Hemorrhoid Surgery - Still itching, cactus-like burning / tingling

It's the laxatives, such as dulcolax, colace, miralax, etc. They make you go more frequently since the goal is to clean you out regularly, easily. I stopped taking them and just drank tons of water. Everything is much better. Water is your friend. and fiber. You won't have to go as frequently, which hurts SOO much, as you know. I am still homebound. It's been less than 3 weeks for me. Like you said, this is a painful surgery! Dang! Germoline huh? I'll try it for the itching. thanks.

I had my hemorrhoidectomy on 12/12/16 after suffering with roids since 1990. I am a male and I did not want to seek my doctors help until the damage was done and I couldn't deal with the pain, blood and time it took to keep clean to be able to semi function during my days. The immediate pain after surgery is high. I gave it an 8 out of 10. My normal pain with hemorrhoids was about 5, especially when prolapsed and thrombosed. The pain for the next weeks decreases to that of the pain you are already familiar with. The obvious difference is that the pain will be gone forever. I have read all of the horror stories online and I am quite disappointed in the amount of positive stories. Typical with product reviews only the majority of people with negative feelings post comments.

I am on my 3rd week post op. I had 3 very large internal and 1 stage 4 external removed, all closed site. Week 1 days 1 thru 3 post op I slept and showered a few times a day with no BM. I had my first BM on day 4 and OMG it was horrible. I increased my showers to 4 times a day and after every single BM. By day 7 I thought I was going to die with the burning pains, just to find out it could be gone with more showers. I increased my showers to one every 2 hours and overnight the burns went away and so did most additional pain. I am currently on week 3 recovery and nearly pain free. I still have 3 stitches that have not fallen out. All swelling is gone. I get a slight burn after a BM but take a shower immediately after and it goes away for the day. I will be starting work again on week 4 post op (thankfully I was able to work from home and had the holidays to shorten weeks so I could work from home longer. There was NO way I could have worked the first week of recovery, none, zero, no way in hell! 2nd week was better, though i could not sit long, I was up and down and again many showers daily.
My recommendations:

1. SHOWERS, forget the Sitz bath - the showers will ensure you have CLEAN water and are washing away any germs. Hot as you can stand and just rinse - direct with the handheld shower head. Use soap when you can, it won't burn but your bottom will be extremely sensitive to touch! I used soap but could only get close to the anal opening. I ensured a long rinse and I was good.
2. Use wipes sparingly - shower after those BM's. The wipes WILL cause irritation and eventually diaper rash. I will say this was the worst pain of it all. I feel for any baby who gets this. I Had burn pains tingling behind my shoulders. If I have another child, they will NEVER get a diaper rash like this!!!! You can avoid desitin and a lot of pain and burning with showers. Yes doing the laundry a lot sucks but hey it's better than suffering more. Cleanliness is key.
3. Pads - yes men - use maxi pads. I used less than 54. Change them frequently to keep the area dry. I also wore cotton sweatpants or pajama bottoms for two and a half weeks.
4. After the rashes and oozing go away shower frequency can drop. I am currently taking mine after my morning BM's and at night before bed. If have to take an additional one, I will, but I hold off on the morning one until I think I am done with the toilet! Still a bit painful, but nothing like the previous suffering.
5. Itching - most itching will subside - it happens when the skin is healing. It can also be caused by logs ends of the stitches - if you have to trim them down! You may use a little bit of Proctosol or hydrocortisone cream, I recommend as little as possible. Use a Qtip to target the areas as close as possible. Keep the area SUPER clean - SHOWER!!!!
6. PAIN PILLS - take them as prescribed. It will NOT kill all of the pain but it makes everything bearable. When you start to feel throbbing ask your Dr if you can take ibuprofen along with the pain meds. This should help that.
7. ICE ICE BABY!!! Day of surgery and the next day. Swelling causes pain! keep the swelling down and you will save your BUTT!!
8. FIBER and Stool softeners- DO IT!!! The surgery alone is not what rids the roids forever. You must change your lifestyle, after all that's what caused the roids. I was taking 3 softeners daily for 3 years prior to surgery.

I promise you, the recovery pain is worth it!!! I suffered way to long. It interrupted my active lifestyle and I missed many opportunities being active with my son. Your quality of life will increase. Does it hurt? Hell yes it hurts. Don't worry about the pain beforehand. Don't watch the surgery video's online before the surgery. Go in happy and positive. The pain you have been enduring is about to go away!

CURE FOR ITCHING!!! I had surgery on 12/27/16 -- external hemorrhoids. I would agree with most of what u have posted. Actually, I've tried it all -- Thank you. I suggest cool water on the bottom. Hot water dries u out. I do sitz baths and then shower to clean with lukewarm sudsy water. (BM, sitz, shower, dry COMPLETLY -- a folded soft Kleenex helps). A couple of my tips: use preparation H wipes (non medicated) after BM. Wean off of pain pills as soon as possible, they WILL constipate you, ice it down. Change your diet NOW, Water, water and more water -- especially if taking a stool softener and ice is still my friend. RELAX and breath when having a BM, you'll learn when to push and when you're actually finished. After cussing out my Doctor because I was itching so bad, he suggested Benadryl and Benadryl cream for the itching. It was magic!!! The pills constipated me almost immediately but DID work plus knocked me out cold. Who cares I had relief. No more pills. The cream is my new best friend. Takes a minute to kick in but WORKS. When it wears off -- grit ur teeth, clean gently with prepH wipes, sitz for a minimum of five minutes, shower, dry and apply cream. Last for a few hours before drainage and itching starts again. Still taking about 4 sitz/showers a day but time is healing me. Significant change since last week. By all means, plan to stay home about 4 weeks and rest. Stress causes constipation. Good luck and please keep posting.

