Swelling and Pain After Hemorrhoidectomy Surgery

Dear Myassisonfire,
I think you meant to say you had a "fistula." That's just a hole in your rectum. I can't believe YOU had to tell THEM that you wanted to have the internal hemms removed. Jeez.

UPDATE:
Had original hemmorhoidectomy March '09. Had "skin tag removal" Dec. 1 '09. Today is Jan. 9 '10.

The skin tags are still there and still a little swollen outside of my ass.

I don't know what the hell the surgeon did to cut off those skin tags (which after the hemmorhoidectomy used to be just flat, deflated versions of the original 2 puffy places on my anus), but the skin tags are still there except now they're jagged hangy-down things. At my follow-up a couple of weeks ago, instead of seeing my surgeon, they gave me a physician's assistant. (I know this sounds gross, but) he had me lie on my side, and he really spread my butt open (unlike the surgeon, who always simply glances down there with me leaning over the chair). He didn't say anything good--he was rather quiet. He asked ME what I thought about it. It was obviously very swollen, and he said that it can take UP TO 3 months for the swelling to go down.

I'm mad because surgeons and their staff will never admit the surgeon did a bad job. But that's any surgeon. They're the most elite doctors there are, so they'll never admit any mistakes.

Sjupie

It's been just over 48-hours since the surgery and I just had my first BM. WOW! I knew I'd have to go today so I really focused on eathing high fibre foods. I had prunes and Colace with breakfast and Milk of Magnisia in the afternoon. I think that's what really helped.

I'm still having a VERY hard time urinating. I asked my wife to look it up and she said about 20% of patients have difficulties urinating after the surgery. It is caused by the pain of straining your bladed and/or drinking to much fluids. Esentially you can have too many fluids from the I.V. and drinking fluids. Apparently it's supposed to subside in a day or two. But so far it's not getting any better for me. Most of the time it's a little dripple of pee and if I'm lucky maybe 100cc. Right now that's my biggest complaint. I would feel so much better if I could just pee.

As for that first BM, it hurt a lot and I have three soft plobs. I immediately got in the tub to clean off and soak. Unfortunately that didn't help the pain. I just so happened to be due for my next dose of Percocet which I doubled up to 10mg. After take that I did a sits bath but used luke warm water and that was heaven. Probably a combination of the meds and the soothing water felt great. I'm back in bed with and ice pack on my ass. That feels good too.

I'm really glad I got that first BM out of the way. At least now I know what to expect next time.

I am 32 years old and have had a problem with 'roids since I was 19 or so. I finally found someone who would take them out and am currently 3 days post op. Everything went well, and the meds are working. I dreaded my first BM, but it is over now. I thought my butt was going to explode afterwards, but I did figure out a way to go without too much pain. The little sitz bath bucket that fits over the toilet filled with warm water helps to relax the muscles so I didn't have to push. It is a little gross to poop in that little bucket, but that was the only way that I could do it. It really did help with the pain of the BM itself. Afterward was a different story, though. I literally felt like my anus had prolapsed profusely. I looked down there and it looked as if I had bigger 'roids than the doc removed. My nerves were so shot that I was shaking. I sat in the bathtub to clean myself up, but it did not relieve any of the pain. I took my percocet and my valium and currently am in no pain, I just feel pressure. (Thank God for Narcotics!!!) I was a little concerned about what I saw until I read on here that everyone has experienced the same swelling. All I know is, if there are some remaining 'roids, they are welcome to stay, I will NOT go through this again!!!

Hi, thanks for all the posts on here sharing your experiences....Im certainly learning about what I can expect to happen after my op. Ive been struggling to find out much information, its so difficult and embarrassing to talk about...I appreciate all the tips I can get!

Im due to have surgery to remove H and anal skin tags next month, after reading all these posts Im wondering whether its all worth it???? Its took me 10 yrs to get the courage up to show the doc my butt! I wont even look down there myself!

Please can someone advise me whether all the pain and discomfort after the op was all worth it in the end and their quality of life has improved?.....or do we just put up with these embarrassing problems which rule our lives?

Yours very worried x

Hey Post Op, is sounds like we had our surgery the same day, Thursday.

Last night was another tough one. Again I couldn't pee and tried everything to stimulate my bladder. At around 1 this afternoon I decided to call the on-duty post op nurse. I told her about the problem peeing and she called the on call surgeon. He was apparently familiar with my case and wanted me to come in to get a cathador. So an hour later I was in the ER. The ER doc did an ultra-sound and saw my bladder full. He said they could cath it but it would stay in for a week or two. The second option which I chose was a prescription of Flowmax to shirk my prostate. I'll take my first dose shortly after dinner. I also asked the ER doc for something to put on the roids. So he gave me a prescription of 2% Lidocaine.

