Wow, I wish I'd known about sites like this 3 months ago when I had my surg! I too had a sphincterotomy with 2 roids removed and a chunk of scar tissue taken out. It was the worst pain I've ever, ever felt, ever. There were moments when I was screaming at God as loud as I could begging him to help me to feel better and take away some of the pain. These moments were on the toilet of course. You know things are pretty bad when you're screaming at God. :'( My surg was on 10/29/10, so almost exactly 3 months ago and I'm doing pretty darn good back there but still having some issues. I was told to stop the Miralax and just do the citricel but when I drink the citricel I have to push rather hard to have a bm and I'm not sure if that's ok to push so hard. Also, when it finally does come out, it's very narrow as if my anus just isn't relaxing enough to poop normally, which I thought was the whole point of a sphincterotomy, to allow the sphincter to relax and open up. I don't know, it really sucks though. I'd like to say I'm glad I had the procedure done but I'm not sure yet. I took 3 weeks off of work. My Dr. said I'd need at least 2 weeks and really they should just tell you that you'll need an entire month off because that's more like it. I guess I need to go back to my Dr. and just have her take a look. It's nice to see how common this issue is. But my heart goes out to you all. If anyone has any feedback for me I'd appreciate it.
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G"Day. I had my surgery on 20/01/11. Sphincterotomy, Fissure with an abcess & polyp removed, hameroids banded & polyps injected. My suggestion is keep up the pain releif don't wait until the pain is unbearable. Salt baths is a must as they realy helped with pain relief especially after a BM. I had a BM 24hrs after surgery. I made sure I had natural stool softner that I ate & drank water in preparation & glad I did. Sure there was pain but not as bad as I thought it may be. I think the worst thing is thinking about the pain with your first BM & every thing tenses up which does not help. Like any surgery there will be pain. I also recomend wearing panty liners for added protection or pad of some sort. I had an hours trip in the car from hospital so I ahd to get a pad from the hopital. I went back to work the following week a little discomfort still happening but for the first time I am pain free from a fissure. Think positive & eat heaps of fruit, high fibre food & drink loads of water. :-D
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Hi,
I had sphincterotomy and hemerrhoidectomy on 2/11, it's been 6 days. I had a chronic and very nasty fissure + 3 stage 3 internal hemerrhoids. BMs are still very painful. I don't think I have soft enough stools. I have thick and large stools tha i have to push somewhat hard. It hurts like hell. Today I couldn't go on my own and had to do an enema. I am drinking lots of fliuds -including some prune juice- ; eatin lots of fresh fruit and dried fruit like dried appricots and plums; eating a lot of green salad and other fiber rich foods; avoiding rice, pasta, potatoes, white bread and coffee; drinking metamucil 2 times a day and taking a stool softener every morning. Are there any other suggestions to make stools softer. I am taking two painkillers (hydrocodone and oxicontin) that are known to cause constipation. I am feeling better for the past two days except for when it is time to go and several hours after BM. I feel like if I could have softer stools things will progress faster. Tomorrow i will try skipping the painkillers and take tylenol instead and see if that makes a difference.
When should I expect to have relatively normal BM? i know I won't get a pain-free one for at least 2-3 months, but when will the pain be equal to or less than pre-surgery. i am expected to return to work next Monday (in 4 days), and I am scared of having BMs at work, and I know putting it off will make it worse.
I had sphincterotomy and hemerrhoidectomy on 2/11, it's been 6 days. I had a chronic and very nasty fissure + 3 stage 3 internal hemerrhoids. BMs are still very painful. I don't think I have soft enough stools. I have thick and large stools tha i have to push somewhat hard. It hurts like hell. Today I couldn't go on my own and had to do an enema. I am drinking lots of fliuds -including some prune juice- ; eatin lots of fresh fruit and dried fruit like dried appricots and plums; eating a lot of green salad and other fiber rich foods; avoiding rice, pasta, potatoes, white bread and coffee; drinking metamucil 2 times a day and taking a stool softener every morning. Are there any other suggestions to make stools softer. I am taking two painkillers (hydrocodone and oxicontin) that are known to cause constipation. I am feeling better for the past two days except for when it is time to go and several hours after BM. I feel like if I could have softer stools things will progress faster. Tomorrow i will try skipping the painkillers and take tylenol instead and see if that makes a difference.
