THD Post Procedure Recovery

I just had this procedure after suffering from stage 4 prolapsing hemmroids for more years than I can remember. I have to admit I was a little skeptical after reading a lot of these posts but I thought what the heck.. What quality of life do I really have not being able to walk or stand for a long period of time, being able to quat or be the list bit active without having to push them back in 50 x a day, not to mention the exhausting clean up after each BM with blood everywhere. So I got it done on Wednesday (48 hours) ago. I had 6 arterial points stitched off with mucopexy.  I have to admit it was much less than what I expected. I'm a little uncomfortable and took Nucynta for the first 24 hours and here I am, day 2 and only on Tylenol. I did have some discomfort and a little bit of blood with my first BM and a little discomfort afterwards but I soaked in the tub afterwards and it eased up. It's a little over 48 hours and I'm up walking around, cooking dinner, etc. of course I'm resting and staying off my feet as much as I can, taking Metamucil, drinking water and high fiber diet but all in all I've  had a good experience with this and am thrilled to be able to sit on the toilet without some thing coming out of my butt or the struggle to keep pushing them back in.  I'm glad I decided to do it and am so thankful to have had a surgeon in the area who was trained in the equipment and procedure.

Just had the THD in L.A. after waiting years to do something.  I was supposed to have the staple surgery until I googled a video of it and found out the recovery was supposed to take anywhere from 6 months to a year. Yeah right.  So I opted for THD since it's supposed to have me "back to work in a few days" with a maximum 6-8 weeks healing time.  I went in for the proceedure and was knocked out before my head hit the table.  I woke up a little while later, though it seemed like only minutes had passed. General anestesia and a local as well.  I didn't understand there was local until later that night when it all wore off.  I was in extreme pain but mostly from the huge wad of gauze they stuck up there, plus I was constitpated and had a lot of gas I couldn't get out.  It literally took me hours to get the gauze out but I knew it was either that or go to the E.R. that night. That was the worse night ever, but four days later I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now that a lot of the swelling has gone down.  Big help: before the surgery, I fixed up a bidet extension in the shower to keep clean and its come in handy.  The sitz baths help after every bowel movement.  I also ice a lot while laying in bed.  This by far the most painful thing i've ever experienced, but I knew it would be going in. I think it gets better.   Colace, fiber, fruit and lots of water.

Hi Map1969,

I have the same feeling after the 8th day of my THD surgery.I wonder to know how did u get rid of the so called "SKIN TAG". 

Please reply.

 

 

 

 

