My Experience - 3 Days After NHS Halo And RAR

Hello All.

I thought I would provide an update on my surgery so far as I read many peoples experiences prior to my procedure which filled me with dread and nearly even led to me cancelling!

A little background first - I am a 47 year old male and have suffered from Grade 3 prolapsing haemorrhoids for about 2 years which bled regularly and led to me being diagnosed as having iron deficiency anaemia. I finally went to see the doctor after my energy levels plummeted and after much poking and prodding my issue was diagnosed and a way forward was planned.

Day of Procedure

On arrival at the ward I was promptly taken through to a bed where I had to change into a gown and put on the sexy surgical stockings. Once it was my designated time I was walked through to the operating room and made comfortable on a lovely heated bed whilst I was plugged into the matrix and all of my details were checked a dozen times so that they did not lop a limb off by mistake.

Once all of that was complete a mask went over my nose and mouth and after 2 deep breathes I found myself waking up in the recovery room with a lovely nurse sitting next to me offering me water and telling me that I would go back up to the ward as soon as they got the call that a bed was free.

My overwhelming recollection of this time is not of pain, or being groggy but of the need to have a BM. I was informed by the nurse that this was because some dressing had been left inside following the op and was to be expected. After being returned to the ward I was encouraged to pee before I could be discharged and on one of those trips to the toilet the dressing came out and that feeling of urgency decreased significantly.

I was discharged 3 hours after my procedure and made my way home to start my recovery. Even though I still had some pain medication floating around my body after the GA I decided to start taking the codeine tablets I had been provided with straight away to mitigate against the severe pain that I was sure would arrive.

Day After Procedure

Throughout last night and this morning I was pain free. There was an element of discomfort. I knew something had occurred down there but there was more a fear of impending pain rather than actual pain. I had continued with the codeine medication and the stool softeners that had been provided but after a warm bath (which will become your friend!) I found I was getting a reaction to the pain meds and after contacting 111 was advised to stop using them and move onto paracetamol only. This did not please me too much but I followed doctors orders and noticed no significant increase in discomfort or pain.

The first BM came today and I found that I was constipated (probably from the pain meds). It turned into the worlds longest and slowest BM with five trips to the toilet where a little piece of the iceberg broke off each time. There was an element of pain but no more than a 3 out of 10 each time. I found it very helpful at this time to stand at regular intervals or move into different strange positions on the toilet as it seemed to reset the BM so that each time I sat back down properly on the toilet a little more was able to escape my sphincteral clutches.

I continued with paracetamol all day and while the pain did increase slightly (no more than a 3.5) I found that I was comfortable enough to walk to the shops and back without issue.

Day 2 after Procedure

I awoke at 2am in significant pain (a solid 7) but realised it was because a titantic killing BM was en-route. Once I had made it to the toilet and the pressure had reduced the pain relief was immediate. I was starting to get annoyed at the stool softener for not working as promised but carried on taking it in the eternal hope that it would eventually work. This was probably my most uncomfortable day and involved 4 BMs, 3 doses of pain meds (I nearly went back to the codeine meds), 2 baths and a distinct lack of a partridge in the pear tree. The pain probably hovered around a 4 but was covered off by the paracetamol to bring it down to a constant ache. I also used hot water bottles throughout the day which also helped. BMs involved a little blood as I had been told to expect but nothing compared to what I had put up with before the operation.

Day 3 after Procedure (Today!)

As I sit here writing this to you I am a very happy bunny. I slept through the night with no issues and awoke with a very noticeable reduction in discomfort and pain. First BM of the day revealed soft stools with a little pain to pass although the pain there is now comes more from having a fragile area because of so may BMs rather than the actually passing of the stool. I have taken no pain meds so far today and have returned to work (albeit that I work from home).

Overall Thoughts

Get plenty of rest, use the bath as required for relief, drink plenty of water (I have been drinking 3ltrs per day), use creams to sooth the area after a BM (in anticipation of having quite a few once they start), continue with the stool softener even if you think it is not working, come off the codeine meds as soon as you feel able (I am sure they caused more constipation), eat as instructed, use hot water bottles and move around as much as you can to get your bowels moving.

This is not the most pleasant of procedures but compared to what I read before it has been a walk in the park. I understand that people have different pain thresholds but to give you some idea of mine - if I were in an SAS Team and was captured and led to an interrogation room the enemy would know everything about everything as soon as they unrolled a pair of pliers from their kit!

Good luck with it and don't let anything put you off. The reward is worth the slight discomfort!!

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