My hemorrhoidectomy story - not so scary

I would also like to thank you for this very detailed, helpful and positive post, and wanted to write about my own experience to add into the mix. Basically: I know how everyone has different experiences; mine is that this is not a pleasant surgery, but neither is it the end of the world. I had my surgery on 05/01/15 - now just over three weeks ago. The surgeon told me that it had been a relatively large surgery, involving the removal of too many internal and external prolapsed hemorrhoids to count, and that I would be in a lot of pain and unable to go back to work for 3-4 weeks. After reading so many dreadful stories I was very frightened beforehand, but it turned out that the pain was entirely manageable and that life has gone more or less back to normal by now.

As is apparent from all the other people posting about this, the single most difficult thing to deal with is the pain of bowel movements. My first few were not too bad, probably because I had been taking stool softeners (lactulose and magnesium hydroxide) starting two days before the surgery. But on Day 4, I had a phenomenally painful BM which would probably rate at about 8/10, up there with the worst moments of giving birth (which was, however, a relatively benign experience for me, even though it caused the hemorrhoids in the first place). I got over it by breathing steadily through it, and jumping straight in the bath afterwards. Subsequent BMs remained painful (4-5/10) until about a week after the surgery, but I would just always have a bath immediately after and take pain medication if I hadn't already had a dose. By day 4 I stopped taking the heavy-duty painkillers (co-codamol) and have since been managing fine with just ibuprofen and paracetamol.

I would do the following:
(1) make sure you can take at least two weeks off work
(2) have some child care in place for the first week (I, too, am a single parent and my son was with his dad for the first week - couldn't have coped otherwise)
(3) start taking stool softeners *before* the surgery - studies have shown this lessens the pain after
(4) have lots of baths - they really help ease the pain. Someone recommended having a strainer next to the bath so you can have a BM in the bath if you need to - I didn't do this but could not bear wiping myself after BMs and so the strainer did come in handy to clean the bath
(5) hot water bottles also worked well for me
(6) liquid diet for the first few days was useful (soup, porridge), after that I also added some high-fiber bread and a bit of protein.
(7) watch lots of stuff on Netflix/equivalent - you won't want to do much else for the first week or so

For me, the surgery seems well worthwhile provided the hems don't return! So much better than living with the constant bleeding, mess, discomfort, and pain. Good luck! And thanks again for the brilliant post.

Good luck to everyone and don't feel too scared! Yes it does hurt but it's not the end of the world.

A colon rectal surgeon removed my hemorrhoids (“rhoids”) 2 weeks ago.  I suffered from multi-week-long flare-ups with bleeding and pain.  My rhoids prolapsed with bowel movements, even when I was not having a flare-up, making wiping myself a hassle.  A colon rectal surgeon banded some of my rhoids 5-10 years ago.  This reduced symptoms, but the bandings caused discomfort, and was once followed by a painful thrombosis (blood clot).

I enjoy physical activity, but the pain and hassle of rhoids gets in the way.  My weight and blood pressure rose as I became more sedentary.  After two colon rectal surgeons examined me and discussed options with me, I decided to go under the knife.  The last few bandings did not seem to help me much, and I was ready to suffer some pain and take some risk in pursuit of a cure.

My trustworthy friend with a calming personality took me to the hospital in the morning, and stayed with me until I was released 5 hours later.  I was suffering from a flare-up that day, and my pain level was 4 out of 10.  The anesthesiologist started an IV (this was painless), and gave me something to calm my nerves.  Someone wheeled me into the operating room.  I helped position myself on the table for the procedure. The next thing I knew, I was completely awake in the recovery room at pain level 3, discussing politics with the recovery nurse.

My current pain level is usually 3-5 (similar to a flare-up).  I experience burning pain during and after bowel movements (up to 7-8), but the pain falls back to 3-5 after a few hours of hot baths and Percocet.  I suspect that anyone who has suffered from rhoids for a long time and is accustomed to the pain of flare-ups and bowel movements will not find post-surgical pain unbearable.  While I am not yet recovered, and expect more pain, I look forward to the prospect of cure, and as of today, do not regret my choice.

