Hemorrhoids surgery, recovery time and the truth
Posted , 19 users are following.
I had the surgery 4 months ago. Before the operation my surgeon stated that the recovery time will be one to two weeks and I believed it! When two weeks passed and I was still in extreme pain and still running between bed and bathroom, he said the " complete" recovery will take 1 month and what he said about 2 weeks meant the recovery from the "clinical" aspects! One months passed, still pain and discomfort... This time our great lair who seems to be trained to create medical lies said: Oh! Everybody heals differently, for some people a "complete" recovery time can be three months! three months passed and now I'm 4 months and a week PO, cant sit easily, can't stand more than 30 minutes (due to feeling pressure in rectum) , cant work normally (due to weak body and lack of energy), cant eat normally, but still hearing from my butcher: Up to 6 months, in some cases 1 year!!! ... Oh dear God! how are surgeons train in medical colleges to lie with no shame! ....Dear medical butchers! We human beings who are dehumanised under your bloody knives, WE know you're lying! STOP REPEATING LIES! ...
we ordinarily people who know nothing about medicine, present our bodies to you offering money to you to listen to your lies, we know that and you know....! Stop your lies! We know you have to lie to us before a surgery: the recovery time is 1 to 2 weeks, you can resume your normal activities after two weeks.... We know if you do not lie, nobody comes to you to present money and the body and mind to be destroyed by you... ! Yes, for a few dollars, apply the knowledge you have learnt in universities, and the respect you have gained as MDs and surgeons, these titles, yes, respected butchers, abuse the pain patients suffer, to refill your pockets.
My advice to people who
4 likes, 54 replies
john53959 Guest
Posted
Hello all, I've read all these posts and more in other threads....Wow... it seems a mixture of healing rates and most in the negative side. I have had hems since about 1990....had rubber band thing done in 2005 and not much problem until about 3 months ago. I have asked for a referral from my primary care Dr to a Colorectal surgeon. That appointment is several weeks out. I am not in a lot of pain just after a BM and treated with dubicaine pain relief ointment ( it's similar to lidocaine) OTC> . and a generic brand of Prep H type creme. It pretty much dissipates in about 15 minutes.
It appears that I will have many questions for the surgeon once I get there.By the way.....where are most of the people here from UK or US. I am US, west coast area. I am wondering about difference in medical treatments i.e, UK verse US or elsewhere.Thanks for all of the info....much to consider.
john53959
Posted
part 2, adding.....and mine are internal Hems.
cindy51948 john53959
Posted
i am from the US, florida.. had a great surgeon at cleveland clinic. i lived with hems for 30 years, most of that time hey ere never an issue. it wasnt until the last year they were becoming so uncomfortable that it was an issue just being able to enjoy life. i remember have to go out wearing a adult diaper with ice tucked in my butt. At that point i had no choice but to do the surgery. I would tell anyone out there, if it consumes your life then you are ready. If you can control it will over the counter medicine then do it. The surgery, although its rough gave me my life back. Like i said, l will probably never be 100% but thats ok! i can live like this, even if i need cream every now and then. So for me the surgery was a success . today still after 3 1/2 months i had a problem with my BM, still feel my hem there and never feel like i "complete" afterwards and had blood. no pain, but thats going to be my life. At least i can clean up and move on!
dscottesco27110 john53959
Posted
Ask about the THD procedures
jane16431 Guest
Posted
TODAY (Feb 11) is almost exactly 8 months since I had this dreadful procedure. I consider myself fully healed, but only over the past month. Like you I was misled on recovery time. I was told 5-10 days. Yeah, right. For the record I would never repeat this surgery and I would strongly advise anyone against it unless all other options have been explored. If it has to be done, sobeit. Just prepare mentally and physically. And be realistic about the recovery process and time.
thomas79405 jane16431
Posted
i had the surgry donelast july and today i,m doing super awsome greatgreat doctor i had . di a super job on me. today i,m running stronggertrainging better and doing things i could not do. but yes i,m doing awsome
laura32334 Guest
Posted
I had a haemoroidectomy 4 weeks ago. I had had 6 months of awful pain and sleepless nights due to pain. I had three large haemoroids removed. Post surgery pain bad for a few hours. First week pretty awful. Did improve and went back to work two weeks post op. A month in and Im pain free and delighted. Run lots of Baths and take it easy to start with but Im delighted with results .
laura32334
Posted
just to add the pain for month's prior to surgery was so bad that although post surgery was bad it wasn't much worse.
Rick831 Guest
Posted
I'm 3 weeks post open hemorrhoidectomy and thought I'd leave some feedback on my experience and impressions so far.
Firstly, the surgery itself wasn't too bad. As a health care worker the idea of lying unconscious with legs splayed open in lithotomy position on a table surrounded by beautiful potential colleagues was truly awful. Had a general anaesthetic, no bowel prep, just fasting from 10pm the previous evening.
