Hemorrhoidectomy Recovery - how long will it take?

I'm on the 12th day in the most painful, miserable period of my life. After 4 days of hemorrhoid misery, my surgeon recommended that I have emergency surgery the next day to remove them. What followed was a continuation, even worsening, of the nightmare.

First of all, I was taking several Vicodin every 6 hours; later, I added ibuprofen (400 mg) at the midpoint. At times during the first six days after the operation, the pain medication seemed to do no good, especially after hard stools which felt like shards of glass. Think: Grown man crying on the floor in agony. The only thing that I could was take a bath. After the operation, I took about 10-15 baths a DAY for the next week! Thus, the first component of the nightmare: pain.

Second, the pain medication constitpated me so badly. Frequent rock hard feeling in abs. I took stool softener and prune juice. Bowels quickly went from constipation to explosive diarrhea. From one extreme to the other. Back and forth every day. When I was constipated and couldn't pass stool, I had nausea. Second component of the nightmare: stomach distress.

To battle the constipation, I drank a ton of fluids. This made me urinate so much that it was impossible to sleep. Every 10 minutes, I'd have to go to the toilet and urinate (sometimes a river). After a few days, my "organ" muscles were sore, and urinating became difficult and painful. Third component of nightmare is: constant urination.

Then there was the total lack of sleep. Through the one week point, I got at most 2 hours of sleep a day, but sometimes only 15 or 30 minutes. After all, the pain medication often didn't last the whole 6 hours before the next dose, I was peeing all of the time, was often constipated and achey, and many times had to rush to the toilet with diarrhea. The pain medicine did NOT help me sleep. In fact, my body was often dead while my brain was active for hours at a time. Despite trying many times, I couldn't fall asleep in the tub. Fourth component: no sleep.

Lastly, more minor things: mouth sores from who knows what, a rash on my neck from probably laying my head back on a towel in the tub for so many hours, and the insane boredom of repeating the same actions over and over and over.

Fortunately, I'm on day 8 after the operation, and the pain has noticeably decreased. I have skipped several doses of Vicodin today. I even went outside to the doctor's office. My stomach is not back yet. Still constipated. I've kept up with the stool softeners and just a bit of prune juice, but then I still get diarrhea. Haven't gone to work in 2 weeks. Wanted to go this morning, but I couldn't pass a stool and would have been miserable.

I had leakage for about 3 weeks. I wondered if I would ever feel better and I really do. My only concern is that my BM in diameter are only about the size of a penny. I still have pain having a BM. It has been 2 months! Has anyone else had this problem?

First off, I must say I dont recommend this surgery to nobody in the whole world! It has been the toughest thing ive had to go through and I regert having it. I had a small hemriods[ internal] that bothered me sometimes when i had a hard stool. I also Had a Anal fissure in which I jumped off a cliff at a lake in kentucky and hurt myself. Well I recently got my fissure repair I guess you can say and the doctor took out my hemriods.....God this was the biggest mistake of my life! Frankly i didnt know what the hell i was getting myself into. I should have never had this done. My first week was pure hell. im 21 btw. Anyways, I was constantely Bleeding afraid to take a poop. I didnt use the bathroom for 4 days so my doctor told me to get some over the counter laxatives and to continue to take my stool softners. Plus i was on vicodin. Well, I became very sick. I would wake up in the middle of the night having cold sweats and chills and feeling like i had to go the restroom all the time. I certainly didnt want to eat nothing. well After my 1week which was just this past friday. I started to feel a little bit better. My mom told me to get off my stool softners b/c it was causing all my stomach aches. So I did and its helps plus it was killing my kidneys. So now im on my 10th day after my surgery and im still in pain and i do have problems.

It burns/stings so bad to poop were it makes me not even want to go. Im probably going to have to get back on some stool softners. The pain is really to much.

The bleeding has stopped until I have a BM

I am having a issue with some leakage. I seen this is the same problem a couple of people are having. I dont believe it feces but more like a infection fluid which could be why I cant Hardly eat anything without feeling sick and nausaited.

Another concern is im having quite a bit of gas but im not actually having to use the bathroom. this is the part this is kind of scaring me. BEfore I was having a bm every night. but now I havent had one in about 3 nights now which is a bad.

I wish I would have found this forum page alot sooner than i did. B/c If i would have seen were all these people were having this much trouble after the surgery I would have never even gotten it done. I feel like i went through all this for nothing b/c I wasnt having that much of a problem before the surgery I just wanted my anal fissure fixed but this surgery has created more problems than it had done good.