I am scheduled to have this surgery next week. I am terrified after reading online about people's experiences. I am scheduled to return to work after 4 days. Is this unrealistic? I run a salon and I am up and down doing hair and skin care. I have to sit a lot but I run a lot too. 

HI there! I am also in the beauty industry and being on my feet all the time did not help one bit with my internal and prolapsed piles. So, I had the full excisional haemorrhoidectomy 3 weeks ago yesterday (baby number two brought them all on) and there would have been NO WAY I could have returned to work. By the 4th day I managed a walk outside but this was majorly slow. Sitting/standing is hugely uncomfortable for at least a week and be prepared, during your first week, as soon as you open your eyes in the morning, your straight on the toilet and in between the bath (for pain relief) and the toilet again for at least a good couple of hours. So if you have children, please make sure you have help on hand for the school runs etc because there will be no way on gods earth that you will manage any of that for at least a week. As for the pain part, having had kids with zero drugs, I can honestly say that it was around a 1/2 mark for me. Its just REALLY uncomfortable. The pain mostly came from bowel movements (was like giving birth some days again!) but it is all pain you will forget, honestly. Just eat right, relax, use the bath all day if you need to, but do not go on everyone else's stories on here. I did and I frightened myself lots before my op but I am so glad I wasn't one of them. Equally, I am glad I came on these boards to open my eyes and to be prepared, but to be fair, you probably need 2 weeks off. You just cannot prepare for the mornings bowel movements until they happen and if your body wants you on the loo for a good 3 hours, then that's what is gonna happen!!! And you do not want that happening at work!!!!!!!!!! As for drugs, I only took a small handful to calm the throbbing after a couple of BMs but all in, I am soooo glad I done it. I'm only 33 so its nice to see my bum looking normal for a change!!! LOL! Apart from a wee bit swelling left (be prepared for your ass looking worse after the op than it did before!!! All normal btw!) mine is much tidier than what was before so I don't regret it one bit. So to recap, give yourself at least a week off work and take it from there, takes about 2 weeks for the BM pain to sibside completely but everyone is different. I wish you well and keep us posted on your recovery!! Take care.

Like wise, single mum, only 33 and was in exactly the same boat as you. Couldn't have said it better myself with everything you have written, felt exactly the same way!!! Especially when BMs felt like childbirth, ha ha!!! I held the sink and breathed a lot!!!!!!!!!!! Feeling like magic now after 3 weeks post op. Cant wait for a normal bum again!!! Just a few small lump left to die down here now, how are yours getting on?? But all in, so glad I done it, a couple of weeks feeling uncomfy definitely beat the bleeding and mess that was before. Hope you can update! Thanks for this post.

I am a 48 year old woman, had prolapsed internal hems grade 4; been suffering with pain and swelling from them for years before getting up the nerve to do something more aggressive. I had a traditional hemorrhoidectomy (closed, meaning with stitches) three days ago. I went to the hospital at 6:00 am, got through surgery and recovery, and was home in my bed by 11:30 am. (Apparently outpatient surgery = drive thru.)  I have not at any time in the past 72 hours had pain over level 4 - and that was really only the first night when I guess all the anesthesia and numbing meds from the hospital wore off.  I took either Vicodin or Percoset for pain for the first two days. On the second night, when my alarm went off for meds, I decided to step down to Tylenol. Been there ever since, and really more for other things like leg cramps from squatting at the toilet than for the surgical pain.

There has been zero bleeding for me, which is the most amazing part. I can handle pain, but I am somewhat phobic about blood, so I was very anxious about how much I would see during recovery.  There has been absolutely none, even with BMs. My surgeon did tell me no ibuprofen or aspirin products for a week before surgery and none during recovery, so that helped. Also ice packs as often as you can stand them for the first 24-36 hours. 

