Hemorrhoidectomy recovery experience
Posted , 93 users are following.
I had a hemorrhoidectomy a couple of years ago and I used this site quite a lot during recovery for tips so i decided id finally share what happened with me in case it helps others.
My piles were BAD. they didnt cause me pain but they eventually got to a stage where they were bleeding CONSTANTLY. I had appointments with the hospital (UK- NHS) on and off for about 18 months and was repeatedly told that they're been banded and i should be fine.
The problem continued and I kept going back. After one particular sigmoidoscopy the nurse was wheeling me back and was saying everything was fine. It was at this point i had to stop her and said no, everything wasnt fine. I explained id been in several times before and I kept getting told i was fine only to go home and bleed profusely. The bleeding was excessive to the point that I was anemic and was on verge of a transfusion.
Upon hearing this, the nurse took me back into the surgeon who said he would have another look. I dont know HOW differently he looked but he told me I had an extreme case of circumferencial hemorrhoids that were actively bleeding as i was on the table and that surgery would be required.
I had a weird sense of dread and relief. FINALLY they've found the problem but OH GOD, SURGERY.
I woke after the surgery and was discharged soon after having been told that i may have some discomfort but healing time would be 2-3 days.
I say this with no exaggeration or dramatics but that was just absolute inaccurate bullsh*t. I was in excrutiating pain when the morphine wore off. I couldnt move without severe pain, I couldnt walk or stand up or do anything without help and severe pain.
I didnt need to go the toilet until the following day and every single minute motion caused severe pain and the act of actually passing my stool was almost unbearable.
To give you some perspective on me and my threashold. I've been knocked over by a car and fractured by skull, I've broken my hip, pelvis and elbow in a bad fall, ive had tattoos etc etc....NOTHING comes close to how painful this was.
I dont tell you this to put you off....i tell you this because at one point i found myself sat on the toilet almost in tears (LOL i have to laugh at this now!) wondering if this pain would ever actually end and it was in this mood that i came across this website. It was a weird relief to read that other people have had horrendous experinces too and that it was not just me. I read about having sitz baths and what foods could help with toilet visits etc and I actually had some hope that I would get better.
The only thing that helped with toilet visits was showering after. I cralwed into the shower after each visit and let the warm water wash me up and it soothed the burning pain considerably.
I was bed ridden for 3 weeks and even when i could move around a bit easier on my own, i had these muscle spasms that would come on unexpectedly, cause a short blast of pain and then disappear.
All in all i experinced pain to varying degrees for around a month. I had on and off bleeding for around 1 - 2 months to the point that the doctor actually recommended i wear sanitary pads which i did!
The recovery obviously depends on how serious the piles are but if they ARE serious, you can expect a horrible bumpy ride after. I say this....because I wish someone had told ME this so i at least knew what to expect other than being told id be out of action for 2-3 days. I could have prepared myself a bit for it.
Do I regret the surgery? No way..... it was a month out of my life that wasnt great but its given me a lifelong solution and i've never had problems since.
SO my advice is, get the surgery but mentally prepare yourself for a crap ride afterwards but look forward to being rid of them for good! hurrah!
7 likes, 1223 replies
athenaspell neil31417
Posted
Wow.. I had terrible grade 4 prolapsed roads. I'm post op 13 days and the pain is still intolerable. My Dr told me a week! I like you am on constant bed rest and diving in the tub. I'm starting to feel like this may never end... I actually resigned from my job as well... I'll bpunc back but agree there is no pain like this. Pressure and ass on fire..misery....hope it's over soon...
douglt athenaspell
Posted
Hang in there ! It took me close to a month to feel somewhat normal but I'm sure glad I chose to have the surgery. This Site was very helpful as at 2 weeks post op I thought I'd made one of the biggest mistakes but after reading what others have gone thru (don't listen to your Dr. unless he or she has experienced the surgery) I realized it was just going to take time to heal.
Best of luck.
athenaspell neil31417
Posted
I went back on my percocet short term... I can't wait till the swelling goes down... Thanks for the encouragement.
tina84545 neil31417
Edited
I have just returned from seeing a doctor to be told i need a haemorrhoidectomy i am so scared as i dont have a high pain threshold. Is the pain all the time or do you grt some relief from it as reading this is sounds horrendous
pauline133 tina84545
Posted
Hi Tina, the recovery period is a bit spiteful but with some prior planning it can be managed and the benefit of the surgery is worth the discomfort. I had a mucosal prolapse and haemorrhoidectomy last July and it’s a distant memory now. For what it’s worth;
Get a portable sitz bath - mine was about £7 on Amazon. Mine is something like this:
It sat on the toilet bowl the opposite way round but not a problem.
