4 Weeks After My Hemroidectomy. When will the pain stop? + My Learnings So Far.

Hi all,

Hereby my journey over the past 4 weeks after my hemroidectomy. Goal of my post is twofold:

1. Help future readers what worked and didn’t work for me. I felt so miserable that I promissed myself to write something when I started regaining some energy and headspace.
2. Ask other hemroidectomy patients to advise on my questions

See below what kind of (pain) medication I have used (and am still using). Hemroidectomy patients here, if you have any tips please let me know. I am currently far from my 'normal' state, both physically and mentally.

Short Background, see below for more info on mentioned medication

I had 2 (category 4) external hemorrhoids removed under full anesthesia. After the procedure, I woke up and the pain was bearable (painkillers were still doing their work). As these ran off, the pain was also bearable. I went home the same day. At home, I did not have to pass motion for 3 days (as your entire system is emptied before the surgery this is normal apparently).

However, then the drama started. I was taking Codein/Paracetamol and Celecoxib, but this didn’t do anything for me during my BM. Literally 0.0. On the 4th day of being at home I was literally crying on the toilet (I'm a 190lbs, 6ft 30 year old guy). My wife decided that I needed to go back to the hospital. They said "pain is normal". I have had some broken bones and such in my life, so thought I was used to something. But this I could have never imagined. In the hospital they didn’t do anything, expect drug me up even more. But still the painkillers (Celecoxib, Tramadol) didn’t work. Only when they started giving me Oxynorm (20mg) it become bareable and my BM anxiety stopped accumulating (I was so scared of going to the toilet...). After a few days in the hospital I was sent home.

Now, 2 weeks after the hospital, I'm still on a lot of medication (see below) and I'm still taking Oxynorm (10mg, once per day). Having BM still hurts like hell without painkillers, but at least I'm not crying anymore. So I guess its an improvement. When will this become 'bearable'?

Curious about your thoughts readers. The doctors told me my pain is quite exceptional (and some people don't even need painkillers, that’s total BS I think. My pain threshold is normally quite high, so I don’t understand what I'm doing wrong).

My Questions To Hemroidectomy Patients

1. Is it normal after 4 weeks to still feel such a sharp pain during BM?
2. Is it normal to still have blood in your stool after 4 weeks? Especially when I didn't have it for the past 3 weeks. Only had it today and yesterday
3. I'm afraid I also might have a fissure. Is this possible and how can I check for this?

My Learnings for future patients

1. Take 2 weeks off from work. I couldn't do anything the first 2 weeks. Just stayed in bed basically.
2. Take stoolsofteners from the start
3. Take some fiber after 1 or 2 days to help your BM
4. Drink A LOT of water/tea (at least 3L per day). No coffee, alcohol, red meat.
5. Make a simple (Google) sheet to keep track of your medication intake and set alarms on your phone to not forget your daily doses
6. Use that sheet to give a mark (0 to 10) to your painlevel during BM (helps you put it into perspective / track "progress")
7. WRITE DOWN YOUR TIME OF BM => helps you time your pain medication intake and helps your body build a regular BM routine as soon as possible
8. Have your BM while you are sitting in your sitzbath (with you feet elevated/raised on a squatty potty)
9. When having trouble urinating, also write down time of urination and ease. For me the trouble urinating lasted about 2 weeks
10. If you cannot urinate, for me it worked really well to run warm water alongside my wrist AND WHISTLE. Sounds stupid. But works. Also, if you really cannot urinate. Lie down (don’t stand) and urinate in an empty container or bottle. Again, sounds stupid. But if you really cannot go you don’t give a s**t and are happy that something works.
11. Take painkillers that work (to some extent at least). In the beginning I was building anxiety quite quickly. I was literally become scared of BM and eating. The thought of having to go to the toilet would already cramp me up completely.

What generic medication have I been taking for the past 4 weeks

• Two times per day 1 capsule Lubiprostone => Stool softener
• Three times 1 capsule Meteospasmyl per day => Soothes the stomach I bit, not sure if this was needed
• Two times per day 1 capsule Diosmin/Hesperidine => Helps blood vessels function better
• Two times per day 1 sachet of Forlax 10g => To prevent constipation
• Three times per day 10ml of Duphalac (Lactulose) =>To prevent constipation

What pain medication have I been taking for the past 4 weeks

• Lignocain 2% gel, apply 5 minutes before planned BM => Numbs the anus a bit (not a lot though)
• Oxynorm (10mg) 2 tabs, once per day. Took it around 2 hrs before planned BM
• Codeine(8mg)/Paracetamol (500mg) 2 tabs 3 times per day
• Sitzbath with (Epsom) salts, 3 times per day, during ánd after BM (refresh water in between) => relaxes the anus

Pain killers I used before but didn’t work for me

• Tramadol (50mg) 1 tab, twice per day
• Celecoxib (200mg) 1 tab, twice per day

What other stuff Have I used

• Extra wide boxers
• Kotex pads to put in my boxers to capture discharge
• Cleenex Wetwipes (Have not used any normal toilet paper yet, I preferred to rinse under the shower in the first few days)

If you have any tips, please reach out. If I don't respond (sorry in advance), I hope the overview above helped at least a little bit.

John

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