Im going to have to see my faimly doctor tomorrow to see if I have a infection which im sure i do. and I want to seek a second opinion about my problems. PLUS IT didnt help i went to a bad hospital to get this stuff done.

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY ADVICE ON HOW TO MAKE HAving a BM EASIER SO ITS NOT SO PAINFUL? b/c it seems like everytime i have a BM it retears my healing butt and i have start all over again?

Wao., you don't know how good I feel after reading this forum. I had my hems removed 3 weeks ago exactly. I had 4 removed and the surgeon said there were two very small ones left but that there was only so much he could remove. He said that the two small ones left would become nearly nothing with the scarring and that I should not worry about them. With a healthy diet I should be fine.

I tell you that right I have great days and terrible days. I had my 2nd follow up yesterday and the doctor recommended I stay home a few more days. I plan on going back to work on Monday.

Funny thing is I swore I would never do this surgery. A week before the surgery pain started like I had never experienced from the hemorrhoids. I saw this as impossible since less than a year ago I had the infrared coagulation. The infrared was worthless I truly hope this has a better result. Anyway the pain came to a point where it was unbearable. The ER doctor I saw recommended I see a surgeon IMMEDIATELY. I saw the surgeon who recommended I wait and see. The pain was so bad I said no, and decide to do it right away. I could not stand the pain and nothing was working. Who knew the solution was worst the cause?

BM are still hard after 3 weeks. I go once a day in the morning and require a sit bath immediately after to relieve the pain and burning. My BMs are not hard and small but feel like if I was giving birth, not that I would know what that is.

Anyway, i have been dealing with the hems for a while. The infrared coagulation stopped the insane bleeding but they came back immediately. I look forward to a better diet and hopefully relieve from the pain from BM... In all these 7 pages no one has said how long exactly it took them to stop experiencing pain from bowel movements.

If you are thinking about the surgery, do it only if you need to. I could not stand the hem pain and ran out of options. My surgery was an emergency thing. If you have a choice, think long and hard about it.

I am 5 weeks past my surgery. Overall, things have improved greatly, and after the first week I was able to return to work. My difficulty now is that I am having very narrow BM's. My Dr says that this is from narrowing from the staples, and will stretch out over time. He has suggested fiber supplements and softeners. I was curious if anyone else has had this problem, and when it tends to start going away?

Ok - I agree with everyone's perception that if I didn't ABSOLUTELY need the hemerrhoidectomy it never would have happened. I'm 4 weeks post-op, sitz baths helped considerably but I've hurt my tailbone - totally self diagnosis, it hurts to sit on hard surface (office furniture) any longer than about 15-20 min. Talked to my surgeon at my 3 week post-op check up & he dismissed it. Basically my question to anyone is if anyone's heard of this or experienced it. If so what was the "cure"? Thanks so much!!!

Holy F**k. I just had my surgery last Wednesday. My doctor warned me about the pain but this isn't pain this is just plain bodily cruelty. My pain medication just puts me to sleep for 2 hours at a time doesn't relieve my pain. I had to take 600mg of Ibuprofin. Forget about using the bathroom. I am on heavy stool softners that kill my stomach. I had a friend who did the surgery and she claimed she didn't have as much pain. My doctor stated I had "extensive" work done. I still show 2 small rhoids. I am at work since I can't take short-term disability. I am experience pain in my lower pelvic area (pubic bone). Its almost feels like its broken. My dog who is less that 10lbs stepped on me with one paw and it was painful. More so that my pain from the surgery didn't exist. Has any female experience this? I also am freaking out since I may be starting my monthly cycle right before my first post op surgery. Does the sutures get removed or desolved? Is there a difference?

It's been about a week and a half for me, and I don't seem to be having too many problems. A really really horrible first 3 or 4 days, but not too bad since and not much pain at all in the last few days. The only problem is my BM's are still not quite as easy as I'd like them to be, and I end up straining a bit too much, which is exactly what you're supposed to avoid. I'm thinking I need to be more disciplined with taking the fibre suppliments and cereal etc. Good luck to everyone else in their recoveries :-)

Its been 37 days since my surgery. I still can't sit on a hard surface, but I'm getting much better. My bowel movements are still of small diameter like a few of the others have mentioned, but the pain is far less. Most of the anal swelling is gone now except for one spot on the right of the anus which is still quite tender. I've regained control of my bowels for the most part, for the first few weeks, the combination of stool softeners and a badly stretched out and swollen sphincter made that impossible. I had four "accidents" during the first two weeks. How embarrasing is that!! Luckily I was at home, but still my wife was there! I do recommend methylcellulose fiber. It doesn't cause as much gas as the other type, and it really helps to soften things up. My doctor says that after two months I should be pretty much back to normal. That's still three weeks away, I hope he's right. I can't wait to get back to some sort of exercise regimen. Lying around for three weeks really weakened me physically. Since I've been back to work, (this is my second week back) my legs have been very sore. I really hope I never have to have anything like this ever again! Frankly, I'm not sure I would even if the doctor insisted! I've never in my forty years experienced anything so painful, including other surgeries and multiple broken bones. In fact, nothing else was even a very close second. I would like to know if anyone has had this surgery, and then experienced something else that was actually MORE painful. I will try to avoid whatever it was for sure.

