LONG POST DISCLAIMER!
Hi everyone. I’ve been reading this site for months, got some good info, and thought I would give back. Some of the horror stories spooked me, and I seriously thought about cancelling my surgery numerous times, but ended up going through with it. Hopefully if you’re on the fence, my story will encourage you. For the record, I’m 5 days post-op.
I’m a 45 year old male, in relatively good shape, and I suffer from hemorrhoids. Writing that makes me feel like I’m in some 12-step program. I’ve had this condition for about 20 years, been through the non-surgical alternatives, and finally found a good doctor that would listen to me, so I signed up for a hemorrhoidectomy. I had one prolapsed ‘roid and another smaller external. The plan was to excise both of them. He was very clear about this being a big deal and not something to take lightly. He told me the recovery was fairly long and it would be painful. I was on the fence for about 6 months, but ended up signing up for the surgery.
The best advice I can give is this: FIND YOURSELF A GOOD DOCTOR, STAY ON TOP OF YOUR CONDITION, AND DON’T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER. I’ve been through a number of doctors with this condition, and I wish I hadn’t let my previous doctors make me feel foolish or embarrassed when I had questions and concerns. If I had taken my own advice, I wouldn’t have gotten to this point and I wouldn’t be sitting (lying) here today, posting the story of my hemorrhoidectomy. Anyway, enough lecturing, here’s my story.
Started prepping my diet 4 days prior, switched to no meat and ate only vegetables, breads, pasta, and soft foods. Showed up at the outpatient center for my procedure on 1/31 at 6 AM. They were very professional, walked me through what was about to happen, and started the IV. One moment I’m lying in a bed with an IV in my hand, the next moment I wake up in another room with a throbbing pain in my backside. I was hurting, so they gave me a strong dose of something (morphine?). A couple hours later, I’m on the way home. Drank lots of water and Gatorade, and finally peed about 2:30 that afternoon. The doctor prescribed a big bottle of Percocet (oxycodone) and I spent the first day in a fog, apparently chatty and repeating myself, according to my wife. Didn’t sleep more than 20 minutes at a time that night, spasms would hit me regularly. They were fairly uncomfortable, but not what I would call painful. No pain after initially waking up, though.
Day 2, I woke up and started my recovery. Still foggy headed, but no pain. Started my daily regimen of Metamucil, Miralax, Gas X, and a tablet stool softener. Ate some soup and crackers and laid around the house. I was taking 2 Percocets every 4 hours and staying well hydrated (peeing every 30 minutes or so). Went to the pharmacy to pick up some Maxi pads (nothing more humbling than being a man and staring at the variety of feminine products to pick what you may need), some gauze, Milk of Magnesia, and Gas X. Went to bed feeling pretty good, no pain yet.
Day 3, my daughter had a basketball game, so I went to it. Had to stand, but feeling good. Probably the drugs. By the way, there’s some good smartphone apps that will keep you on your medication schedule. Came home, laid around the house, sent my wife and daughter to the beach for the weekend. I was determined to get that first bowel movement out of the way, so I took a couple spoonfuls of Milk of Magnesia and laid out all my supplies. Ran the water in the tub and waited. Paced a hole in the floor for an hour. From reading the stories here, I was prepared for the most painful experience of my life. After an hour, it was Game Time! Sat down, breathed deeply, and … had a bowel movement that can best be described as soft serve ice cream. No pain, no burning. Just sat there for a few minutes, waiting for the pain that didn’t show up. Cleaned up with some wet wipes and hopped in the tub. Took a shower, dressed, and my parents came over for a visit. I was feeling good, so I talked them into taking me to the grocery store, where I picked up some more Gatorade (I may contact Gatorade about endorsement possibilities), then I went to a Japanese take-out (if you’re into writing, this is an example of Chekhov’s Gun) where I ordered a rice and vegetable entrée and grabbed a couple of the white sauce packets.
Stopped at a local store on the way home to pick up some new pajamas (I want to look sporty during my recovery). Ate the food (it was awesome having a good meal, I ate the whole plate!). Feeling good. My parents hung around for an hour, then they left. I was watching Netflix (a must have during your recovery!) and giggling to myself as I started passing gas for the first time post-op. Then I felt the urge. Made my way to the bathroom, unbeknownst to me that I was in for a wild ride. For the next 18 hours, I was locked into a cycle of diarrhea. So much for my fear of pooping. Probably had about 15 bowel movements. I’m blaming the big meal and the sauces, and just a little FYI: the white sauce has horseradish in it. Since I was alone, I quit taking my pain meds, for fear that I may have to drive myself to the ER if I started bleeding heavily. But I didn’t, and while I was extremely uncomfortable, I can’t say that I was in severe pain.