I was told if I don't start urinating within 48 hours I'll have to get a cath. As soon as I got back from the ER I went straight to the tub where I had my third BM. My poor wife got to see first hand what I was going through. I soaked for well over an hour before the pain subsided enough to ge out. I put on a very small dap of the Lido to kinda test it out first. It's didn't numb the pain, but it is better.

Since I think the inability to pee is related to the pain and enlarged prostate
I'm hoping this will work. If not, I will get a cath put in. :-(

To the post above "is it worth it." I'm probably the wrong person to ask as I'm going through the tough stage myself. I doubt I'll be able to have an objective take for a few months.

My urine retention has improved overnight. I'm using a urinal which helps me go and track my out put. I don't know it is the gradual process of eliviating the bladder pressure that is allowing me to go more easy or the Flomax I started taking last night. It's suppose to take a couple of days up to a week to shrink your prostate. I really wish I was in this drug before my surgery.

Last night was a little scary. I got up to go to the rest room and felt a little gas so I gave a small push and what happened next was completely unexpected. I started bleeding profusly. I got in the tub and called for my wife. I tried to stop the bleeding with a washcloth. Meanwhile she called the advise nurse. I had a lot of red blood and dark muscas blood. I would say total volume was a cup. Because there was a lot of muscas and no recent BM the nurse wasn't too alarmed. The bleeding stop, I hosed myself off in the shower and applied pressure with a gause pad. I had my wife get up with me every couple of hours to check on things. I had the sensation of wanting to go again so I did. But because there was so much blood it was hard to tell if I passed a BM. I cleaned up and no
more the normal drainage since. Although I haven't had a BM today.

I just talked to the surgeon and told him about everything. He said because of the extensive roids I had he's not too surprised at the amount of blood. Obviously he said if it happens again and doesn't stop bleeding I'll need to come in. He was more concerned with my ability to urinate. So far it's improving so that's all I can ask for right now. Now pain whatsoever, and I'm relaxing comfortably.

"myassisonfire", I know what you mean. I have trouble urinating as well. It is like that recurring nightmare I have where I have to pee so bad, and it just won't come out. I use the sitz bucket or the tub to be able to do that as well. I don't have a prostate, so it is just from the inability to relax my muscles. Of course when I am done, contracting my muscles is the worst part. I never realized all the movements that we make throughout our daily lives that causes the sphincter to react as well. The dog jumped on my stomach the other day and I thought I was going to die. Of course, no one in my house understands the pain that I am in, and my husband even laughed at me earlier (and a few times before), bastard. At least your wife is willing to help you get through all of this. I am trying to cope with the pain and do all the things around the house that need to be done. Needless to say, those things really aren't getting done. I tried to stay off the pain meds today because I felt so much better, but after the excrutiating BM I had a little while ago, I had to take a double dose. Childbirth (and I had mine without any drugs) wasn't this bad. I wouldn't recommend this surgery to anyone.

I'm really sorry to hear you don't have that strong support system at home. I don't think I could do this without my wife's support and assistance.

Day 5 and I'm learning

As you can see from my previous posts I've had my share of challenges for the first few days. However, I'm finally starting to stabilize.

Starting yesterday I really focused on creating a schedule and not going overboard on foods, excessive fibre and meds. Yesterday like today I limited myself to only one BM (in the morning). What I have learned in this short period of time is it's the post BM that is the most painful. Don't get me wrong the BM hurts buts it's the burning afterward that lingers and hurts. Today's BM was of similar volume as pre-surgery BM's and hurt to pass but wasn't unbearable. I waited before I couldn't hold it anymore and defacated in less than 30 seconds with minimal pushing. I immediately used the shower hose to wash off and filled the tub with clean water where I rested for maybe 30 minutes. During my soak it still burned but knew it was important to keep the area clean and hot water on the anus. After getting out I padded the anus dry with gauze and applied a little Lydocain 2% gel. Honestly, I'm question the effectiveness of this. Perhaps a higher concentration would be more effective. I then put a pad on and sat on the edge of the bed for about 20 mins. I took one Percocet at that time and within 15-20 mins the pain subsided enough to a comfortable level.

By doing more or less the same thing yesterday allowed me to relax throughout the day with a minimum amount of pain. I also took no othe pain meds yesterday and was able to sleep all night with no mess only getting to pee. Which continues to be a problem, but it's getting better with the help of Flomax. Honestly, the urine retention has been just as much a challenge as the post-op surgery.

I'm sticking to a light diet. Yogurt and juice in the am. At night it's a moderate dinner, some salad and/or high fibre fruit like prunes and kiwi with a Colace chaser and my Flomax. I'm still not drinking as much fluids as I would like because of the urine retention, but it seems to be working for me. And because I'm only taking one Percocet in the morning it's unlikely I'll get constipated.

So my early advise is get on a schedule limit yourself to only one BM a day and don't go crazy with the fibre suppliments, stool softners and laxitives. Use only what you need to keep your stools soft. Anything more will make you go more
often and cause more post BM burning.

