hemorrhoidectomy patient experience

I am not one to share like this however I found this board useful/frightening when researching about hemorrhoidectomy surgery. After reading many of the patient experiences I wanted to run and was petrified of going ahead with the surgery.  I am now POD 7 and thought I would share my positive experience to help balance out some of the scary stories.

I am a young healthy woman in my 30s, approximately 10 years ago I developed a fissure and hemorrhoids requiring a sphincterotomy and hemorrhoid banding.  I have since been banded an additional two times with no success.  I finally decided to pull the trigger and saw a colorectal surgeon who diagnosed me with stage 3 hemorrhoids.  He felt that surgical intervention was necessary and we opted for a stapled hemorrhoidectomy as it has a faster recovery time.  I was warned to plan on taking minimum two weeks off of work and perhaps even more as I am a medical professional and work 12 hours days and am on my feet for long hours.  

Prior to delving into my surgical experience I should divulge two pieces of information.  My hemorrhoids caused discomfort which is why I went forward with the procedure so baseline I am used to experiencing rectal discomfort and have been told by many that I have a high pain threshold.  Secondly I had a fissure.  If you have had one then you understand that it makes bowel movements horrifically, take your breathe away painful.  So all pain moving forward is compared to that as the baseline.

Alright so here we go....about a week prior to surgery I started taking colace and fiber pills.  Starting 3-4 days before surgery I cut out all red meats and dairy and started eating pretty light.  I went in for the procedure which took about 45 minutes.  When I woke up I was informed that due to the severity of my hemorrhoids I required an excisional hemorrhoidectomy, so I was prepared for a bad recovery.  When I woke up i felt uncomfortable and immediately asked for pain meds to get on top of the pain.  

I was definitely uncomfortable for the first two days and required pain meds around the clock.  I set my alarm to wake up overnight so that I wouldnt fall behind.  I spent the majority of the first two days lying on the couch and stuck to fruit and soup.  I didnt have any bleeding.  I did find that it was difficult to initiate urination and at times had to run the faucet to assist.  After almost 48 hours without a bowel movement I spoke to my doctor and he suggested milk of magnesia.  When I had my first bowel movement it was definitely uncomfortable.  THe pain was more of a stinging overstimulation (best way I can describe it).  I quickly hopped into the tub which did alleviate some of the pain.  Each day I have found that I feel better and better.  My appetite has improved.  I am still eating lots of fruits and vegetables and staying away from dairy and red meats.  I continue with colace and fiber and have been taking milk of magnesia if I dont have a bowel movement for more than 24 hours.   I am now a week out and am taking 1-2 percocet a day.  While I am still mildly uncomfortable aside from post bowel movements I am fairly comfortable.  I have been going on walks the past few days to build back my strength and I am planning to go back to work in another five days.

Although every experience is different and I cant promise that yours will be like mine, I wanted to encourage everyone debating the procedure that there are positive experiences.  I was definitely prepared for the worst and pleasantly surprised at how well I have done.  Please feel free to ask questions and good luck!

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