Have dreaded this for 20 yrs. Going into surgery soon. Pls. respond
Posted , 9 users are following.
Hi fellow sufferers,
As per my title, I have suffered off/on with hemmies for over 20 years. At first it wasn't that bad and could be managed, but I just pushed myself too hard with young children/life/work/being a perfectionist and I am now in a place where surgery is the only option. I now cannot participate in any type of activity without extreme pain ( ie - bending down to floor level to pick up trash ) and will have to resign from my highly skilled job unless this is resolved. I do think I have an extreme case. I am unable to perform daily tasks of living without these protruding and most likely thrombosis. I want nothing more than to be free from the on-going pain of hemorrhoids.
Reading these forums has me terrified of the procedure. My doctor uses LigaSure procedures/equipment and a long acting (exparil) analgesic. He is very confident that the recuperation will not be the nightmare I am anticipating, but reading these forums, most doctors say the same thing. Please let me know if you had a good or bad experience with a very confident doctor. Mine says that I can expect pain at a 6 ( at worst ) on a scale of 1 - 10.
Also, I drink alot of alcohol, every day. I will start a different thread on that, but am wondering about that on recovery.
I am in the United states and it seems most everyone one here is over the pond. I haven't been able to find a USA forum comparable.
Thank for reading, if you got this far.
Terrified in Virginia
1 like, 37 replies
Drug350 jbutt
Posted
Welp, it's Saturday just after noon, and things definitely took a turn today. The Exparel, which has been nothing short of AMAZING, is wearing off quickly, and I'm starting to get very uncomfortable. I tried to have my 1st BM since Wednesday night, as surgery was 0630 Thursday morning, but I couldn't pass anything other than a lot of blood and a lot of "clotting". It was quite disgusting and it hurt like hell trying to "go". I tried 3 or 4 times to no avail. I've been using Colace plus laxative, along with 5 or 6 doses of Dulcolax, and still nothing. I got so desperate I tried Fleet enema, because I HAVE to go, but still nothing. That always works. Nope. Nothing but the Fleet water. So I drank a bottle of Magnesium Citrate about an hour ago and I'm hoping something happens. I'm afraid to go into tomorrow, Sunday, still not having gone, especially because I've been eating regularly. I had to take an Oxycodone after making those attempts. My bottom was killing me. It hurt like hell sitting on the toilet. Just terrible. I jumped into the tub afterwards, but unfortunately, it didn't offer much relief. I was really surprised and disappointed because everyone says "hot bath/sitz bath is the best pain relief, but I didn't get any. Welp, my plans to maybe be back to work on Monday are quickly fading fast. The first two days were absolutely AMAZING because of the Exparel, but I'm now starting to feel what most people who have this surgery feel: lots of pain.
Tbones jbutt
Posted
Hello jbutt! I know this response is late, but i was doing my own scary research to see about taking care of my longterm problem with hems when i stumbled along this post. Funny enough, i had a consultation back in 2020 i never followed through with because i'd already done so much research and thought my consultation doc was blowing smoke up my ass... reading your post, i'm wondering "HOW MANY DR BUCHBERGS CAN THERE BE IN THIS FIELD?!?" so i would assume we saw the same doc!! quite a small world, but it brings me relief knowing i'm not alone. I'm wondering if you ever ended up receiving your surgery, and if so, how did everything go in terms of pain, healing, recurrence, etc? I appreciate any information you have! Honestly i was hoping to find a HAL-RAR doc near me but apparently no luck... although i'm not completely against traveling just to avoid more pain.
Thank you in advance!
jbutt Tbones
Posted
Hi Tbones,
I apologize for the delayed response. It has been awhile since I have visited this site.
I did not follow through with the surgery, but wish that I had. I've tried every restrictive diet, lifestyle change, OTC medication etc. available and my issues have just progressed. I only saw your message because I re-visited this site due to needing to make a choice between resolving these hemmies or losing my job, four years before full retirement.
I too was very interested in HAL-RAR. There is one doctor in my area that offers this procedure, but he is affiliated with an, in my opinion, sub-par hospital. I have left a couple of messages and never received a return call.
I live in Virginia. My Dr. Buckberg was actually very comforting and nice. I just didn't feel that he fully appreciated what I, as his patient, might undergo during recovery. He was adamant that I would be fully recovered in 2 weeks.
Unfortunately, I have no choice but to get something done within the very near future. If I had addressed this earlier, I would have saved myself years of pain and it would have been a simpler procedure.
I met a man on this site that had his procedure the day my operation was scheduled the first time. He was terrified, but he went through with it and had an amazingly good recovery.
If you are in the state of Virginia, let me know. There are two excellent facilities, from my research, in the Northern Va. area that are tops. I just don't want to travel 4 hours each way, but am thinking about it to get a more customized approach to my surgery.
ian47564 jbutt
Posted
Just watch the alcohol intake during your recovery.
google "alcohol and the wound healing process".
Too much and it can delay your healing, and that's the last thing you want.