Hemorrhoidectomy Recovery Tips I've Learned

I wish I read these a few days ago..I'm on day 5 of hemroidectomy recovery(external) & it has taken a huge toll on me mentally & physically. I'm 32 with a 5 yr old & 6 week old(which this last pregnancy caused the hemmy to begin with) & let me tell you-my life has been difficult. I read so many horrible stories from people that gave me such bad anxiety that I even have been depressed. I alternated pain killers, lorazepam(for anxiety), stool softeners, prune juice, tons of water & sitz bath after sitz bath. I even got "diaper" rash today from so many pads. Needless to say I am so thankful I came across these posts, that indeed there is light at the end of the tunnel-thats seriously all I wanted to hear from someone who has gone through this aweful process. I agree with someone else but think its ONE step forward, two back for me. It was hard for me to believe this would end until seeing these comments. So thank you to the "semi" positive posts here :)

I am a 46 yr old female and just had traditional hemorrhoid tommy surgery on Friday morning. I have 5 internal stitches. It was way more than I expected but I cam say my OCD had me well prepared for the recovery. I am the only female in a house of 5 so, I keep my bathrooms stoccked with clorox wipes, witch hazel, cotton balls, vinegar use for cleaning and rashes and, of course my female needs. 

The pain was more than I bargained for and the bleeding was far more than I expected. By Sunday I had called my doctor to see if that much bleeding was normal and told him that it felt like I had a hemorridh already. Bleeding is normal and May last 3- 4 days following the surgery. There is a LOT of swelling. 

here is how I handled it- I followed Dr. Orders by taking 2 tbs of mineral oil 3x daily and senacot 2x daily for 5 days. This helps keep you regular as you increase diet and soft stools so you don't strain. I stayed on liquids for 3 days and introduces soft foods such as mashed potatos, mashed sweet and mashed squash. I also did scrambled eggs fro protein. When uriniating do not try to sit at first ladies, stand. That is where the Clorox wipes come in handy for the floor and toilet bowl. I had u scented baby wipes near the bowl to clean myself up as well. After using the bathroom, for me soaking a cotton ball in witch hazel and blotting the site was soothing and helps keep it clean. When I knew it was time for a BM got totally undressed to use it and jumped in the tub for a sitz bath adding a little vinegar to help cleanse and sooth because it hurt even with runny/ soft stool. For my dressing during recovery I used two maxi pads so I was protected from from to back and they worked perfectly. My suggestion would be to try and not bend to lift or pick things up because for my it strained the area causing swelling and pain. When restinc I found that my heating pad laid a rock my bum helped with pain as well. I hope some of this helps and wish a great recovery to all

How I recovered. Fortunately I only had one large internal/external excision. However almost immediately after waking up from the anestesia I was in severe pain. My suggestion is to fill your predictions beforehand if possible, so that you are able to take your medication as soon as possible. If you're like me, you we told not to eat anything, however ,jolly rancher or other hard candy is fine because it desolves and tricks the stomach, this will help in the long run. When you first get your medication, take two, then as soon as you get home take a warm bath, submerging your body for about ten to fifteen minutes, this will help relax the muscles in your rectum and body that have tensed up, but the medication might make you fall asleep so make sure you have someone to check on you, finally, on the first day get plenty of rest, You probably want to avoid eating anything heavy, ,While I found it hard to eat for the second day of recovery, little snacks help. If you have trouble urinsting as I did, you'll need to visit the doctor or ,ER to have a catheter put in, unpleasant but necessary, BE SHRE TO ASK FOR EXTRA CATHETER TOPS, in case by accident you're emptying it and the top falls down the drain, there will be soreness in your urethra once you remove it.

OK. Just ran across this from a year ago in an old email folder.  I am 12 or so days shy of celebrating one year post surgery.  I suffered for 15 years with HORRIBLE hemorrhoids.  Horrible!!!!  I sat in the tub an hour after every bowel movement.  If I went to a hotel without a tub traveling, I checked out and found another hotel.  That bad.  No trips without a tub.  You understand?  Everytime I went to the doctor he asked when I wanted to have the surgery.  I finally agreed.  Best move I ever made.  Find a board certified colorectal surgeon.  Use them.  They do two things usually: hemorrhoid surgery & rectal cancer surgery.  My recovery was 21 days long.  first 12 days were bad.  Really really bad.  Mostly my fault as I was overmedicating with the stool softner and laxative.  I had the runs for the first 12 days.  When I figured what I was doing wrong, things got better much faster.  I lost 18 pounds during that time.  I was depressed.  My wife left me alone at the house for a weekend because I was depressing her and the kids.  That was actually a good thing.  I played with my meds that weekend and got things straight.  I would do this surgery again in a heartbeat.  I am mad I waited so long now.  I was scared to death and let it delay the surgery.  Things will get better post op.  Time heals most everything.  Good luck to everyone out there thing about this surgery. 

normal swelling caused by too much laxative. That was my main problem. The directions were specific, but no general results were given. What I thought was normal was diarrhea. That was causing the pain and additional swelling. My recovery was long, almost 22 days. Overall though a very positive experience (using the hindsight of 12 months later). I would do it again in a second.

