Hemorrhoid Surgery and Recovery

Well, I wrote here just a few days before my surgery and now it's been about 18 days since my surgery and for the first day, I'm actually doing well! I'm going to contribute and write my experience despite my laziness to do so, only because the help and writing of those before me helped me in an extraordinary way. That information made my recovery a lot less anxious and painful than it would have been had I been satisfied with the information that was given to me by my surgeon alone.

I wanted a follow up to my previous post here. It's now been 6-7 weeks post op from my surgery and since all the posts here focus on the surgery itself (and frankly scare the heck out of people... including my own during my healing phase!) I wanted to have this addendum for those of you who are going through it within the first two weeks (or reading before you decide to have the surgery) and wonder if the whole thing is even worth it... well, let me tell you this.. while I was going through it I seriously doubted if this experience is worth whatever relief would come afterwards; but having endured the experience and having fully recovered now at 6 weeks post op, I can say unequivocally that the experience is definitely worth it!

I'm basically back to how I was many years ago, when I never thought about my behind! When like chewing, swallowing, or digesting food, a bowel movement was nothing I consciously thought about!... I'm now living life how I want it and am not worried the things I used to consider on daily basis regarding my bowel habits! Things are beautiful again and I feel like I can close this chapter of my life and move on as though it never happened. The stupid sits baths, worries about adequate fiber, bleeding, pain, tucking, leaking, all that stuff is GONE!!! I'm very thankful for doing it and am I'm glad I did not chicken out after reading the descriptions on these pages before my surgery. Don't get me wrong, it's a tough two weeks... but you know, it's so good now that there's no way what I was going through before the surgery is acceptable compared to now... so why have a chronic problem when you can just resolve it with two weeks of discomfort. Remember, what doesn't kill you will only make you stronger! I'm a better person for my experience and recommend this procedure for anyone, whom after surgical consults and second opinions, has been steered through surgery by their doctor. My doctor, who's a very competent colorectal surgeon at Harvard told me in very direct fashion, that I can fool around with all the other procedures and go through them a bunch of time... but the most predictable and definitive procedure is the traditional hemorrhoidectomy procedure and he was right. I'm glad I went through it! A couple of months down the line, provided you have the procedure by a competent doctor you won't regret it either.

I had banding done on 3 heomorroids which the bands fell off by early hours that morning I have been in pain since day 2 I have been put on tramadol 100 mg twice a day they want me to go back next month to talk about surgery but I'm so scared I will be in more pain than with the banding they still pop out each bowel movement I have to push them back up there sore throbbing and feel grazed any advice I would be grateful of

I never had banding but I did have a hemorrhoidectomy done December of 2010. I had 8 total 6 internal and 2 external. It is painful but you will survive. I doubt that it would be any worse than what u are going through now:) good luck!

The fear is normal. I was deathly afraid of what was about to come as well. It's funny that I no longer remember it and have obviously survived it fully and recovered 100%. I tell you, I just can't tell you how much better things are... when you're in a chronic condition you almost forget how bad things are because you just keep adapting and adjusting.... I'm back to how I was a long time ago, when I never ever thing about my bowl habits again! So, I definitely thing it's worth it... if you have the support you'll get through it... just two weeks of hardship and you'll have the rest of your life to look forward to! :) Best of luck!

Giving birth to a child is very painful, too. But remember that our bodies are created to take pain and we produce a hormone to cope with.

The best is to breath deep and face the pain and you will get over it.

After that experience you feel relief - literally :)

You have to go asap, if you need to get mineral oil from the pharmacy and drink some of that. Its disgusting, but works. You should probably just go and hurry up and take the pain because you'll end up in the ER impacted and that's not good. If you have to just stay in the sitz bath to do it. Anxiety is the worst part, i stopped myself also, terrified of the pain, or breaking a stitch, but i had to go and that was that, i screamed and cried, but i did it anyway. the first is the worst, ask DR for valium to keep you calm. I should have but only learned about the anxiety part of it after the surgery, nobody told me about that.

In reply to the 26 yr. old with the recent hemorrhoidectomy who's afraid of going to the bathroom due to excessive pain, I disagree with the use of mineral oil recommended by All Organic. Minteral oil works well if you don't have a wound. It's high density oil particles can get into the freshly surgery wounds and retard healing. That's the latest info on that topic in the colorectal surgery department. But insofar as a technique to make the bowel movements more comfortable, make sure you stay off the narcotics at this point, drink plenty of water and fiber during the day, and sit for several minutes or an hour or so in a very warm (borderline hot!) bath or Sitz Bath. You'll have to go in the bath! Don't be shy or disgusted. It's just food that went in from the other end is now coming out. There's nothing disgusting about your own poop, just other people's poop!! LOL!
But seriously, one other thing you can do is to have an anesthetic cream applied to the anus area about 10 minutes before you sit in the warm bath and the combination will make it go. Anusol is good but your physician could even prescribe a Lidocaine cream or so. I know what you're going though... don't worry, there's light at the end of the tunnel and you'll be fine in a couple of weeks! Good luck!