When should I expect to have relatively normal BM? i know I won't get a pain-free one for at least 2-3 months, but when will the pain be equal to or less than pre-surgery. i am expected to return to work next Monday (in 4 days), and I am scared of having BMs at work, and I know putting it off will make it worse.
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I had a sphinterotomy in June, 1997 (on my birthday, damn it!). My gastro-guy had been treating me for what he thought were hemerroids for about six months and I had all the same symptoms as most everyone of you had. I wanted the surgery to be done so I could eliminate the pain, have normal bm's again and get on with my life. I had just graduated from college and was beginning to look for work; I didn't want to have to tell prospective employers that I might have to take time off at some point in the near future after hiring. There was no discussion of having a sphincterotomy, it was just5 supposed to be the average hemerriod removal procedure. But when I woke up, I was told that my anal sphincter had become rigid, making the prcedure necessary. I was also told that there were no hemerroids, but he did find a tiny mass on the sphincter itself. He opted to do a biopsy instead of removing the mass, his attempt at saving me from having a colostomy. When the biopsy was done, the mass turned out to be stage 1 anal cancer. That set me up for two months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments that almost killed me (the burns didn't heal for almost a year and I sat in real icewater baths 3-4 times a day to find some relief from the pain.
Here is what I am left with after surviving the cancer:
* Severe scars in my crotch area
* Severely scarred and weakened large colon and rectum, which causes me big problems with
watery diarrhea at almost every bm
* A weakened sphincter muscle that does not work properly, which causes me to have horrible
and humiliating fecal incontinence accidents because I can't constrict the muscle to hold bm's in
* A destroyed social life because I fear going out and having another accident in public.
* A life of total disability, poverty and depression
* An inability to make others understand my predicament( because most people have neither the
interest or compassion to understand another person's pain.
My doctors have told me that once the spincter muscle is cut, there is no way to repair it. If I could find a way to sew it back together I'd be the happiest person in the world. Don't get me wrong; I have been elated every day of my life since that day in June, 1997, because I am still alive, but I wish to God that the spincterotomy had never been done because my life now really is kind of sh**& (Pun
intended)
If anyone out there has heard of any new procedure to reverse a sphincterotomy or a new treatment that will help cure the chronic, watery diarrhea, please let me know. I can't leave my e-mail address because it has my name in it, but I will check back regularly to look for replies.
Thanks for listening. Having a way to express my feelings on this is helpful.
Here is what I am left with after surviving the cancer:
* Severe scars in my crotch area
* Severely scarred and weakened large colon and rectum, which causes me big problems with
watery diarrhea at almost every bm
* A weakened sphincter muscle that does not work properly, which causes me to have horrible
and humiliating fecal incontinence accidents because I can't constrict the muscle to hold bm's in
* A destroyed social life because I fear going out and having another accident in public.
* A life of total disability, poverty and depression
* An inability to make others understand my predicament( because most people have neither the
interest or compassion to understand another person's pain.
My doctors have told me that once the spincter muscle is cut, there is no way to repair it. If I could find a way to sew it back together I'd be the happiest person in the world. Don't get me wrong; I have been elated every day of my life since that day in June, 1997, because I am still alive, but I wish to God that the spincterotomy had never been done because my life now really is kind of sh**& (Pun
intended)
If anyone out there has heard of any new procedure to reverse a sphincterotomy or a new treatment that will help cure the chronic, watery diarrhea, please let me know. I can't leave my e-mail address because it has my name in it, but I will check back regularly to look for replies.
