6 months after hemorrhoid surgery recovering experience and advice on how to get through it
Posted , 65 users are following.
So i figured i would post my experience after 6 months, since when i got the surgery and was looking for info it seemed like 99% of the posts i found only covered the first few weeks or so. Then the person goes MIA when people ask for a update.
So some back story im 27, and had my surgery on 11/23/17. So in about a week i will be at the 6 month mark. I had 4 hemorrhoids removed all together. 3 smaller internal ones and one medium sized external one. Overall would i do it again? definitely, but there is alot of stuff i wish i knew before hand.
Plan on taking atleast 2 weeks off of work, more if you in any kind of driving job/physical labor job. If you fall into that category take a month off if you can, if your doing physical labor take it easy for atleast 2 months.
My doctor originally told me i would be back on my feet within 3-5 days. But i spent the first week pretty much laying in bed on my side. After about a week i was able to walk around and do normal activities somewhat, but it was not a comfortable experience at all. Bending over hurt, walking up and down stairs hurt, getting in and out of the car hurt and i pretty much carried a pillow around everywhere i went. Overall though i think the 2nd week was worst than the first. You should get some good pain meds to get you through the first week or so, but once they run out you start to feel everything u didnt feel the first week, plus combined with the fact you going to be moving around more. If i had to do it again, i probably would have suffered more the first week and taken less meds then saved them for the 2nd/3rd week. A word of advice looking back is even though you are in pain you should take the minimum amount of pain meds you can. They will make you constipated and the last thing you want after hemorrhoid surgery is to be constipated. Trust me i learned that hard way. Start taking fiber pills a week or so before surgery and dont stop until you feel 100% better. Try not to eat anything hard either. I pretty much ate, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese and bought a bunch of those ensure drinks for the first two weeks. You want whatever is going in you to come out as easy as you can. Liquids/soft foods are your friend.
It took me about 4 days after my surgery to finally use the bathroom (why i said dont take to many pain pill) and im not going to lie it was excruciating. It took about 2weeks in total to be able to use the bathroom without being in alot of pain and 3 weeks for it be be "comfortable". But the first two weeks were definitely the worst. I legit almost passed out i was in so much pain a few times. Dont push just sit and wait. If it doesnt work try again later. You will be in there for a bit, take you time. Over all id say it took about a month to use the bathroom normally. I bled almost every single time for the first 2-3 weeks. Then it slowly stopped over time. In the end it took about 2 months for me to stop bleeding. Also dont be afraid if you look in the mirror and see what it looks like. Its going to look horrible the first month or so. But after about a month most of the swelling should have gone down and it will start to look more "normal". Within 1-2 months id say about 50-75% of the swelling should be gone depending on how much work you needed.
It took me about a month in total for me to be back to doing my normal activities without being to uncomfortable. The only real issues i had was sitting for to long, or bending over to pick stuff up. It isnt really a pain, its more of a tightness, kind of the feeling of having a pulled muscle. I was originally told the swelling/tightness would last for 2-3 months. For me i say that more of a minimum. While the swelling went down alot after 2 months (id say about 75%) the tightness and stiffness stuck around. I went back to the doctor at the 4 month mark to ask him about it and he told me i still had some healing going on for the external one and to give it a month or two. After 5 months the stiffness has gone away, now that im coming up on month number 6 and i would say im about 99% back to normal. Which sort of makes sense since scar tissue takes around 5 months to heal. While 6 months seems like a long time to deal with this its really more like 2 months of actual pain. The third month your going to be annoyed here and there by it, and 4-6 you should start to forget you even had the surgery.
The only real issue id say after its all said and done is i still have some loose skin where the stitches were on the eternal one. When i mentioned it to the doctor on the 4th month he said it can be easily removed with a office procedure in about 2 minutes if i wanted. But i should wait to see if it goes down a bit. I originally had a little loose skin on the other side (from the internal one swelling) when talked to him and thats completely gone now. So i figured id wait another month or to see what happens before i have that done. But once that is gone it will almost look like i never had the surgery at all.
Overall im really happy i had it done. Yeah it sucked for a few months, but ive been dealing with them since i was 15 years old. So 5 months of pain to no longer deal with hemorrhoids was well worth it. Id definitly do it again if needed (but i pray i never have to) lol
Lastly this might fall into the TMI catagory but im bi some im going to include this for the girls/guys out there who like anal sex because when i searched i found almost nothing. One of my concerns about this whole thing was my sex life. My advice is take a break for atleast 5-6 months before you try to put anything in there, then when you do start small. I tried around month 4 and it hurt alot, wait till your feeling 100% better then wait a extra month. Your getting a new a**hole in the end. Imagine the first time you ever put something in there, well thats how its going to be again. If you feel any discomfort, just wait a bit longer. I tried again about a week ago, and while it still wasnt easy it was 100x easier then it was at month 4. So you sex life isnt gone, its just postponed a bit and you need to slowly get back into it. It was a night and day difference between month 4 and 6, so i assume its going to get even easier as time goes on.