Hey all, Let me start with a word to the wise. If you are reading this and are at a stage two or three in the hemorrhoid department, go to a clinic and say whatever u have to force a doctor to take you serious and get it taken care of! You do not want to be where I am at currently and wish you had just been less embarrassed about it and gotten treatment earlier! Now then my story: I'm a 33 year old dude who had lived with my little friend, Rosie as I liked to call her after an ex that gave me considerable discomfort, for ten plus years. Four days ago I got Rosie removed surgically. Let me start at the beginning: I first got Rosie looked at by a doctor after seven years of shamefully hiding her from the rest of the world, including the real Rosie. Lol! I was told that they didn't do anything for my stage of hemi s and to just use prep h and do sitz baths when I felt discomfort. So I let it go for another three years. After a long week of work bending over and crouching a great deal, I could no long tuck Rosie back in her comfy freeloading home. Aka my rectum. She had become to big headed to realize all I'd done to help her get to where she was and wouldn't do me the favor of just disappearing and leaving me alone. Wait which Rosie was I talking about again? So now I started to understand why I'd heard how painful hemi s were, because up to this point I really hadn't had too much discomfort from her yet. So being that it was a Friday when it started to hurt, I didn't have any options besides going to the er and I figured they would not be able to do much for me there, so I just tried to work her back in and took a lot of Tylenol. This worked till about 3 o'clock Saturday. By Sunday I could barely walk and Rosie had developed multiple thromboses. Once you have to figure out how to pluralize thrombosis you are really in a world of hurt. So Sunday, convinced that I was going through the more pain than a midget giving birth to Shaquille O'neills baby, I went to the er. The doctor basically almost laughed at me and asked what I thought they could possibly do for me there and turned me away with no drugs besides a pouch of pez, aka Tylenol! Monday I made an appointment with a hemorrhoid clinic that had unbelievable reviews here in Portland Oregon. They saw me hours later and of coarse I got the doctor who had not gotten those reviews! He basically laid me down and started to jam his fingers into poor beat up Rosie's stubborn non-yielding body and said yeah it really doesn't want to go back in there! Which I already told him that I couldn't even get her to go back in while doing yoga stretches while covered in copious amounts of prep h. He then pretended to do some procedure which cost me 160 bucks and told me to come back to see the other highly acclaimed doctor first thing in the morning. By this point I was100 percent positive that I was going though more pain than Mel Gibson watching Braveheart while writing a check to his ex-wife. I mean excruciating pain that felt like electric pulses surging up my buttocks! Still no pain pills! So Tuesday, I went back to see the hemorrhoid master and he took one look at it and said, "Well being that we are a naturopathic clinic, we don't do emergency surgeries which is what you need, so let me refer you to a few possible options. I wish we could have even seen you a week ago while it was still able to be pushed back inside because we could have dealt with it then!" He also commented on how he couldn't believe that I could walk and talk at this point. But still no mention of giving me a prescription for my pain. I litter ally begged him to give me something at the end of our visit! Which he agreed and gave my some 5 ml Vicodin s. Which was cute, because really all those are is Tylenol that constipates you! But I was thankful none the less. I talked to a doctor later that day who agreed to operate the following day which was amazing. They put me down the next afternoon and it felt like I blinked and I was awake and disoriented in a different room. My whole body started to shake uncontrollably and I got the craziest pains in my lower legs and the arches of my feet. It was odd more than painful! Being that it was such a rushed situation I didn't get all the info on what to do and not to do, so it was all new to me and my wife. I got home that same day and started taking 2 Percocets every four hours, which my prescription says take 1-2 every four hour. Which I don't know who the hell in this much pain chooses the 1 over the 2. Even with taking 2 every four hours, i still was in ridiculous pain within an hour and a half of my next dose every time! Thursday went by in a blur of pain meds, sitz baths and ice packs! Friday my wife called the doctors office to ask how long is too long for me to poo afterwards and ask a few other questions. When they heard that I was taking 2 pills every four hours, the doctor acted like I was a drug addict and said that I was taking way too many pills because im not supposed to have more than 8 pills per day, and that I was going to have issues with constipation if I didn't ease up! Nowhere on the bottle did it say a maximum number of pills but anyways. So my wife asked if they had anything stronger that lasted longer that was less binding. To which they replied, "not that we prescribe" in a accusational tone. I don't get why it's so hard to get some f ing drugs that work when u need them! Do they only make the strong drugs that actually work on pain for a situation like mine, for them to be gotten by white trash people under false pretenses to be sold on the black market or what?! By this point I'm certain that my butt is sorer than if brad Pitt went to jail in a South American prison! I'm thinking I have to be at the peak of possible pain for the human mind to comprehend, especially after easing back on the pills! Then came Saturday! I knew that if I didn't poo soon I was going to be in trouble so I got some aloe Vera juice and some aloe laxative pills, to take along side stool softener and laxative that I was already taking, to help move things along. It worked like a charm, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone in a similar predicament! Aloe is amazing at helping out the process. Within an hour of drinking the aloe juice I was on the pot. Little did I know that I was about to withstand the worst pain the world has ever experienced cumulatively across the dawn of time! Seriously, all jokes aside, it was more painful than for George Bush to read a book without pictures! It was a four hour event that involved fits and stops, panic and tears, internet searches on taking poos in my situation, a bath in the middle, then finally sweet success followed by more tears, and another bath with a side of pain pills! Another thing that I would recommend, is using a short stool like four inches tall to put your feet up on while pooing. It makes the process a whole lot more physically possible (watch a video on the squatty potty). So far that has been the most painful thing I've ever endured and I hope that remains true! This whole thing has been like an onion of pain that gets more and more painful with each layer! Now a short note about the topic of embarrassment: I thought it was too embarrassing for years to go tell a doctor that I had butt problems. Hehehe! So I waited for years living with an easily correctable problem that got worse and worse. Now I'll tell you what's truly, embarrassing! My sister who lives in Canada came to town yesterday with an unexpected new boyfriend. I had been looking forward to her short visit of only an afternoon for weeks prior to having the surgery. Even though I was still in considerable pain I was still excited when she arrived (even with the unexpected new boyfriend). Very quickly the visit was personal and close, which I find is the norm with most Canadian strangers! They are just a nicer society as a whole eh? Well into the visit shortly after lunch my three year old son was bathing in hand sanitizer in my bedroom so I had to act quickly to wash him off, being that my wife was busy with our 5 month old. As I got up I felt an immediate and uncontrollable gurgle of poo coming from my butt. The only thing that saved me from pooing right out onto the floor was the ice pack and paper towel in my underwear. I had to spend the next twenty minutes cleaning myself up while my sister and friend waited to say goodbye. Now that is embarrassment!

