My experience 5 weeks after Haemorrhoidectomy
Posted , 172 users are following.
After 5 weeks of doing the operation and especially after passing through some really horrible times of pain and misery I promised myself that I owe it to everybody out there to share my experience so that you can derive benefit out of it. I had suffered from haemorrhoids for 20+ years and it is only because I became severely anaemic due to blood loss from passing stools that I was forced to do the operation. With hindsight I could have avoided 20 years of misery, of lost sports, of severe discomfort in cars and planes by taking the plunge and doing it earlier.
First and foremost, Haemorrhoidectomy is a very common operation and albeit there is a very small percentage where things get complicated the cases are getting less and less each year. I'm saying this because each and every person that does this operation will pass through so much pain that instinctively he or she will think that they are one of the few that is unlucky.
Secondly the pain WILL PASS!
I repeat it WILL PASS!
The absolutely horrible, can't take it anymore, about to throw up, about to faint, never going to be the same, never going to be happy, stuffiness, bloated feeling, blade cutting through your backside pain WILL PASS!
Realistically a person who does this operation will experience two annoying factors namely pain and discomfort. In the first few days the pain is so bad that you cannot think of anything else including the discomfort. After that the pain between going to the bathroom will slowly subside but the discomfort will increase primarily due to constipation. Hereunder please find my tips and what I would do differently if I could go back in time.
1. Increase your intake of fresh fruit and vegetables and water weeks before the operation to soften your stools and prepare your body for a life change. This diet change is a must EVEN AFTER the operation unless you’re a masochist and want to pass through it again.
2. Cut out anything that might make you constipated – research. This includes alcohol, caffeine, chocolate, refined foods etc.
3. Do a fresh water enema the day before the operation.
4. Do a list of all the things you missed out on because of your condition and promise yourself to enjoy life more after the operation and to take care more of your physical well being.
5. Mentally prepare that you are going to be in severe pain but also be aware that this is only temporary and that you’ll be tons better after that and the effort would have been worth it. Incidentally I was in excruciating pain for about 5 days, in agonising pain 5 days after that and in manageable pain 5 days after that. By the end of the second week I was 60% better. By the end of the fourth week I was 90% better with only the annoying leakage to take care of. By the end of the fifth week I’m 95% there.
6. Try and limit pain killer as much as possible as they will slow your digestive system and the resulting constipation is worse than the pain.
7. The feeling of still feeling massive haemorrhoids after the operation is normal. This is due to the swelling. The importance of having formed stools that are SOFT is important. Underline formed not diarrhoea as you need your system to re-function even if it means a little more pain.
8. The feeling of passing sharp blades during the first few days is unavoidable. This mixed with blood and excrement is not a pretty felling or site but I PROMISE YOU it will get better.
9. Keep the are dry otherwise you’ll develop sever rash – been there done that – more pain to avoid.
10. Keep moving. The more you move the better your digestive system works, the less laxatives, the less bloated feeling, the happier you will be.
11. Be prepared to go the bathroom at a moments notice.
12. Run a warm sitz bath often – it does wonders to sooth the pain
13. Squat not sit to pass stools. It’s easier to excrete, less painful and quicker. I’m still squatting and there is no way I’m going back to sitting. Before I sometime spent between 30 – 45 min on the loo. Now I’m in an out in 3 minutes.
14. Keep the area clean. Use a bidet, shower or whatever you want. Use only toilet paper to pat dry the excess water. Again with hindsight this should be norm. After all if you covered you hand in excrement you wouldn’t simply wipe it off with toilet paper but you’d wash the hell out of it.
15. Drink lots of water and take a reasonable amount of fibre. Taking fibre without water is a recipe for disaster.
16. You are going to have to live with sanitary pads for a few weeks until the area heals sufficiently. It will get gradually better. I have gained a new respect for women who have to wear these things once a month; very annoying.
17. After you recover promise yourself to share your positive experience and the things that worked out for you on a blog for the benefit of others. It’s kind of a chain get better advice blog.
18. Most important of all – KEEP POSITIVE and take care of your health. You only have one body.
36 likes, 343 replies
mary86650 glen79281
Posted
Thanks for sharing glen! Reading this gives me hope!
I am on week 2 and let me tell you, I feel like I'm going to DIE. Week 1 wasn't so bad because I wasn't having BM's. I was eating lots of fiber and fresh juices and never had an urge to have a BM. I was even taking an OTC laxative that was recommended. Finally after 1 week, my surgeon told me to take Miralax, which she also recommended at discharge.