14 likes, 75 replies
alicia16565 neal0270
Edited
On April 11th i was 37 weeks pregnant suffering from the Hems. Everyday they got worse and worse until Monday I couldnt take it. I went to my OB and I was in the worst pain. Well the stress of me being in that much pain caused me to go into labor. On April 14th I naturally delivered my baby girl. I was so happy, but at the same time I was so upset because the hems were taking away from my special moment. All I could think about was them. They day after I had her and now going on 6 days no sleep a surgeon came and looked at them. I had 3 stage 4 external hems. He said tomorrow we are taking them off. He said either you can let them heal on your own or do this and this is quick****er. I went in the next day and had the surgery. No one prepared me for the pain I was going to be in. When I finally thought I was getting better I had my first bowel movement. I thought I was going to die from that. It was liquid with some hard stools i know it was from the stool softener. I kept taking the stool softeners but it was making me so gassy and i was honestly leaking poop. I decided to take a break from them and and go on a liquid diet. So my bum can have more time to heal up. I take Oxy for the pain at night, I know that it can cause constipation but the pain is too much having a child and then this all 2 days apart. I dont know if i am doing anything right with this, i am going off of what makes me comfortable. Im thankful my newborn is good and we spend our time snuggling in bed. I have had my first daughter with no drugs, been in a car accident, had my gallbladder out and got an infection from it that damaged my liver, had multiple liver surgeries, and I have to say this is the worst pain I experienced. Reading blogs about other peoples stories and seeing that they make if through is the only thing keeping me going. I know it hasn't even been a week but it feels like a lifetime.
Auntyapple alicia16565
Edited
Having a baby is huge all on its own and then the surgery.
How did you get through it?
I'm on day 4 and I am in hell.
How are you doing now? Hows bubs?
s95966 neal0270
Edited
I'm hoping someone is still following this post and can offer some advice?
I had some anal skin tags removed with laser surgery in mid June so i am now, 3 months in and I've never suffered as much as I have. I've been miserable.
i still have a small skin tag from the surgery i think in the area and think he removed 3?
the problem im having is without taking a fibre supplement, i am struggling to pass any stool and it feels as though i have a stool stuck in my back passage. I think its because of tightness but im really worried that i shouldnt be taking the supplement long term and it has also caused me to suffer with terrible gas and painful wind. Is it normal to be struggling to go to the toilet for this long? I have never suffered with constipation before and have upped my fibre intake massively. I dont know what else i can do?
Nura29 s95966
Edited
hey its been 3 months (june) for me since i had hemorrhoidectomy and fissurectomy and im still facing pain. the pain that im facing is mostly during BM and only when the first poo tries to come out its painful. ive done everything i can to up my fibre but the pain has imrpoved from being everyday to now only during the first poo of the BM and all through the 3 months i have not at all faced bleeding. and this is where im so much more worried. i started facing bleeding a week ago and now the entire BM is painful. i dont know why this is happening as ive been very particular about my diet and everything along with it but still facing painful issues. im actually going in for a colonoscopy tomorrow to understand why this is happening and what i can do to help myself. Im wondering if BMs ever truly become painfree or not. very very upsetting
babsyboo s95966
Edited
hi hope someone still on here please
i am on day 15 and still in pain after BM and though out the day
yes doing walking around the house some but not out and about yet
it still hurts after morning BM and i go like 3 to 4 times in the morning
its soft and good amounts do to me being on stool softener and citrucel fiber 8oz in the morning and fiber gummies at noon and then before bed time milk of magnesis
yes like some of u all get gassy in evening at bed time and in pain , burning and it feels like someone is stabbing me down in my anus , am i the only one it is having this mappen to ? i take ibuprofin for pain and tylenal but when it gets to bad i take half of hydrocodone pill
yes still brings me to crying and worring about getting better and back out there again
i was told walking helps the healing do to the blood flow
please anyone , help
thank u
sharen69350 babsyboo
Edited
hi babsyboo . I am on day 19 of my hemorrhoidectomy. I am starting to feel really good right now and have no pain with BM’s. I was reading your post and was wondering if you are taking too much fiber. I take a fiber supplement, 2 teaspoons, of equate fiber powder in my coffee in the morning. After I eat breakfast, I take one stool softener. I tried taking two but if I take two, it makes me have more than one BM.