I had the THD procedure done 5 weeks ago. I had both internal and external hemorrhoids. I went to see my Dr today. I told him that I was not pleased with the fact that there are still external hemorrhoids. He said that he was not very pleased either,yet he called them skin tags. He said that he would continue to shrink. And to return in two months. I am very dissatisfied. Firstly, because it took a lot for me to get up the gumption to show these to someone. Secondly, they (the hemorrhoids) are not gone! And lastly, why am I paying for this, if the Dr said he did a bad job!! What should I do? Second opion? Call my insurance company? Just have the tags removed? HELP!!I just want them gone!

I had the procedure 3 days ago and its pretty painful. So far no bowel movements. I've been given paracetamol, tramadol, and laxido powder. I still have the plug in, and its very uncomfortable. I'm bloated and cant wait till my first BM. My surgeon told me I would be off work for one to two weeks. The laxido makes me very windy and my belly grumbles. Will update on my progress. I was a but worried about the plug until i read that Map1969 had it in for four days

Hi.  I am a 53 year old female and I am 5 days POST Op.

I have had over 20 surgeries in my life, of varying degree and difficulty.  This is by far the most painful I can recall.  

As soon as I opened my eyes in recovery I was in agony, and could barely breathe the pain was so severe.  I have an extremely high tolerance for pain, you get used to it after 20 ops  But this is insane.  Excrutiating.  I was given NO warning about what to expect.  I thought the whole breakthrough of this procedure is it is less invasive and less painful the removing tissue.  I was told like all others, be w few days of discomfort.  Why do they lie??  

 

This has not been discomfot - this has been white knuckle, cry out loud pain.  

 

Live in your bathtub after this.  In fact, the bat was the ONLY place i could wee 0 the op messed up my bladder control big time, and I could not pee whilst on the toilet because gravity on my wounds was unbearable - felt my insides were dropping in to the toilet below.  So in order to relieve myself I had to half fill a tub with warm water - submerge myself suppporting my bum, and as soon as I relaxed the pee came.  Then have to drain, get ut - wash out tub - refill and soak to relax.  Its just not been an easy op no matter how you look at it.

 

Initial pain meds would give any celebrity a run for their money (think heath edger, etc.)  They had me on Morphine, Tramadol, Katemine and Codeine all at one time and this BARELY scratched the surface of the pain.  I have had to see the doc since the op and they doubled the amount of pain meds.  Now on 8 tramadol a day and 8 codeine a day - matched with lots of stool softener to counter balance the opiate-contipation factor.

 

I took a week off work, and it is quite clear to me that will not be enough.  I hope two weeks will be.  

 

There needs to be more available to people having this procedure - realistic expectations need to be given.  

 

I can't say yet if I would rather have carried on with my prolapsed hemi - the jusry is still ut on that one.

 

Good luck to anyone having this - be sure and allow yourself PLENTY of time.  PLENTY.  

There is no easy route - you need your bum - you cant walk without it - you cant sit without it - you cant do what you need to do without it -- and that is MURDER - its just awful.

 

My refreshed bum looks marvelous without the prolapsed hemis so I am very pleased about that - but not entirely sure it will be worth it.  Time will tell.