Make sure you get stool softening medicine from your GP prior to op. I only needed it for the first BM.
Several times a day, I took myself off to the loo, filled the sitz bath up and just sat with my tail end in the warm water. Just pat dry and if too sore, just a hair dryer but be careful of the setting.
Don’t strain.
It will get better.
And no, the pain wasn’t constant, just needed to get comfortable.
Good luck, I’m sure you will manage fine but please make sure you get a sitz bath, it’s worth it’s weight in gold!
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athenaspell tina84545
Posted
Ask for the thd procedure. The pain is excruciating the first two weeks..
I'm not sure I would do it again. I ended up with a new thrombosis hemmorhoid so add that pain into the mix. I had grade 4 prolapsed hemorrhoids... The Dr said this one will shrivel. I'm not going to sugar coat the after recovery... It was rough. The pain my first week was an 8. 2nd week a 10 and I'm now at three weeks with a thrombosed hemmorhoid which is very painful.. If you are suffering now I guess you have to weigh it out... A month of bad pain is a lifetime of moderate pain? That's where I was at.... Still, there were some days I thought I'd die...
pauline133 athenaspell
Edited
Maybe the fact that nine months on I am feeling the best I have felt in years, but I wouldn’t hesitate to have the operation in preference to the life I was, and had been, living for years. A bit like having a baby, dreadfully painful at the time but the memory soon fades. Having a prolapse plus a haemorroidectomy was no joke but living with the problem was worse, I'm just relieved it wasn’t anything more serious and that there was a solution to my problem. I believe both GP’s and hospital staff are very remiss in not giving better aftercare instructions. I was left very much to my own devices and by the time I managed to locate helpful websites, I had been through a very difficult recovery period which could have been made less painful and scary with better advice.
barry1961 tina84545
Posted
Each one is different you may be fortunate to not experience what others have decided. Remember those with no issues generally don't write pin this forum so there are a lot with mil issues. You need to have it done, must be prepared to manage the pain, baths and stool softeners. You will be surprised what you can handle. Good luck.
valerie38106 neil31417
Posted
I had my surgery NOV 9th had 2 internal prolapsed and several external hemmroids removed. I had suffered with the hemmroids for 28 years when my first son was born and as the years went by they just got worse ! The first couple weeks after surgery were hard! I Had a pain pump for 3 days and it helped a lot , actually thought after 3 to 4 weeks it was getting better! Now today its 7 weeks post I still ache a lot still uncomfortable! I take citracel in the a.m. 1 colace with breakfast , drink 8 to 10 glasses of water throughout the day. Try to get 15 to 20 grams of fiber more than than causes bloating! TAKE 1 colace with supper, I Still use sitz bath no epsom salt , ice when I NEED TO! STILL use tylenol and ibupropen when needed! BEWARE OF TOO MUCH IBUPROPEN IT CAN AND WILL BURN YOUR STOMACH! Bm is tolerable now if I dont go more than twice! Went to the doctor yesterday and she told me I was healing well , I just dont understand why it’s so painful to still sit long periods of time is this normal is anybody else have problems with it! So ready to be healed she couldn’t take all the externals at once so I’m looking at another possible surgery maybe sometime in May depending on if this ever gets better! I go back to work on JAN. 2nd am very nervous about it! Prayers will be greatly appreciated for total healing !! The doctor tells you you go back to work in 3 to 4 weeks but then they tell you possibly recovery could be 8 to 12 weeks and then I read on here to wear some people say even after six months they still hurt hoping thats not my case! FEELING FRUSTRATED! HAPPY NEW YEARS everyone and best of luck
jenniferslice valerie38106
Posted
My pain didn't end for 1.5 years! I finally found the magic combination to make bms comfortable and not cause pain. Every night I take a .5 litre bottle of water and wash down 2 stool softeners with 2 gulps from the bottle. Then i add 2 tbsp of Metamucil to the what's left and drink it down. After two years, i don't think i'll ever be normal again, but then again, I wasn't right before the surgery....
valerie38106 jenniferslice
Posted
OH my goodness my bms are ok a whole lor better than they were thats for sure my bottom is sore and tendar it aches a lot! Been moving around more each day I notice when I SIT long periods 30 min to 1 hr its very uncomfortable ! I soak in the morning sitz bath I WAS using epsom salt my doctor told me not too today I used some desitin it was smoothing, hoping to get to a point where I DONT HURT!
