fissurectomy/hemorrhoidectomy experience

I wanted to share my experience with both my fissurectomy surgery (aug 2019) and my hemorrhoidectomy surgery (may 2020) in the hopes that this might be helpful to others. My fissurectomy was a year ago so i’m a little hazy on the details but will try my best.

A little background on me: I’m a 27 year old female who’s been dealing with hemorrhoids for the last decade (ugh). They were internal but would prolapse during a bowel movement and would have to be manually pushed in. I tried adding more fiber to my diet but I don’t think I tried hard enough and basically just said ‘I’ll be dealing with this for the rest of my life’. I was too embarrassed to talk to a doctor about it, and they got worse over the past ten years (more of them, bigger in size, more difficult to push in, etc).

The straw that broke the camel’s back was actually not that my stools were too hard but rather too LOOSE. I had a bout of diarrhea that lasted for a few months (I know, that’s a long time) and that, combined with the hemorrhoids, gave me a fissure in june 2019. The fissure was the most painful thing I ever dealt with and because I didn’t undertand what it was – and thought it maybe was from hard stools – I took laxatives and that tore the fissure even more. It stung during a bowel momvenet and for the entire day after, sometimes 2 days after. it caused spasms in my anus. I was so afraid of pooping, I only pooped every other day (I usually poop every day). I had to drop out of a lot of commitments due to pain and I was constantly shifting my weight when standing/sitting because I couldn’t get comfortable. I was in such pain that when I saw my surgeon and she tried to schedule me for a fissurectomy a week away, I said it had to be sooner than that and started crying. She obliged.

My colorectal surgeon scheduled me for a fissurectomy in august 2019. As for the hemorrhoids, she suggested we do a few banding sessions in the coming months to get rid of them to avoid invasive surgery. My fissurectomy surgery itself was painless – I went under twilight anesthesia and didn’t feel a thing. They also did the first series of banding while sewing the fissure. The pain I was in after the surgery was bad– I actually found he painkillers (percoset) did less for my pain than just hot baths and extra strength Tylenol. Finding the schedule was key - I kept on a scheduled of 2 extra strength Tylenol every 6 hours and baths throughout the day, especially after a BM. I would wake myself up in the middle of the night to take my tylenol and a bath. I also took 2-3 stool softeners. I remember having a BM the day after surgery and it was SO painful – felt like my fissure was still irritated and I felt the rubberband around my hemorrhoid. I took a laxative (milk of magenisa) to get it going. I had to strain because I hadn’t yet figured out how to fix my diet. The BM’s afterwards were less painful, but still some pain to them. A horrible stinging pain and some blood. It really sucked. The good news is a week later I was able to resume my activities, but I still had a stinging sensation throughout the day. I also only wore dresses because shorts and pants irritated the wound. And pooping still gave me anxiety because I knew it would hurt during and sometimes afterwards for the rest of the day.

The most frustrating part of my fissurectomy honestly were the months where I was recovered enough to go back to work etc but was still in stinging pain for the day after every BM. this lasted…I’m sorry to say….for a year. It was better at times and worse at times, but I still felt it, with the exception of maybe a month in january where I was ok. The reason for this is that I had prolapsing hemorrhoids WHILE trying to recover from a fissurectomy. So every time I had a BM, the hemorrhoid would pop out, irritate the fissure wound, and it would prolong the healing process. Additionally, my surgeon couldn’t do any further banding surgeries until my fissure was more healed. So I was kind of stuck in this cycle where my hemorrhoids would irritate my fissure, my fissure couldn’t heal, we couldn’t band my hemorrhoids, so the hemorrhoids would irritate my fissure, my fissure couldn’t heal, etc.

A few things really helped me during this time (keep in mind my problem was LOOSE stools not HARD ones):

1)FIBER GUMMIES – these changed my life. I use the sugar free fiberwell ones I found at cvs. I take 2-4 a day. I found so many posts on this site talking about how to combat HARD stools but my problem most recently had been LOOSE stools. Fiber (don’t take WITH water) helps this issue. They make the poop easy to push out and more solid.

