A month after hemorrhoidectomy, my experience

*I'm the Philippines so my English will suck, a bit. :)

I'm now on my 5th week and everything is starting to feel a lot better. So I want to share my experience to those who plans to undergo the same surgery.

BACKGROUND

I'm 29 years old and have been having problems with hemorrhoids since I was 15 years old. It didn't bother me that much. It started with some bleeding and then something protrude out of my ass. Uggh. For the next 5 years, it would flare up once or twice every year. When I started working after college, it started to have an effect on my social life. I would skip social gatherings, beach breaks and other activities because it would flare up after each bowel movement.

CHECK-UP

3 years ago, I experienced the worst hemorrhoid flare-up. It kept me in bed for 3 days because walking was so painful. When it subsided, I went to the doctor for a check-up. He found one internal hemorrhoid (a big one) but didn't recommend surgery yet; instead he asked me to take Daflon, 3x a day. He also asked me to push the protrusion back in after each bowel movement.

Everything started getting better since I found out I could just push it back in. But as time went on, I started to develop an external hemorrhoid. This was about 2 years ago. I wasn't painful, just annoying. Then about a year ago, the external hem started getting painful every time I go on a long walk. And it started getting bigger.

Last November, I went to the same doctor. This time, he recommended surgery.

PREPARATION

Surger was scheduled on Dec 2. I have a whole month to prepare. First, I tested different food and their effect on my bowel movement. I found out that the best (smooth) bowel is when I have oatmeal in the morning, rice (I'm from the Philippines) and soup/meat at lunch, and pomelo, rice and veggies at night. Then a cup of prune juice and another cup of water before going to bed.

SURGERY

Pick the most experienced surgeon you can find.

In the Philippines, hemorrhoidectomy is a minor surgery. I was admitted the day before the surgery, had all the preps (ECG, Blood, etc.) done on the first day. IV on the second day.

I don't remember much during the whole surgery. It was a blur..

POST-OP

I woke up 4 hours after the surgery. I didn't feel that much pain. Just uncomfortable feeling down there. About 3 hours later, I felt the urge to urinate but couldn't. I keep going back (I can walk...slowly) to the bathroom but no go. I may have spent the rest of the night going back and forth the bathroom 20+ times. It was psychologically exhausting. I was on the verge of crying. Then the nurse came back with a hot compress. I pressed it on my tummy, drank green tea. And after 30 minutes, I was able to urinate. What a relief.

Immediate medication:

Every 6 hours I was given the pain reliever Nuban (through IV).Fibrosine before sleeping2 tabs of Senokot (laxative)

RECOVERY

Day 1: (Still in hospital and in diaper)

BM is starting to cause trouble. Prior to surgery, I have regular BM (2x a day - morning & before bed). Adding Fibrosine and Senokot caused gas and diarrhea. Another problem is pooping. BM were small and with the consistency of porridge (pooridge, lol!).

I went to the toilet more than 20 times since dawn. The doctor dropped by in the afternoon and was shocked at the effect of the laxative. So he immediately stopped the planned Fibrosine.

Different doctors keep visiting me almost every 4 hours. Nurse check my temperature and BP every 2 hours.

Day 2: (Still in hospital an din diaper)

BM problem continued. I couldn't remember much other than I kept going back to the toilet but in less frequency as the first day.

Different doctors keep visiting me almost every 4 hours. Nurse check my temperature and BP every 2 hours.

Day 3: Released

My doctor came by and checked. Everything is healing just fine and recommended that I can go home. He told me that my anal passage will be narrower and it may become a problem. His recommendation is to just eat regularly and don't hold the poop in as food is the best natural dilator.

Urge to BM still pops-up every 2-3 hours. Not much poop.

I was released in the afternoon to a bill that's half my yearly salary. Very disheartening if you're living in a country with little to no medical coverage. :( But we settled it with some debt from friends and families.

Day 4: Home care

Med: 1 tab Arcoxia (pain relief) in the morning and 2 tabs Senokot before sleeping

This is the start of the hardest part of the recovery. Due to small BMs in the last 3 days, I started feeling really bloated. I go to the bathroom every 2 hours to try but only small poop come out. It's un-nerving and frustrating.

I found out that pants/boxers/briefs brushed on my swollen anus and cause some discomfort. So started wearing just bathroom towel draped around my waist. I also made sure that I don't exert any pressure down there.

And I make sure to do BM while my ass is submerge in a warm sitz bath.

Day 5. Home care

Med: 1 tab Arcoxia in the morning and 2 tabs Senokot before sleeping

The BM problem continued.

Day 6. Home care and some signs of progress

Med: 1 tab Arcoxia in the morning and 2 tabs Senokot before sleeping

The BM problem continued until the night. I felt another shooting urge to BM. Submerged myself on a hot sitz bath, relaxed and down came blood and clots. It wasn't poop but blood. Not painful but it felt like something blocking my hole was removed.

Later that night, the real BM came rather well. No pain, just slight discomfort.

Day 7.

Med: 2 tabs Senokot before sleeping

No more pain reliever but there wasn't that much pain. I could feel the swelling on the wounds, though.

Urge to BM every hour or so with some bleeding.

Week 2.

Med: 2 tabs Senokot before sleeping

The second week was uneventful. BM every 2 hours with some traces of blood and the swelling continued.

Most of the time, I'm just lying on bed or standing. It's started getting boring but I couldn't move.

Week 3.

Med: 2 tabs Senokot before sleeping

By the third week, BM come every 3-4 hours. Not much blood, just some small traces of it. I tried feeling my behind and felt 3 distinct swelling. They started getting smaller as the week moved on.

This is my last week with Senokot

Week 4.

Med: none

The swelling has started getting smaller. I can still feel them. I can now sit but avoided it for longer period of time just to be sure.

Constipation and anal narrowing is starting to show since I stopped dringking Senokot. Small poop comes out and I keep feeling the urge to go. I just sit there with some small poop. When the urge is really there, I tried pushing and bigger poop comes out.

I stopped wearing draped bathroom towel and now on soft boxers and short.

Week 5.

Med: Advil, 2x a day; and Fibrosine before sleeping

I'm now on my fift week. There still some minor swelling and some shooting pain from time-to-time. This, I believe is caused by suture starting to dissolve. I can now go on walks that always get cut off because of an urge to go to the bathroom.

I have scheduled a check-up with my doctor tomorrow. And will be back to work on Monday (Jan 5).

REMINDERS:

• Have someone with you during the recovery process. And let them know that you'll be in pain and discomfort in the next few weeks. (You might say something stupid to them, just like I did.)
• If you're not covered with any form of medical insurance, have a lot of cash in hand. The surgery cost me around PHP 120,000 (USD 2,700). This is half of what I earn in a year but the surgery is almost an emergency so I had to go through it.
• Sitz bath! Sitz bath and a lot of Sitz bath!
• Eat a lot of fruits and veggies during breakfast and dinner. And eat something you love during lunch.
• Be mentally prepared of what you'll go through. I'd chant in my mind as I go to sleep, "I'll be better tomorrow! I'll be better tomorrow!". It kept me optimistic.

----NOTE----

I'll update this every couple of days.