Swelling and Pain After Hemorrhoidectomy Surgery

Day 8.  It's been a rough day. I woke up at 5:30 am with a bout of bloody diarrhea that continued on and off for several hours. I mean, it was really, really bad. The blood is not just from the surgery site. I won't go into details, but I am pretty sure it is more of a GI issue. So I have not taken any narcotics since last night and no Advil since 2 am. Only Tylenol. It doesn't really address the pain, but the other meds are just making me sick. I talked to a nurse at the surgeon's office and she talked with me for a while about my options. There are not really any options except Tylenol. My GI system is not handling all the meds very well. I finally took  a half of a pepto bismal tablet about 30 min ago just to see if I can get some relief. This was before I talked to the nurse - she thought it might actually irritate things, but I'm hoping it will help calm things down. I am drinking water and flat ginger ale. I just do not feel wel in my gut as well as the pain at the surgery sitel. I am doing everything they said to do and things I've read on here and it just seems like I can't catch a break. I think the meds are aggravating the diverticulosis. The nurse said I am probably right plus nsaids can tear up your stomach.

So I am trying to deal with this with just Tylenol. I feel like I am going to lose my mind.

About donut holes, I had also heard they put more pressure on the anal area and can make hemorrhoids worse. I can't remember where I heard that from.

oceanarcher, I'm so glad you are 100%!!!!  That is awesome!

Yeah, I try not to sit too much but when I do I sit on the donut pillow because I find that sitting on a flat surface made it hurt so much! The dr recommended it for when I need to sit and not meant for me to sit on it all the time, which I haven't. But it really has helped me though when I did have to sit! :)

I've been off my stool softeners for a few days now (because of diarrhea) but still drinking prune juice but not a ton. I had a pretty normal BM this a.m. without much pain at all. I was nervous about completely stopping my stool softener pills but I just had to bc of the constant diarrhea.

Archer, how long after your surgery was it when you stopped the stool softeners? I'm wondering if I need to continue taking them since I'm still at the recovery stage but I just had to stop for now bc I had nonstop diarrhea for almost 3 days straight. I think I overkilled on laxatives and stool softeners, that's why.

Breezie, I'm so sorry you're having a rough day. I hope the pepto bismol settles your stomach and not irritate it. You poor woman, not only are you going through pain down at the bottom but your stomach too! :( I remember taking the pain killers they prescribed me and they made me very sick. I halfed the dosage and felt a lot of the pain still so I ended up taking a bunch of other stuff like Ibuprofen and then Excedrin and a couple others. Ugh, it was miserable trying all those and still not getting any relief. I hope your stomach starts to feel better soon.

I don't know how to get my BM's regular and consistent!  I either have diarrhea or I have bits and pieces that hardly want to come out and leave me feeling not empty. I need help! My surgeon's office just said to drink lots of water which I'm already doing!

Please help with any suggestions!  I think because of my panic I am not using the right things or eating well. I don't feel good so I am eating very little - applesauce, mashed potatoes, trying to eat oatmeal and eat some fruit during the day.  I'm taking fiber (Benefiber) and stool softeners (Colace), which was my normal routine.

The nurse said that for some people the anesthesia can affect your system for a while after surgery. A week?

I don't know what else to do to get things regular and consistent. I think that would go a way to helping me feel better.

Thanks PITA. I'm starting to feel very discouraged and depressed. I feel panicky and don't know what to do for help with this issue. The inconsistent BMs are making life unbearable, on top of not being able to take pain meds.

Breezie I think that when we get this figured out we need to celebrate. I'm on the same boat it seems except I'm not in much pain anymore. Even though my bm was normal this a.m. I still feel like I'm not empty. I ended up going one more time and even after that I don't feel empty. It's frustrating. I was really hoping to be regular and have normal poos but it doesn't seem that way. I had diarrhea since Sunday night and it stopped yesterday. But now I can't seem to empty myself. It has to be one or the other, it seems! Diarrhea/liquidy bm's or bits here and there and that's it with the uncomfortable feeling of being plugged. Prior to Sunday my bm's were soft almost to the point of liquidy. I can't seem to find an in-between either. I just feel so bad for you because I know how much pain you're in. I think that this is just part of the recovery (having to go too often, and then having a hard time going completely sometimes. Idk, I may be wrong, but I just get this weird feeling that it could be normal, which sucks for us. For me, in the last several weeks I'd have my better days and then I'd have my bad days. Just when we feel like we should be getting better, bam, we get a bad day. That can get discouraging but just know you will have better days too :)

PITA, I welcome the day we can celebrate! I feel badly that you have to struggle with this ongoing. I never had this problem before. It is definitely frustrating. I'm hoping I can get some rest tonight and that tomorrow will be a better day. It has to get better eventually right?