 

If I can give ANY advice - just be prepared for the aftercare - it is brutal and painful - and you will need plenty of time for it.

 

Good luck all my fellow hiney bros and sisters.  No one knows but us, hey?  ;)

 

xxx

 

After 17 years of denying the truth, I finally met with a colorectal surgeon and committed to THD.  The procedure on my internal prolapsed hemorrhoid occurred 6 days ago.  Minutes after the sedative was injected into my IV, I was out cold for 45 minutes and I calculate that the procedure took about 30 minutes.  Because the surgeon injected me with a newer local pain killer (Exparel) while under, to my surprise, I had very little pain during the initial 2 days, post-op.  However, day 3 was horrific.  Increasing my intake of Vicodin helped with the pain, but I later realized that the majority of my pain was due to a hard first bowel movement.  After hours on the toilet and Sitz bath, it painfully passed through.  To my suprise, I experienced very little bleeding.  Now that I am able to regulate and balance Vicodin, diet, and stool softener, I am passing food 3-4 times daily with some discomfort but absolutely no bleeding.  I can tell when the Vicodin is wearing off because I feel sharp throbbing or a general ache inside of my rectum.  

At this point, I really cannot predict the period of time required for full recovery, but I can say with optimism that I no longer have a prolapsed hemorrhoid and have hopes that I will not have to face "day 3" again.    

today is 1 week since i had the thd  worst week of my life so far  the pain and discomfort were unreal vicodins  oxys  nothing worked except good old fashion POT was my Savior to the pain they said 2 3 days recovery i call BS lucky if i can goto work in another week constant feel like i need to bm sting burn after more than 30 hrs in bathtub cant drive been in bed and bath for a week haven’t left house pure hell would have never got it done had i known this i have never experienced such pain and discomfort ,,,Anyway heres a list of things u will need....  Lots of Baby wipes...  heating  pad....   sitz bath.....  Hemorrhoid cushion(donut)...  Preparation H ...IBUPROFEN ADVIL MOTRIN   ...Milk of magnesium ..stool softener.. get off the hard pain killers asap they will bind u and mess u up... the Good news is i have lost 10lbs and have no appetite and constant full feeling.. but right now 1 week later if i had known this i would have run away from that table changed my diet and tried other measures first...

u aint jokin its day 7 AGHGGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGHGH

Just had my THD surgery and I am now in day 9 and I am almost back to normal, Below are my experience and things have done to help to ease the pain.

1. Preparation is painful as you will be shave and you will do the enema procedure even you are in pain because of your hemi

2. Chosen anesthesia to be injected in my spine and awake for the whole operation

3. Pain that you cannot imagine will come once the anesthesia subside ( I am just thinking to myself that this will fast after 1 week to calm  my-self but oh it hurts so bad)

4. I cannot pee because of the strong anesthesia the doctor used and the nurse told me that they will used the kateter to help me pee and because of the pain that will cause of this procedure, I have tried harder and manage to pee and had BM on the same time which is good for me because of the bandage inserted to stop bleeding (this happen on the same day)

5. 2nd day i am in fluid diet and with constant pain killer and other antibiotics

6. 3rd day i can pee but still in pain and also i cannot even fart but managed to go home and leave the hospital

7. 4th day is the first BM i had and it was so good as it likes the stool did not came from me lol (no pain at all i dont know maybe i am just lucky that day)

8. 5th day i had again a good BM but I have felt the pain that really hurts so my wife told me to do the steam procedure where she put a hot water in a bowl where and rock salt where then place it inside the toilet bowl where i sat and had the steam for 10 minutes, which amazingly really help

I cannot say dont worry about the pain because it is very painful but we dont have a choice, better to do the THD surgery rather be in pain on daily basis because of your hemi.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Surgeon said having the external hemorrhoids removed would cause SEVERE PAIN for at least 3 weeks, and that I would HATE him for doing it. I am hoping they shrink after I heal from my THD. I will choose to live with them. The extreme pain is not worth it.

