Hemorrhoidectomy in 12 hours....
Posted , 9 users are following.
Hello all...
My story will be familiar to many of you. I've spent years reading these forums as I've dealt with extremely bad internal prolapsing hemorrhoids (grade 3) for the better part of a decade. Also like many of you, I tried just about everything possible and always swore that if it came to the surgery, I'd just live with it after reading all the horror stories.
Well... the time has come... The hemorrhoids are so large they're messing with my prostate and the pain/ blood loss has become unbearable. I'm barely able to leave my house anymore. So it's time to man up and crawl out of the tub and into the operating room... And then back into the tub....
About 5 years ago I reached a similar point and saw a colorectal surgeon who first tried banding (good lord was that unbearable) and then the THD (Halo) surgery. None of that worked and after 3 glorious weeks of no prolapsing post op they all just popped right back up. They where a little bit smaller than before surgery which bought me some time, but all present and accounted for...
Regarding THD: If you're considering it, I would think twice if you have a grade 3 (prolapsing every time you poop and needed to be reinserted manually) because I just don't think that procedure is up to the job. I think for grade 2 and below though, it's could maybe work. However, the "48 hour back at work" line they feed you is complete nonsense as many others have said. I'll obviously be able to make comparisons a bit more directly in about 12 hours, but to me it seemed a lot like the hemorrhoidectomy recovery stories I've read on here. Severe pain/ bleeding for 2 weeks, living in the tub, etc, etc.
I've been just dealing with my situation as best I can since then but over the last 3 years I developed Prostatitis. My GP would treat it with antibiotics for a month, it would go away and then it would come back like clockwork a year later, which is very bizarre for an other wise healthy 29 year old male. My working theory (not a doctor by any means, just a research freak) is that the hemorrhoids are somehow causing this. I wonder if I'm getting infected when the hemorrhoids are tearing and bleeding or if just the enormous size of them is pushing on my prostate. Either way, here's hoping the procedure fixes that problem too.
I'm also lucky enough to have gotten an IBS diagnosis in the last year, which has obviously aggravated things greatly. Ironically I think it was all the on again, off again antibiotic stints that really kicked it off for me. Generally it presents itself as violent diarrhea fits/ gas attacks. As a result of that, I lost quite a bit of weight, down from 190 lbs (I'm 6ft tall) to now 162 lbs pre-surgery. I had a gazziion tests with a GI specialist (colonoscopy, CT scan with contrast, every blood/urine/poop test imaginable) but all came back negative and I wound up with an IBS diagnosis and a surgery referral.
So... That all brings me to 11am tomorrow morning when I finally face my biggest fear and get the dreaded surgery.
Leading up to it, I've opted to purchase just about every single "tip and trick" I've seen on here. I've got a toilet sitz bath, a lifetime supply of stool softener, baby wipes, underwear liners, adult diapers, 8 pounds of epsom salt, a heating pad and a new obnoxiously large TV in my bedroom and another in the bathroom. I haven't had cable in years but if ever there was a time...
The one thing I'm doing a little differently is that while I've been taking stool softeners for about 3 weeks leading up to this (1 Collace a day then 2 a day starting 3 days before the op), I haven't been taking a fiber supplement like many others have. I'm going to very, very slowly introduce some (benefiber) in if I'm having trouble initially but with my IBS, I'm extremely sensitive to it. I remember after my 1st op passing gas was a nightmare for the first few days and fiber has a good chance for me of triggering a gas attack. I think for most people without this problem, ramping up the fiber for a few weeks before this and also starting stool softeners about a week early (I was on them longer just because of the pain I was already in) is a good plan.
I have another type of stool softener (I would take it in addition to Collace), miralax, milk of magnesia and gas-x ready to roll should they be needed as well.
Surgeon is prescribing Oxycotton and Valium for post op pain. I'll also be taking the max dose of IB proffin. I found that was a miracle drug for me last time around. The opioids help "take you out of it" but the IB proffin was the only thing able to directly touch the pain. Valium will help with spasms and will hopefully make me not worry as much about that first poop... I've also made some extremely potent marijuana edibles with a 50/50 ratio of CBD/ THC to use (I live in a legal state) I'll mix in as needed. I'd like to get off the painkillers and switch to those as soon as I can to avoid opioid constipation.
