8 days post op. Very positive experience!

Hello all,<br>

I am now 8 days post op and am doing fantastic. I'm starting to think maybe my surgeon was a magician because the worst my pain has gotten so far was maybe a 4 on a scale of 1 to 10. I actually stopped taking pain meds 3 days after surgery. <br>

I'm seriously so surprised at how well things have been going and wanted to share my experience. Sorry that these are disorganized but here are some key points: <br> <br>

• I had 1 very large external excised and 2 large internals banded. I also had a fissure I'd been dealing with since July.

• Doctor's orders: start eating light 3 nights before surgery. You will probably not poop for a few days after the operation, so the food you eat a few days prior will be what your body will be passing afterwards. (I just starting having chicken noodle soup for dinner)

• Did 2 enemas the morning of surgery. Barely anything came out the 2nd time around. Good sign!

• I was able to talk to my anesthesiologist before the surgery. I told him I get really nauseous when I'm put under and he took great care to make sure I was comfortable. He said he would use medications that don't heavily sedate the body so I'd recover faster and he wouldn't have to use "intense" medications to wake me back up. I woke up with 0 pain and 0 nausea!

• My doctor gave me some kind of numbing shot before I woke up that was supposed to last up to 72 hours to keep my pain levels down. It seemed to have work because I was literally in no pain for several days after surgery.

• She said she didn't understand why doctors use gauze or any material that patients have to poop out later after surgery. She used a dissolving gel pack in my butt so I wouldn't have to worry about trying to poop it out it later. Maybe ask your doctor if they can avoid using gauze?

• My first BM was 2 days post op. It was soft and painless! Definitely eat light meals in the days prior to your operation and start your stool softeners ASAP!

• Doctor said NO to Metamucil or any fiber supplements. She prescribed me Colace and Miralax to stay regular, and said to take Milk of Magnesia if I went 3 days without pooping.

• Don't strain when you have a BM. Your stools should literally just fall out of you as you relax and sit there. (I have a squatty potty but found leaning forward and to one side felt better)

• She was very adamant on avoiding constipation at all costs:

DIARRHEA > CONSTIPATION! While diarrhea is obviously not a good thing, she said it's a LOT easier to recover from diarrhea after a hemorrhoidectomy.

Diarrhea = drink more water, ease off on the laxatives. At least you're not getting backed up.

Constipation = the longer you go without pooping, the harder the stools will get, the more you're going to get backed up, the more you're going to have to struggle to poop out later. You can also get impacted, which is definitely not something you want to deal with after you've had the surgery.

• The worst day so far was actually day 6. Even though my stools had been pretty soft, for some reason my anus felt extremely dry this day and it was unpleasant to have a BM. Pain only went up to a 4 though. Definitely tolerable. Less painful than pooping with a fissure.

• Sitz baths help! A nurse said to me "the hotter the better". Obviously don't burn yourself, but get it as hot as you can tolerate.

• Fill a sock up with some rice. You can microwave it and hold it up to your butt for some relief. Heat = increased bloodflow to the area = helps with healing. But use an ice pack to help with inflammation. I often cycled between the two when I was dealing with a thrombosed hemorrhoid prior to surgery.

• Hot/cold bidets are awesome. I had my husband install one from Amazon the week before surgery. No wiping!

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So far I'm extremely happy with the results and have no regrets so far. My doctor did an amazing job! My diet hasn't changed drastically but I have made sure to eat fruits everyday (Apples and plums specifically) and limiting red meat. I also now take Colace 3x a day (All 3 at once in the morning) and Miralax around noon. I try to drink an extra glass of water here and there but honestly haven't been that extreme with upping my water intake. <br><br>

I hope my story will help put some troubled minds at ease. I was honestly terrified of getting the surgery and preparing for the worst because of the many horror stories I had read. I do think my doctor was very skilled and took extra precautions to keep me out of trouble. I have my follow-up appointment with her in a few weeks and will post again with the "final" results.

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