Finally regained control of myself about mid day on Day 4. That afternoon and night, I had horrible bloating and gas buildup, and the spasms were frequent and quite uncomfortable. I think most of my spasms have been coming from gas buildup. Anyway, Day 4 consisted of a lot of bloating and gas, and when I got the courage up to pass gas, I would have to change my gauze and clean myself up. Not something I like to admit, but we’re among friends here, right? My wife came home that afternoon and I started back on my pain meds, because I was having a little pain and burning back there. I didn’t take the meds regularly while I slept, because I wanted to drive my daughter to school the next morning.
Day 5, I awoke and dressed to take my daughter to school. But I got struck by spasms just before we left, so I asked my wife to take her. I ran to the bathroom and barely got my pants down before I had a volcanic eruption. A little painful, but nothing I couldn’t handle. Afterwards, I had a great day. Watched Netflix and started taking meds again. Stopped my medicating at bedtime.
Day 6, I woke up early and had my first “normal” bowel movement post-op. It was bulkier than the rest, so it hurt for the first time (scale of 1-10, I’d give it a 5). I drove for the first time and took my daughter to school. Stopped by the grocery store and picked up more Gatorade and soup. Then I came home, took a couple of Percocets, and started writing.
After my calamity on Day 3 and 4, I stopped taking stool softeners and Miralax and just taking a glass of Metamucil in the morning and at night. I most likely could stop taking the Percocets altogether, but after not taking them for 12 hours, I’ve found that I’m getting a little sore, so right now my routine is to take them during the day and skipping the night meds.
If you’re still reading along, I guess my message is this: everyone is different and will respond to this procedure differently. But every procedure does not turn into a horror movie. If you are a chronic sufferer of this condition like me, consider the surgery. While I still have a ways to go (I scheduled 2 weeks off work, but plan to go back sooner if I continue to recover at this rate), and I may be looking at some bad days and setbacks ahead of me, I would go back and get this surgery again if it can offer me a permanent fix to my condition.
For me, this experience has been more psychological than physical. I’ll admit, over the past 5 days I’ve had moments where I’ve wondered if I’ll ever be back to normal again, but I’ve been handling that by setting goals each day. Today’s goal is to have a beer with my wife when she gets home from work, and my long-term goal is to have a cheeseburger on Day 9.
I’ll be home all week, so if you have any questions I’ll be happy to try and answer them. If nothing else, I can give you some reviews on the best shows on Netflix. Thanks again to all of you who have posted your experiences. Reading these stories helped me prepare for the worst and hope for the best.
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Day 7. Feeling good, kicked my pain killers to the curb yesterday after my 1 PM dosage. Was a little uncomfortable last night, but I wouldn't call it pain, more like a tightness. Maybe me wound is just healing? Woke up early and clear headed, sat down to see if I could get things moving, but no dice. Drove my daughter to school and stopped by the grocery store for some shopping. I have more energy each day so far.
After getting home and having a bowl of oatmeal and a glass of fiber supplementation, the urge hits and I have a seat for the biggest pain so far. Wow! I guess I was a little backed up, and laying off the stool softeners plus the fiber have definitely bulked things up. I pass several large brown snakes. Now that looks like a normal BM, although the diameter of these things shocked me. I think I'll have a dose of Miralax today to soften things up a bit. The pain I thought I was missing out on a few days ago has finally found me. I put that down as a 7 on the 1-10 scale, but a quick tub soak takes care of it. I can deal with this brief pain if my digestive system is finally getting back online. A few Percocets and its Netflix time! Finally feeling "normal" again, although I'm still bleeding/leaking a bit.
I don't know if I've turned a corner, but I think I can see light at the end of the tunnel. Oops, probably a poor choice of words. :)
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Day 8, best day yet! My day count may be off, its been 1 week since my surgery, but I counted the surgery as the first day. Today brought a new sensation, a "tightening" from my incisions. I'm guessing its the stitches, felt like little needle pricks. Not painful, just an odd sensation. Had a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, then went with my wife to an eye exam. Then we had lunch at a local restaurant. After a week of soft foods, I decided to get a club sandwich. Best sandwich I've ever had! o.O
Still have light bleeding, but I think I've made it through the worst part. Every day is better than the last. Looking forward to tomorrow. My daughter has an awards assembly at school in the morning, then I think I'm going to treat myself to pancakes and eggs.