That sounds like a great idea. I think I may follow your suggestion. My excrutiating pain before was due to a remaining skin tag that had filled and thrombosed. I went in today and they drained it. They also put me on a higher dose of valium for the muscle spasms. There is a significant amount of swelling after today's appointment, but my husband found some cream to put on there to help with the burning. I, too am keeping my diet light and hope to have only one BM per day. My support is getting much better as we had a long discussion regarding it. Thanks for all your discussions, it helps a lot hearing from someone who is going through the same thing.

After my setback on day 5, I am doing a little better. I feel like I should be up walking around by now, but no. 8 days post op and I am still in the bed. I can't sit or stand. I have another thrombosed area that is causing that discomfort, but according to the doc, that should go away on its own in a few days. I am not one to be immobile. It's killing me that things aren't getting done. My mother has contimplated having the same procedure, and I told her absolutely NOT. Live with little annoying pains in the butt. THis past week has been the worst week of my life. I have broken my collar bone, have sprained BOTh ankles at the same time, had surgery on both feet, flipped a car 33 weeks pregnant and almost broke my neck, and given birth. This is far WORSE than any of that!!!

I had hem surgery on Friday, finally had my 1st BM on Monday afternoon, it's the most painful experience. Then I noticed I cannot pee, and my bladder was painfully full. I called the doc, he said I suffered from urine retention, and I need to go to the ER. So I went to ER monday night, the doc put in a tube to drain the bladder, I wear the tube and a bag and went home, at least don't need to worry about my bladder would explode.

In the meantime the pain is getting a little bit better, and I can have BM now, if anything, a little bit too frequently. I lie on bed for two to three hours then everytime I get up, I have this urge to poop, but only a small amount of discharge will came out. I put some toilet paper between my butts, still I have to change underware three or four times a day. It's some mixed discharge of blood and stool. I keep taking hot bath or sitz bath, which really helped and also kept the area clean. I decided that I will let it go whenever I had the urge it does not matter whether I am in bath water or not. And when I have BM, I no longer put down the toilet seat and sit there, but just bend over the toilet use a semi-swat position. I found this way is much easier, I do need to do a lot of cleaning of the toilet and bath tub. And I took several showers a day, normally right after the bath, to keep myself clean.

I went to see a urologist today (Wed.) He said my difficulty in urination is pretty common among surgery patients ( I am 50 year old male), the main cause is the pain from the surgey. He said I can continue to keep the Cath until Friday, or I can take it out now. I decided to take it out, and fortunatelly I was able to urinate right away. So I feel much better today, now I can have BM and Pee. I ran out of my prescribed pain med, so I swiched to Tylonole. I will have follow up appointment with my surgon tomorrow. I feel I am over the most painful part of the post op experience. I do also have the "New Hem" sticking out over there, but based on my experience from other surgeries (knee and hernia), I think those are scar tissues, that will eventully go away. So I am optimistic.

I don't eat a lot, because I am not moving around a lot. Most I eat are juice, soup, yogurt, etc. I started to increase my activity a little bit more, drove to the drug store today by myself, bought some Men's diaper, because I am almost running out of underwear.

2 weeks post op, and I had my first day without pain meds (well the good ones anyway). Went back to work. My day starts with the gym (active military), so now, I am doing whirlpool/pool therapy for my PT. I am able to run in the pool without the weight of my body pushing on the surgical area, by using the little noodles that hold you up. I find it a refreshing way to start my day after the 2 weeks of hell I spent in pain. I still have bleeding and a little anxiety with each BM, this was the first day I wasn't close to my warm sitz bucket in case I needed it for help in that area. I do still have what seems like a hemorrhoid, though. It appeared after they busted the thrombosed one on day 5 post op. Is this something that I should expect to go away?

I am 56 years old with external hemorrhoids that don't cause me pain, but I need to now push them back in sometimes. They don't itch or hurt or bleed. They do smell sometimes when they come out, but I can clean them with wipes. After reading all the posts about the pain and other problems, I am seriously debating NOT having this surgery. Is there anyone who has had good results and would recommend to have this surgery?

I m 42 male, have my op on past Monday (8 Mar). My situation is very similar to myassisonfire. First 3 days was still endurable, but pain was so bad starting 4th days as swelling increase. The swelling cause the anus to shutup all together. Tears, cool sweating and trembling body become part of my bm. The antacid given together with pain killer generate lot of gas which exert even more pressure on my bottom. This snowball effect result in last sleepless nite.

I went back to the ER yestarday and was told that it is normal. Anyway, manage to secure an appointment with the colorectum surgeon coming Tuesday to make sure things are really ok. Just to share my discovery which may help people with same fate. To reduce exerting too much pressure on the anus during bm and further swelling, I just lay on my back on toilet floor with leg rest elevated on the wall. It is quite yucky cleaning up but trust me I will do anything possible to reduce the pain. You know what i mean if you were there.

Anyway, good luck to everyone out there. Will share again later.

Cheers,
Mike