Swelling and Pain After Hemorrhoidectomy Surgery

I had internal and external hemorrhoids removed last Friday.  Great doctor but I think the key is the right pain medication.  Most they give constipates you making this a problem with this surgery.  I had medicine that I knew would knock the pain from back issues, but not constipate   you.  I have taken them every 4 to 6 hours and was able to go to church on Sunday (standing in the Back of course)!  I went to work yesterday and today for about 5 hours standing mostly. My question is does the swelling take long to go down?  TThe Gabapentin 400mg will drug you but not cause the constipation, wonder why they don't prescribe it.  

I was hoping that my ass would look almost normal at 6 months. Please tell me that at least some of the lumpiness went away!

I had a hemorrhoidectomy yesterday I'm 29 yr old female and have suffered since I was 15 this last bout has lasted 10 weeks. It's been so bad I was hospitalised for 3 days just a month ago. I've Neva felt pain like it. So anyways I stayed over night in hospital and was giving morphine. Slept most of the time came home today, they removed a huge skin tag and a prolapsed internal roid. Along with external roids. Now since I've come home I'm in the WORST pain of my life :((( I could literally hang myself. I Cnt cope with it I have taking 2 tramadol, 2 paracetamol a diclofenac and lactulose. Every 3 hours. It's the huge swelling that's hanging out of my bum it's so big and raw. I really Cnt take ths pain at all. I'm sitting on ice as I right this crying my eyes out. I dnt know what to do :(((

Get a peribottle (i ordered a three pack from Amazon) Fill it with slightly warm water and squirt on your A@@ after BM, it feels amazing and soothing and keeps you clean

Hi so glad to hear ur surgery went well .I have such a horror story from my procedure I just hope I didn't mess anything up today for me is 15 days .came home from procedure .from medication given that day was puking and having liquid bm within hours of procedure soaked in warm water same day had 11 days of cronic diareah in which I thought was cleaning me out only to find out I also was suffering from fecal impaction along with the cronic diareah took me 13 days to get the fecal impaction taken care of which after that the cronic diareah had also stopped now I'm left with making normal bm .I'm hoping I did no damage cuz now I look like I have external hemroids .I go for my first follow up next week has anyone ever experience that please share thanku

I had my surgery 12/26 that was 5days ago. I'm in the worst pain of my life. I only got percoset for the pain and I'm hardly getting any relief even taking the Meds every 4hours. Doc never called me back I was told he was on vacation. I'm miserable going poops is worse than chidbirth.

I am a thirty year old male....all I have to say is a hemmroidectomy is the surgery I call "hell on earth"......because it is......my sergeon is a good one and told me what I was up against and I thought if a woman can give birth a man can deal w this....."I .....was......wrong" Im only one full week in and sneezed yesturday so I cried myself to sleep..... I did the surgery because I had to.....I almost died of blood loss.... the only advise I have is if you have hemmroids take care of em immediatley .....not years later like me when they have a whole city in your ass....

Hi all,

I got my hemorrhoidectomy surgery two months ago. The first six days SUCKED. No exaggeration when I say you will feel some of the worst pain you've ever felt in your life. It's only one week out of your life though - you will live! Sitz baths, baby wipes, and strong pain killers are your best friends. Coughing and sneezing were very painful so if you have a cold, you might want to reschedule the surgery until you are no longer sick.

To be honest, I got the surgery primarily for cosmetic purposes. Hemorrhoids made me extremely self conscious to the point where it effected my sex life. Unfortunately, I think it actually looks worse now due to the swelling. The swelling doesn't seem like it will go away anytime soon. I think I will have to go back for a second surgery to get it removed. Sigh...=[

I wish to share my story of post of recovery from my hemorrhoidectomy and the side effects. In 2012 (at the age of 46, I was operated on late in the day and was only under for 30 minutes. I went home lunch time the next day once I has urinated for the first time in a hot bath at the hospital. (The bath helped to relax the muscles)

I was given instructions for post op care and a plethora of medications and stool softening agents.

The following morning I was home alone and had my first bowel movement. This is where the horror story begins. After passing what felt like a baseball bat size stool and screaming from the pain, I could not walk. I immediately rang my wife at work to come home as I was very distressed and worried at being in the most pain ever in my life. It took me ten minutes to crawl to the other bathroom to run a warm bath. The whole time my anus was spasming from the trauma to the nerves and operation site being stimulated by passing the motion The bath unfortunately made little difference and I just had to ride out the pain for the next 8 hours.

That night we called in the locum doctor and he prescribed stronger painkillers.

This happened every day after when I passed a motion, so much so that I would break out into a sweat and was on my hands and knees sweat dripping off me onto a towel on my bed whilst I was groaning in pain. Numerous hot salt baths one after the other had little effect. The EXTREME pain would continue in cycles for up to 8 hours after passing a motion.This was later explained to me as the muscles spasming after passing the motion.