One thing I have not seen mentioned, you should have some GasX (simethicone) on hand. With all the fiber and stool softeners, plus the medley of meds in your system, the digestive process gets really weirded out.  The pain of constantly passing gas was much worse than the quick pain of a BM, and the GasX settles that quickly. 

I've been outside for short walks, I am currently sitting in a chair at my home desk typing this - and I am thankful and in awe that it has been a very easy process.  

I know there are many stories of pain and blood and terror, and my heart goes out to those people.  Even my surgeon had prepared me for the worst and almost scared me out of going through with this. I had a colon/rectal surgeon who has been in practice for many years, and I will assume that her expertise made all the difference, but she was pretty up front about the brutal pain and effects that could happen.

If all keeps going well, I should be back to work next week (today is Monday, so next Monday will be day 10) and looking forward to a life without hemorrhoid pain! 

I can't advise whether others should go through the surgery or not, as everyone has a different experience.  However, when most of what you find online are terrifying accounts of doom, I think it helps to hear that it could be manageable.  Be sure to have someone with you for a couple days to bring you food and meds and help you up and down stairs (especially while on pain meds) and rest all you need to... your body will help you figure out the rest. 

I also had a hemorrhoidectomy recently - first week of March, 2015. I am a early-60's male. In my case I had two class iV chronically prolapsed removed and an internal one banded. I had seen two CR Surgeons, one said to live with it, the other said the best I could hope for is limping along until I decide to have surgery. After several more months of living between discomfort and pain, trying to find the right combination of high fiber foods, Miralax and Stool softeners, when just being uncomfortable seemed like a blessing, I scheduled my procedure.

I've had numerous surgeries, everything from cervical disks to hernias to coronary bypass to joint replacement, so I thought I knew what to expect. My doctor said "this will be worse" and he was right. If you can tolerate Percoset you should have a much better experience. But I could not tolerate the pills at prescribed intervals so I had to try to use an occasional Percoset in between several doses of Tylenol. I have never experienced such pain. There were times I literally sobbed from the pain. After about a weeki, I switched to 2 Aleve capsules every 12 hours. Could have added Tylenol every 6 hours but found the Aleve took the edge off without constipation or stomach discomfort. Ask your doc about this alternative if you can't tolerate narcotics. Eating small portions of fibrous and soft foods, and taking Miralax, stool softeners and drinking lots of water, I found myself having 4-5 BMs per day. While not unbearable, the fear of what might be happening back there made each episode a time of high anxiety. I reduced the Miralax and stool softeners.

I found rinsing in the shower with a hand-held hose/shower head was about as easy and comfortable a process I could find. Once clean, I'd wash out the tub as quickly as I could and soak in hot water for 20-30 minutes. This seemed like a good system but 4-5 showers and soaks a day takes a lot out of you! And, I developed several subcutaneous cysts that became infected, I suspect from soaking in bacteria. I am now on my third regimen of antibiotics and am finally seeing improvement.

My first 8-9 days were very uncomfortable. I couldn't follow emails or check in on work with any regularity. I was physically exhausted and pychologically defeated. After 10 days or so I began to feel better and each day was much better than the day before. I took a few slow walks of 1/4-1/2 mile. This seemed to increase the drainage and the next day's discomfort. I think that's just something you have to push through. It was almost 3 weeks before I could put weight on both but cheeks at the same time.

As I look back on it, the fear of not knowing if I should "push" or not, to expel gas or not, especially right after surgery, and how quickly I should get up off the toilet, was second only to the pain. Speaking of the unknown, I had been advised I would need to void before going home. When I couldn't, I told them I had previously used a catheter so they gave me one to take with me if I needed to again. Unfortunately, I didn't void normally for a month. Additionally, the drainage of liquid stool and blood is disgusting, constant and frightening. I would urge you to speak with your doctor about what to expect as you heal, not just what he/she is going to do to you.
And if you can perform Kugel exercises to tighten your sphincter muscles before your procedure.

