After all of the help that this site has provided in helping me with the decision to have the THD surgery, hoping for the best, and preparing for the worst, I really wanted to take some time to give some details of my experience. My hope is that this will encourage some to have the surgery.
I'm a 50 year old male. I would say that my overall experience was not great, but good. The pain was bad for me on days 1 through 5. I would still decide to have the surgery all things considered. My internal hemmies were "numerous and large" to quote my surgeon. After surgery with big eyes he said "they were large." My wife says she could tell what he was saying...some of the largest he has seen. It is now 8.5 days since surgery and I have minimal pain and discomfort. Having a BM is still a little bit painful and very minimally bloody. The sensation of having something there or needing to go has diminished greatly. I had one small external hemmie that the surgeon excised and stitched up after doing the THD. This burned for several days, but now burns very minimally. Here are the tips I will offer that seem to have helped most.
Surgery itself was about 45 minutes long.
Pain upon waking was stout! They gave me two pills right away with some graham crackers and waiting for me to feel better.
Sitz baths and a heating pad were the best at soothing and calming me down. My doc recommended both. This was good advice. The sits baths were key after BMs.
Fiber, fiber, fiber...as much as you can manage.
After you have proven you can pee, water, water water, as much as you can manage.
Mirralax or equivalent in the evenings.
Stool softener every night
Even with all of this, it took me four days until I had a BM. Prepare yourself mentally for the first BM. I called it child birth. My wife had fun joking about this too..."any children today?"%-)
I went back to work for a half day on days 5 and 6, and a whole day on 7 and 8. I stood up as much as possible. Sitting was difficult.
Took the Toradol for 5 days. Began tapering off Hydrocodone on day 8.
My surgeon has done many of these surgeries and I would recommend him.
I hope this is helpful to those who are considering the surgery. To those who want to know why they are still in pain or having difficulty, I wish I knew why. I would do everything possible to help soften the stools and that may help.
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