Day 5 was another step forward. I finally had a normal BM a couple of hours after waking up this morning, and other than a bit of burning afterwards, it went fine. The pain eased following the hot/cold routine and the hair dryer is my new best friend! I ran a few errands and as long as I stood up straight and watched every step I took, things went fairly smoothly but I was definitely the slowest guy in the stores. I'll be popping my last perc before bedtime to ensure a good night's sleep and I'm hoping to be off of them completely starting tomorrow. I'll decide on that when I see how I feel once I wake up.
I'm glad that my situation is a positive one for you and others to read, Danni, and I pray that yours is even less dramatic. Today's BM was the best looking one I've had in years and it's definitely proof positive for me that my decision to go through this procedure was correct. I'm also glad that I found this site. I followed many of the suggestions offered and they seem to have worked for me so I wish the say THANK YOU to all of you who have suffered and shared their experiences here with us.
Cheers and merry holidays everyone!
It's been 10 days since surgery and I'm progressing to the point of making New Year's Eve plans. Minor itching during the day and slight burning during BMs but I haven't taken any painkillers for several days now and I'm able to wipe the area comfortably with a facecloth. The areas near the stitches are still a bit swollen but they're getting smaller and the colour is pretty well back to normal. I've been having regular morning BMs and almost no blood in the stool. The best position for me is with elbows to knees and feet back straddling the sides of the toilet. I'm down to about 3 sitz baths a day and I'll often clean the area with aloe wipes, especially after passing gas. I was going through about 8 to 10 feminine hygiene pads a day last week but I'm down to about 4 as of today and very little blood or discharge. I used gauze the first couple days but I find that pads did a better job and easier to keep in place. It just took a few days figuring out the correct positioning. I have my follow-up with the surgeon in a week and I'll report back with his opinion.
On another note, I just found out that an older brother had this operation 3 years back, that it took him a few months to fully recover and that he would have discouraged me from doing it. I'm glad that I kept this to myself until after the fact!
It's now been 15 days since surgery and I met with the surgeon this morning. He's really happy with my recovery and he said that everything went as he had expected. I go back in 2 weeks for a final follow up and to remove the remaining sutures if they haven't come off on their own. I feel like I'm about 95% recovered without any pain. I stopped using pads 3 days ago and I can now wear white undies without hesitation for the first time in years. I've strangely been looking forward to my morning BMs during the last few days, probably because it hasn't felt this good to go since the early 1980's!! I'm using a lot less toilet paper when I go and the swelling is pretty well gone. I'm still doing sitz baths after my BMs and before going to bed and I've been adding lavender oil to them along with the Epsom salt. It burns a bit at first but it really helps with the itching from healing. I'm also glad that I can now slowly get back to my regular diet and regain the 15 pounds I've lost.
Barring any other issue that may pop up, this will probably be my last update but feel free to ask any questions.
Signing off
BummedOut no more!
You have lost 15 lbs??? Wow, maybe I can get these last 3 lbs off to get to my goal. There might be an unexpected bonus to this surgery. =)
Surgery is in 4 days. Getting nervous all over again. I was strangely calm the last time I was cancelled so I am hoping this comes back soon.
Danni
Hi Danni! Others mentioned the weight loss so I was expecting it and I went from a pre-op of 185 to just under 170 today. I drank tons of liquids and I stayed away from all meats, fatty foods and sweets but in fact I didn't really have much of an appetite that first week. It's probably psychological but I ate the minimum until my first BM, loads of fruits, fibre and baked beans to pass gas. I think it was a good thing that I went 5 days without a BM so that the bum can heal a bit before being put to use. My ideal weight is 180 so I'm just planning on eating right and exercising my way back up, although I just had my first post-op guilty pleasure: poutine! Yummmmmm! That should be good for an extra pound or three!
Something I didn't mention before because I was expecting it as well since others had mentioned experiencing it: the first day of surgery, the anus looked deep purple but otherwise normal. Within a few days a couple of growths appeared near the stitches but they pretty well disappeared a couple of days ago. Just part of the healing process for some people.