Six or seven weeks out now I am amazed how good I feel. I've been able to keep my BM's regular with diet and one stool softener daily. It is so easy to wipe now, with a wet flushable wipe, and the post-BM pain is gone, gone, gone, as is all the soiling.

If you can tolerate pain meds, I suspect your operation will be only very uncomfortable. If you can't, your physical and mental strength will be tested. I would plan on 10 days of decreasing misery and another few weeks of discomfort and hygiene frustration. Once healed though, life will be more comfortable and cleaner than you can probably imagine.

Check out your doctor's experience and ask all the questions you need to to prepare for the few weeks after the surgery. Then, move forward knowing there really is a light at the end of what will feel like a long, dark tunnel. Good luck. I pray every day for those going through this process.

HEMORRHOIDECTOMY RECOVERY GUIDE

Hi everyone,

I am officially 3.5 weeks post-op!!! Let me begin by telling you, if you need this operation done, DON'T put it off bc you are reading all of the scary stories. Yes, it will be painful at times, but you will get through it!!! If you are considering getting this operation done, please read this whole thing! I would have loved to have a "guide" like this before I went in for my own operation!!!

To give you a little background, I am a 25 year old female who had both internal and external hems removed via a traditional closed-incision hemorrhoidectomy with dissolvable stitches. Also, I have the LOWEST pain tolerance of anyone I know. Literally the lowest. I'm talking sitting on my mothers lap for shots until I was like 14. When I was a little kid doctors wanted to perform pain threshold tests on me, thats how sensitive I am to pain! With that being said, if I got through this, literally anyone can get through this!!!!

There are a few things you should ABSOLUTELY NEED before this operation, I repeat, do NOT go into this operation without any of the following!

     - Prescription Pain Meds

     - Prescription Muscle Relaxer (See below)

     - Bathtub (or plastic sitz bath if you do not have a bathtub) 

     - Fiber (Metamucil is the best on the market) & Fiber supplements/pills

     - Stool softener (I had prescription strength)

     - Baby wipes

     - Panty liners (the long kind, and YES even for the guys!)

     - Books/Movies/Netflix/Video Games

     - ALSO, plan on taking AT LEAST 3 weeks off work. My surgeon told me to take 10 days off work but my general physician (who I am fairly close with, I have been seeing him practically my entire life) told me that colorectal surgeons GREATLY UNDERESTIMATE the recovery time because nobody would have the operation!!! He was right..... Seriously do not have this operation if you do not have 3-4 weeks to take off of work. I work in a store where I am not able to sit down once during my entire 8-hr shift, so I knew I would be at the longer end of the spectrum. (If you have a desk job where you can bring a pillow to sit on, you MIGHT be able to go back after 2-3 weeks, but I suggest taking 3-4 just in case). There is a REASON your post-op appointment will not be for 5-8 weeks after your surgery, this is a long recovery, but it is NOT as painful as the horror stories make it out to be, and there are things you can do to make it easier for yourself, which are as follows:

I had my operation done last month (April 2015) and let me tell you, I almost cancelled it having it done after reading all of the absolute horror stories about the post-op pain! (I literally almost jumped off the table when I entered the operating room). In all honesty, it was not as bad as I thought it was going to be, and that's saying something because of my threshold for pain!!!! I made the following "guide" for anyone who is going to have this operation. Follow this guid and you will be absolutely fine, I PROMISE!

The #1 thing (after prescription pain meds) you need is a prescription anti-anxiety/muscle relaxer. I am sure you have read up on the anal rectal spasms you will be having after the op--- these are  not fun. HOWEVER, my general physician prescribed me Xanax 0.5 mg for this. When I would start to feel one coming on, I'd pop a Xanax and the spasms would subside in as little as 15 min (which is huge considering these can last for hours...) These can happen when you feel like you have to pass gas, before or after a BM, or out of the blue unfortunately. My surgeon refused to write me a script for this (not sure why, I think this should be a standard for hemorrhoidectomies!) so I asked my general physician for it and he gave it to me. It was a LIFE SAVER!!!!!!  My surgeon warned me about these before the operation; he described them as "a charlie horse in your rectum." He was not kidding! If you have ever felt a charlie horse in your leg, I'm sure you can only imagine what it feels like in your butt, and instead of going away in a few seconds it lasts for hours!!!! So get your hands on some however you can, any type of muscle relaxer will do. I honestly don't know what I would have done without these!!!

