My surgery was Wednesday p.m., June 7, and went as expected. I had a prolapse and a rather wide fissure as well, so this was "with complications". Pain was rather persistent for the first 48-72 hours,  and I took two Norco (hydrocodone/acetaminophen) every  six-eight hours. By day three, I was  tapering   to single pill dosages, and by day  four   was just taking OTC acetaminophen. Like many others here, I developed exterior burning and itching, which calmed down significantly with sitz baths. Still, I was not quite back to normal by Monday and stayed home. It had taken more than 48 hours to have a normal bowel movement, and these were painful. Stool softeners and staying well hydrated helped, but it was very difficult to know if the pain and pressure/urgency I experienced foretold a real bowel movement or just the post-surgery symptoms my physician had warned about. Letting things happen without force, as he had recommended, was wise. Still, you may expect a lot of trips to the restroom for the first five or so days, as I did. Because of the fissure, I was still experiencing minor soiling by my post-op checkup 12 days after surgery, and experienced quite a bit of pain during a digital exam. Since then, I have been applying Nifedipine/Lidocaine topical cream three times a day - I read the medical literature on this; it was  effective for about 94% of the trial group  after about six weeks. Nearly three weeks now and I have no pain or itching and no soiling or spotting. And of course the prolapsed hemorrhoid is gone. I can update in a few more weeks when I see my surgeon again.