2)HEATING PAD – everyone says apply heat to the area, but they usually just mention baths. I found a small heating pad (like a little blanket you plug in) and would just lay on it for hours at a time. This was especially helpful when I was in the middle of something and didn’t have access to a bath. This helps speed along my recovery.

3)APPLE SAUCE – the trick for me was really getting my stool to be the right consistency. Too loose and it would irritate the fissure. Too hard and it would hurt the hemorrhoids. It was a verrrry tricky balance to strike and I mostly failed. But apple sauce helped firm up the stools and made them pass quickly.

4)IMMODIUM – in times of intense bowel trouble (I traveled to the Dominican republic and had diarrhea from the food there) i took this anti-diarrhea medicine. You might think it would constipate you completely but combined with the fiber gummies it acutally just made my stool the right amount of solid and easy to pass. iron pills also work for this issue, as does pepto bismol sometimes.

5)HOT BATHS – obviously, cant get enough of them. I only use water in mine, no salt. Took them every morning after a BM. But also make sure to invest in a portable SITZ BATH that u can bring with you on vacation or to a friend’s house or wherever there isn’t a bathtub. I got mine on Amazon (it’s pink!).

6)C-DILTIAZEM OINTMENT – my surgeon prescribed this ointment when it was clear my fissure was taking a while to heal. I didn’t like to put it on right after a BM when the wound was kind of open because that stung and hurt for the rest of the day – I would put it on at night and let it sit.

7)BABY WIPES – no toilet paper. Use something softer like baby wipes.

Now, it took me a while to figure out all of these things – so my fissure healed reaaaaallly slowly and we weren’t able to resume banding surgeries until mid November (again, my surgery was in august). I had a really bad week in october with some loose stools and very bloody BM’s and pain for days, where I thought I would never recover. But using everything above (Especially apple sauce and heating pad) helped.

I should also note that - with a few exceptions – incorporating the fiber gummies into my diet meant I spent around 10 min on the toilet. That was awesome. I was still able to eat almost everything I wanted and drink and even do the occasional drug lol. And have sex! Although probably taking those things out of my diet may have helped me heal faster…..hindsight’s 2020 lol.

The banding surgeries helped – they definitely shrunk my hemorrhoids, which meant they stopped irritating the fissure! We did about 8 bandings, 1 every 2 weeks. A note about banding surgeries: I find if they’re successful (as in you really band off a significant part of your hemorrhoid), they will hurt that day. It’s not a horrible pain but it’s a cramping feeling, and it does decrease over the hours. the first hour can make u feel kind of sick. you’ll likely be ok either that night, the next day, or at the very latest 2 days after. Sometimes the banding didn’t hurt at all and I was able to go right back to work – but that usually meant it wasn’t a very successful surgery.

After about 8 of these, it became clear that my hemorrhoids – though smaller than they used to be – would not go away without a hemorrhoidectomy. At this point, I was fairly pain free but still wanted to get rid of them, as they still prolapsed during a BM. So in early march, my surgeon scheduled me for a hemorrhoidectomy that would take place in late april.

Then, coronavirus hit lol. So the surgery got rescheduled for late may. While waiting for late may, I began to experience pain again. The thing about banding surgeries is that they sort of ‘shift’ the hemorrhoids down there so to speak. So while my original fissure had healed, the hemorrhoids were now pushing up against the right side of my anus and causing another stinging pain. I thought maybe it was another fissure, but that seemed kind of extreme. It also could’ve been that the skin on the hemorrhoid itself was irritated and was causing some blood and pain. I picked up taking baths after every BM and sometimes only pooping every other day. The pain increased over the months but luckily I knew this surgery was coming up so I didn’t have as much anixety.

The week before the surgery I stopped eating meat and stopped drinking (this was hard, I love to drink). I had read all these blogs so I was really prepared for THE WORST. I gave myself a Fleet Enema the morning of my surgery, so I was all cleared out and didn’t have to take a BM that day or the day after.