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Day 9, woke up with the "tightening" sensation again, I'm pretty sure its the stitches. Still have some light bleeding, but no pain in the butt. Had my fiber supplements, a scoop of Miralax, and a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. Went to my daughter's school for awards ceremony, sat in one of those metal folding chairs. Hey, this isn't bad at all. Then went and got an oil change and a headlight fixed. Stopped by the grocery store to pick up my new addiction, Gatorade. Then decided to treat myself to a foot long club sub from Subway. Decided against the pepper jack cheese, however. :-D
Came home, started some laundry (my wife is loving the fact that every day when she gets home, there's clean clothes) and fired up some Netflix. I could go back to work, but I'd like to get past having gauze in between my cheeks first. As soon as the light bleeding stops (I hope its in the next few days), I'll re-enter the workforce, because as much as I've enjoyed doing absolutely nothing, I'm getting the desire to be productive. Plus, if I can get the light bleeding to stop and I can ditch the gauze, I'd like to snuggle up with the Mrs. and get back in the saddle. ;-)
Haven't had a BM in the past 24 hours since a relatively painful experience the other night that convinced me to start taking Miralax again, but a day of without a BM and not soaking in the tub has been good for my healing back there, I think.
Tomorrow's goal is to go for a light jog around the neighborhood, followed by a cheeseburger and fries. I think my days of lounging around the house in pajamas all day is rapidly coming to an end. eh
P.S. I'm posting this daily TMI because I'm hoping 6 months down the road, someone who's nervous about the surgery will be googling the procedure, find this post, and get some encouragement to go through with, compared the many horror stories you see posted on this site.
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Day 10, woke up feeling good. No tightening or needle prick sensation today, maybe my stitches have dissolved or healed. Had breakfast, took care of business, no pain! Finally getting back to normal. The surgery so far seems successful. If you're a long time sufferer, you know what I mean when I say "what used to take 10 minutes now takes less than a minute!" Wow, I've had my issues for so long that I forgot what a normal bathroom visit was. I would hug my surgeon if he was here.
Went to my daughter's basketball game this morning, sat in the bleachers for an hour with no discomfort. Then treated myself to a burger and fries. It was so good, I went back for dinner and got another burger and fries (no jalapenos :-)).
Still have a light discharge back there, the gauze between my cheeks is still my best friend, and I felt some swelling around the wound, but my doctor told me that I would have swelling for at least 3 weeks and that it would slowly go down, so not worried. Been taking fiber twice a day and Miralax once a day, just to keep things moving and soft.
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HELLO SIR REDFISH........im 27 year old female...im suffering from hemorrhoid....i went to see the doctor last week thursday but it seems like im not comfortable with him and dont know if i can trust him doing my surgery, he never explain what he goin to do he just said open it and stitch it and he also mentioned it could be a thrombosed or both internal and external.... dont know what exactly what he just said.he just look at it and..........he just do hemorroidectomy.... well..... ive been suffering for almost 2 months and it hurts bad when i urinate.... im so scared and stressed about the whole surgery thing.......... cuz ive been reading a lot of people story and they're all negative..and that's makes me so scared.....specially when recovery time...or get constipated through the pain medicine........... can u you please let me know if they're is anything i should know about the surgery? what type of food are you eating? or it should be better to do liquid diet? so i wont constipate?
btw thanks for all some of the info..and help me prepared for my surgery...although i keep changing my mind....
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My advice, for what its worth, is to find another doctor if you're in an area with more than one gastroen... er, ... butt doctor. I would look for someone who specializes in coloretal surgery. Your GP should be able to refer you to one. Just tell him or her (your GP) that you didn't understand the first doctor and ask for another referral.
As far as prepping your diet, I don't know if I did it right or not, but I started eating soft foods 4 days before my procedure. Then kept on that diet for 8-9 days post-op, and other than a couple of hard ones (likely from the pain meds), I've been regular and soft with no pain during the dreaded pooping. I didn't do the sitz baths that everyone recommends (my doctor didn't recommend it) and I've done some tub soaks after BMs, but I can't say that it was some magic relief pill or anything. A shower and a quick spread of the cheeks will get you fairly clean. Since you're a female, this won't likely help you, but if you're a hairy dude like me, Magic Cream hair remover will get you bald as a baby's butt back there and clean up will be easier. Much easier to get peanut butter off the hardwood than out of the carpet, at least that was my thoughts going into this. :-)
But if your doctor isn't communicating with you, I would shop around for another one. Good luck with it, be assertive because its your health, not your doctor's. I hope to read your success story soon.
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Day 11 or 12, I'm losing count. Painfree and eating normal foods, although I haven't had a steak yet. Looking forward to eating one in the next few days. My digestive tract is working normally, still have light bleeding and some light discharge, but both are getting lighter each day. Hoping they are both gone by the end of the week. I could go back to work by now (don't tell my boss), but I've scheduled to be out until Feb 18th. I'm planning to go back on February 14th. I have a desk job and I don't have any pain from sitting, so I really can't find an excuse to continue to stay home.