Thanks for listening. Having a way to express my feelings on this is helpful.
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I had hemorrhiods removed Jan. 25th, still in so much pain it is un real. Still bust open bleeding with BM. Drainage and anal leakage.
I have muscle cramps to no end. I was supposed to go back to work 2 weeks ago and still loooking at 2 more weeks. For a total of 8 weeks. Duclax helps as does water, water, juice and more water. It feels like mt muscle were cut. After A BM it takes 2 hours to recover.
Then I am good for few hours. I am walking everyday. But IF I have to go, it is NOW and RIGHT now. THis I know will be a good thing but the healing is just the worst. I had other surgery's years ago that didn't take this much to heal from. I also ended up with UTI, very bad infection, but due to other pain, did't realize what it was.
I have muscle cramps to no end. I was supposed to go back to work 2 weeks ago and still loooking at 2 more weeks. For a total of 8 weeks. Duclax helps as does water, water, juice and more water. It feels like mt muscle were cut. After A BM it takes 2 hours to recover.
Then I am good for few hours. I am walking everyday. But IF I have to go, it is NOW and RIGHT now. THis I know will be a good thing but the healing is just the worst. I had other surgery's years ago that didn't take this much to heal from. I also ended up with UTI, very bad infection, but due to other pain, did't realize what it was.
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I am sorry to hear all of these horror stories. Mine is different, but then I went to a hemorroid center, they use laser surgery and they have directions very clearly printed out. I had lots of hemorroids and a fissure fixed..including a full sphyncterotomy. First of all, there is percocet for pain, but valium for spasms, I only need half of each after only 3 days. My regimen includes: 3-4 sits-baths a day, bag balm after each bath and after each bm, a stool softener each morning, and a teaspoon of mineral oil in juice just before bed each night. This is all for 2 full weeks. The pain killers are for really bad pain, but ibuprofen is for the swelling. They also recommend frozen peas or a frozen hotdog..between the cheeks, NOT inserted. I had the surgery on Wed. afternoon and will be back to work on Mon. yes, I worry that I will need to run to the restroom, but I am fortunate to have coworkers who will cover me. Because I eat a fiberfull diet, I am already having 4-6 small bm's a day. The spasms afterward are the worst, but half a valium and I am all good. I plan on being down to a 1/4 of a valium when I return to work. I wish you all well.
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I had my 2nd sphincterotomy 5 days ago. Because of my previous experience of not having a BM for 4 days and ending up with a torn anus after spending a whole hour straining in the toilet, I got smarter this time ( I have experience with almost all stool softners and laxatives in the market) and I have been drinking ORGANIC SMOOTH MOVE HERBAL TEA Laxative at bed time ( sold at CVS or whole food store). I had my 1st BM the next day, it was pain free though I am taking pain pills, so constipation because of vicodin is not an issue anymore. Sitz bath do help and I am doing them 3 times a day. The only thing that concerned me this time was large dark brown clotted pieces of blood that was in the form of a BM but the Dr said it was the residue of the surgery and I should not worry...There is still some drainage ( pink tinged) but I hope it is gonna stop soon though I noticed that it is diminishing...I feel good now but the first 2 days after surgery, I was nauseated and I was vomitting, that is the worst part...Gonna update after my 2 week follow up...Hope this helps...sometimes u do what u gotta do, I opted for 2nd surgery cause the pain was unbearable...as someone said here, I know what the pain in the ass means...lol
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Upon receiving a sphincterotomy and fissureotomy, performed by an accomplished colorectal surgeon seven days ago, I discovered that the road to recovery will be more lengthy than I have read and anticipated about. My comprehensive observation is that there is a sensitive relationship between the reoccurring BM-pain and nutrition. We have to eat to stay healthy and cure this condition. Food is collected in the colon, traveling through the anal canal, eventually passing by the rehabilitating sphincter and fissure, and terminally evacuating the waste out of the body. It’s a double-edged sword which hopingly heals with grace, rapidity and diminishes in time. The quantity and quality of food and liquid choices is relative to the elimination functions. I have found that the less use of the anus that has to perform, the less pain and more healing will take place. “Less is best” Although I have been informed by an experienced nutrition/medical advisor-friend and my doctor, that ingesting more frequent meals (5) with lesser proportions of food is the way to go. Well, the second and third day of post-surgery, I tried that method and the following days I had four separate bowel movements on each of those days. The escalating pain was unmanageable. The prescribed pain-relieving-medications for suppressing the swelling and inflammation became dysfunctional. Not everyone has identical recoveries. Without intentionally second-guessing them, I had observed that ingesting less portions and meals (3) might have a more rehabilitating effect during the recovery period than my friend and doctor had recommended.