I try to get at least 15 to 17 g of fiber in daily. I am a woman and you’re supposed to get at least 20 but the 15 to 17 is working for me. I don’t want to have too many BM’s. I also still take Tylenol every six hours and ibuprofen every eight and a muscle relaxant. I only have two days left of my muscle relaxer, though. I had my surgery done on March 7, 2022.
I hope you are feeling better after writing your post.
sharen
Jrose85 s95966
Posted
I am so sorry to hear about this but iv just had a similar experience and made a account on ere hoping for some answers i am 37 male pretty fit never had any other health issues other than piles for the past 6 years that have worsened in the last 2 with bleeding ever time a passed a stool so i had no option but to get this op and on the 27/05/22 I went to have my hemorrhoids removed the surgeon i had was very rude from the start and I was not confident in him from the first time we met as he made a statement when I asked if surgery was the only option as i had stage 4 piles and had about 5 big external piles and his reply was I could get a gun put it to your head and pull the trigger and laughed so from the start I did not feel safe but knew I had no option but to have the surgery I then went back to my GP and explained what had happened my GP apologised for him and asked if I would be willing to see him a second time but I bring someone so I agreed and took my mother with me he apologised for what he said and I agreed to have the op even tho I still didn’t feel safe, On the operation day I seen him again before I went in to the operation and did not say hello when I came in the room all he said was "you know this is going to hurt don’t you" I replied yes you told me before and he gave me the paper to sign which I signed gave him back and he just said see you soon, Which made me feel even more uneasy, I don’t think the op he did went well from the start. After my operation i was sent me home within 30mins already bleeding pretty bed I was told that it’s normal they gave me a biscuit and drink and sent me home anyway, I felt something was wrong but was told it was normal, I got home about 17:00-18:00 I layed down and did not move because my stomach was hurting and I was in pain later that night I went to the toilet about 22:30 for a wee I trumped and blood started pouring out I could feel myself dying as I nearly bled out, I lost a lot of blood roughly just under 2 liters and my partner saved me by calling the ambulance keeping me awake and holding a towel on my rear end untill the ambulance came, the ambulance staff and the nurses and second surgeon was amazing ppl so good with me and I really appreciate what they did and if I recover from this I would like to find them to to say Thankyou in person to show my gratitude for saving my life, during the second operation I had to have later that night I had a blood transfusion and another general anaesthetic for the operation, I woke up in hospital and slept on the ward where there was some amazing nurses that shift, I rested in that day and did not move from the bed. The next day the new morning staff was on and was trying to rush me to go and pass a stool so I could go home I personally thought it was to soon as I have just undergone 2 ops in the past 48h but I put my trust in them I did what they told me they brought in the commode and helped me out of bed and onto it, as I sat down I knew it was too soon and did not and could not push because of the pain and lack of strength I just sat and waited for it to come, I then began to bleed again so I rung to buzzer and no one came so another patient across from me asked if I was ok I told him what was happening he got up out of his bed and walked down to the nurses to ask them to come and help as they was all stood talking and laughing and replied they would be there in a second while I was dripping with blood, when the nurse came which took them quite a while to come over to me I was then asked do I want it whipping in which I replied I want to know if this is normal or can you get a dr or surgeon to take a look, i then had 4 surgeons turn up about 1 hour later to tell me I will have to have another operation as it wasn’t looking good so at this point my faith in some of the British nhs is lowering by the second and I was scared and now I’m back in the operating room, I had the third op on 29/05/22 and went back to my ward to recover I stayed in there for another 3 days but while I was in there I had been poked with needles and blood taken to the point I don’t know what was going in or out I had a cannula in my left arm for days which had caused a blood clot in my left arm and causing my left hand and fingers go numb, since I left the hospital I also feel constantly dizzy, my stomach feels like a uncomfortable pain, my bum hole hurts abit but not that bad, my left testical is tender and have lost a considerable amount of body mass since this whole op I was never told what I should expect after the op other than my anus would be in pain, I never had any of these other issues before the operation I was fit and healthy and went to the gym 4-5 times a week run about 2 miles 2-3 times a week and had paid to have a full body check before I went in to have this operation and was fit and Healthy on paper. After all this traumatic events I then I had to go back to the hospital on 2 occasions to find out if what I was experiencing was normal and I was worried and scared and could not get seen right away so I had to wait 9 hours before I was seen in the triage and it’s only because the lady in the triage put me straight up stairs and got me a bed and mentioned I should not have been waiting all that time after all I have been through, I stayed over night and was seen the next day and was told my head lightness would go they