I had mine 5 days ago, I still can't control the pain going to the bathroom, I went yesterday for the 2nd time n it wasn't a good experience, I'm trying not to take the Percocet only when it's really needed it.... :(

How long did it take to get Better I'm in the tub now and at day 13 looking for relief pain is unexplainable after a bowel movement

Fourth day after op. I'm finding all these tips really useful. I had huge internal piles that were surgically removed.

One thing I may add is that BM are a lot easier if you squat. I ended up having bowel movement in the bath tub with a combination of squatting and directing the shower head with warm water towards the anus. Which is very soothing and it helps with the pain. I can't face the normal toilet as yet. Too painful.
Keep up with the painkillers even if you start to get better ( I made the mistake to reduce them after I had no pain only to be confronted with agony this morning). Really stupid move. Codine phosphate 30 mg is a God send. Although it has the side effect of constipation. Which you really don't want. So use with caution.
I'm reading lots of blogs which is helping. I so can't wait to get back to normal!! Good luck!!

I'm on the 6th day of past Hemorrhoid Surgery,I had both internal & external removed,the external was using the scalpel,burning & sutures..this will make my 9th surgery of different operations I have had in my lifetime and this has to be the worst healing surgery ever for myself, as my doctor said, it would be very painful but I was comparing it to the other surgeries in past and the healing process of those and thought, it will be a piece of cake,Wow!! was I ever so wrong! I know everyone tolerates pain differently,but just be prepared for it! as I thought no big deal! it's was a big deal! the burning & pain was so unbearable for me! I couldn't get in any comfortable position.So I had to come up with a plan that worked for me,since the pain meds I was prescribed for the pain ,made me itch all over for hours & constipated me to wear I quit taking them on the 3rd day.I'm a vegetarian so that helped with the BM as did stool softeners but still it was like passing razor blades with each BM,it was terrible!!! What I found to give me some relief was,as You start the feeling of a BM to start coming on, was to go ahead and have Your Sitz Bath ready with very warm water...next, as You are dreading to sit down on the commode to painfully relieve Yourself and after what seems to take forever!!! but I'm sure it's only a matter of seconds for the crazy talking, Pain & burning to ease up and You can Finally call it quits, but first clean Yourself up after Your completely finished,with a unscented baby wipe (no alcohol,perfumes or dyes) that could cause an infection ( which would be very bad)!! and then quickly grab Your Sitz Bath because at first You might think it's stupid but Your gonna Love it!! I threw my bag & drip line in the trash,now that was stupid! most commode's are by a sink to get another big cup of warm water if needed.... after I sat on the Sitz Bath from 5 to 8 mins ,some like it longer..I pat dry, very GENTLY with a clean wash cloth every time,and then I get my hair dyer with the cool shot button on it,LOVE it! and bend slightly over and Awe,feels so good after that Sitz bath! when You are dry ,I then take a Tucks medicated cooling pad, squeeze out most of the liquid and double the pads up and fold in half and just gently tuck it! feels sooo good and relieves any burning or itching that is lingering back there,I usually leave it there for a few hours and then allow to air dry and if I still feel itchy apply a dry gauze pad..if You are going out to do shopping or errands double up on the Xylocaine 2% jelly, really glob it back there,Awe! guarantee a couple of hours of relief for getting those errands accomplished,ask Your surgeon/doctor about it ,mine is a prescription.. next I purchased some Preparation H Totable's to clean up with, just in case if Your out & about and a BM decides to strike it's ugly head at the spur of the moment and also maybe some trusty duct tape, just in case You have to use a Public restroom and the other people in there really don't need to hear You talk Yourself through all that pain & discomfort ;) on the same note,it's just a healing process and time heals all wounds! COME ON TIME!!!

I had my surgery yesterday. Woke up to significant discomfort, so took the endone. Things improved a bit yesterday evening with regular tramadol/paracetamol, with diclofenac topups. Staying away from codeine due to constipating effects.
I've found that walking around really helps during the hour or so between doses that the Meds wear off. I'm also on metronidazole, so that and the diclofenac really played havoc on my stomach overnight, so a big chuck really helped.
I'm a midwife, and one thing we recommend to women postpartum is to freeze condoms (not too much water, just regular willy size) to put near the area, wrapped in a piece of absorbent 'bluey' sheet, really helped! I'm sure this is what helped me get to sleep after a yucky episode trying to pass water at 2am. My body confused my bum with my urethra, I really thought I needed a poo, but removed the packing gauze and that sensation eased. I was surprised that no one had mentioned urinary retention prior to the surgery. Pee came a couple of hours after first urge to pee, though, so all good. Haven't had a poo yet, so looking forward to that particular adventure!