With respect to any medication-addictions that might develop in time into a pain-medication-dependence, I am trying diligently to wean off all the relevant substances. Professional advisors suggest to not worry about it, and that medical evidence has had positive-proven results, and to disregard any myth of a potential addiction, and to just carry on with any and all prescribed medications.
The main concept is to not stop believing. As a non-life threatening aliment, there is a “light at the end of the tunnel” (pun.) All your wits and experiences along with the advice and intervention of the medical professionals, a positive attitude, progressive and precautionary measures, play a necessary role in recovering. Do what ever it takes to be comfortable! After tediously researching various methods, strategies, technologies, and medical confirmations, it is revealed that this is not rocket science, but simply a vitally needed scientific-approach to restore and heal this constructive process. Believing that recovery is on its way is an asset and prerequisite for a practical rehabilitation. Remember that you have to walk on eggshells and take baby steps, long before you’re well enough to go hiking. “Plan your moves, move your plans!” Take time to relax, be hopeful knowing all will be well and that “you are not alone.”
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I had my sphincteronomy in November last year.
Unfortunately i just wouldn't heal and was on pain meds tramadol etc for a few months My specialist gave me the botox shots a month later which speeded up recovery. Useful meds were Movicol to keep bowel movements soft and stop any constipation and Konsyl d which is a bulking agent with lots of water. The 3 day wait for a movement which is as hard as a brick and about the same size was a real b*stard. I've recently had a cleanup operation to get rid of a haemmeroid and polyp.(May) The right specialist is really important. See 2 and consider which one will be best for you. My first specialist was terrible.
My advise having had this all go so badly wrong for me is:
1. Discuss fully prior to the operation how frequent soft bms are to be obtained asap after the operation
2. discuss having the botox shots at the same time. The muscle spasms make healing slower.The botox freezes the muscles for 3 months.
3.Discuss with the specialist medicines like movicol and the use of psyllium hydrophilic mucilloids ( bulking agents) to maintain frequent soft bms
4. Use soft babywipes -definitely non scented to clean afterwards-carry them around with you and maybe chux multi cloths cut up to dry.
5 bowel control can be very poor afterwards so be careful.When you want to go you'll really have to go.
6.ensure you get good pain meds tramadol plus voltaren plus panadol to be taken together at a minimum.
7. I have lost all feeling in my little finger as a result of ulna nerve damage from the anaesthetic so discuss that concern with your anaesthetist
Very best of luck.
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I forgot to say go and see your doctor once a week during the recovery so your health and the dosages of the different meds can be better managed. If something isn't working then a solution can be found much earlier. I'm nine months in now and am a lot better. It's been a rough time though and that 10 out of 10 pain for hour after hour was dreadful. If your in that situation now - definitely get a very good doctor's advise. If your not sure they know what they are doing - get better help and get it now.