but the dull stomach pain has not changed which I am concerned and worried about and seems to be all over my belly area but mainly on my left side under my ribs and my left testical is still sensitive, I am still leaking out my anus like iv not whiped properly im still wearing a mens nappy, i stopped taking laxatives on the 15/6/22 and my stools are getting harder but it feels like when i need a poo its like trying to get a orange through a keyhole i feel tight inside and my diet has been very good and consistent but my weight has not moved up yet which is also concerning i it is now the 19.06.22 it has now been 3 weeks since my last operation and hoping i can get some answers on here please as i am very worried and if anyone can help or been through something similar and has advice i would very much appreciate it
Thankyou for reading this
Jrose85 Nura29
Posted
I am so sorry to hear about this but iv just had a similar experience and made a account on ere hoping for some answers i am 37 male pretty fit never had any other health issues other than piles for the past 6 years that have worsened in the last 2 with bleeding ever time a passed a stool so i had no option but to get this op and on the 27/05/22 I went to have my hemorrhoids removed the surgeon i had was very rude from the start and I was not confident in him from the first time we met as he made a statement when I asked if surgery was the only option as i had stage 4 piles and had about 5 big external piles and his reply was I could get a gun put it to your head and pull the trigger and laughed so from the start I did not feel safe but knew I had no option but to have the surgery I then went back to my GP and explained what had happened my GP apologised for him and asked if I would be willing to see him a second time but I bring someone so I agreed and took my mother with me he apologised for what he said and I agreed to have the op even tho I still didn’t feel safe, On the operation day I seen him again before I went in to the operation and did not say hello when I came in the room all he said was "you know this is going to hurt don’t you" I replied yes you told me before and he gave me the paper to sign which I signed gave him back and he just said see you soon, Which made me feel even more uneasy, I don’t think the op he did went well from the start. After my operation i was sent me home within 30mins already bleeding pretty bed I was told that it’s normal they gave me a biscuit and drink and sent me home anyway, I felt something was wrong but was told it was normal, I got home about 17:00-18:00 I layed down and did not move because my stomach was hurting and I was in pain later that night I went to the toilet about 22:30 for a wee I trumped and blood started pouring out I could feel myself dying as I nearly bled out, I lost a lot of blood roughly just under 2 liters and my partner saved me by calling the ambulance keeping me awake and holding a towel on my rear end untill the ambulance came, the ambulance staff and the nurses and second surgeon was amazing ppl so good with me and I really appreciate what they did and if I recover from this I would like to find them to to say Thankyou in person to show my gratitude for saving my life, during the second operation I had to have later that night I had a blood transfusion and another general anaesthetic for the operation, I woke up in hospital and slept on the ward where there was some amazing nurses that shift, I rested in that day and did not move from the bed. The next day the new morning staff was on and was trying to rush me to go and pass a stool so I could go home I personally thought it was to soon as I have just undergone 2 ops in the past 48h but I put my trust in them I did what they told me they brought in the commode and helped me out of bed and onto it, as I sat down I knew it was too soon and did not and could not push because of the pain and lack of strength I just sat and waited for it to come, I then began to bleed again so I rung to buzzer and no one came so another patient across from me asked if I was ok I told him what was happening he got up out of his bed and walked down to the nurses to ask them to come and help as they was all stood talking and laughing and replied they would be there in a second while I was dripping with blood, when the nurse came which took them quite a while to come over to me I was then asked do I want it whipping in which I replied I want to know if this is normal or can you get a dr or surgeon to take a look, i then had 4 surgeons turn up about 1 hour later to tell me I will have to have another operation as it wasn’t looking good so at this point my faith in some of the British nhs is lowering by the second and I was scared and now I’m back in the operating room, I had the third op on 29/05/22 and went back to my ward to recover I stayed in there for another 3 days but while I was in there I had been poked with needles and blood taken to the point I don’t know what was going in or out I had a cannula in my left arm for days which had caused a blood clot in my left arm and causing my left hand and fingers go numb, since I left the hospital I also feel constantly dizzy, my stomach feels like a uncomfortable pain, my bum hole hurts abit but not that bad, my left testical is tender and have lost a considerable amount of body mass since this whole op I was never told what I should expect after the op other than my anus would be in pain, I never had any of these other issues before the operation I was fit and healthy and went to the gym 4-5 times a week run about 2 miles 2-3 times a week and had paid to have a full body check before I went in to have this operation and was fit and Healthy on paper. After all this traumatic events I then I had to go back to the hospital on 2 occasions to find out if what I was experiencing was normal and I was worried and scared and could not get seen right away so I had to wait 9 hours before I was seen in the triage and it’s only because the lady in the triage put me straight up stairs and got me a bed and mentioned I should not have been waiting all that time after all I have been through, I stayed over night and was seen the next day and was told my head lightness would go they