I am 22 And i had a surgery myself i felt the same exact thing as you except i took around 10 Hyrocodones everyday for 1 month and 2 weeks i still tend to bleed its been almost 2 months now and i still have sevear pain down there when i go to make a bowel movment i cannot walk for around 8 hours i cannot go to work go shopping or do anything the pain hurts reallllllllllly bsdly this is what my doctor didnt tell me they said i would be back at work within days not months

had mine yesterday one bm n none since then lots of pain and fiber n liquid laxative not working pain minimal atm but does get extremely painful eating salads bath i salt like said to have not working i feel tired alot also

I am a 31 year old male who underwent a traditional Hemorrhoidectomy exactly two weeks ago today. I wanted to post this to give a different account of surgery as mine doesn't seem to be the "normal" compared to all the other posts here. After reading all of the posts on this and other sites, I was terrified to have the surgery but the bleeding and pain during BMs on a regular basis had been enough for me, so I decided to stick to the surgery appointment. 

Guest on 5/5/12 I had a stapled hemroiidectemy 8 weeks ago. And a fissure repair. I still have bleeding about half if the time after a BM. Still hurts while having the BM most of times. However my biggest prob is that I have pressure and pain that starts 45 minutes after the BM and last about 3 hours. It use to to last 4-5 hours but getting slightly better. I have been told it is muscle spasms. It ruins half my day. Anyway I just feel after 8 weeks post surgery I should be pain free. If anyone can share a similiar expierence I would greatly appreciate I have tried flexerill diazapam and painkillers but do not seem to help. Thanks

Blue374 I feel for you. I didn't have the same type of surgery but I've read so many times that sitting in the warm/hot bathtub relaxes the muscles and might help? While it might not be the sphincter muscle itself it might help the others relax too, just a thought. Some people add herbs to the water, I can't remember which ones, but there is one in particular that I had read about that people said really helped. I think there's even something I saw at CVS that was in the area of the enemas and tummy products. 

Thank you for sharing and I too experience what you are saying to the "T" - this is day 7 for me and I've never experienced anything like this.... glad to know I'm half way to becoming normal again - this is a nightmare.

I am a 51-year-old male who first started to experience prolapsed hemorrhoids 14 years ago.  At first they were barely noticeable but later progressed to prolapse at each bowel movement.  I dreaded having surgery, as I could reinsert them manually without too much difficulty. 

 

But things reached the breaking point when an episode of prolapse resulted in the tissues unable to be reinserted and the pain unbelievable.  A trip to the emergency room got things back inside but the problem came back with the next bowel movement, at least I got some good pain meds……..  Local specialists were not of much help as I was unable to secure an appointment in a reasonable amount of time. 

 

Thankfully, I had contacted a well respected Medical Clinic, a few days before the emergency room episode; I had to wait out several days in bad pain then endure a 3 hour road trip.  This was the best thing I could have done as the colon/rectal department was staffed with 7 competent Surgeons, 5 of whom were Professors at a nearby medical school.  Unlike other hospitals I have visited a wonderful Surgeon, with over 30 years experience, promptly greeted me at the exact time of my appointment.  He stated during the examination that they usually did not admit and/or perform surgery on patients who came in for examinations/appointments.  He changed his mind when he saw my condition and said the hospital was having a light day in surgery and he could get me in the OR in a couple of hours.  The surgery went well and I was discharged 5 ½ hours after the time of my appointment, feeling much, much better.

 

Apparently they administer a strong long lasting local anesthetic besides the general that knocks you out during surgery, since the 3-hour ride home was nearly painless.  I even ate a cheeseburger on the way home. About an hour later I realized why they sent me home with a large prescription of pain meds; the pain came back but it was different than the pre-op pain, the worst being when my rectum felt a certain pain then spasumed.  More pain meds did not seem to help and finding a comfortable position sitting or laying down nearly impossible: no sleep night 1.

 

The Surgeon had mentioned that having a bowel movement was important and to keep my stools loose.  Have some stool softener and milk of magnesia handy if I did not have a bowel movement within 2 days, also that the pain meds cause constipation.

 

The next day I drank LOTS of fluids, water green tea and apple juice, and also had some foods that had lots of roughage the next day: V-8 juice, my homemade canned beets and beans, and a couple of bananas.  Also went off the pain meds to avoid the constipation issue.  That evening I had my first bowel movement.

 

This was quite painful and felt like I was trying to pass golf balls.  I almost gave up several times both before and during passing the feces.  I knew it was not good to strain but did so anyway; the ordeal lasted nearly an hour.  Upon clean up I noticed two minor hemorrhoids that had prolapsed but readily were reinserted.  The Surgeon had mentioned these and that now was not a good time to deal with them.  The worst was over.  In retrospect, much of the constipation may have been caused by my not drinking any fluids on the day of my appointment as I had hope that a surgical correction was forthcoming, and that could not happen without an empty stomach.

 

The bowel movement greatly took pressure off my colon and the pain was much less.  I drank more fluids and some V-8 juice then went off to bed.  The first restful, although not painless night in well over a week.  The next day I kept up the fluid intake and added some more foods to help my digestion: yogurt and sauerkraut (fermented not canned), along with some more V-8 juice.  That evening I had a 2nd bowel movement that was much more fluid with only a couple of “chunks”, no prolapse of remaining hemorrhoids.

 

 To be continued......