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I just wanted to share my experience......
nothing but good.
went in friday morning.......out by noon, sent home with valium and percoset, i stayed doped up for 3 days, and on monday i was off the meds and back at work.......
i took several doses of milk of mag, and ducalax and yes the first few BM's were some what painful but not as bad as the fissure.....
get a good doctor and do the surgery..... i can't say enough about how happy i am that i went thru with it....
no leakage of any sort........no trouble control BM's or farts or nothing........no blood or anything......
just do it.....
i did have a spinal, and a few times once i was home i got severe nerve pain from the injection site down thru both my legs.....but a soak in hot bath took care of it..........
just do it...... the fissure and spasams aren't worth it.......do it, get it over with......
HEAL.......
nothing but good.
went in friday morning.......out by noon, sent home with valium and percoset, i stayed doped up for 3 days, and on monday i was off the meds and back at work.......
i took several doses of milk of mag, and ducalax and yes the first few BM's were some what painful but not as bad as the fissure.....
get a good doctor and do the surgery..... i can't say enough about how happy i am that i went thru with it....
no leakage of any sort........no trouble control BM's or farts or nothing........no blood or anything......
just do it.....
i did have a spinal, and a few times once i was home i got severe nerve pain from the injection site down thru both my legs.....but a soak in hot bath took care of it..........
just do it...... the fissure and spasams aren't worth it.......do it, get it over with......
HEAL.......
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hii
even i had surgery done (anal dilatation+lateral sphincterotomy) 5 weeks ago and i am finding sentinel tags (bumps or skin tags) around my anus....is that normal and how much time more wud it take for them to disappear??
what hapenned in ur case?
even i had surgery done (anal dilatation+lateral sphincterotomy) 5 weeks ago and i am finding sentinel tags (bumps or skin tags) around my anus....is that normal and how much time more wud it take for them to disappear??
what hapenned in ur case?
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Hi All,
I thought I'd respond to give folks some hope. I had a sphincterotomy 72 hours before I was to toe the line at an Ironman event. I chose to go in and get the Botox shot to deal with the pain... woke up to the news I had a sphincterotomy (which I knew was a possibility, but not the plan). Once the meds wore off I knew I was in for a battle. It took a day or so to figure this out, but having a hot bath ready post #2 is KEY!
Long story short... I raced and finished. I'm not super human, or have an insane pain tolerance. I just learned what would cause the pain to come (going to the bathroom), and what I could do to prepare. When you know it's coming, and you prepare... it's no where near as bad. Pain meds will get you through the first couple of days, but really try and get off them to something over the counter. The side affects really make it worse (constipation, feeling really down, etc). Try and exercise as soon as possible... no need for an Ironman, but it's amazing what a walk will do to clear the head and get the blood flowing... which promotes the healing process.
Here's what worked for me:
Post Surgery Recovery:
1) take a fiber supplement... 100% need to do this
2) drink electrolytes and tons of water... a great lower calorie option (gatorade is like a Big Mac) is coconut water... try the pineapple flavored one from Vita Coca (Amazon, WholeFoods, etc)
3) The first #2 will hurt, but the mental hurdle of going is much more difficult than the actual act. Concur this, and freedom to leave the comfort of your home bathroom will be yours
4) Have a hot bath or shower head you can shove down there ready after you go to the bathroom... will feel better and pain will go away within 30-60 seconds... a couple minutes worse case. you can deal with pain for 30-60 seconds right??
I tell you this to give you hope... yes, it hurts... but as much as we think pain is a physical reaction... it can be controlled. The first few days pills for sure, but then it's on you. You can let yourself be miserable for months, or push through it and make pain your b***h.
Post race I was toast physically as I had underestimated what surgery would do to my body... no significant issues... just super tired. Within a week I was back at it. I started to get a little itch back, but it's part of the healing process and went away.
