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Hemorrhoid surgery recovery tips

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gee11215
gee11215

Hemorrhoidectomy recovery

I had a hemorrhoidectomy two weeks ago. The doctor warned me that recovery process would be painful. But I didn't think it would be this intense. Here are a few tips to ease the pain. It made a world of difference in pain management for me:

1) ice packs-- most ice packs are not shaped for your butt and the flat ones only numb the butt cheeks, not the surgical site where you need relief. So make your own! Buy diapers (any size 3-6) and fill it with 3-4 cups of water and put it in a ziplock bag (for hygienic storage) and in the freezer. Once frozen, the diapers are curved perfectly to your anus area and won't drip as it melts either because the gel is designed to hold in liquid. I use one diaper several times before tossing. Just put it in a ziplock bag and refreeze.

2) squirt bottles--clean yourself with squirt bottles, not even wet toilet paper or baby wipes were gentle enough post surgery when the area is extremely raw. I bought two big squirt bottles at the drug store and fill them up before any bowel movements.

3) Boneal-- after cleaning the anus with the squirt bottles, I apply boneal (otc lotion for anal cleaning) lotion on toilet paper and dab it on my anus. It relieves the pain and itching that come later in the healing process.

4) sitz bath-- Do this 2-3 times a day and definitely after a bowel movement. Sometimes, I have my bowel movements in the sitz bath to ease the pain. Just remember to rinse it with soap and hot water right away if you have a bowel movement in there so you don't sit in fecal water and develop a uti on top of everything else.

5) if possible, stick to lots of veggies and soups for the first two weeks to allow the wound to heal. No starchy foods and anything binding!!!

These tips were given to me by the maternity nurses after I had a baby, but they are completely relevant here and I am especially grateful for the ice pack diaper trick! It was the ONLY way an ice pack can be applied to that anus area and not to my butt cheeks. Good luck and speedy recovery. BTW-- get all this ready, especially the diaper ice packs before surgery so you will have it immediately after you come home from surgery. You'll be in so much pain and not very mobile, so have all the relief remedies prepared ahead of time!

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  • Elena381
    Elena381 gee11215

    Edited

    Hello,

    This is the first time I am posting on any forum of this kind. I figured it might be useful to share my relatively positive experience, as well as some tips that helped my recovery after hemorrhoidectomy.

    I am a healthy 40 year old female. I watch what I eat and get plenty of light exercise every day (my job requires a lot of moving around and walking). While I had minor issues with hemorrhoids since college (occasional flare up, thrombosis, prolapse, that resolves within a week or two), these issues became more serious during two of my pregnancies. After my second child, a doctor suggested hemorrhoidectomy, but I decided not to do it because cons outweighed the pros at that time. I had the situation under control for over 2 years. And then, after having a difficult BM (not too difficult, but it did require more straining that usually), my problem came back with a vengeance. After suffering for a month, I scheduled my surgery. I had no choice. I couldn’t go to work, I couldn’t take care of my kids, I spent days on the couch with an ice pack and nights drugged up on NyQuil so that I can get a few hours of sleep because the pain kept me awake.

    Considering the size of the external hemorrhoid that was excised (roughly 3cm x 3cm) and a couple of smaller internal ones, my recovery is going incredibly well. There is pain, of course, there is no way that can be avoided, but I am getting better every day.

    What I believe helped my recovery greatly (and this happened by chance because of the condition I was in before the surgery) is pre-op care. Since I was in so much pain before the surgery, I ate little, all light and easily digestible food and was taking MiraLax every day to make sure my BMs are very soft. I continued with this diet for the first 3-4 days after the surgery as well, slowly returning to normal. For the first 5 days after the surgery, my BMs were super soft, not even entirely formed. They still hurt, but I feel I avoided the worst pain everyone is talking about. On day 6, I had my first soft, but formed BM, which still caused significant pain and some bleeding (not quite I-am-going-to-pass-out pain, more like I’d-rather-have-another-C-section-than-this kind of pain). After that, things started to get better every day.

    Bottom line, in addition to all the other tips patients are offering (sitz baths, ice packs, avoid opioids if you can, clean the area by washing, poop in the shower if you are not too disgusted by it, etc), I believe pre-op diet can greatly help recovery. Be very careful what you eat 5-7 days before the surgery, take MiraLax if you need it (some people might not), try to train your body to have very soft BMs. The day before and after the surgery, stick to liquids (maybe a couple of crackers if you get really hungry). My doctor never mentioned it, but I feel this was critical for my “easy” recovery. Doctor only said nothing to eat after midnight the day before surgery, but I feel that’s not enough.

    I understand these tips may not apply to all patients, but I hope they will be helpful to some. And I agree with others, do not undergo hemorrhoidectomy if you have other choices.

  • k92852
    k92852 gee11215

    Posted

    I had surgery a week ago and I was fine the day after. I took some OTC tylenol and motrin. My first BM was not delightful but it wasn't excruciating. My surgeon told me that it would be in severe pain for 2 weeks but that has not been the case.

  • elizabeth24905
    elizabeth24905 gee11215

    Posted

    Hi im 7 weeks out and i really dont have any pain.. My only issue is that I have so many bowel movements per day and I start work in a week and I'm freaking out about that... I went from one a day to 3-4 or even 5 times a day but in the evening im ok.. please help! Will i ever be normal again!?

  • edel77873
    edel77873 gee11215

    Edited

    I'm a 49 year old female, 8 days post haemorroidectomy, where 2 were removed.

    I'm in excruciating pain for the last 4 days, I've had 2 small BMs and I'm constantly leaking which is extremely painful and unpleasant and has me up at night.. i think I'm compacted as its so sore when trying to do a BM.

    I've done everything advised by the surgeon, taking laxatives, no opiades and plenty of water & more. i eat well and was drinking prune juice.

    On Monday i spent the day in bed and didn't eat as i was so uncomfortable.

    The sitz bath and shower are a great help but the leaking faeces is a big concern, I'm worried about infection and it becoming a permanent thing.

    i was on difene for first 3 days and didn't really need them but I'm taking them now.

    Any advise welcome please

    • edel77873
      edel77873

      Posted

      Just to follow up on my message above, i phoned my surgeon and he got me in. They sedated me and did a scope. He was planning to do an enema after but as i was so compacted he removed it while i was sedated.

      Ive been sent home with picolax for tonight, different laxatives, painkillers, lots of gauze, antibiotics and a topical gel.

      My haemorroids were internal & external. i hope things go smoothly from now on

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