So I just had THD surgery done 6 days ago.  Internally I'm OK but  yesterday I noticed that my pain during defecation was from a new thrombosed external hemrroid that developed. Its about the size of a pea. He is recommending me coming into the office tomorrow to get it excised.  I'm scared because I have to go to work in two days and am so sick of all this surgery.  I almost want to just wait for it to go away on its own...Its very painful....

 

Any advice or anyone with similar complications of the surgery?

INTRODUCTION

First of all - thank you to those who have shared info here. I found this post the evening before my scheduled THD procedure.

The overall gist of posts here has left me with some anxiety about pain, and concerned about successful results.

I had the surgery this morning. My intent is to weigh in here with specific details (possibly more than desired) as my process goes along - with multiple posts. Only time will tell how well I do at follow-thru.

Perhaps it will help someone else. Perhaps all the "extra" info will help someone "relate".

First of all I want to address a couple things...

1 - I am NOT in any way affiliated with the medical profession, or the promotion of this procedure. Some of the prior posts left me wondering if those with positive things to say had an "agenda" to promote this procedure - I don't.

2 - Someone made the comment that only people with a negative experience take the time to post - that those who have things work out won't be here and so we won't hear from them. I came looking for "real" comments from people who had gone through the process, instead of "testimonials" on the THD website. I'm not here because of a negative experience. My procedure today went very well (so far) - I'll get to that in another post.

HOW I GOT HERE

I'm a man in my latter "50's". I have been dealing with internal hemorrhoids for 3.5 years. My first discovery that I had one started as a little "pea" that would prolapse, was painful to wipe and I would (with one fingertip) tuck it back in. It would come and go - aggravated by diet which resulted in "pushing" and "burning". I used Prep-H (suppositories and cream), and several "alternative remedies". Nothing worked. I wasn't doing anything about changing the "cause" of my hemorrhoids.

I attribute a combination of factors to the cause of my hemorrhoids...

• lack of exercise (sit behind computer too much)
• lack of fiber
• lack of water (strong coffee drinker)
• reading on the toilet
• "bearing down" without understanding hazards
• diet - love salsa! LOTS - of hot salsa - I would swings between diarrhea that would leave my rectum raw, and constipation that would have me bearing down.
• I also may have been consuming a diet which left my overly "acidic" with regard to PH balance - still exploring the validity of this one.

Over the 3.5 years my hemorrhoids advanced to stage 3. I've been "tucking" regularly for the last couple of years. Sometimes requiring a multi-finger event to get the job done. There were many times that I had some bleeding. There were a couple times when the blood stained the backside of my tan dockers - embarrassing! And one time when I had been using a nice chair and left a bloody streak on it - VERY embarrassing!! There were about 3 times when the bleeding was scary. I had heard the anal bleeding was a "rush to your doctor" event. I didn't. The bleeding would stop - sometimes it took several days of progressively less bloody BM's. I quit wiping with TP a couple years ago. Found my own way to rinse the area with water - "tuck" while wet, then wash the area with soap - and then scrub my hands. Though working from a clean tap - I've often wondered what types of bacteria were in the water that was getting pushed into my bowels. There have been many times when I've walked around "prolapsed" until I could get to a bathroom, wash my hands, enter a stall just to "tuck" myself back in.

BTW - for me, hemorrhoids have made EVERY gas discharge a "musical event". NOTHING sneaks out.

I recently had an overdue colonoscopy  (results good). In prep of the event I disclosed the hemorrhoids on paperwork - not like I was going to hide them :)

I discussed them with the doctor and he told me about the THD procedure. During the colonoscopy follow-up I scheduled the surgery.

I am in good health. I have not had any other surgeries. With regard to physical pain - I had two (separate events/ separate times) compound fractures in my arms. I've had bruised (possibly broken ribs). I've had extensive dental work, including implants. On separate occasions I've knocked two different fingers out of their sockets, and pulled them back into place myself - thought it strange that my brain decided I could (needed to) do it myself - immediately - oh the relief!

CONCERNS ABOUT RECOVERY AND RESULTS

I'm concerned about the pain, and a longer than expected (due to misinformation) recovery process - I really MUST be working in the next couple days and forward due to deadlines that involve others.

