pain pilll, it let me push off taking the pill for a while (this is important - you will be taking a lot of these and they can be addictive). I was in the tub anywhere from 5 - 10 times per day for the first 2 - 3 weeks. It will allow you to keep your butt clean and is very soothing.

As far as the surgical area, I kept a single sheet of gauze pad between my cheeks to absorb the discharge which seems to ooze out for about 2 - 3 weeks. Each day it was less and less, but have several (5 - 8 boxes) of these on hand. I also used cotton wipes (that women use to remove makeup) and Tucks pads to wipe my bottom. This worked out well after a while.

The main thing is just don't get anxious. It does get better, it just takes a few weeks. You will be very tired. Expect to sleep a lot. Plan to be away from work (no phone, email, texts, etc...) for at least a week. After that I did 2 hours a day for work (for the next 2 weeks) but no more. I found the best way for me to sleep was on my side. I kept a bottle of pain killers next to my bedside and took them whenever I needed one.

Good luck. I'm now 100% pain free and no more rhoids. It was worth it. Just be prepared. Good luck,

I had surgery to remove two internal and 1 external hemmorroid on 4/13/10. I am now 5 days post surgery and am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. My best advise is to get off pain meds as soon as possible. These cause constipation and no matter how many stool softners and fiber you take, the first bm is going to be hard and painful. I got of my pain meds day 2 post surgery. I just took Ibuprofin, stool softners, fiber and drink a lot of water.
My first bm occurred 3 days post surgery. I will not lie, it was extremely painful. They say not to strain, but it is the only was to get it out. Had another BM day 4 post surgery and it was extremely painful and hard. Later in the day, the stool softners kicked in and had another bm that was not as painful. Today, 5 days post surgery, had a bm and not nearly as painful.
I get into the bath tub at least 5-6 times a day in water as hot as you can stand. That is the only place you will find relief. The other problem I had was not being able to urinate. The only way to urinate was to sit in the bath. I know it sounds gross, but it was the only way to relieve the pressure in the bladder. I can only hope this was all worth it.

I had surgery on 4/13/10. I have to say that many of the stories on here are extremely scary! Needless to say, I feel they made me a bit more mentally prepared for the worst, which I don't think I experienced. After years of dealing with roids, I decided for the surgery. I started with rubber banding at 18 for enlarged hemorrhoids and visited the doc every 12-18 months for additional procedures which temporarily alleviated the problem. The most recent time (Feb) the procedure was done, there was no effect, and hence surgery.

I am a healthy male of 31 who had stage 3 internal hemorrhoids and 1 external hemorrhoid removed. Old fashioned - no laser, no infrared, no PPH. The doc said they were much bigger than he thought.

Doc gave me plenty of pain pills - 50 oxycodone and 20 ketorolac, and told me to take 2 Tbsp of Mineral Oil each night. Went back to eating a normal diet right away as per my doc, which is high fiber with lots of whole grains, veggies and liquids (water, soy milk, and coconut water). I didn't make a BM on day 1 or 2, so began taking stool softener on the evening of day two. Even went an ate a papaya and started consuming aloe vera gel to no avail. Went on day 3, but it was the length of a pencil and about the width as well. My stomach was extremely distended and my gas smelled like a dead body rotting in my stomach, and hurt to pass it.

By day 4, I called the doc as I was concerned that I was unable to move my bowels significantly. He stated that I should cut back on pain pills (which I already had) as they bind, and take milk of magnesia in addition to the stool softeners and mineral oil. I took some immediately, but by the end of the day, still no BM.

On day 5 (which is today), I did take M of M this morn, and drank 2 cups of coffee (which I don't normally drink any caffeine). And finally - I have had 5 BMs! They have turned from firm to very loose due to all of the softeners. Only the last of the 5 burned, but pain pills and lots of time in the warm tub (about 2-3 hours today) have helped dramatically. Also - baby wipes are GREAT. They feel so much more comfortable than the regular TP.