After a few days I went back to my local GP who prescribed the strongest painkillers you could purchase over the counter at the chemist.

Unfortunately this had no effect except to make me constipated. I was taking all the recommended laxatives with little effect. I then went back to see the surgeon and he advised unfortunately I fell into the small percentage of patients that suffer severe post operative pain symptoms. I was prescribed an even more stringent regime of laxatives and pain meds.

After two weeks of the neighbours hearing my screams from our toilet I could not take it any longer and my wife drove me to the local hospital emergency department. I was on my hands and knees groaning in the back of the car all the way.

I presented with all the symptoms of someone suffering from a heart attack. Fortunately an experienced nurse spotted me and whisked me straight through. I then had panadol intravenously which had no effect on the pain. I was then given 2.5ml of morphine intravenously this also had no effect. I was then given another 2.5ml of morphine still no discernible effect. A final 2.5ml dose relieved the pain. I was then placed into a room and became comfortable. Normally after receiving such a high dose of morphine I was told I should be unconscious as that was enough to knock out a horse. What was more amazing was I walked out of the hospital a couple of hours later and went home.

Long story short is I am now aware that I have a very high tolerance to painkillers which I appear to have passed down to my daughters.

What worked after this in my case and my life saver was a laxative gel that I inserted into my anus using the applicator provided. Within 15 minutes my bowels evacuated with minimal pain. This I purchased myself from the local chemist and still cannot understand why no one else recommended this to me along the way.

I went back to work three weeks after the operation but it did not end there. When I passed a motion at work I had to go into the basement car park toilet so no one could hear my screams of pain as I could not use the laxative at work as you have to be on your back during and after application.

It took me a full six months to recover to the stage of having no post bowel movement pain. Unfortunately minor haemorrhoids have since returned but nothing that would prompt me to ever go through that experience again.

What I have learned -

1) Only have the operation as a matter of last resort.

2) Stay in hospital until you have passed your first motion and pain in under control.

3) If severe pain occurs after leaving hospital, that painkillers don't help with, go straight to emergency.

4) Use applicator gel laxatives. I keep one in my bedside drawer even now in case of emergencies. 

I hope someone else finds this helpful. More than happy to respond to replies.

See my story that I posted below, the pain post my operation was almost indescribable

I came across this post 5-days post-op and it gave me solace, so I thought I would contribute my experiences thus far. I had a stapled hemorrhoidectomy on Thursday morning. The nurse said I had to pee before I could leave the hospital and it took me several hours to deliver. Being a tough guy, I decided to not have my percocet, and associated stool softener prescriptions filled. The pain the rest of the first day was very tolerable, but that night I woke up every hour with the urge to pea but the inability. Friday, my urination situation went back to normal and I had my first BM, which was painful, but my stool was soft enough that I felt like I had made the right decision to avoid the percocets. I have been running warm water over my hand in the sink next to the toilette, which helps me relax. Sometimes stand up mid show and do some abdominal massaging, which help some, but I think I have still been straining more than I should. There isn't much blood in the toilette, but the TP is soaked with blood when I clean up. Then it is a 10 minute sitz bathe, which helps a lot. It often takes me 90 minutes for the post BM pain to subside. On Sunday I started to feel well enough to leave the house and go on very slow, very short walks. I also think I am bleeding less with my BM, but they are still very painful. Today (Monday) I have started to notice a lot of tension in my prostate. I think becomes inflamed during a BM and takes several hours to subside. I have always been a multiple BM a day kind of guy but the post BM pain has been worse than the actual BM, so I am trying to go less.

Well, at the risk of hit put out on my life, I wanted to offer some hope.

I had my Hemorroidectomy for internal and external as well as a big polyp.  Before going in for the surgery I went to several site and heard horror stories over and over and over again.  I was terrified after reading all of these horror stories.  Needless to say I went in for the surgery. I had my surgery Thursday 3/5/15 and I was sent home that day.  I was given pain meds., and I have been taking one every 6hrs. as my surgeon ordered. Also per my surgeons orders I removed the tape, bandage and then sat in a warm bath as soon as I got home. On Fri. morning I had a small BM, and there was some pain envolved, but no "breaking a sweat" like so many others have experienced. I continued with pain meds. the entire night. When I woke-up the next day (Sat.) I was feeling great! I decided to stop the pain med., using only motrin. So, now the only pain remaining is when I have a BM.  My pain never went above a two!  So, there is hope that the pain can be minimal. Keep in mind that people are more likely to post a horrorable experience, and seldum report about a good experience.

Good luck to anyone having the surgery and remember it doesn't always come with unbearable pain!