I'm concerned about the results... Will I end up "normal" - with bowel activities (and sensations) like I used to know. Will I be able to pass gas in silence and blame it on the dog? :) Are my days of "tucking" myself back in going to come to an end? Will the results be permanent - or will the hemorrhoids simply come back in a few years (or sooner)? I realize that change of lifestyle will be needed, but I'm concerned that I'll change my lifestyle and they will still come back. Will I end up with something worse than hemorrhoids - such as incontinence?

HOPE

I hope that this is a true FIX. My hemorrhoids have gotten to the point where my "sensors" don't work. I can't always tell if a bowel movement has finished because the swollen tissue leaves me feeling like I still have to go. I've lost the ability to determine what I've "delivered" - meaning I have the sense that I need to pass a large movement, and I "feel" like not much has happened, yet find that a larger than expected movement has taken place (and vice versa).

I'm concerned that I may "smell" when prolapsed. Ever found that after being around a smell for a while, you stop smelling it? My concern is that I may at times grow unaware of my own odor and may be creating a reputation as "that guy who stinks". I don't know if avoiding the issue may lead to rectal cancer. This issue DOES affect my day-to-day activities - it's limiting my lifestyle. So (of course) I'm hopeful of good results.

In another "soon to be written" post I'll share about today's procedure.

WHAT I WAS TOLD

I was told that recovery was quick - that I could expect to go back to regular activities within 2 days. I was told that the veins which "feed" the tissue would be found using ultrasound and then tied off so that they could no longer feed that tissue. I was told the the swollen tissue would be pulled up inside my rectum and stitched there, eventually  shrinking. I was told that the surgery had excellent results, and that healing was much faster than other options. I was told that my insurance would cover all the costs. I was told that there is a chance that the hemorrhoids may return - that to avoid that I would need to make sure I ate a high fiber diet, drank plenty of water, and didn't push during bowel movements.

WHAT I READ IN THESE (and other) POSTS

First of all, I read over and over that the idea of 2 days and a return to normal activity is entirely untrue. I read over and over that the pain is VERY intense. MOST people said that it's the worst pain they ever experienced. I read that there were times when people with internal hemorrhoids acquired external ones during the recovery. I read that some have  tissue hanging out after the surgery (during recovery). I read several times that people wish they hadn't had the procedure. I only read a couple of time where people were happy with the results - and one of those was from a Dr. who performs the procedure (possibly biased).

The posts left me a bit anxious - about the pain, the recovery time, and the results.

AND - regardless of my anxiety I chose to go ahead with the surgery this morning.

I CHOSE TO PREP

Though not instructed to, I chose to prep a bit by not eating anything the day prior to the surgery. I was told no food or drink after midnight before surgery the next day, but I chose to start the prior day with a fruit smoothie, drink only liquids after that (mostly water, some cran-ras) take 4 "dulcolax" at noon and flush my system. By midnight I was mostly done with all the cleansing - a movement during the night, and one before showering and I was done. I only slept for about 4 hours - spent the rest of the time reading.

TODAY - THE SURGERY AND MORE

I was scheduled to show up for out-patient surgery at 7 am. I arrived, filled out the paperwork, paid and unexpected "not-covered-by-insurance" portion of the costs. My Dr. assured me several times that the procedure was completely covered. The receptionist's response was that "he must have been talking about HIS PART of the treatment, and not the surgery center costs. Later today I also received an unexpected bill from the "Anesthesiologist" for a "not-covered-by-insurance" costs of a recent colonoscopy . I'm sure that will be the case with this treatment also. Anyway, right after taking care of paperwork they took me in and prepared me for surgery. I asked about the enemas my Dr. had mentioned. The nurse said, "What? You didn't do those at home prior to coming?" The Dr. and I had a miss-understanding, which had me thinking the enemas would happen on arrival prior to surgery. Anyway, things proceeded and the Dr. seemed unconcerned. 

I put on the gown, went to the bed, confirmed who I was and what I was there for, got hooked up to some monitoring equip, drip inserted, brief "I'm the bartender" discussion from the anesthesiologist - rolled into the surgery room - injection put in the drip along the way. Told that I was going to need to move from the table I was on to the surgery table... I don't know how, or if I ever switched tables. The next thing I knew the nurse was telling me that the procedure was over, and asking if I had any pain.