Keep your head up, and heal fast!
t
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Your stories are horrible! I too had a sphincterotomy for an anal fissure. I just had my surgery on Monday and today is Saturday. Yes, there has been pain. That being said my Dr. had a very smart routine that he prescribed pre and post surgery. Milk of Magnesia once in the afternoon pre surgery, an enema 1 hour before surgery. Milk of Magnesia twice a day in the am and pm post surgery for 4 days then Milk of Magnesia once a day in the am and Citrucel once a day in the pm for four days. I have my first follow up appointment on Monday so I'm not sure what the rest of my treatment will be. That being said, I'm still a little sore from where I was cut, but I don't feel pain where my fissure was. Just a little stinging after a BM and that usually subsides after a 10 minute bath. The pain is getting better every day. My Dr. NEVER once said that I would feel better in a week and stated my recovery time as a week to two weeks before the pain subsides and 4-6 weeks to be completely healed (no drainage, etc. from the cut). Your stories sound like my biggest fear pre surgery and I highly recommend that you research Dr.'s and get a second, third, maybe 4th opinion. Your experience just doesn't sound right and I really feel for you.
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Thank you to all who posted here for sharing your experiences. Here is mine:
I've had increasing difficulty passing bowel movements for the past 10 years or so. Even with soft stools, I had to strain to pass them. Earlier this year, I spent a month of trying to drop bodyfat with an extremely low carb / high protein diet, which caused me severe constipation and hard stools. After several instances of sharp pain and blood-accompanied bowel movements, and the appearance of a large external hemorrhoid, I went to a colorectal surgeon. He said the main problem wasn't the hemorrhoid but a large fissure, and a too-tight sphincter to allow it to heal, and started me on a course of stool softeners, high fiber diet and nifedipine ointment. A month later he said the fissure was only slightly improved and recommended a lateral sphincterotomy, fissurectomy and hemorrhoidectomy, with an estimated 1-2 week recovery time.
Being a recovering alcoholic / addict, I initially refused pain medication prescription, a decision I sorely regretting 30 minutes after returning home when I started experiencing intense pain that extra strength Tylenol didn't help. I called the doc and had my wife procure the script for oxycodone acetaminophen. It took 30 minutes to take the edge off, but sometimes the pain would intensify again after an hour or two. However, I tried to refrain from taking it for fear of possible constipation.
Day 2 I had my first post-surgery BM, followed by excruciating pain that lasted several hours, again only being reduced to a tolerable level by the meds. Ironically, it was the easiest BM I've had in 10+ years, with somewhat sizable stools passing whole.
Over the next week my BM's saw the return of having to strain to evacuate through a seemingly too-tight sphincter. I also had pain flareups even without BM's. Wondering if the cause was fecal leakage, blood drainage or gauze at the area, I would try various remedies like the sitz bath, wet wipes or lidocaine ointment, all of which seemed only to restart the pain flareup. Then I started periodically using a removeable showerhead with very low pressure, and then not contacting the area at all for as long as possible. This seemed to minimize pain flareups, however the unabsorbed drainage caused a foul odor. I also began eating as little as possible to try to reduce the occurence of BM's.
Day 8's BM was followed by the most unbearable pain I've ever experienced in my life; it felt as if a watermelon was passing out of me and stopped midway. It took an hour for the meds to take the edge off, and another hour before it became somewhat tolerable. I phoned my doctor who assured me my recovery was normal, that the pain was most likely due to disolving sutures exposing muscle fibers before the incision was fully healed, or the muscle spasming.
Then a new problem began -- periods of intense cramps and bloating, especially when standing or bending, until I was sure I had to have a BM, only to hear a groaning sound from my stomach and the bloating temporarily pass. It would soon resume and continue until I could have a BM that night or the next morning. Day 14 the ability to pass gas suddenly returned, which seems to have alleviated the problem... so my guess is that I had become too tight even for gas to escape.
To date, BM's are followed by several hours of soreness, but not intense pain. I usually use a warm sitz bath afterwards to hopefully relax the muscles and minimize spasming.
So today is day 16 after the surgery. After using up 2 weeks' vacation time, I'm going on disability for another week or two. I don't see how I can return to work when I still can't sit comfortably, and have hours of soreness after a BM.