I ate a small PB&J this morning and have stuck to just water (lots of it) until the surgery about 24 hours later. Dr didn't recommend enema, laxative prep beforehand, so I'm going with her opinion on that one but also trying to make sure I'm going in with a fairly empty tank. After the procedure I'm planning on sticking with soups, chicken stock, yogurt for as long as I can take it (probably 2 days if I'm a gambling man) and then ramping up to some fruits (watermelon, pear, cantaloupe) and avocado toast/ sandwiches (no cheese). I've got a fantastic girlfriend who took 9 days off work to take care of me during the post op and while I work from home, I booked myself 2 weeks completely off the grid just in case as well.
I was dead set on getting a colo-rectal specialist, but the insurance I have (Kaiser) will only do the procedure with a General Surgeon. I'm a bit nervous about that part, but I like my Dr. a lot and I do trust her.
It's still a bit unknown what she'll actually do during the procedure. When I went in for the consult, I was in so much pain she was only able to do a rectal exam for a few seconds before making the recommendation for the OP (mostly based on my extensive history). She thinks the sharp pain I currently have is the result of a fissure but I think it might be a thrombosed hemorrhoid. I've "ok'ed" a botox injection fissure treatment (she doesn't want to do a sphinctorectamy at the same time) but we're sort of playing that one by ear after she gets in there and sees whats going on.
She's also very worried about stenosis (narrowing of the anal canal) if she does too much cutting at once, so she's mentioned leaving 1 in there (I have 3) and then going back in for a second procedure in a few months. That by far is I think my biggest fear going into this tomorrow, that I wake up and still have a prolapsing hemorrhoid. Prolapsing through the wound seems like the worst pain imaginable and I really hope that's not what happens! I trust her to make the right call for my well being though during this, which is really all I can do at this point.
I'll be posting updates as I go along here, so feel free to follow along. Without the countless hours I've spent reading on this forum, I don't know if I'd have had the courage to do this, so it's the least I can do to pay it forward.
If you have any questions or advice on what I'm planning post-op, I'd love to hear them.
Here's to better days (soon I hope....)
2 likes, 91 replies
jane16431 pita123
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pita123
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Day 7 update:
More of the same really. Same routine, wake up hit the bath, take a half dose of miralax and then brace myself for the incoming storm in a few hours.
Today's BM though was by far the most painful I've had yet. It was also the largest. Instead of having 3-4 smaller ones in rapid succession, I had one much larger, much more painful one. I ended up hopping right in the bath afterwards, popping 2 oxys. I was able to sleep for about 5 hours afterwards, which did finally take the edge off the pain. It really felt like I "tore" something. A very sharp stinging on top of the usual burning / aching.
Doing a bit better since then though. Took a bath after my nap and now I'm just chilling still.
Spoke to my surgeons nurse today and we're going to try going down to 1 oxy every 6 hours instead of 2. Still going to take max dose of IB proffin, Tylenol and then also the Collace/ 1/2 dose of Miralax routine.
Wasn't very hungry today, so I just had a sandwich, yogurt and small handful of chips for lunch. Had my first slice of cheese on there since the surgery which was glorious but hopefully I don't pay for it later. Might snack something later but I'm fine eating a little lighter today.
I was able to get through some work emails, which is good to be back in the groove a bit.
Here's hoping for a better, much less painful day tomorrow. The pain today was pretty discouraging but also expected. One day at a time...
jane16431 pita123
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sus62307 pita123
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Thank you for your updates, and may today go well and easy for you both, pita and jane. I am very grateful for your attention and replies to my posts. Do you think I should post my own thread, or is it ok to keep asking on pita's discussion? I apologize for ineptitude at list etiquette!
pita123 sus62307
Posted
Hey Sus, always feel free to keep posting here but you could also start a thread yourself if you wanted to get a little more attention and maybe get a few other folks besides me and jane chiming in.