pauline133 neil31417
Edited
I truly believe that the whole medical profession needs training in advice to be given to patients undergoing any rectal procedure. None of them seem to have a clue at the degree of pain and length of time that the misery continues for. I can only reiterate what others have said, it does get better but certainly not within the time scale that you have probably been told. Good luck to all of you.
friedrika neil31417
Posted
Man, I am 1 week into post op recovery. its brutal. I only pass a tiny amount with each BM and this happens all day. I feel a pressure building, scares then calmness out of me. I take stool softener and Meta Mucil, drinking tons of water. I knew recovery was going to be tough, after reading the posts I have a much clearer picture of how bad! Going back to Miralax.
pen29650 friedrika
Posted
Yes it is brutal. I am 2 weeks post op today. I seem to have one good day then one bad! I take agiolax at night to help things along the next day instead of the stool softeners the hospital gave me. The softeners made me go 4,5,6 times a day and I am sure made things worse. I have also refused to eat a couple of days just so as I can give myself a rest of the excrutiating pain and the hour recovery after each BM. I am glad to have found this forum as the positive stories gives me hope. So thanks to all of you for your postivity.
I can say that two weeks on I drove to the supermarket today and did the food shop, have managed all my house hold chores etc all with only 2 panadol all day. I havent had a BM today though so I am sure tomorrow will be a step back. I can definitely see light at the end of the tunnel but know it will be a slow recovery. Never in my life did I expect the pain to be as fierce! I havent been able to tell anyone apart from my partner what I have gone through - anyone else too embarrassed to talk about it?
john777777 neil31417
Posted
I thought I would reply to this topic regarding this Surgery.
I am three days past the surgery and believe my experience could help others wondering if they should continue. Please do the surgery - Life without these will make you so much happier.
I have been scheduled 3 times to have this surgery and each time I had to cancel it due to the forums and general feelings regarding this surgery. (People saying its Hell on earth and most painful thing ever)
I have a feeling that these are all dues to a few things and I would like to share.
I am not going to sugar coat this. It is a very uncomfortable surgery. But the benefits far outweigh the few days of being uncomfortable. What I mean about preparation is this. The day before the surgery you should go on a liquid diet and also clean your system out as if you were prep for a colonoscopy. They make you drink a gallon of the more nasty drink (available at the pharmacy) that will keep you on the toilet most of the day. You only can stop when you are pooping clear liquid with no solid what so ever. From that point you can only drink chicken Broth ,water and Jello. I know its hard but trust me this is the key to you being the person that tells someone this was hell on earth or just a difficult and uncomfortable time.
I was put under and woke up in recovery. The first thing I felt was a need to go poop. I had 2 large hems removed and 2 that were tied off- ligation. I had a button to press when I needed a boost of pain meds.
I can tell you after the whole night the system said I only pressed it 6 times. The nurses were shocked.
It was not as bad as I imagined the worst part was the feeling of pressure and fake feeling like you had to poop. And that was the tied off hems.
I was admitted overnight for pain management in the hospital. I now know I could have gone home and would have managed it just fine as the pain was more of a uncomfortable announce with a bit of stinging sensation once in a while then full on pain as I had read in so many posts.
I asked my surgeon to only prescribe me 3 days of narcotics as I know they are not good for you and cause constipation. I also told him that I would stay on a liquid dies for days after which he thought was a great idea.
I spend almost 2 years from my first appointment to get these horrible things taken off and cancelled so many time because of the horror stories people have posted on here. I want to be the voice that tells you that it does not have to be so hard. Speak to your doctor and ask for the meds to clean your system out the day fore your operation. I still have not needed to pass a stool giving my butt time to heal. I am sure when I do it will be unpleasant. But I can only imaging if someone still has solids in their colon and had to pass this after the surgery. It must be like passing a hot coal.
When you walk around you butt will feel like it is bruised. But everyday it gets better.
My doctors notes say to expect 1 to 4 weeks of pain. He made no excuse that this is a painful surgery.
But I can tell you that I have had hems get bad at my kids birthday party, at many events and work. Causing me to bleed all through my clothes. It is just not worth it. Get the surgery and be done with them. Just make sure to prep and have things ready to manage those pain for those 3 days. IT IS NOT AS BAD AS YOU THINK. Keep in mind what life will be like after they are gone.
Also getting up and moving is important. The first thing I did in recovery is get out of bed and have the nurses walk me to the bathroom. I can see just sitting in bed will slow recovery down.
I hope this helps a few people sitting on the fence scared like I was with all the negative reviews. Most are not that bad. You can do it like I did and 3 days after I have no more pain just a butt that feel like its bruised.