I will see the doc in a week, and since everything seems to be going good so far, I expect that I should be AOK by then and cleared to return to most normal activities. If something changes, I will definitely add a post to indicate so. But am looking to a hemorrhoid free life I haven't seen in a decade!

Please keep in mind: for every person who posts a horror story about their surgical experience, there are many that don't have any such experiences. Remember, it is more common for people to relay negative news than positive news. So I hope your story is more in line with my experience than the many others! Best of luck!

29 year old female. Hemorrhoids so big 3 dr thought it was a prolapsed rectum.no ins was afraid to get help for 6 years.finally bM completely stopped. A wonderful urgent care dr suggested drive passed 2 local hospitals to county hospital. They took me in the er no ins no question gave me moraphine and had me in surgery in an hour. Don't wait years like me go to er. That was yesterday at home now with Vicodin and stool softeners. Terrified of first NM thanks to these posts but even one day later I feel less sore. If u are having problems getting a dr to help u go to a hundred design.someone will be kind and u have to fond them because fact most doctors are not.

29 yearold female updating. Last posted day 2 of recovery now day 18 still wish for death at times. No bm other than leakage until day 11. Then pooped erasers every 5 minutes for three days straight. I ended up kneeling or laying on underpads most of the day. U need a hand held shower sprayer to keep clean. I can't pee. I've gone through 8 bags of ebsom salt. Bactine no sting and neosporin no pain are my best friends long with Vicodin . Went back to er 1 week post surgery for catheter and anxiety meds to control panic attacks that happened any time I tried a bm. Have to wear adult diapers when I leave my room. Goodnights kids training pants come in extra large if your embarrassed to buy the other. I am improving ....and I just repeat that as often as possible or else I would cry all day.

61 year old male who had 2 large internal and 1 external hemorrhoid removed yesterday.  My surgeon was a GOOD general surgeon who used the Harmonic Scalpel to remove the hemorrhoids.  The surgery was done at an Ambulatory Surgery Center.  Wheeled into surgery at 8:40 and was home at 11:45.  Doc injected a long lasting local anesthetic so yesterday was a veritable breeze for me pain-wise.  Took a vicodin before bed and another at 4 a.m.  It is now 11 a.m. and I have only needed a couple of ibuprofen for the pain today.  Took a sitz bath and had a nice long shower this morning which seems to be helping any discomfort.  I also apply a cream supplied by the doc that acts as a topical pain killer.  VERY little bleeding or discharge.  Urinating easily, but have not yet had a BM.  I am passing lots of gas, so I'm sure the event will happen soon.  Started taking stool softeners (as per doc) yesterday, so I am hoping to that will make the whole process a little easier.  I was terrified to have this surgery after reading some of the posts here and other places about horrible complications and long painful recoveries after surgery.  While some people do have these issues, most do not (and I do not).  The discomfort that I have now, I keep telling myself, is GOOD pain that will result in full healing.  The pain that I endured for years with the periodic flare-ups of the hemorrhoids was BAD pain that was never going to go way by itself.  The hemorrhoidectomy is a curative procedure that will ensure that I have no more problems again in the future.  I'm glad that I had this done and am looking forward to getting back on the golf course and on my bike in the very near future!

please let us know when you are on that bike. I think the reason no one updates once they have healed is because they never want to think of thier "recovery" again. Let me just say this 11 weeks and 5 stool softeners and 8 cups of tea daily I all by my self finally had a bm sitting DOWN on a regular old toilet seat with out screaming, vicodin, or valium. now please let me never speak of this again. let me never update another family member of the progress of my bms. Let me never again google hemorroidectomy recovery  1 day after...1 week after...2 weeks after........4 weeks....6 weeks...10 weeks...i believe my final google search was.... do u ever heal from a hemorroidectomy?

I had mine removed almost 3 weeks ago: 1 x grade IV, 3 x grade III internal, 2 x grade II (a lot!)