My 2 cents on your situation is this: I think with you being a bit older, that does change the equation a bit. This is a rough, rough surgery and the recovery will take a lot of you. However, my 72 year old grandmother used to climb 14ers (14k ft mountains) with no problems. Age is just a number. You seem very worried about the complications, but I wouldn't be. The urinary retention thing is related to the General Anethesia they put you under, and if you have a good surgeon who works fairly quickly, you likely won't have any problems. Even if you do, they just put a catheter in there for a day or two. I haven't read any cases of permanent bladder damage like you mentioned and I read A LOT. Certainly not pleasant to get a catheter but also not the end of the world. Beyond that though, it's just a matter of keeping clean and managing the pain as best you can. I'm an otherwise healthy 29 year old guy and had my girlfriend off work caring for me 24/7 for the first 2 weeks. I really don't know if I could have done it without her. I'd recommend you have a caretaker as well at your age in recovery. Make sure it's someone you're either very close with or not close at all (hired nurse) because they will be scooping poops out of bathtubs and helping you get clean.
At the end of the day though, you have a fairly simple choice. You can live the rest of your life with these things or you can endure a very rough month and be rid of them forever. The hemorrhoids themselves won't kill you (unless you become badly anemic or something) but I'm sure the stress/ pain they cause aren't helpful, as well as likely forcing you to live probably a more sedentary lifestyle. For me being younger, that choice was much easier. There was just no way I could live with those things for another 50 years and if I did, they'd probably be the size of soccer balls or something!
So, I guess that's my takeaway: don't fear the complications. They are rare and even if they do happen, they can be dealt with. Even still in a lot of pain, I'm very glad I did this. I too chickened out of this surgery about 2 or 3 times before I finally did it. Once I'm pain free, I'm sure I'll be even more happy I did it.
At the end of the day though, listen to your doctors and follow their advice. Be aware though that the best advice you'll get (and the one you should listen to above all others) is that of the surgeon.
Good luck!
pita123
Posted
Update time, Day 8:
I think I got off here somehow on my days here (thanks oxy). Probably because I counted surgery day (monday) as day 0 instead of day 1. Today is tuesday though, 8 days after the OP and one day after my last daily update..
Started off the day like all others, in the bath. I always wake up with pain in my sides (around my kindneys) that seems to get better as I pee and release some gas. I'm also sleeping on my back a lot now which I never do and could have something to do with it.
Today was a bit different though, because after a few morning farts out of nowhere came 3 extremely painful BM's. I hadn't taken any pain meds yet and was actually just about to take my half dose of miralax but they beat me to it. Very similar in pain to yesterday's experience. Idk what's going on down there but my first 3-4 days of BM's where a total walk in the park compared to this. These are much more inline with the pooping razorblades and white hot pain flash stories I've read about on here previously. Really, really painful. I rinsed myself afterwards, took 2 oxy's and an 800 mg IB profin and sat in a hot bath for 20-30 minutes. That seemed to take the edge off the pain and shortly after I was able to actually work for a few hours laying in bed (I do computer stuff and can work from home). I think I might have overdone it either on the work or the oxy/ IB proffin combo though, because when I went to stand up a few hours later I was extremely dizzy. I almost felt drunk and had to lay back down. I fell asleep for a few hours and when I woke up I felt better and not dizzy anymore.
After that it's just been in and out of the bath (think I took like 5 today) and laying in bed watching Tv or screwing around on the computer.
Ate the same thing I've been eating all week: 2 whole wheat turkey sandwhiches, some fruit (today it was a pear), 2 yogurts and a very small handful of ruffles potato chips. Only took 3 collace today (no miralax) and I'm down to 1 oxy every 6 hours (unless I have a really painful BM then I'll still take 2) and while I tried the larger 800 mg IB proffin today, I don't think I'll do that again after the dizziness episode. I'll stick to the OTC 200 mg ones that I've been doing and keep taking 2 of those every 5-6 hours instead of the 1 massive 800 mg every 10. I keep meaning to also take Tylenol but forgetting to. I'll do that tomorrow I think.
After BM's pain is pretty manageable but I still feel like I need the opiates at this point, even though I'm taking much less, less often now. I can't wait to get totally off those and crack open an ice cold beer!! Still have a fair amount of leakage but it's tapered back down to my "regular" amount. During the day it looks like mostly blood but when I wake up in the mornings its a much more brown, foul smelling substance.
