Hi All,

Had my PPH surgery on Wednesday last week. Like many others, I perused so many posts here and on other boards and was scared before my surgery. I actually called my doctor days before the surgery to see if I could do rubber band ligation but she convinced me to go ahead with surgery and to deal with all the roids at once! 

DAY BEFORE SURGERY

I fasted the day before surgery drinking only liquids as I had heard horror post surgery defecation stories. The logic is that fasting delays the need to move the bowels and gives the rectum time to heal before nature calls. Not a bad idea at all. 

AFTER SURGERY

Right after I woke up I felt pain in my butt, told the nurse, and she gave me two tabs of Percocet. It kicked in and I wasn't in much pain. They didn't force me to urinate before discharge, in fact the nurse said if they did that it could put psychological pressure on my - YAAY. 

When I got home I refused to take Percocet and went without painkillers - I'd come back to regret this decision. 

Ate some oatmeal, crackers, and other dry stuff. Also popped some Stool Softener to help with the inevitable bowel movements. 

Next day woke up with spasms and butt pain. Recall I decided not to take Percocet? Well I then decided to walk to the nearby Rite Aid to get some extra stool softener and my butt was sore from the walk. I actually thought I had some tears in my butt. I looked my butt in the mirror but there were no red lines. So I called my doctor up and she said the pain was probably the soreness from surgery so she suggested I take 600mg Ibuprofen every 6 hours in place of Percocet. THIS WAS A BRILLIANT SUGGESTION. Immediately the soreness subsided and I started feeling better. 

BOWEL MOVEMENTS (THE INEVITABLE)

I was initially constipated from Percocet and was bloated so I laid down in the bathroom, got my Sitz Bath (SB) ready and waited for the inevitable bowel movement. I took the advice of others and used by the SB for the first BM. It helped me to relax and as many others have said, forget about modesty when you are recovering from hemorrhoid surgery. Surprisingly, I felt NO PAIN AT ALL from defecation! This was a huge relief for me. I just felt discomfort, perhaps from the pins and the fact that work had been done in my rectum. Additionally, the stool was small. 

I've had many many other bowel movements since then. I'm averaging about 4 BMs a day and while before surgery I could pass more stools at one go, I notice that I just go once out of the average of 4 per day (and without straining) and clean up afterwards. 

I've also noticed additionally gas and pressure before BMs. There is also an urgent need to go. I cannot hold the stool for long and this worries me as I intend to return to work next week. If by next week I do not feel the ability to hold the stool in, I will not return to work for fear of an accident happening. 

Would like to hear from others with hopefully stories about how they built up the ability to delay bowel movements 

TAKE AWAYS

  1. It probably helps to fast before surgery
  2. Get a Sitz Bath before surgery. It helps
  3. Stock up on over the counter painkillers like Ibuprofen or Tylenol as alternatives to Percocet - obviously with your surgeon's blessing
  4. Don't strain when you poop, let nature happen
  5. Use a squatty potty, it definitely helps
  6. Defecation doesn't hurt, it just feels uncomfortable