I'm a 22-year-old woman. I had my first hemorrhoidectomy this morning at 8am, 17 Mar 2015. At 2pm, I had a bowel movement. There was no blood, but my bottom was still numb from anaesthesia so I don't know if it hurt or not. I have a bit of flesh at the zone, I hope it's not a new 'roid. I have some abdominal swelling now. The zone hurts as if there's a thorn down there, but it's bearable. I am not taking any painkillers at all because I heard that some types might cause constipation. 

Fingers crossed that things will get better! I believe that people who post in this forum are those who are suffering and are trying to find fellow sufferers. The people who make quick and painless recoveries don't even bother doing any Googling. So take heart, friends! Things are probably not as bad as they seem from this forum page. 

First, I would like to start by saying that these posts are one of the few things that have gotten through the last 15 days since my surgery. That being said, I had to get my hemorrhoidectomy because I had severe piles, level 4 internal and level 4 external hemorrhoids. The doctor didn't even know how I was having BM's every day. I also had severe bleeding. I'm now 15 days post-op and I still have a lot of pain where my sutures are and my colon feels like it's full for up to about 8 hours after I have a BM. I believe it is from the swelling. The pain is definitely not as bad as it was during that first week of "hell". The only thing that helps me mentally is the fact that I took a picture of how bad it was before the surgery as my internal hemorrhoids were prolapsed. If you do not need this surgery I would recommend finding another way to get rid of the roids. I had no other choice. If you do need this surgery find a good surgeon! You Will need at least 2 weeks for recovery, give yourself time! So, once you have the surgery the first day may not be so bad because the area is numb. This is very deceiving. The pain will start to set in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th days BIG TIME! Baths became my best friend! I tried to sitz bathe those days but it felt better to lay in the tub. Helped me go pee too! Make sure you do your best to keep the area clean as well. I did my best not to take pain meds as it constipates you but the pain is excruciating! I tried to space them out every six hours when I could. They were giving me generic Percocet. I finally had a BM 3 days after surgery. It was the worst night of my life because I had extreme pressure for about 12 hours before it actually passed. Just remember, it HURTS! A lot. Alternate between a cold compress and a heating pad. The heating pad was one of the few things that gave me relief and the cold was to try to bring down the inflammation. Every day has been spent trying to manage the pain and that is all you can really do, unfortunately. Ride it out, it will get better! As I said, I am now 15 days post-op and I still have pain but it goes away around 8 hours after I have a BM. Slight pain all day but I will update if the pain goes away because I have read of people having nerve damage after surgery.

I am so greatful to all that shared their stories as that made me feel like i may be ok after all.

All of my problems were internal and last year i got hospitalized due to severe anemia loosing blood during BMs. I had 4 units of blood pumped into me and was sent home after a rubberband ligation which obviously did nothing but piss of all other hemmorhoid sisters and brothers so my problem became worse.

I should mention - im a 34 yo female, a health nut. My exersise lifestyle is running and occasional weight lifting.

I had my stapled hemorrhoid surgery exactly 8 days ago. (wed. 04/22). My doc said that my case was one of the worst and it looked like a basket of golfballs!!

So, wednesday had surgery, went home. Slept for almost 16 hours into the next day, Thursday. Could not eat that day, just laid there in bed in and out of sleep due to the pain pills (oxicodone w/acetomenophen). Friday finally had some soup my sis made for me. I was scared to eat anything fully solid. Right after i ate, i got the urge to have a BM. So, bracing myself i held on to the walls and had a tiny thin strip of bowels come out. The spasms were so bad, i asked my feance to fill the bathtub and i set in it for almost 30 min.

Sat and Sun were better painwise. I still could not stand up for a long time. During the past 2 -3 days i was drinking huge amounts of prune juice and water with fiber.  Got brave and had a good solid dinner saturday, followed by the painfull bowels. Then breakfast and lunch sunday. All seemed to be going well, so I went to work on Monday! This is my new job and i still dont have accruedtime off, so i had to return this soon.

Mon & tues. i did a combination of sitting and walking so that helped, plus the pain pills kept the worst at bay. Wednesday  (yesterday) had a checkup and my doc just opened my chicks and said "ok, all looks well, you are making a fast recovery". So i went home happy and that evening had really upset stomach!!! Once, i felt a bubble of gas trying to come out, so i let it... and next thing i know my sphincter is on fire... sharp pain... im starting to sweat. Worst of all, although in pain - this made me laugh so much, after awhile i was laying on the floor clinching my butt and crying.

So, last nite after my bubble incident, i went to have a BM. It felt alot more painful than previously and when i wiped, i felt a lump just like before the sugery, so i pushed it back in. The pain was so bad, i was up for the next 6 hrs moaning like a dying whale. So, this a.m. the pain was still there and i had to call in to work. I called my doc & his nurse told me to come in this afternoon so he can take " another look". This really is scaring me, what if the suture is coming apart? 

I wonder if anyone else ever had a simial incident?