AT THAT POINT... I had the most urgent sensation of NEED for a bowel movement AND urinary action!! I told them so and they assured me (both times I insisted) that there was nothing to move, that I would need to tolerate the feeling. It was VERY persistent and intense but it WASN'T pain. Within about 20-30 minutes it passed entirely.

I was moved back into the pre-op area and told that I would need to have a urinary function before I could leave - I was unable to perform. Recovery procedures were given, prescription was given - Hydrocodon-Acetaminophen - for pain, and Ducosate Sodium - a stool softener. They gave me another IV bag of water, a couple apple juice boxes, and some more time. Tried again with some encouragement... "If you don't deliver, I will have to catheterize you"... Hung out inside the restroom with urgency, but ZERO control. Tried running water over my hand - bathroom sink version of HOT was cold, and COLD was colder. ZERO muscle control in my abdomen. Went back out and hung around for a while, doing some stretching, massaging, and "dance moves" in an effort of encouragement. After a while I went back in the restroom and hung out with bottle at the ready feeling on-the-verge for the longest time. FINALLY got results. Inability to "finish" with any certainty that I was done due to lack of ability to "keggle" - no muscle control at all.

I was free to go. I called my ride. I drove myself and planned to return for my truck later. The person giving me my ride hadn't eaten and with the waiting for a urinary delivery (a couple hours) it was going on noon. I hadn't planned on lunch. I figured I'd go home and keep things simple (tomato soup) in an effort to not load up since I'd read here that the stages prior to expelling "the plug" during a bowel movement left many experiencing bloating, discomfort, and pain. But plans change. We went to a local restaurant. I ordered a spinach salad, which turned out to be a rather involved dish - quinoa, spinach, roasted veggies, vinaigrette, diced mango, and crumbled macadamia nuts - yummy. I also had a bowl of potato leak soup - also yummy. Sitting during the meal was fine - a sensation of pressure, but no pain. We enjoyed a relaxed lunch. I took two bathroom breaks - urine flowed easily - still no muscle control.

My ride then took me to the Post Office - we both wanted to check our mail, and then to Longs Drug store for my prescription - and other stuff.

After reading these posts - and seeing the recovery recommendations, I obtained the following (in addition to prescriptions)...

sitz bath - doctor recommendedrubber donut (inflattable) - already appreciating this item!mineral oil - 3-4 tablespoons 3 times per day

I also picked up some Ibuprofen - a couple of these posts reported better pain relief using Ibuprofen.

And - I grabbed some "Melatonin" - thinking if there is some discomfort it may help me sleep.

While my prescription was being filled we ran over to Ross to find an HDMI cable, went and did a couple quick "work errands", then went back to Longs and picked up my prescriptions.

We then went and picked up my truck. I drove to my rides house, handled a 20 minute conference call (for my job) and then hooked my friends laptop to her bigger screen TV so that she could have an improved Netflix experience. By this time I noticed the sun was shining on the ocean - evening approaching - time to head home.

Got home - unloaded truck - drank water, along with fiber (kirkland psylium husk). Pulled out my new "toys" - inflated my donut. Visited over Skype with a friend - sharing days events.

Felt some minor burning in my rectum - took 1 200mg Ibuprofen. Urinated - MUSCLE CONTROL BACK!! Grabbed a mirror and flashlight for a look-see - looks right - no external signs of irritation. They didn't shave any of that old-man hair :)

I currently feel a little bloated, but no pain. It's now 1:11 in the AM (Hawaii time). Plan to take mineral oil, stool softener, 2 Ibuprofen, and Melatonin - hoping for a good nights sleep.

Before they woke me they placed some net-like underwear on me to hold a large piece of gauze in place. It had some very minor blood spotting on it. When I put my clothes back on I simply pulled my underwear right over the net-gear leaving the gauze in place.

The did give me some "Discharge Instructions" - what to do during recovery. Perhaps I'll share those in my next post.

Other than going in for surgery this morning, the day was rather uneventful - and free from pain. Hopefully tomorrow will continue with more of the same. I'm dreading the first bowel movement.