The most frustrating thing for me is that, even after months of Colace, high fiber diet and supplements, BM's are still so difficult due to my sphincter still being too tight. I almost always need several attempts, feeling the pressure of something reaching the opening but not being allowed to pass, trying various remedies like a warm sitz bath, or inserting a gloved finger with nifedipine ointment to try and dialate the opening... but nothing works 100%.
Best of luck to all my fellow sufferers!!!
I've had increasing difficulty passing bowel movements for the past 10 years or so. Even with soft stools, I had to strain to pass them. Earlier this year, I spent a month of trying to drop bodyfat with an extremely low carb / high protein diet, which caused me severe constipation and hard stools. After several instances of sharp pain and blood-accompanied bowel movements, and the appearance of a large external hemorrhoid, I went to a colorectal surgeon. He said the main problem wasn't the hemorrhoid but a large fissure, and a too-tight sphincter to allow it to heal, and started me on a course of stool softeners, high fiber diet and nifedipine ointment. A month later he said the fissure was only slightly improved and recommended a lateral sphincterotomy, fissurectomy and hemorrhoidectomy, with an estimated 1-2 week recovery time.
Being a recovering alcoholic / addict, I initially refused pain medication prescription, a decision I sorely regretting 30 minutes after returning home when I started experiencing intense pain that extra strength Tylenol didn't help. I called the doc and had my wife procure the script for oxycodone acetaminophen. It took 30 minutes to take the edge off, but sometimes the pain would intensify again after an hour or two. However, I tried to refrain from taking it for fear of possible constipation.
Day 2 I had my first post-surgery BM, followed by excruciating pain that lasted several hours, again only being reduced to a tolerable level by the meds. Ironically, it was the easiest BM I've had in 10+ years, with somewhat sizable stools passing whole.
Over the next week my BM's saw the return of having to strain to evacuate through a seemingly too-tight sphincter. I also had pain flareups even without BM's. Wondering if the cause was fecal leakage, blood drainage or gauze at the area, I would try various remedies like the sitz bath, wet wipes or lidocaine ointment, all of which seemed only to restart the pain flareup. Then I started periodically using a removeable showerhead with very low pressure, and then not contacting the area at all for as long as possible. This seemed to minimize pain flareups, however the unabsorbed drainage caused a foul odor. I also began eating as little as possible to try to reduce the occurence of BM's.
Day 8's BM was followed by the most unbearable pain I've ever experienced in my life; it felt as if a watermelon was passing out of me and stopped midway. It took an hour for the meds to take the edge off, and another hour before it became somewhat tolerable. I phoned my doctor who assured me my recovery was normal, that the pain was most likely due to disolving sutures exposing muscle fibers before the incision was fully healed, or the muscle spasming.
Then a new problem began -- periods of intense cramps and bloating, especially when standing or bending, until I was sure I had to have a BM, only to hear a groaning sound from my stomach and the bloating temporarily pass. It would soon resume and continue until I could have a BM that night or the next morning. Day 14 the ability to pass gas suddenly returned, which seems to have alleviated the problem... so my guess is that I had become too tight even for gas to escape.
To date, BM's are followed by several hours of soreness, but not intense pain. I usually use a warm sitz bath afterwards to hopefully relax the muscles and minimize spasming.
So today is day 16 after the surgery. After using up 2 weeks' vacation time, I'm going on disability for another week or two. I don't see how I can return to work when I still can't sit comfortably, and have hours of soreness after a BM.
The most frustrating thing for me is that, even after months of Colace, high fiber diet and supplements, BM's are still so difficult due to my sphincter still being too tight. I almost always need several attempts, feeling the pressure of something reaching the opening but not being allowed to pass, trying various remedies like a warm sitz bath, or inserting a gloved finger with nifedipine ointment to try and dialate the opening... but nothing works 100%.
Best of luck to all my fellow sufferers!!!
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