Post op pain with this surgery was hell.. Especially day 2-4. I come out in a cold sweat just thinking about those first bowel motions on day 3 & 4. I almost fainted. I was getting impacted & as a medical professional I knew what I had to do. I manually disimpacted myself & used glycerine suppositories as there was no way I was going back to the hospital. I avoided opiate analgesics as far as I could. Taking 2 doses of tramadol on day 1 & 2. They cause severe constipation & constipation is by far your worst enemy. I took lots of ibuprofen & paracetamol for the first 10 days. I wish that I had taken stool softeners pre operatively. I used lactulose 10-20ml twice daily to keep stools soft. I increased or decreased the dose as needed
Sitz baths were the best pain relief. Better than any medications. Initially I would even defaecate in the bath itself. Sometimes it was the only way. I kept eating my normal diet but in far smaller amounts. I am a regular, extremely healthy, physically, active lacto ovo vegetarian.
Breathing meditation exercises help relax you while trying to pass harder stools. Consciously trying to relax & focus on your breathing reduces the amount of sphincter spasm while passing stools. Sometimes I still tear up when I think of that searing pain.
I kept physically active within pain limits. Walked 2-3 km/day from day 2 - 6. Walked very slowly and carefully. Could push the distance up to 7-10km/day week 2. By week 3 I could play squash for an hour and jog 2km without aggrevating pain. Yesterday I ran 5km without issues. Hope to gently start weights this coming week. I still can't sit on hard surfaces without discomfort.
Keeping yourself hydrated is also extremely important. I drank between 2500-3000ml of water a day. Had a phone app that provided me with drinking reminders.
At the time it felt it would never end. Day 2-4 were shear hell. Hopefully I will never experience anything like that ever again. From day 7 onwards it was painful but I could feel I was improving. After 3 weeks I'm still passing "scratchy" stools that sometimes result in very small amounts of bleeding or oozing. Sometimes the pain gets bad again, but it doesn't last long. I no longer use pads as the amount of mucus & purulent material is massively reduced.
If you're going through hell after this op, or are about to have it, please remember that even though this feels like the end, things will get better eventually. If you are about to have the operation remember that if you're not "significantly symptomatic" with grade III or IV hemorrhoids, delay having the op. It is brutal and not worth it before then. In retrospect I should have waited longer. But what is done is done. Good luck to all & keep sharing. I'll post later again in say a month or two.
Rick831
Posted
for an idea of pain over time.. Usually improves and goes away betweek week 2-4
jane16431 Rick831
Posted
Good post, and seems to be a fairly normal recovery story, perhaps a bit on the positive/optimistic side. I had my surgery almost exactly one year ago (yesterday). I am 100% healed and have been since about 6 months - yes it does get better. But I'll never forget it. And I'll never have it done again if there is ANY way to avoid it.
Rick831 jane16431
Posted
I only had one very large internal hemorrhoid removed, I think having 2 or more would make recovery much longer.
I will also never ever to have this op again or anything similar if I can at all help it.
Glad you're 100%!!
So wish I'd found this site earlier
Rick831 jane16431
Posted
this pain curve seems more realistic maybe
y69562 Rick831
Posted
Hi Fred83,
Thanks for your post. It's useful to read "manageable" experiences (decided against using the term positive), to balance the horrific ones.
I am 72 hours post op, my surgery was Thursday morning. My pre-op nurse told me the surgeon had booked the room for 15 minutes, so mine was also a very fast procedure (the notes mention 3 column disease), and I also had general anesthesia and was told to fast 8 hours prior to reporting time. I was not given any educational materials specific to hemorrhoidectomy, only about surgery in general, so I did some googling. The most helpful material I found was from UWHealth. I live in Wisconsin, so I know they are a very reputable facility (coincidentally, my facility is associated with the Mayo Clinic). I followed their instructions regarding eating and also took Magnesium Citrate the previous day (I skipped the enemas). The reason I mention all of this is because I wonder if all that prep helped with bowel movements.
I was also given Exparel (Bupivacaine Liposame), slow release, and although I know people define pain differently, I can honestly say I was pain-free for the first 48 hours, and the area still numb when I had my first bm, 24 hours post-surgery. I still haven't taken any kind of pain meds, but definitely feeling more burning/stinging as I type this. I'm getting by with the Lidocaine ointment, but I'm wondering if I should start taking Tylenol to take the edge off. The pain is at its worst during bms, getting up or sitting down. Once up or down, there is very little discomfort (as little as there can be after having your backside cut open). If opioids, with their constipating effects, are the enemy, why aren't more people receiving the Exparel to get them through the first couple of days? With this procedure being so common, I wonder why there isn't a standard of care pre and post-op. BTW, during our initial consult, my surgeon thought I might be able to return to work on Monday, yup, 96 hours post-surgery. I'm starting to think she was overly optimistic. I feel fine, but it'll take me more time than that to try to figure out the logistics of my new temporary reality!
This got pretty long, but just wanted to thank you for sharing your perspectives.
Rick831 y69562
Posted
wow it sounds like your pain is really well controlled.. Fantastic!! Try keep it that way.
Your bowel prep definitely helped. I got impacted on day 3. Manually disimpacting myself through those wounds was a nightmare I hope I never ever will have to go through ever again..
Irrigating the wounds with warm water after defaecating washes the burning bile salts etc away. I use the movable shower head.
Sitz baths & hot water bottles relieved sphincter spasm for me.
I think 72 hours is too short. You're going to need at least a week if not two off of work.
I'm not 100% at 3 weeks more like 75-80%, but I'm definitely living and enjoying life again
All of the best hey!