but the dull stomach pain has not changed which I am concerned and worried about and seems to be all over my belly area but mainly on my left side under my ribs and my left testical is still sensitive, I am still leaking out my anus like iv not whiped properly im still wearing a mens nappy, i stopped taking laxatives on the 15/6/22 and my stools are getting harder but it feels like when i need a poo its like trying to get a orange through a keyhole i feel tight inside and my diet has been very good and consistent but my weight has not moved up yet which is also concerning i it is now the 19.06.22 it has now been 3 weeks since my last operation and hoping i can get some answers on here please as i am very worried and if anyone can help or been through something similar and has advice i would very much appreciate it
Thankyou for reading this
Megan19892022 s95966
Posted
Hey lovey. I'm not sure if you still check back here but what is your water intake like? How much water would you say you consume daily? While taking fiber supplements, you want to be drinking half if your total body weight, in oz to prevent the gas, bloating and any blockages from building up.
krissy63047 neal0270
Edited
Thank you so much for posting this. I am preparing for surgery and have been trying to find feedback on the long term results and haven't had much luck until now. One of my biggest questions was about anal sex too, so thank you for your input on that!! I am mentally prepared for the pain and that it may take a long time to get fully healed up. I know its not a fun ride but it comforts me to know that it was worth it.
neal0270 krissy63047
Edited
No problem, im glad my post helped. I found almost no information when i was going through it on the anal sex part too and was to afraid to ask my doctor to many questions which is why i included it in my post. Lol.
I responded with a update (its waiting moderation approval tho) but i just hit the 2 year mark since my surgury and honestly forgot I wrote this post but your reply triggered the site to send me a email. Im glad to know my post helped a few people.
neal0270
Edited
Hey guys been a while since i made this post but got a email about it and figured id update since its been a few years now to give you some hope for the future.
I haven't even thought about hemmoroids in years. I honestly forget i even had the surgery and all those years of suffering from them is a thing of the past.
For everyone asking about skin tags id say it took a full year for everything to go to 100% back to normal down there. I mentioned in my orginal post that i was going to wait and see if the tag i had went down in a few months and i ended up going back to the doctor to have it removed. It only took a few minutes in the doctors to burn it off. I will say after doing that it looked way worse down there for a few months after, and i was concerned about how it looked/felt but everything smoothed out eventually and now you wouldn't even know it was there.
Anal sex wise everything is back to normal, and much better than before. Everyone is going to be different, but it took me a year for all the skin down there to soften up and for 90% of the bumps to go away. There was a few tender spots 6-12 months after my surgery during anal, but over time those spots all went away, but like i said go slow and take it easy at first, its going to be like you have never done it before. Alot of it i think was mental too, as time went on i forgot about the surgery and stopped worrying.
I'm going to include a pic (obviously NSFW), so dont open it if you dont want too. https://imgur.com/a/xZW2zsE But i feel like it might help people who are concerned about scarring/ bumps/tags because honestly it looked pretty rough down there during the recovery for a while. I remember also googled it myself trying to see if it gets better and im here to tell you it does over time.
Overall though, it was definitely worth the surgery and id go through it again. All the pain was worth it.
louise49399 neal0270
Posted
Hi do you have any pics of what it looked like after the op? I just feel mine looks like a mess
yusuf21432 neal0270
Posted
Hi
I had my hemorrhoidectomy op done last year 5th December. I had 3 internal and 1 external hemerroid removed. The initial pain was unbearable but now I'm much better. There are occasions where I feel pain when having BM but it goes away.
Just wanted to know if this was normal:
I still have a yellow discharge that comes out it has a bit of an order.
My BM are coming out in very small amounts and sizes.
Are these all normal and part of the healing process?
Dallas2 yusuf21432
Posted
what have you found out
i am 7 months post surgery and i still have discharge daily sometimes poop discharge and i am still in pain when i go to the bathroom a lot in one day.
i feel like there are so many issues
After my surgery which was more than just hemorroids i developed skin tags which were removed and them caused more discharge
please help any info would be great
i am crying daily