All I can suggest is that you don't stress over the procedure, get prepared for it. I sort of came to terms with the worse while hoping for the best and things worked out much better than I had expected. I really hope that it goes as well for you!
Cheers!
I had my surgery two days ago. I had excellent care and an excellent experience. I requested a spinal with no sedation and the anesthesiologist was very agreeable. He even ran around to locate the last dose of a med that works with me if I get dizzy or nauseous. I was completely awake and aware during the entire surgery (I can't stand feeling fuzzy or out of it so I was very happy that they agreed to not sedate me).
The anesthesiologist came out to see me in the day surgery area and then he pushed me to the operating room. There, I was made comfy with lots of blankets until it was time to put in the spinal. My back was numbed first and then the spinal was done. I had to sit for a while with my legs dangling so that the spinal would freeze me from the waist down. Amazingly it froze my bottom but I still had some sensation in my legs and my feet. I was surprised to discover I could wiggle my toes. They told me that this was normal. The anesthesiologist checked my level of freezing by spraying a liquid that was -24C on me. Where I was frozen, I just felt a cool sensation, where I wasn't, believe me I jumped!
They then put up a blanket as a splash screen and positionned me. Once in position, the surgeon came up and said that I really needed this surgery and that I would be very happy after. I think the surgery took around 45 minutes. I wasn't really keeping track as I was having a lovely conversation with the anesthesiologist. At times, I could feel some pressure as if someone was leaning on me and I could smell some cauterization but no pain.
My IV got clogged and the anesthesiologist had to clear the air bubble out and when he did, I really felt the liquid shoot into my hand where the IV put in. I made a comment that: "Wow, I can really feel that!". The surgeon jumped and said: "You can feel that!!!" I had to explain very quickly that it was the IV liquid shooting into my vein that I was feeling, not whatever he was doing.
Once the surgery was over, I was brought to the Recovery room where I hung around for about 45 minutes to an hour. The nurses were checking my vitals but there was really not much to do since my blood pressure was rock solid right through the surgery and I was wide awake and in no pain.
After that I was brought back to the day surgery area to wait until the freezing came out of my legs and I could stand on my own. A trip to the bathroom, a bit more waiting and I was on my way home.
At home, I took two Tramacet and waited 2 hours to take Ibuprofin. I was told to take Ibuprofin for only 3 days. The freezing came out of my bottom after a few hours and I could barely feel anything. Yesterday, I had no pain or even discomfort. I slept through my middle of the night dose, so this morning, I could feel a bit of discomfort, maybe a level 1 on the pain scale but that is it.
I was so ready for this whole thing to be a nightmare and although I am only two days post-op, this has been more than just fine. I still have to have a BM and I am taking Lactulose and a stool softener twice daily but nothing yet. Mind you, things were pretty well cleared out after the enemas on surgery day and I haven't been eating a lot since.
I have had a bit of spotting blood but my doctor told me that he left the bottom part of the incision open for it to drain so spotting is normal. I do have dissolvable stitches and I am to see him in a month. He will be gone on holidays and I had the choice of seeing another doctor but I will wait till he comes back. By then, I should be completely healed. He said it should take 4 to 6 weeks.
I am to shower daily (no kidding) and take one sitz bath a day or after each bowel movement. No more often that that and no salt in the water. I am then to let it air dry for an hour. He wouldn't give me numbing cream when I asked.
I can't say how surprised I am at how I feel. Even the doctor asked me if I had cleared my schedule for the next several weeks. When I told him that I was house and dog sitting in a couple of weeks, he gave me a look saying that he didn't think that would happen. Unless things change drastically after my first BM, I should be just fine.
I really hope that this gives some people hope that some of us get through this surgery initially just fine. I was pretty scared going into it and remember scouring the boards looking for a positive story.
I will try to post once I have my first BM and hopefully, it goes okay.