 

 

Ladies sorry to hear ur having such a hard time. Breeze - I'm all out of suggestions. If I were going through ur predicament I'd cut back on the colace and or fiber. I'd rather have pellet poos that leave me feeling unemptied than constant diarrhea. That's just MY preference but u and others might feel differently. By all means necessary I'd try to stop the diarrhea because that just exacerbates the swelling and bleeding. Sorry I'm not able to come up with better suggestions :-(

PITA - I didn't use much softener at all. I probably took my last dose by end of 1 week. I preferred natural fiber instead like metamucil and fiber one cereal. I got a donut pillow too but never used it. I need to return it to Amazon. I only used my sitz basin once but I don't think it qualifies to be returned. I was too paranoid to use the pillow so I avoided sitting all together until sitting became relatively painless to do so after 3 weeks.

Day 9 - Today was a better day. I think my body is finally starting to detox from the medications. BMs are still very painful. When do they stop being so excrutiating?  Because of the episodes of diarrhea this week and generally not feeling well, I have gone to a pretty basic diet that consists of some fruit, mashed potatoes, and applesauce. I did have some brown rice tonight. I'm almost afraid to eat anything else. The fear of having a BM is pretty powerful. I am still having soft, formed BM's. They aren't large or what I would call regular. But they are not diarrhea.

The good news is that the pain is not lasting as long after the BM and in between I feel halfway okay. I actually did some laundry today.

How long was it until you felt able to sit for an entire day at work, if you sit at work?  I got some paperwork today from the surgeon's office for my job. It said I would be cleared to go back to work on May 31 which is only next Thursday, 2 weeks after surgery!!! I don't even see the surgeon until June 7.  Don't worry, my job has a policy that I am not allowed to return to work until the doctor has seen me in person and given me a note to return. But I just think that is all really odd. I highly doubt I will be able to return to work at 2 weeks. Geesh. What is it with doctors?

I am noticing today that I feel really weak. Just very drained. I've also lost 10 pounds since surgery.

I think not being on the narcotics anymore is helping me feel better overall. I don't have as much to use to handle the pain of the BM, but the narcotics were really messing with my system.

I hope you are all having a good day!

oceanarcher - I can see the ad now - "for sale, one slightly used sitz bath" LOL!



I also just saw that you said it was about 3 weeks until you could sit without pain. When did you even begin to try sitting? I have to admit, I am pretty traumatized from my experience, so I know I will have to make myself start doing things again, like eating normal foods at some point, sitting, getting out of the house. I just want to do those things when I know I will be ready and it won't cause a set back.

haha. I can probably fetch a few pennies on craigslist for that slightly used sitz bath  eh 

I feel encouraged by your post, archer!  It's 2 in the morning and I had to get up and soak my butt because of discomfort. Not sure why it's acting up now. It was feeling better between BM's. 

Also, I have developed a tickle in my throat and a cough. I think it may be just allergies. I am freaked out about coughing since it hurts and I'm afraid it could cause damage "down there." Any suggestions? I've been reluctant to take any medications since my GI system seems to be overreacting to everything these days. I'm continuing to drink lots and lots of water and have been sucking on some sugar free candies.

I just want to be better....like, yesterday!  With  no more complications!

I'm on eastern time too. Just got back from a vacation. Too much caffeine in the system trying to stay awake on the road. Now that I'm home, I can't sleep lol.

Thanks archer! I hope you had a good vacation. And I hope you can get some sleep soon.

It helped to read about someone even enjoying a vacation after this! I think one of the hardest parts, aside from the pain and fear, is the mental exhaustion of dealing with the pain and fear. The way you described the coughing sounds about right. I'm so sorry you had to go through that! I think mine is just an allergy. The tickle started up last night. Comes and goes.

