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HALO surgery - how was it for me?

Posted , 13 users are following.

Dadhairday
Dadhairday

I researched this before going ahead and came across so many posts from people experiencing severe pain afterwards so wanted to post a more positive experience.

I’ve had occasional piles on and off for years (now aged 64) but most recently persistent category 3  pushed me into agreeing to HALO surgery as advised by NHS consultant.

My piles were never painful, just messy! 

The op seemed to go well. Did feel like I’d had a kick in the pants afterwards but only needed paracetamol and ibuprofen which I took for a week then reduced to zero after 10 days. Avoided using the codeine as I believe they cause constipation and that you do not want!

I eat a bowel-friendly diet generally, including daily fruit smoothies. However, I decided to take a low dose of laxative following the op to help smooth the flow. Again I was able to reduce this to zero after 10 days. 

So the the bad news? It took 48 hours for my first bowel movement after the op and it was excruciating! Avoided pushing but it did feel like I was passing the proverbial grapefruit! All over in 20 minutes with no significant pain later. My advice would be to dose up with more laxative immediately after the op but don’t overdo it. Might have made the first motion less painful.

Following bowel movements were much less painful and relatively normal within two weeks. I’d say only one further bowel movement was in any way significantly painful.

Now 6 weeks on everything is fine and dandy. I’m very pleased with the outcomes. I hope my experience gives folk thinking of having the HALO procedure some confidence that it does not have to lead to weeks of severe pain.

And remember, go with the flow, don’t push:-)

5 likes, 22 replies

22 Replies

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  • chrisjcameron
    chrisjcameron Dadhairday

    Posted

    Thanks for the post- I think this would definitely put people at ease going in. I had originally been opted for halo surgery and ended up getting LHP- laser treatment which was relatively almost completely painless.  
  • mary54335
    mary54335 Dadhairday

    Posted

    Hello,

    Good to hear that you had such a great experience. Glad that you are healing well and that the whole thing was a great experience. 

    One question tho, did you have the Halo surgery with mucopexy? (lifting on the bowel}

    #Thanks for the response. 

    Mary.

    • Dadhairday
      Dadhairday mary54335

      Posted

      Hi Mary, did not have mucopexy as far as I know! Not mentioned so expect not. 
  • Sizey
    Sizey Dadhairday

    Posted

    Hello, I'm having a his procedure on Friday... Quite worried about pain after I Don have a great threshold... Have stopped. Smoking and drinking on the run up to help with healing... I have 3 kids and a full time job I'm hoping I recover quick, also meant to be doing a muddy obstacle run on 21st October... No idea if I'll be OK for it, work are happy for me to work from home but still wondering if I'll need a week off or more??? Thanks for your post

    • Dadhairday
      Dadhairday Sizey

      Posted

      Good luck for Friday :-)

      We are all different so can only tell you what I think based on my experience. I’d take at least a couple of days off work to begin with. Take it easy to let the anaesthetic get out of your system a bit. Medical advice was no exertion for two weeks but I was easing back into exercise and cycling by the end of that time. I’m sure you will be fine by your mud run.

  • ottoman15308
    ottoman15308 Dadhairday

    Posted

    Having the Halo surgery next week. Extremely nervous about it. Your post helps to ease that worry, although slightly. Thank you.

  • olivier54069
    olivier54069 Dadhairday

    Posted

    thanks for the overview really helpful

    i had the surgery 6 days ago now and i am starting to get a little concenred at the seeming lack of progress.

    i no longer have prolapse on bm, but the soft lump is still very much visible when i inspect and still s relatively signficsnt level of pain.

    am i expecting too much too soon in terms of appearance/shrinking or should i look for a follow up appointment sooner than the 3 weeks i currently have?

    i had expected some more immediate impact/reduction in size based on what i have seen online.

    any experience would be appreciated

    thanks

    • kyle2020
      kyle2020 olivier54069

      Posted

      @olivier54069 How are you doing now? How was the pain post op?

      I'm getting this procedure (well the THD procedure which is the same thing as the HALO procedure) in a few days. I'm worried that it won't be a permanent fix like the traditional hemorrhoidectomy might be (of course nothing is guaranteed). But, my surgeon said this one is safer because no tissue is cut. So I'll be hoping for the best. I really do not want to have to get this surgery done and then the hemorrhoidectomy later on down the road.

      I have at least one grade 3 hemorrhoid that prolapses out after every BM and God knows if there are any more internals. Hope I'm not making a mistake but we'll see I guess.

  • Sharona123
    Sharona123 Dadhairday

    Posted

    really pleased to hear you are better after 6 weeks, I had the halo 4 weeks ago, I was losing lots of blood up until last week, I have a catheter fitted as the operation stopped my bladder from working, I just couldn't go so after 2 weeks of struggling and in the worse pain ever I ended up in A&E having a catheter fitted, my bladder was almost at bursting point, any longer could have proved fatal. my bottom is still very sore and I have large swollen lumps which look like hemorrhoids still but I'm not sure, they could be swollen skin tags, did you have this and how long does it take for them to go? at the moment I wish I had never had the op, I still feel sore with bowel movement but taking half a laxido each night to keep soft. I also have bladder spasms due to the catheter, I will have it taken out next week for a trial to see if I can wee on my own. the hospital never told me this could happen with my bladder, I wasnt told I would have these huge swollen lumps afterwards either. I'm in more pain now than I was before my op. hopefully another couple of weeks should see me on the mend, fingers crossed. x

    • Dadhairday
      Dadhairday Sharona123

      Posted

      sorry to hear you've had a difficult time! I didn't have any swollen lumps or bladder issues. Do hope you get back to normal.

    • Sharona123
      Sharona123 Dadhairday

      Posted

      thankyou, I am going back for my follow up next week so will see what my consultant says about the lumps, really hope they will go on their own, don't fancy another op. x

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