Three days post-op, I finally had two BMs. The anticipation of the pain was worse than the actual event. There was very little pain and I made sure to breathe through it. Not a lot was produced the first time but more the second time. Today I am experiencing a bit more soreness which I am guessing is due to the tissues being stretched during the BMs. My doctor told me to quit the ibuprofin after three days so I took my last dose of it this morning. Apparently Ibuprofen slows down healing. Who knew? I reduced my dose of Tramacet to every 5 hours and will go to 6 hours tomorrow. I am considering switching to plain Tylenol this weekend since I am taking meds more as a preventative rather than a real need.
I have a very little bleeding although there as a bit more after my bathroom session. I am doing the sitz baths as ordered. The one thing that I find really helps with my minor discomfort are ice packs. I bought some round gel icepacks that are meant for kids and fold those in half before placing them between layers of clothing.
So far so good. I am not regretting this surgery.
Update: Four days post-op and found out that trying to reduce pain meds was not a good idea at this time. I was pretty sore last night and this morning, getting in and out of bed was getting to be painful. I guess the meds were working and took care of pain I didn't realize I had. So I am back on my schedule of one Tramacet every 4 hours. I feel so much better tonight. I have enough to last me till Monday. I see my PCP for anoher issue then and I hope she will be able to advise me to either go on Tylenol or to continue on the Tramacet. Hopefully, she will write me a script if she thinks more Tramacet is needed. Otherwise, it will be fun trying to get hold of my surgeon since I know he does surgery all day Monday.
I'm in day five after a THD surgery to remove internals. Had a ton of fecal leakage on dY 2and3. Can handle the pain but would love to know when I can be away from a bathroom for more than 30 min.
The bathroom does become your home for the first few days, and you will want to keep your bottom as clean as possible, so you will be spending a lot of time there. At least I did for the first couple of weeks. As far as the stinky discharge, it diminished to nothing by week 4 and the panty liners did a great job absorbing it. The lavender oil in the sitz baths relieved the itching and helped mask the odour. I hope this helps.
This is week 5 post-op and everything is going great. I had my final follow-up last week with the surgeon and he gave me 2 thumbs up. The scarring near the stitches feel hard to the touch but it should eventually soften within a few months as the skin regenerates. The most amazing thing, though, is how little bathroom tissue I'm using for my BMs now. This operation was great for me AND for the environment!
The bumps are all gone and my butt looks really normal now. The only thing left for me is the hard skin where the stitches were, but I was told that it will soften over time as the dermal layer regenerates and new softer skin replaces the scarred areas. I'm still doing a sitz bath after each BM and before going to bed, not because I feel I need it but because it feels so good. I'll probably keep doing them for another couple of months.
I am almost 4 weeks post-op and the last three days have been the best. I no longer need a panty liner and bms are totally painless. I still have some healing to do because there are red areas and things are still tender but no bleeding or discharge. I went back to Pilates after 3 weeks although I am not sure my surgeon would approve. I feel fine and I have no pulling, bleeding or discharge of any kind which would have been my signal that it was too early.
I stopped taking Tylenol at 3 weeks post-op. So basically, I was 3 days on both Tramacet and Ibuprofin, 4 days on Tramacet and 2 weeks on Extra Strenght Tylenol.
I hope that reading my posts will help some people realize that not everyone that goes through this surgery ends up into a nightmare situation. I totally freaked myself out reading the posts on here. I don't do pain and scared myself silly. The most pain I experienced would be probably a level 3 and that was the quick twinge at the start of a bm. Otherwise when my meds wore off, I was at a 2 out of 10 at the most. With meds and the occasional ice pack, no pain at all. The whole process was more uncomfortable rather than painful.
I hope that in time, the extra skin left over will flatten out. I plan to ask my surgeon about that when I see him at the end of the month. Follow up is at 4 weeks post-op but he is off on holidays and I am not interested in having his replacement look at a surgery site that she didn't do.
Hello Bummedout,
I just had surgery 3 days ago. I had been suffering with hermerohiods for over 30 years.
The pian of having a BM is like crushed glass!
I was told that they injected exparel which is like numbing that last upto 96 hours.
I feel tremandace amount of pressure in the area.
I have been manly on liquids and fruits.
I don't know what else to do to make this less painful. Dr.said it would take months.
One more thing...when look at it doesn't look as if the hemorrhoids were removed...has anyone notice that as well?