Hemorrhoidectomy - What I have learnt - the good, the bad and the hopeful

I have read so much on this site and others that I feel I should offer up what I have experienced. Each person is unique so each contribution offers new insights that may help. If anyone has any questions I am happy to answer them butt (see what I did there), bear in mind this is only my experience.

A quick background on me - not that I'm self-obsessed (far from it), but it may help you to decide whether what I have to offer is relevant to you and how realistic my expectations were.

I am 50 years old, within my correct BMI, pretty sedentary (allergic to unnecessary exercise), eat reasonably well and am partial to the odd glass of wine or two.  I have had a number of surgeries prior to this, including several to remove acute endometriosis and adenomyosis (Uterine lining attached deep in the muscle) and ultimately I opted for a hysterectomy 2 years ago. My other major experience of pain was childbirth.

Pain wise I would put the 6-12 hours of chronic pain that I experienced each month with endometriosis up there with the Hemorrhoidectomy and I would put both of them slightly ahead of child birth. The only pain that I would put above this is the pain that I suffered with 3 "huge" prolapsed Hemorrhoids and a fissure prior to this operation.

I am 9 days post op and whilst there is pain there is light at the end of the tunnel. I am glad I didn't read posts before the op as this would have only increased my anxiety, which would have been pointless as less invasive methods had been tried and failed. The pain on one day prior to the op reached a 10, but was usually between and 8-9 for the three weeks immediately before. I didn't really need to read the posts regarding pain as my Dr told me on numerous occasions that I would hate him for two weeks post surgery. For the record - I don't.

Before I proceed I want to say that I feel for the people who had a worse recovery than me, and am mildly jealous of the people who had it easier than me. I'd say I was just below the mid-way mark based on people who actually bother to post on forums.

My only regret is that I did not take stool softeners before the op because I was afraid of pooping while I was under. I had a general and for the first 12 hours after I felt blessed. I knew this was a false sense of security so I enjoyed it while I could and walked for 5 mins every 30 mins or so. Good for DVT and gets things moving. I did not take any strong meds until after the first BM so that I knew what I was dealing with and becasue the pain was only 6-7/10. This was a good move. Even without them I had to have a shed load of laxatives to get things going. It took 12 hours for the first BM (which is relatively quick from what I have read). It hurt 8/10, was mostly soft/liquid 3/10 and was closely followed by several more - each 8-9/10 with blood each time - 20-30mls. At lease I knew what I was dealing with personally. I figured the motions were too soft (I didn't want stenosis) but that I could now have stronger PM and things should balance out. TBH the pain meds did not help the pain much but they made me care about it less and helped me sleep. I had requested overnight as I wanted my first BM to  be in hospital in case there were issues. I recommend doing this if it's an option. (passing the gauze was a bit scary - it was sort of pliable and I though it was one of the internals. Fortunately a nurse was able to put me straight. Whew!)

After discharge I took 3 of the 12 hour slow release pain meds on the first two day and a combination of ibuprofen and paracetamol for swelling. I have also taken Valium on 2 occasions when then spasms were really bad as I did not want to get another fissure from them (this can be an issue.) I have eaten normally but taken 2 large teaspoons of Metamucil and 1 Senna stool softener each day. These have produced 3-4 substantial BM daily. There is the occasional spot of blood and mucus but nothing alarming (read other people's posts for more info on what the range of normal is). The pain varies between a 6-7 during BMs and a 4-8 with spasms after BMs. As a general rule the pain over the last 3 days has decreased on average by 0.5. I have been out for an hour or two for the last two days to build up my tolerance. I was incapacitated for 4 weeks prior and I'm back to work in 6 days (all things being equal). The antibiotics I was on for 5 days CANNOT be taken with alcohol so for once I headed this advice - make sure to check your antibiotics. It was good to get off them and return to having a glass or two of wine. I think it helped relax me and make me feel more back to normal.

At 9 days, would I have this operation again knowing what I know now? Yes. I see it as short term pain for long term gain. I had put up with these since the birth of my first child 17 years ago. They caused issues on and off all that time and, as I said, they became intolerable at the end. Would I recommend it? All I can say is, it depends on your current level of pain, your pain tolerance, your expectations and your communication with your Dr. It hurts a LOT so go in with your eyes open but don't panic.

I know this is a long post but I want to try to cover what I think might be helpful. Before I go I have a few more tips that I learned personally. 1) Dab don't wipe - wet wipes are your friend but they are not flushable. 2) Use a shower or sitz bath if required (I only needed a shower occasionally after BMs but there are plenty of posters who needed and benefited from sitz bath)s 3) Breath while you poop (think ante-natal classes ladies) 4) Don't try to do much if anything in the first week 5) Take pain meds if you need them but supplement them extra fibre and/or stool softners. If mine happens to be the first post you read I encourage you to read others, they cover things like not being able to pee (mostly men), hemorrhages, stitches and lots else beside. I am not able to assist here as they were not problems that I encountered fortunately.  I apologise if there is TMI. I have tried to explain things without being overly graphic. As you read more you will see that there are lot more graphic accounts than this. I sincerely wish you all a speedy recovery and I will be happy if this post even helped 1 person.

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