You are absolutely right, I feel like I've been bobsledding down the Alps at a rate of 6000 mph and then fell off and hit my tail bone on a tree stump.



Wish I had a cure too - the only relief I get is when I lay absolutely motionless on my back (well, more my side). I went back to work (I work at a desk, at a computer, ALL DAY LONG) on my 5th day, but I'm pretty sure I had the tailbone issue prior to that.



Pain is still bad, legs ache from trying to stand at my desk most of the day. If you've found some relief be sure to post it! Anyways, I hope you feel better soon!

Just had my internal hemorroids removed last Tuesday.Had my first bm the following Saturday. Was very constipated, and it hurt very bad. It's now been a week and I still find blood stains in my underwear every day. Is that normal? Without motrin and vicoden I wouldn't be able to stand the pain. Would appreciate any advice or help. Thanks

I am a general surgeon and I perform hemorrhoid surgery. I would love for all of my patients that come in requesting surgery to read this forum. I always tell them to imagine the most pain they have ever been in, then multiply that by 10, as that's what it's going to feel like after surgery. Despite being VERY frank about the recovery, almost everybody comes back at the post-op appointment surprised and unhappy about how much pain they're in and how long it takes before they're "normal" again. I am not a big believer in operating on hemorrhoids, many cases can be treated with rubber bands. Unfortunately, I have a lot of people come into the office that really want operations. Most of the time, it's for non-indicated reasons, sometimes cosmetic, itching or other discomfort. I do my best to dissuade these people, it doesn't always work.

The sad truth is that hemorrhoids can be prevented and are best treated with a diet that is high in fiber. Unfortunately, that's not a diet that many subscribe to.

It is exactly 2 months since my surgery. I will express the sentiments of the other posts and say to not have this surgery unless you absolutely need it. I had been seeing a Colon/Rectal surgeon for about 2 years and had been receiving the infared treatments for about a year. The surgery recovery is so much worse than any issue that it is supposed to rectify. The doctor said a 2 week recovery. I couldn't even walk easily for about a month. Why they don't tell you to start taking fiber supplements for a week or so before the surgery is beyond me. The bowel movements for the first 2 weeks are excruciating, beyond imaginable. Now that I am at the 2 month point, I am still only about 75% of my normal activity level. However, I feel significantly better than before.

I do have a question for you folks who have had the surgery. I have something sticking from my rear that was not there before the surgery. The only way I could describe it is that it looks like the shape of a tonsil. It has been there from the beginning and has reduced in size. My doctor has told me repeatedly that it would keep shrinking. However, it has been the same size for about 6 weeks. Does anyone know what I'm talking about/have advice?

Good luck!

I had my hemorrhoids removed 2 days ago and I can honestly say that this has been the most painful experience ever...I am still wondering if the pain will be worth it or not. I gave birth to my son 6 months ago...and this had been by far the more painful thing ever. I had my first BM today, and I can not describe the pain, it was strong and it was like something took over me...it was something that never experienced before. To all considering this procedure, I would say, make sure that you do need it...don't get it done if you only have one or two hemorrhoids...because they pain you will feel is almost intolerant...I hope to recover soon...and good luck to all having this procedure...specially on your BM day!!! it will not be a walk in the park...I am sorry to say it this way, but it is better to be preparred!
GP :'(

My DH had an external hemorrhoid and a thrombosed internal hemorrhoid necessitating immediate surgery. This was done on 10-11-07. He had severe pain prior to surgery and has had some tough times post op. Thank goodness he has a very high pain threshold. The biggest problem we faced was bladder spasms caused by inflammation. The inflammation kept him from peeing except when his bladder spazzed causing almost unbearable pain. We talked to an ER doctor this morning who told him to take Advil along with the other meds he has. What a difference this made! He's back to peeing almost normally. With soaks in the tub and his pain meds we are managing this. Not comfortable but bearable. This is so much better than prior to surgery.