Still monitoring my temperature constantly and I've been unable to recreate the fever I recorded a few days back. I do notice straight out of the hot bath I can get up to the high 99's but that always goes back down to the 98's after a little while. I've got my AC cranked down to 67 which keeps it very nice in my bedroom and bathroom. I'm also not using the heating pad at all since the ER incident. The problem with it is that it was heating up my entire mattress when I was using it. So I'd turn off the heat, remove myself from the source but I'd still be roasting. I'm really starting to think all the scalding baths and heat pad sessions are the culprit to that fever incident...
I'm starting to really dread waking up as I know I'm about to go through it with a BM, but here's hoping tomorrow's is less painful... Even if it's not, bring it on. I can get through anything at this point.
jane16431 pita123
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pita123 jane16431
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Not really. I've been in so much pain that I'm still hobbling around and still can't really walk right/ fully upright. I've tried moving around the house a bit more and I'm going to continue to force myself to do that, because I agree that is probably the important next step to healing. At the same time though, I get worried about overdoing it still since I'm still leaking a fair amount of blood/ other grossness. That trip to the ER was just a bit of walking then sitting in a bumpy car and it really set me back. I'll start making a more concerted effort on that though. That's good advice, thanks
jane16431 pita123
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pita123 jane16431
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Hey Jane. Thanks for sticking with me here during this post op. Your input has been as valuable as the oxycodone! I actually was thumbing through the big Gee thread and stumbled across your full recovery story. Flight to Europe 8 days post op! You nut!!
I always return to that thread when I'm getting down about my own recovery, as there are plenty in there that seem to have had it much, much worse!
jane16431 pita123
Posted
Reading your current state...sorry to see that. There are ups and downs for sure but hopefully the downs get less. I think I wrote this elsewhere but it reminded from the scene in “The Perfect Storm” when they decided to get away from the storm and got pulled back in. That moment of relief to be followed by heading back into the maelstrom. I felt like that a bunch of times. But it will pass. Hang in there!
pita123 jane16431
Posted
Yeah I'm down to just 1 oxy around BM's. Might have to snag a bottle of the good stuff here and ditch the pills next week... Boy I could use a stiff drink after all this!!
Do you remember when your BM/ post BM pain started to go away? That's really all I'm dealing with now minus a little swelling still. Gotta sit in a bath for a while after and then lay down for a few hours before it becomes tolerable after a BM still. Burns like hot fire! lol
jane16431 pita123
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sus62307 pita123
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Uh oh...I'm all in favor of the good stuff, but if not if it dehydrates you...body tissues need lots lots lots of fluid while you're recovering. Your decision, just Mom of 3 practicing and spreading a little hovering from over the airways. :-)
pita123
Posted
Day 9/10 update:
Day 9 was very rough with BM's. I was so out of it and asleep most of the day that I didn't have time to make an update. They seemed to get a little too hard and where absolute agony passing in the bath. Other than that, a day pretty on par with the rest. I was able to get a little bit of work done at night which was nice.
Day 10:
This has been absolutely miserable... 3 very painful BM's this morning but my low grade fever is back. My head is in a "fever cloud" all my muscles are sore and I'm constantly sweating. Fever hasn't gotten over 100 thankfully yet but its still extremely uncomfortable as I'm at 99.5-99.8. IB proffin doesn't seem to be doing much about it. I also feel very sick to my stomach. So much so I was barely able to eat anything at all today until I choked down half a sandwich. Follow up appt with my GP tomorrow morning at the recommendation of the nurses on call. If it gets above 101.5 I'll go to the emergency room again. Pain wise I'm in decent shape after about 4-5 hours after a BM but it really feels like I tore something down there on day 9. Also seeing some stitches start coming out. I also still have a large amount of brown discharge coming out that smells absolutely horrible. I'm getting a bit depressed about this, I wont lie... This is probably a low point for me right now in the recovery.
Here's hoping for a better day tomorrow.
jake31434 pita123
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pita123 jake31434
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