I guess I had in my head that things would be dramatically better at 1 week, and it some ways it was and in other ways it wasn't. Now I'm telling myself 2 weeks and it will be better. But Wed (2 weeks) seems so far away. I feel really bad when my son (a teenager) has to hear me moaning and whimpering during a BM. I try to warn him as I dash for the bathroom so he can escape upstairs and put on some headphones or something. I know he is worried about me. As is my husband. Yesterday my hubby said "I'm really proud of you" and I said, "why? for having this crappy surgery?" LOL  But it was a sweet thought. I'm not sure there is anything to be proud of. More like I'm just trying to survive.

I still haven't found a balance between softeners and fiber. I'm pooping about 5 times a day, and that is just painful after a while. But I'm too afraid of getting constipated to make big changes. My husband picked me up some Metamucil but I've been afraid to even try it since I have never had it before, and the past week I've had so may problems with my GI system. I just want to see if I can stay the course until BMs are not as painful and then maybe try something new.

It really helps to hear your experiences and know I am not alone or crazy. Well, I may be crazy, but in a different way!

Oh, and yeah, the water is great. Sometimes I lay in there for over 30 minutes and just drain a little water and add some hot. I am thankful for the water and also am really getting tired of laying in a tub for so much of the day! But thank goodness for the water!

Breezie,

Your last post made me laugh out loud. It is good that in all this, you haven't lost your sense of humour. Water is your best friend. Drink it, sit in it....it works wonders. I've had a crazy busy week. My surgery was Feb. 28th and I still take stool softeners. I think I am afraid of stopping. I don't have a bm every day. I wasn't having one everyday before surgery either so maybe that is just my system. At this point in time you can only move forward so trying to get the runs under control will hopefully allow your butt to heal some and just rest from all the stress so you too can start feeling better. I never bought a donut pillow although I thought I would buy one. It was in the first week and I was literally afraid of leaving the house so I put it off. When I did get out, I bought a magic pillow that you microwave and would sit on that. I just sat on my blanket when I went out to the ice rink or knew I would sit on a harder surface. I also remember reading about this stool for use in the bathroom. I was thinking to buy one because the science behind it makes sense. When having a BM, you are to prop your feet up on this stool to tip your rectum so that gravity helps to empty the poop out completely or something like it. Basically it puts your body in a squatting position which helps to empty out more thoroughly. Has anyone else heard about that. Try and google it. It comes in different heights and such and fits in front of your toilet.

My son had to endure the same. I remember saying to him..now make sure you aren't straining or anything. Hems do run in the family and so I just want him to make sure he would be more preventative in his life. I think he was thinking TMI for sure!

It can only get better from here on!

Breezie, I'm glad you're feeling better and the diarrhea has subsided. I'm the same way, I was so fearful of bm's and still am a little actually just bc I've stopped on my stool softeners and I ran out of prune juice so today my bm was painful. It was kind of like there was a plug and as soon as I got that plug out it was niagara falls lol. Not water, but real soft, which is good. I'm so glad it wasn't a cold that you caught and just allergies. I too had that problem but with sneezing. I have seasonal allergies so I was sneezing all the time lol and I don't just sneeze once or twice. I sneeze 4-10 times, each time! I've been on OTC allergy meds for the past several weeks to lessen the amount of sneezes lol! But yeah, every cough, clearing of the throat, sneeze, and laugh hurt. I can't believe they are giving you so little time to recover. Like Archer said, there's no way your surgeon had this time of surgery or he would know to give you more time. My surgeon had this surgery and he would tell me about his experiences recovering. It was so funny!!! (The way he would tell it, at least lol) At my pre op appt he asked me if I thought 4 weeks would be sufficent to be off work. He said the recovery may take up to 6 weeks but by the 4th week I'd be feeling significantly better. I did not need his note anyway but it was nice to know he would have happily given me that much time off or more if I needed.


Soar, you answered my curiosity. I had wondered if you were still on the stool softeners but hadn't asked you yet. II'm at 4 weeks and 4 days. I feel like I should go back on them (I stopped for a little while bc of constant diarrhea due to laxatives, lots of fiber foods, and the stool softeners). I'm thinking of going back on them since I'm not using laxatives anymore. Today's bm made me want to go back on the stool softeners. My butt felt like it tore open or something. There was blood too, but not a lot. This is the first time I bled in about a week or so I think. I was a little worried why I bled again but like I described, my bm today was painful because of the stupid plug lol. I sat there and the urge was strong but it couldn't come out. It took about 10 minutes of sitting there as I did not want to strain, even though I did end up doing that a little.