I am on wk 6 after this surgery - awful. I know I am still swollen because I feel swollen and i makes me think I have to "go" a lot although I don't. Was told swelling would start going away when stitches went away - 5 or 6 wks. I am on wk 6 - was not having any pain except today have. Horrible surgery; horrible communication between doctor and me I guess. She put me out to look to see what went wrong with banding and I came out with a hemorrhoid surgery and fissure repair. Still unhappy about that lack of communication. My body; my choice or at least it explained to me. My husband knows me and can't believe that this has been this bad.. I have had several different types of surgery before; never never have I been down this long. I guess it effects us all differently. Looks like you could have steroids to reduce swelling at this point so the c**p would finally heal. Then me and MIRALAX will be friends for life because I will never go thru this again

sitz baths help m and believe it or not grandma 's remedy after the bath dry out and apply Corn srarch powder

I had my surgery the 27th of January by far this is the worst surgery I've ever been through I really need a good idea on a cream for burning..

I had surgery on march 10. Female, 67years old. Suffered since first pregnancy. My biggest problem were frequent small bums. Worst 14 in one day and all very painful. I was eating way too much fiber according to pharmacist. Went on low residue diet, drinking a gallon of water or more each day, 2 colace per day and one dose of benefiber in morning. Bums down to 1-3 a day, though have been on diet not quite a week. So, I know about frequent urge to evacuate with bits and pieces of stool as an outcome. Also have itching and burning. Sits baths help and small piece of sterile cause helps with moisture and blood. Still bleeding during bm. Cannot sit much and still pretty much stuck at home. Any suggestions?

Sorry to hear aND a bit late for you but, to rid the burn you need to clean super well. I still suggest showers. I did warm showers and used hot water on my bottom with the shower head (on a hose of course)

I am 43 ye old female a week and 5 days post op. The burning I sooth with an ice pack. My mom suggested to soak a clean gauze in witch hazel... it takes longer to soothe the burn but it helped a little. My doc was honest about the pain but there was no way he could articulate the hell I was about to experience. I am still limiting myself in what I eat so liquid to soft foods are on the menu for me. Pooping still is a massive ordeal and then I have hours of recovery. I spend the majority of my day in bed. There are moments when I can sit up. But my episodes after I poo are exhausting. I had my surgery prior to walking for my graduation and pray that by the time that day comes I will be able to participate in the festivities. I have been reading a lot of posts from others and that has helped me. I am and was not alone in this struggle. That alone gives me comfort. I was thinking that I was just a big wimp and it was just me that couldn't handle the pain. My prayers and heart go out to anyone who was told, "Oh you'll be fine in two week." That is a straight lie.

I am almost 4 months post op having 2 large external hemorrhoids removed and still have intense itching!! In addition, the area hasn't completely healed. I went back to Dr 2 months ago and he tried to cauterize it, but was way too painful, so he had to stop. He said if I was just patient, it will eventually heal or I could go back into OR and have it done. 2 months later it still hasn't healed. I have tried everything to stop the itching and nothing works! Dr's recommend benadryl pills, but as soon as they wear off, the itching starts. I tried the cream and sometimes it makes it itch more! This was the whole reason I had the surgery in the first place and now, after going through all that, I am actually worse off than before. Dr's are no help. I can deal with the little bit of pain I experience by just peeing because it irritates the area not healed, but I can't deal with the itch!! Someone has mentioned germoline. What is it and does it really work. It's something I have not tried!! Open to any and all suggestions!!!

If you're still taking meds like laxatives or antibiotic or pain killers, one of them might be the culprit of your frequent toilet visits. You can also try to delay drinking water after food. I am 5 days post op, I had diarrhea for the past 4 days and the cause antibiotic which the doctor asked to stop taking. 5th day, i only had 2 toilet visit but am also worried of the itching and like there is lump of meat which tends to get bigger day by day. Will it go away? I don't want to go under the knife again…

Witch hazel!!! It will help with that. Im not so much Itching as I'm in severe pain when and after using the washroom. It's a stinging, burning, cutting pain and I've had it for months! It's starting to make me miserable!

No, it's not normal! 5 months after surgery and itching is still severe! Dr's won't give you anything for it. There has to be something that will help! I have tried everything!

I've had many surgeries and this by far was the worst!!! The first week I couldn't even urinate had to go to er for a catheter which was left in for a week. Bm's make me scream so bad my dog runs away. I bleed horribly then I'm in excruciating pain and itch. I'd never recommend this to anyone. The doc says it's all normal and I'll take long to heal because of all the work he did plus my autoimmune diseases. I do sitz baths, regular baths, tucks use ice but still so uncomfortable. Doc said I'm extremely clean but my gosh nothing makes me comfortable.

I feel your pain. I, too, am a 43 year old female and I actually had THD surgery rather than a hemorrhoidectomy, since I already tried that 9 years ago and the hemorrhoids came back. I was told this would be a much easier procedure but ... no. I, too, am experiencing a lot of pain and itching and swelling a week after surgery. I can walk comfortably now, but the itching and burning are intense and I haven't slept well so I'm completely exhausted.

I'd love to know how you're getting along now and how you feel 2 months later, if you have the time. Thanks!