7-weeks Post Haemorrhoidectomy Surgery (NHS)

OK, so I like many, went into this op thinking I knew how it was gonna be... I was wrong, and I turned to the interent to read others experiences whih helped me through! For that reason I feel like I owe it to future patients to share my story.

I am 42, female, no kids...

First sign of Haemorrhoids about 5 years ago - Probably because of my profession - I am an equestrain, spending up to 6 hours a day in the saddle - plus I smoked, drank, ate poorly. I foolishly assumed that becasue I was super active, and not overweight, that these things could never affect me!

Mine were internal, and never bothered me in terms of pain or bleeding, however they very occasionally prolapsed which was horrendous! I grew to be constantly constipated, using laxatives every day, which I knew could not be healthy.

2 years ago I eventually went to the doctor and was referrred to a surgeon, and I had the HALO surgery.

Afterwards was great - I thought I was cured, although the surgeon did warn me that they were much bigger than he had thought they would be.

After a year the HALO had failed, and they came back - to be fair I had thought I was 'cured' and did not change my lifestyle much. What an idiot!

So in Jan I was again referred 'urgently'. Jeez the change in the NHS in just 2 years! It took a good 6 weeks to see the surgeon and another 3 months to get a date for surgery.

Surgery went fine - surgeon wasn't great though - they were trying to discharge me when I went for a pee, and burst into tears when there was bloody 'stuff' hanging out my back passage! Turns out it was packing, and normal, but you would have thought they would have mentioned it! I was still pretty drugged up!

That night the local wore off, and the pain started...

A dull constant ache that was far worse than a sharp pain..

Trust me, in the first week, you will probably think that you are the one in a hundred that surgery has gone wrong for. You aren't. It feels like that for all of us. In the first weeks it often felt like I had a double sword stuck in there.... not nice.

In the first weeks HOT baths are your friend! I found that the hotter, the better! And as often as you need! I didn't care, if I needes it at 4am, I'm doing it!

After 7 days I STILL had not had a BM... I was in agony, and had even stopped being able to pee, except in the bath or shower. I was convinced I was broken. I could not relax a single pelvic muscle

I went to my GP who gave me a muscle relaxant, as well as some Tramadol, plus more stool softeners.

As others have said - get off the codeine as soon as you can - that was what was keep me from bms...

Take lots of stool softeners and fibre supplements.

And you really have to change your diet.

High fibre, fruit, veg - NO alcohol, caffeine, meat, dairy, white potatos, pasta or rice. Trust me it's worth it!

As others have also said, and it may sound disgusting, but the pain was such that I found it impossible to relax enough to go in the toilet....

I had by first bm after 8 days, in the bath...

Then, horrendously, I coudn't go again for another week! I thought I was dying! Just a tiny amount in the bath, and having to wear a pad for horrible discharge.

My life revolved around what I ate, and trying to have a bm. It was awful, and it becomes really hard to see a way out of it all.

The pain came and went, but it was to constant throbbing and the constipation that was the worst...

I was taking Docusate Sodium and Lactulose DAILY, plus lots of fruit and veg and soups, and then finally, just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, at day 20 post surgery, I had 3 bms!

Squatting is your friend also!! For that week I would squat over a bucket in the bath, being able to soothe the pain in a hot bath immediately afterwards..

It's scary, becasue it's hard to imagine that you can ever go normally again...

But slowly it got easier and easier..

That day was the day when I improved 50%, and that has continued week by week....

When you go to the toilet, leaning forward and having most of your weight on your feet than on the seat helps SO much!

By week 5 I probably felt 85% back to normal....

BUT... then I attempted to wean myself off the laxatives and also to introduce more 'usual' food into my diet, including alcohol..... This was a MISTAKE!

BMs, although still regulalr, became extremely painful and hard to pass...

So I have gone back on the stool softeners and cut again the alcohol, meat and 'crap' like sweets and crisps!

It truly does need a change of lifestyle to facilitate a recovery!

Today I feel 90% back to normal..

Having gone through it all it is definitely worth it! Mine would only have got worse with my job and age, and never having the urge to go, and taking strong laxatives daily is no way to live.

Although I am still taking stool softeners, having a regular urge every day feels so great!

This is a couple of months of pain, then discomfort, for what is pretty much a permanent solution to a condition that can affect you for life!

You can get though it!

Please feel free if you have any questions that I could answer!

Good luck with your own recoveries x

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