Well after following her instructions (take it every hour or so til I have to go - note, please don't do this unless your DR instructs you to), I finally had the urge to go.
This was the worst pain I've ever felt in life! Not only that, this was yesterday and I've been having the urge to have a BM pretty much every hour on the hour since then. Not only does the BM hurt, but the urge also hurts, and the nausea, the cold sweats, whew. I know I have to eat, but I don't want to, because I know what's going to happen. I am just looking forward to when this is all over!
Sitting hurts, standing up hurts, laying hurts, coughing hurts, laughing hurts..lol. But seriously, I'm just glad that I'm getting this 20+ years issue over with. You just have to remember that all of this pain is temporary, and well worth the long term results.
nancylynn18 mary86650
Posted
It's gonna take a while till the urge and pain stops. The laxatives and the MiraLAX have probably kicked in and that's why you're going so often. I took two fiber pills in the morning afternoon and evening as well as stool softer each time. This help me go more regularly but it's still going to hurt and you have to get through this. I'm on three months and that part has been easier for me. I still have problems in the morning going to the bathroom and then I feel better in the afternoon and evening. I'm hoping this all in shortly for me as well. Good luck any questions feel free to ask. Nancy
k23652 nancylynn18
Posted
Hi Nancylynn18,
Did you find you were constipated or couldn't have a BM even though the urge was there? I'm having that issue right now and it's rough. It feels so good when I finally release but the first few tries are fails. I'm about 10 weeks post op and feel great however, I always have the feeling that there might be something down there sticking out or bothering me and I check but I know I'm healed, it just takes time getting use to this more normal feeling that I haven't felt in over 12 years.
k23652 mary86650
Posted
I fully understand your pain. I'm surprised you lived with it for 20+ years. But you're right, this is all worth it in the end and you'll be way happier than you ever were. Good luck with your recovery. Make sure to ice the area too.
nancylynn18 k23652
Posted
I am still having that issue and I had my surgery may 19. Maybe around when you did. I am worried that I have a bigger problem then the hemorrhoids that were removed. I might have a incomplete defecation disorder cause I always feel I have more to go and nothing comes out but still have the urge. I have been doing an enema water bag just to flush out what may still be in there. Sometimes this works other times I still feel there's more in there. I don't want to get addicted to this way of using the toilet. Not to mention when I travel and share a hotel room is with friends. I'm hoping in time this will be resolved or I'll have to find a specialist to deal with this problem. I'm tired I'm focusing on using the bathroom and feeling OK down there.
mary86650 nancylynn18
Posted
Thanks for responding nancylynn. The day I took the Miralax, I ended up taking several doses back to back per my surgeon's instructions, and boy did I pay! I was glad to finally have some relief after a week of not going, but I had the urge to have a BM constantly for the rest of the week. I didn't have to take any other laxatives for another 5 days!
Now I'm just beginning week 3 and the pain with BM is still excrutiating, but the pain doesn't linger around as long. I'm eating a high fiber diet, taking fiber supplements, and taking 1 dose of Miralax per day.
Did you have issues with swelling? If so, has the swelling gone down?
nancylynn18 mary86650
Posted
The outside swelling is still there. I sometimes sit on a cold sitz bath and that helps. My issue is more than the hemorrhoids. I having incomplete defecation disorder so I always seem to think there's more in there. Guess I'll have to go to a specialist for that. It does get better I no longer have pain from going to the bathroom. That stopped about week six for me. Took a longer for me to heal than most people so hopefully you will heal faster. Most people say things improve and are happy they did their surgery. I no longer have bleeding hemorrhoids but have to squeeze to go to the bathroom so I'm fearful they will be back before I know it. Don't think I'll do the surgery again. It was too long of a recuperation. For me and I don't want to go through that again. Good luck with your healing.
florin78846 glen79281
Posted
Hi Glen,
I found your article while looking to share my personal experience one year after a hemoroidectomy at a hospital in Chicago. Honestly, your personal experience and advise left me speechless as it describes exactly what I went through and what advise I'd give others on this topic. The "ugly" side of my personal experience was not necessarly the pain and "misery" following the procesdure but the idea that a lot of that could heve been avoided if I were well prepared before having it. If it were in my power I wouldn't let any patient have the surgery without passing an exam with questions from your article. Seriously!