As far as pain control, my #1 piece of advise: DO NOT let your pain get ahead of you. Seriously, or you will be in agony. I set an alarm on my phone AND alarm clock to go off every 3 hours, even throughout the night. This is so important. The only real time I was in dire agony was when I would miss a dose. Besides that, the pain is completely manageable with the pain meds (however, I took about 4x the "recommended" dose. My bottle said I should take 1 pill every 4-6 hours with a max of 6 per day. With my low tolerance, my doctor told me I could take a bit more. Knowing my own pain tolerance, I was taking a LOT more... around 12-16 pills a day. I am NOT RECOMMENDING anyone do this, but I had to because of my low pain tolerance, but taking more than advised will not kill you.) However, know that narcotics constipate you, so you MUST be drinking your Metamucil 3x a day, use stool softeners and increase your water intake by 4x your normal amount!!! Liquids are SO IMPORTANT! Looking back, the "active" pain was nowhere near what I thought it was going to be after reading the horror stories (take your pain meds and don't be afraid to take more if you are hurting!!!)

Baths. These are a life saver. I would take 6-8 baths per day. My surgeon told me this would help tremendously with the pain, and he was right!!! I practically lived in the tub the first week. I even took a few naps in the tub (the water was only about 1/4th way full). Something important to note: DO NOT ADD ANYTHING TO THE WATER. Some websites say add salt, do NOT do this for at least the first month!!! ONLY plain water, everything else will only irriate the surgical site. Also, do NOT put ANYTHING on the surgical site (except lidocaine if you were prescribed it, and honestly this doesn't really help as much as the pain meds so). You will live in the bathtub for the first couple of weeks, so have plenty of books and magazines handy. I still jump in the bathtub sometimes after having a BM because it is so soothing, which is why I am also telling you that you need to have at least 3-4 weeks off of work!

Bowel Movements... Okay, I'll admit, the first few BM's were bad.... but you will get through them! Somethings that helped me a LOT... I had my hot bath ready for me to jump in. It helped having running water in the background while using the bathroom, and I turned the lights down low and even lit a few aromatherapy candles (not really sure why this helped, but it provided a more calming atmosphere for me). Trust me and try it! I assure you, it is much better than going in a completely silent, brightly-lit atmosphere. The dimmed lights really help for some reason!! Also, I read online it was more comfortable for some to stand up while having a BM. I would alternate between standing at first, then sitting towards the end. Now, this next part is going to be VERY GRAPHIC, so if you do not want to read it skip to the next paragraph, but I really want to help ANYONE whos going to have this operation. With the amount of pain meds I was taking I was constipated. During my first BM I was huffing and puffing and pushing like I was having a baby for over 10 minutes with nothing coming out. I looked down there and saw my poop was about 1 inch out of my bottom. I was in a lot of pain and didn't want to strain, but I was feeling helpless like I would never get the damn thing out. I finally took rolled up toilet paper and grabbed the small piece that was sticking out of my butt, and gently pulled on it. To my amazement I was able to keep pulling (the fiber you are taking makes your poop "stick together" as one long piece instead of smaller pebbles, which is great!). I was able to pull it all out of my butt (a long one!!!!) within 30 seconds. This was like heaven because it was no longer painful when I didn't have to strain. I was able to pat my bottom with baby wipes (DO NOT use toilet paper and DO NOT WIPE!!!!!!!) then immediately jump into the bathtub. After each BM you have, IMMEDIATELY get into the tub. It is incredibly soothing and you will thank me for this, I promise!