I love your honesty about the sanitary pads! I've been going through a bunch of them.

reminded me of when I gave birth - my bowel motions - even though the stool has been soft have been excruciating

yes - its actually nice to know that I am not the only one going through the pain of the recovery. I have been on a soup diet for 10 days prior to surgery and for 4 days post op. I have also been eating cooked rhubarb (cooled with some berries added for a little sweetness) - this has been a god send to me. I have also been having a senna tea each evening and during the day if I felt it was needed. I was worried about having hard stools because of the pain meds, but that does not seem to be an issue...just the pain has been awful went having a bowel motion

March 2nd, 2016...Hello All, I am a 36 yr old mother of two (ages 2 &4) and I am on day 7 post op. surgical removal of multiple internal and external H's. First, let me start off by saying I've never had the H issues until after giving birth to both of my babies. On Feb. 5th was when this current "flare-up" began (the day before a 7 day cruise). During the cruise it progressed in such a way that I just knew modern medicines were not going to fix this. I took pics with my phone to document (which were very helpful to the doctors I later saw). Came home from cruise on the 13th and surgery was scheduled for the 24th. There is NO amount of preparedness you can have before an operation like this. I've have multiple surgeries including appendix, gall bladder (6mo pregnant) and 3 surgical epidural shots to the back of my neck etc...ALL A Walk in the Park compared to this!!! This surgery is not for the faint of heart/weak. It is only and I mean ONLY for the people who can no longer take the pain anymore because it has taken over their lives!!! Trust Me!!! On the day of the surgery after coming home I was told I was given the Exparel injection (a long acting local asthetic)to help for the next 12-14 hours for pain. By 4am I was threatening my husband that I would call 911 if he didn't get an on-call nurse or doctor on the phone. I felt like I had been sodomized for days by a broom handle and the pain was indescribable. I felt like I was going in and out of consciousness and having cold sweats. Because of my allergy to codeine (causes vomiting for me) they could only give me tramadol and toradol and extra strength tylenol which obviously are no match for this kind of pain. After speaking with the on-call dr he advised me that I could take the medications in conjunction with one another and that was the only way I got through to day 2. I finally had my first bm by day 3 which was excruciating. I was def not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. My husband came in my room that evening with a package that arrived with the one thing that has saved my life through this surgery. Now, mind you, I was doing all of the tips mentioned in this thread, sitz baths, stool softeners, pain meds, rest, lots of water and increasing fiber etc... with no real improvement of anything. In fact, the toradol had made me severely depressed (a side effect) and I was crying all the time now and not just with bm's. I was even crying when my kids were being watched by the grandparents and not home with me, which was highly unusual for me. So not only was my rear end in unsurmountable pain, to be depressed and crying was just unacceptable. By the end of day 3 I opened up the package of Chinese Hemorrhoid Ointment Cream that I received from Amazon. I applied it and immediately felt a soothing cooling relief that lasted for the next several hours. I couldn't believe how strong it was! By the next afternoon 60% of the pain I was feeling on all "outside" areas of the surgical site were heavily diminished!!! I was in shock that I could actually touch the area without wincing!!! So needless to say I have used it everyday since day 3 post op and my recovery has been miraculously shortened by I don't even want to know how much!!! On day 4 I actually showered and got dressed and got out of the house for a few hours with my husband and went out to eat!!! By day 5 most of the outside dissolvable sutures had fallen off in the sitz bath!!! That's how fast this stuff was stimulating and regenerating new skin growth!!! I am now thinking if this medicine had arrived a week sooner I may not have needed the surgery...but what's done is done. I also want to mention that starting day 4 i have not had to take anymore Rx pain narcotic medicine either! I am doing just fine with 3 aleve every 12 hours:) I just hope that if anyone reads this and is in severe pain that this Chinese cream can help you get through this recovery like it is helping me. If anyone is interested it is called Mayinglong Musk Hemorrhoid Ointment Cream in a 3pack on Amazon. This could easily prevent someone from needing surgery or help in the recovery of your surgery. It has quite a strong smell to it, but when you are in severe pain, the smell was the last thing I cared about. Good luck to everyone having this procedure done and stay strong and positive to the ones that have already done it! I was told personally today that I have about 7-10 more days of pain...So ready for this to be over...Keep Calm & Warrior On

I'm 21 & had my hemorrhoidectemy on March 22nd. I am on day 4. This is the worst pain I have ever had in my 21 years of living. I keep pooping & its Burns so bad to poop. I cry every time. I don't know when to stop taking these laxatives. I am so over this miserable surgery. I feel like the pain is never gonna end. I hope this surgery was all worth it.