I think I'm going back to the gym later this week and do some light weight lifting and some ab work. Haven't had any prescription or OTC pain meds for about 3 days now.
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wow thats great..atleast i am more relief having someone has slowly gotten back to they're normal life....i just cant wait mine to be go back to normal and not scared of eating whatever food..cuz ive been eating fresh fruits and vegetable for the past a month 1/2....scared of eating cheese or meet cuz i might have constipated and it will hurt my anus....lol...
btw i find a colon and rectal surgeon....but i wont see him til APRIL 5...damn that's long but i think i can still handle...i only have light pain after I do BM...so i think i can still handle til i see the DR. .........GOOD LUCK and keep updating for your recovery time :)
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While I know the next month or so will be uncomfortable, my advice is to see the colorectal specialist. Hopefully he or she will be able to answer questions better than your first doc. I know how uncomfortable your life can be with this condition; it took me 6 months after seeing my doctor for the first time before I got the courage to consult with him about surgery, then another 1 1/2 months before he could work me into the surgery schedule. At this point, that time seems like a small investment in what I'm confident will be a symptom-free future.
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Day 13, I think I'm a normal human being again. Woke up early this morning for my now regular morning BM. Used to be a once-a-day after work guy, but now post-op I'm a morning mover. That's fine though, 'cause what used to take a while is now accomplished in under a minute. For some reason, I had some burning on my left side this morning, that was where my smaller external was and any pain over the past week or so has come from the right side where my prolapsed hemmie was. A quick shower cooled it off back there. Eating normal foods again regularly, nothing special in the diet, and taking Metamucil once a day. Everything's looking good so far and normal sized, maybe a little bulkier than usual, but haven't had any hard stools.
The biggest change today was that my bleeding/leaking issue has significantly decreased (to almost nothing). I'm going to go without the gauze today and see if I can maybe "dry everything out back there." Even the small swollen knot I've been feeling during wiping has disappeared today. And I'm going to go back to work tomorrow; looking forward to becoming productive again. I don't have any pain from sitting extended periods, so I don't anticipate any problems tomorrow, but I'm taking my "go bag" :-) (some wet wipes and some gauze) just in case the urge hits me at the office. Plus, if the bleeding stops, I may be able to talk the Mrs. into some Valentine's Day extracurriculars. ;-)
The doctor didn't give me any specific instructions/timeframe for using regular toilet paper, but I think I'll start as soon as I exhaust the last of my final pack of wet wipes. I'm digging the wet wipes, though; makes cleaning up a lot easier. I still have plenty of painkillers left in my prescription bottle, but I haven't had to take anything for pain in almost a week now. I'm guessing the doctor thought I was going to have more pain than I've had.
One more thing: if you're a hairy dude like me and you used the hair remover pre-op to make it easier to clean up (which I would recommend), the hair will grow back and it may be a little itchy, but not a serious problem; its more amusing than anything else.
Since my recovery seems right on track, I'll be posting less here, and check in every few days if there's something to report that may be useful for those that are currently post-op or considering the surgery. The last thing I want to say is that if you're on the fence and the horror stories have you freaked out, don't let those negative experiences hold you back if you're looking for a permanent fix. While I haven't completely recovered and I'm only 2 weeks into recovery, I really don't anticipate any setbacks/problems. Everyone's situation and experience is different, but I think a lot of your recovery will depend on your optimism and outlook. I've been determined to recover quickly, and I've done everything so far to try and make that happen. You can and will recover, too.
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I have 3 treatments of rubberband ligation in November 2012. I had THD in January 2013. My hemorrhoids are back. I feel all messed up inside. I posted my horror story under the subject line:
"THD (transanal hemorrhoidal dearterialization) COST?"
I'm going to have to get the real surgery but I want to know if the hemorrhoids come back if you get that surgery.
Thanks.
Anon
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So far, so good. All my issues have cleared up, and my doctor said everything was healing at my one month checkup. I had one stubborn suture that was still hanging around, but I guess it finally dissolved, no pain at all in the last three weeks. No bleeding for the last three weeks (has it been two months since the surgery already?).
Back at the gym, doing squats and deadlifts. Sometimes I get a mild burn back there after a heavy workout, but no bleeding or issues. Very regular, taking fiber supplements twice a day, main difference is that now when I have to go, I have to go! But I'm done in less than a minute now, compared to the long bms I used to have. Biggest thing now is I'm addicted to the wet wipes I used during recovery.
My experience was relatively pain free, I would do it again. No more rhoids for me. I'm a normal person again, and I catch myself going commando on the weekends.
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Hi,
I am nearly three weeks post Hemectomy. I still have quite a bit of swelling. Do you think that is normal? How are you coming along... do you have any swelling left?
Thakyou
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