Now, my final piece of advice, and I think this is probably one of the most important: Your diet. I was absolutely terrified of getting this done. (I mean I was crying myself to sleep for weeks dreading this operation!) So much so that I completely lost my appetite for about a week prior. I only ate soup, lots of juice and water. This honestly was probably the best thing for me, because I didn't have my first BM until 4 days post-op. If I had a BM on the first or second day like others, I think I might have died from the pain! So I HIGHLY SUGGEST EATING LIGHT for one week prior to the operation, and for the first 2 weeks post-op!!!!!!! You want your bowels to be as liquid as possible, so keep up on your FIBER intake and HAVE AN ALL LIQUID DIET!!!! (During the second week post-op, my mom brought me a burger, which I ate happily being that I was practically starving after only eating jello, applesauce and soup for the previous 2 weeks, but I paid for that later in the bathroom... You will only make that mistake once!). The pain from bowel movements are what kills, but are TOTALLY MANAGEABLE when you are on an all-liquid diet. The "active" pain (the pain from the surgical site) is completely manageable with (a lot in my case) of pain meds. Don't be afraid to use the pain meds, but remember to increase your fiber intake and use stool softeners bc they constipate you!

Now I am 3.5 weeks post-op and am planning on going back to work this week. I still wear a pad in my underwear becuase I have a light drainage from the surgical site. Going to the bathroom still stings, but I am now off all pain meds and am looking forward to my life without those nasty hemorrhoids!!! I still have a lot of swelling down there (about the same size or larger than my external hemorrhoids) but I am told that this is normal and should go down in time. I cannot wait to see the final results when I am all healed, and finally be without hemorrhoids for good!!!!!

So, if theres anything to take away from my story, trust me that you have a higher pain tolerance than I do. If I can get through it, so can you! I PROMISE!!!! 

Good luck everyone!!!! I will post again in a few weeks to give you an update, and if you have any questions I will be more than happy to answer!!!

Sarah

How are you doing? Any updates Sarah?

Thank you, helpful.

Thank you very much!

I had my surgery on 9/29/115. My worst experience was not from the surgery, but from the anesthesia that was used. It was Ketamine. I had hallucinations, paralyzed for a while after coming out of surgery. It was an experience that was totally unexpected. Back to my surgery, I was told that I had a lot of hemmoroids, so I'm assuming the reason for my horrific pain. I refused to take Percocet because of the constipating issues, so I stuck to the pain medication. That only lasted 3 days, and I was told to take IB after that. Going to the bathroom was the worst experience of all. I finally told myself, ok, your in pain from not using the toilet and your in pain when you do, so just push it out of there and get it done with The warm baths were very helpful. I'm avoiding stool softeners because I was told that a too soft stool is worse than constipation. So all I really take is one teaspoon of mineral oil and night and drink lots of water. I also have oatmeal and eat green salads with bits of chicken. I had a full stool this morning, brought me to tears, but I feel so much better. I do not regret having had the surgery, I had suffered for over 20 years with this! One day at a time, cant wait to heal 100% and stop having to use pads all the time. The quality of life will be so worth it!

Hope your doing great by now. I'm currently on day 7 and am not to bad. Just seems like I'm bloated and always feel like I have to go. And I think I'm developing a rash from washing too much. Also how long did it take for your stitches to fall out.
Thanks

Thank you Brian. I am at my wits end and I'm tired of bleeding all over the place along with the pain. I'm going for the surgery.

I am 2 1/2 weeks post surgery and I feel like I'm slowly going to survive. My surgeon originally told me that the day of surgery would be rough, but i would be up and going like normal the next day. He couldn't have been more wrong! It has been a nightmare. At 10 days post op, I was sobbing hysterically from the pain and my husband called the surgeon to ask why I would be in this much pain, and the surgeons reply was that I was a wuss. My husband and Doctor then got into an argument on the phone. Lots of fun. Anyway, went to see the surgeon the next day only to find out I had an infection in there.
Each day is slowly getting better, but I highly recommend planning to be down for at the very least 3 weeks. And take it slow. Listen to your body, you know your body better than anyone else.