Here are a few things from Glen's article (and beyond) that I want to emphasize:
1. Glen is perfectly right when he says that you don't have to live a life of "misery" (15+ yeras in my case) with a problem that can be fixed. I was on the serious side ("360 degrees hemoroids" as my doctor put it) and now I feel like a "newborn" - honestly. Just DO IT! "The pain WILL PASS! I repeat it WILL PASS!" (read Glen's article above)
2. I personaly witnessed another "miracle" after the surgery: I used to have severe constipation frequently (it was my fault I guess as I could keep a soft diet). Here I am one year latrer with only two - Yes, only two! instances of constipation since then. I'm still trying to figure this one out! The only explanation I can think of is that the rectum was shaped like a pear (probably) before the surgey and years of frequent constipation. After the surgery it probably came back to it's normal original shape that facilities more frequent and normal bowl movement.
I'a a male, 58 a bit "on the heavy side" (250 pounds) and what I experienced doesn't necessary mean you will experience too. However, there is a high probability you would. So go ahead, have that surgery and be "born again" like myself.
Raluc glen79281
Posted
Still have a slight burn when i have a bowel movement and a some bleeding
Im a bit concerned
I saw doctor 10 days post operation and he said it was fine
Still have to wear a pad cause there still leakage its getting better before it had a strange smell but not anymore
I had to evacuate because of hurracaine Irma
So i could not do my sit bath
Im so over this how long can this take
Ohhhh to top this i got strep throat from the tube in my throat while i had surgery had to go to urgent care and get 10 days of anti biotics
Just want this to heal already im on day 29 and it does not feel like it healing fast enough i been resting and icing and sit baths all day long
j9spouse glen79281
Posted
My husband has this surgery a week ago. Is it better to just go with a pure clear liquid diet? Or does the body need some solid fiber-rich foods? He is constipated and has been for a few days. Painful like you've all said. Plenty of bleeding.
nancylynn18 glen79281
Posted
I ate high fiber foods and was told from my doctor to eat. You need to keep bm movement. Don't want to build up scar tissue. I was taking 2 fiber pills three times a day and stool softners too. If he still constipated call doctor to see if it's ok to take laxative. U don't want to be pooing all day. Yikes! Drink lots of water too. Good luck.
alynn78703 glen79281
Posted
One I about passed out while he was doing it two about passed out driving home and three was no where ready for the level of pain that comes with this.
I had it done Tuesday morning and it is Friday morning and the pain is horrible. They say in the long run it is worth it but right now I am not seeing it.
Just want some sort of relief.
j9spouse alynn78703
Posted
My husband's doctor told us it is the worst surgery recovery for pain that she knows of. My husband decided on his own to just go on a liquid diet. He is almost 2 weeks past surgery and finally has little pain. He has even sneezed and it has been ok. He has decided to try fiber-rich foods starting Tuesday. Wednesday will be 2 weeks since surgery. Every day is a guess, but the things that have helped have been showering/hosing off after a bm instead of using toilet paper, putting A & D ointment on it, and/or a lubricating jelly, just doing liquid diet (beef, chicken and vegetable broth, jello, vitamin water, lots of water and ice (Smart water has electrolytes in it...), clear juices...) I got him a sitz bath, but it looks like the shower method is working. Also, squatting instead of sitting to have a BM has been helpful. Look up "squatty potty". that might help. Also, when he was constipated I gave him a back and buttocks massage with essential oils, especially DiGize - which is a Young Living Essential Oil. You can also put some drops of it in your water to drink, although I couldn't convince him to do that part. Also, take stool softener. Our doc said 2 pills 3x a day. It is a prescription and I think it is Dulcolax, which you also may be able to get over the counter. He only took the Oxycodone a couple of times because it is so constipating. He also took 2 aspirin every 4 hours for pain and to keep his blood at least a little thin. He is supposed to be on blood thinner, but we found he was bleeding a LOT and that did not help at all. Hope some of this helps someone else. So glad I found this blog because this has been really hard.
nancylynn18 j9spouse
Posted
Stool softner and fiber good. Careful with dulcalax since it's a laxative and not a stool softner. I take 2 in eve if been hard to go bm. Next morn it comes up easier. Good luck
Giddy1980 glen79281
Posted
Hi glen, omg your post is spot on!!
The points you raise are the exact same feelings that I'm having. It's Monday today and I had my op Friday so am still in the "why did I ever go through with this" stage and have been really depressed until reading your blog. The biggest issue was thinking there's another bloody hem there but after reading I think it could be swelling? I still haven't had a BM yet and really worried when it does arrive, but I am taking some comfort from you. When I'm a couple of weeks in I will post again, but really thank you for this post it's changed the way I'm thinking now. Thank you again
Gidion.