I have the clear for the hemmorectomy within 3 to 4 weeks time

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.

Lack of preparation.

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.

2. My surgery was the next day around 6pm so I was so hungry but I know I had to keep my colon clear of any solid. I was then given my IV ( which was the worst part of this whole experience) I was very nervous due to all the negative reviews I had read and most were terrible. I know we all have different pain tolerance but if I can tell you one thing I am terrible with pain. Even a shot is too much for me.

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 far from #10 pain as I had read in so many posts. I watched my wife have 4 children and that too me looks like the most painful experience anyone can have.

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 diet for days after which he thought was a great idea.

3. At home the chicken broth and Jello was all I had for days. Was it hard yes and It will be a while till I have Jello again. But what it did was insure that my butt had enough time to repair before a solid poop would have to be handled. Popping liquid does not create pain and was very easy. Then jumping in a hot bath. I kept up with my meds and I will share the meds that I had and how they made this whole experience totally pain free.

4. Pain meds - Diazepam 5 mg - This stops the Anal sphincter from spasm- taken every 8 hours. 3 days worth

5. Tramadol HCL 50 MG- Pain meds for 3 days - taken every 6 hours.

6. Cream for your anus - Diltiazem 2% and Lidocaine 2% ointment - This was applied 3 times a day before a poop.

7. I would also take Tylenol and ibuphophen when I took my pain meds. Alternating them. every 5 hours.

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 before 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.