Week 1:
1st night:
No sleep due to pain. The medical staff gave me 3 kinds of intravenous pain relievers.
Each shot provided little and short reliefs. Maybe it took effect in the morning and I finally had my sleep.

day 3 morning:
First BM. I was so worried having a very hard stool since the doctor did not gave me any enema or laxative before surgery.
And it was indeed very hard, painful, and it was bleeding (a lot) that I did not manage to evacuate except for less than half of a teaspoon of it.
I need assistance to pour water over my back down to my bottom because I can't move very well due to pain.
It was so painful that it took me very long before I could get to bed (slow motion). A little touch near my bottom seemed to magnify the pain exponentially.

day 3 afternoon:
Second BM. Similar pain as my first BM, but this time I manage to evacuate more that it was comfortable to my stomach after the BM.
The doctor said I can now be discharged from the hospital.

Week 2:
The pain and bleeding has improved, although not a lot but significantly. It was still very painful but thanks to warm water and my sister's assistance in pouring warm water right after evacuation, the pain is manageable after a few minutes.

Week 3:
I can now have my BM without assistance, but still needs the help of warm water to ease the pain a little.
Also I'm done with my pain meds, just high fiber diet. The pain is now comparable to the pain I experienced before surgery.
But not as afraid to go to the toilet as before. I hope it will improve more and sooner so I can really appreciate the procedure.

I had one internal and 2 external hemorrhoids removed. The pain did not subside for 3 months and I had a constant  anal discharge. I finally went to see a new surgeon and he said I had developed an anal fistula. This is essentially an abcess forming behind the wound and it forms two tubules which then secrete fluid from the anal gland. I had surgery last week to correct this and finally feel like a new man.

The surgeon did not prepare me adequately for the post operative recovery process.The operation itself took an hour but I was told that I would need just a few days of recovery and was told told to take my pain killers,col- ace and to drink a lot of liquids and I would be alright.I was given a sithz bath toilet seat to do my business in and was sent home. That is when the odyssey began.First I discovered that it was very hard to urinate for the first 24 hours.In addition I did not have a BM for three days and was impacted from the painkillers.Having a BM on the toilet was too painful and not an oprion.It was so bad the first time in terms of pain because my bowels where as hard as a rock and the area was still inflamed from the surgery.I literally had to dig it out with my fingers submerged in the bathtub.The pain was an 11 on a scale of 1-10.I am now on week 4 and feel at about 60 % but if I had followed the aftercare directions from the hospital,I would still be in the hospital.I took matters into my own hands and devised my own recovery strategy.Here is what got me through. Every BM for the first 2 weeks was done in a bathtub submerged with warm water.It was easier for me to push and it lessoned the pain and spasms.If I became impacted from the painkillers,I could reach up into my anal area and break up the bowel making it easier for it pass a stool.After this,I would pour salt in the area of water of that area.If I omitted this step I found that constant leakage from the wound would create a rash like irritation.I then would then gently wash the area with antibiotic soap.After patting dry,I would apply Bactine or hydrogen peroxide which would cool the area.I would then apply some Neodporin.I found that it was absolutely essential to take a full bath after each BM to make sure the area was completely clean.Try to train your body to have just one BM that first week so do not eat heavy.Go when you have the urge because holding it seem to produce a stool That was dry and harder.I supplemented Ibuprofen sometimes instead of the percoset every 4 hours because that resulted in impaction.Mineral oil after each meal helped make the stool more passible and a fiber supplement mixed in with my drinks helord with constipation during that first week.Day 10 things began to get better and also at times had to put gauze in the area to help with the discharge at night.I began working Half days my third week but each day there is a litttle improvement.Expect the pain and read up as much as you can.This is what helped me and allowed this to be somewhat bearable.If you are in your 40's like me or older..The hemroidectomy would seem to take about 6-7 weeks to begin to be approaching some normalcy.