The surgery – again – was painless as I was under anesthesia the whole time. I got home and felt alright. I took my first hot bath and took out the gauze packing which was uncomfortable but ok. as the anesthesia wore off, I started to feel the pain. It was more like a soreness/sensitivity rather than the stinging pain of the fissure. I preferred it. I took an oxy – which didn’t really help – but then had to wait to take tylenol. I took multiple hot baths and ate only fruits and vegetables that first day/night. The first night was rough because I wasn’t staying on top of my pain with medication – oxy wasn’t working but because I took an oxy, I had to wait another 6 hours until I took a Tylenol. That was torturous. As soon as I figured out my pain med schedule (2 tylenol and 3 advil alternating every 4 hours) pain, things began to get better. Additionally, the 1st day and night that area felt VERY tight and I felt super bloated – even passing gas was hard and I could only do it if I strained a little and was in the bathtub (a stitch came out this way – not sure if that’s normal or bad….). I was like how am I EVER gonna poop?? But the next day I felt a little less bloated and the next day even less after that.

So now I’m on day 2 (if surgery was day 0) and I had my first BM today – it was very small and I had it in my sitz bath and then hopped in my regular bath after. It felt like I was passing a much larger stool but when I looked it was small. It was uncomfortable and sore afterwards but I have to say, after the experience of the fissure, I think I’m equipped to deal with this kind of pain. It was easier than fissure pain, much easier. There was some blood but honestly it was all right. When I pooped with a fissure and right after fissure surgery, I was screaming in pain. This time I was able to be quiet 😃

Right now, I still cant really sit up unless I’m in the bath, moving causes some pain and discomfort, but if I’m lying down I don’t feel pain at all. Which is kind of incredible. I have slight bleeding but nothing terrible. I’m a little worried about getting backed up and wondering if I should attempt to have a BM every day or every 2 days. Ive also been eating very lightly so as not to have a painful BM but my weight is very low and when it dips below a certain point, things start to go haywire.

So far, here is what has helped me

1)TYLENOL EXTRA STRENGTH AND ADVIL – my painkillers didn’t get rid of my pain, only made me feel high which was fun but not was I looking for. I alternate taking 2 tylenol extra strength and 3 advil every 4 hours. A doctor I know said this is the max u can take in a day (6 tylenol xtra and 9 advil) but its been working.

2)HOT BATHS – as I said above, they’re the best thing to decrease swelling and pain alleviation. Taken 3-4x a day at LEAST.

3)HEMORROWEDGE – these are icepacks sold on amazon specifically for hemorrhoids. They’re small and squishy – wrap them in a baby wipe and stick them in your butt and hold them there for 10-15 min. they are AMAZING for relieving pain. They don’t do much to decrease swelling but they help in the moment pain. I couldn’t fall asleep the first night because I was in pain but I stuck one of these in and was able to fall asleep for 4 hours.

4)DIET OF FIBER GUMMIES, FRUITS, VEGGIES, NUTS AND STOOL SOFTENER – my poop this morning was small and solid but easy to pass. I think this is due to me eating like a freaking rabit.

5)PORTABLE BIDET – I am not wiping after a BM at all. I ordered a spray bottle on amazon designed for pregnant women.

6)SQUATTY POTTY – put one under your feet when you have a BM, helps it come out easier.

Overall, I’m not necessarily glad I’ve been dealing with these issues for a year but I am glad I had my fissurectomy surgery before my hemorrhoidectomy because I am so much more equipped to deal with the pain and I know so much more about my diet and bowel habits. I would say if you’ve been through the pain of a bad fissure, this will feel much easier.

I’m not even going to get INTO skin tags yet because my butt has looked so weird since my fissurectomy and they kept saying it was because of the hemorrhoids and the extra skin, so we’ll just see if it looks normal when all this is done. I heard someone say that wherever you’re at in 5 weeks is likely what you’re stuck with. We’ll see.

I’m pretty sure the new stinging pain I was experiencing right before my hemorrhoidectomy was a hemorrhoid and not a new fissure – theres certainly pain in my butt right now but none of it feels like that pain. Time will tell

I will update in a week or so, hoping that recovery continues to be alright and I continue to improve. Really glad I found this website, it helped me SO much, so I’m trying to pass it forward. Feel free to respond with any questions or any guidance! If youre going through it at the same time we can be penpals!

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