My experience with hemorrhoid surgery, I should have done it long ago!!!
Posted , 4 users are following.
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.
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.
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.
Pain meds - Diazepam 5 mg - This stops the Anal sphincter from spasm- taken every 8 hours. 3 days worth
Tramadol HCL 50 MG- Pain meds for 3 days - taken every 6 hours.
Cream for your anus - Diltiazem 2% and Lidocaine 2% ointment - This was applied 3 times a day before a poop.
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.
4 likes, 13 replies
john777777
Edited
I am now at 5 days and have started to introduce a bit of solid food into my diet. Along with stool softeners.
My Pain Meds are now done (only given 3 days worth at my request) and I can feel a bit more uncomfortable feelings. The Tylenol and Ibuprofen only go so far as to help with that feeling.
Walking around is easier and my butt does not feel bruised. I did have my first solid poop and not bad. Uncomfortable as the sutures are still there and its unpleasant feeling but no white knuckle ride. And I think that is because of the liquid diet I stuck to and the stool softeners.
I am already tell that my life is not going to be ruled by Hem flair ups. I cant want for life after these things.
One important message that my Surgeon gave me and he has been doing these surgeries for 30 plus years. He said in the past people will sit on the toilet with a magazine. Now days people sit on the toilet with their phones. He said 90% of all the cases are due to sitting on the toilet for way to long. That downward pressure on your anus caused by the toilet helps make this condition. Sit on the toilet - poop and get up and get on with your day. If not you will be doing this surgery all over again. Thought I would share his message.
john777777
Edited
Next update. Looks like I have moved into the Itch stage.
What I mean by this is that the incision on my ass has started to Itch. I did a bit of research and this is actually a good thing as it shows the wound is healing. It is frustrating as it is on your ass and scratching our ass is not fun. I have found that taking a hot bath takes the itch away.
Here is a explanation so that when you get to this stage around day 5 you wont think something is wrong.
"Wound healing also elicits mechanical stress that activates itching. As it heals, the cells around the wound proliferate, which means the margins around the wound grow and migrate inwards toward the base. In fact, the cells follow an electrical pathway at a voltage that is different than the margin so they can tell where the base is. The cells then unite at the center, attach together and contract to pull the wound shut. This process creates a mechanical stress that activates the itch nerves and tells the spinal cord to scratch."
FAZ78 john777777
Edited
Hi John777777,
Thank you for sharing your experience. I am due to have surgery this Saturday, and i can't deny that I am absolutely terrified. My op will be THD and mucopexy, whereby they don't cut anything off but they close rhe arteries that feed the hems and stitch things up so that they should no longer prolapse. Was yours a full on haemorrhoidectomy? I will follow your recommendations for the pre-op, hopefully they'll give me some decent pain killers.
Best of luck with your recovery!
john777777 FAZ78
Edited
Hey, You will be just fine.
Two of mine they did that where they cut off the blood supply and the other two were large and were cut off. I'm writing this from work on my 5th day after this surgery. It does not have to be so bad. It is uncomfortable and if you ask your doctor to clean you out with that drink they give your colonoscopy and then just stay on a liquid diet it will make a huge difference. Lots of warm baths. I'm well over 30 baths so far in the 5 days. When you move to solids just stay away from the narcotics and move to Tylenol and ibuprofen. Narcotics will harden the poop to be like a snooker ball. And then you will fall into the group that think this is hell on earth. When you hit the itchy stage like where I am you know the healing has really begun.
I took two bags or Ramen noodles and boiled them in water then added the same amount of chicken broth as the water and strained and tossed to noodles in the trash. Drink the broth. Its a nice soothing drink and kept me going for those 4 days and I didn't have to have any solid poop. Thank GOD.
Get up and move as soon as you hit recovery. I went straight to the bathroom as I was worried about not being able to pee as they say that's one of the issues. I did not want a catheter. Move move move......
You will do just fine. Later
john777777
Posted
Update. Day 8. The bowel movements are unbelievable now that solid food is back on the menu. wow. I am in real distress as it feels impossible to finish. You just have to push through the burning pain.
FAZ78 john777777
Posted
Oh mate, I'm sorry to hear that and i hope it'll get better soon. I had my op yesterday and it hasn't been as rough a ride as I thought - touching wood. I had three hems stitched up and the prolapsed one lifted up and held with stitches; pain wise, I have been on two different meds on rotation (co-codamol and ibuprofen) and it's been manageable so far. I am out of bed, pottering about the house all day failrly pain free. Today day one post op and I am following a liquid diet and taking fiber supplements and laxatives, but no BM yet. Passing wind is quite uncomfortable, I can't imagine having a proper BM without pain but we'll see. There is a lot a stake for the next few days, as I still fear that they'll come back after a few times on the toilet! Fingers crossed, good luck with your recovery!
FAZ78 john777777
Posted
Hello john777777, I hope you are doing better.
I have a question to ask you: I'm on day 9 post op and today I went out for a walk in the park. I ended up staying outdoors for a couple of hours, mainly standing up, and upon my return I noticed that I had some swelling around my back passage - I felt it as if it was the hems back again although nowhere near as bad as pre op...
Do you have some swelling too? Is it normal? I thought it could be a consequence of things settling a bit, but I have a horrible fear of the b******s coming back...
I have a follow up appointment with the surgeon on Friday, but I thought I'd ask round this forum for a bit of peace of mind.
Thank you!
B11ll FAZ78
Posted
hi did yours come back im day 7 now and after bm yestaday i feel as if the hemorrhoids are coming back im in constant pain now i felt i was getting better before yestadays bm
michael63720 john777777
Posted
I'm due this operation next Friday and I'm terrified need to know what I need to prepare how long after op can uou drive as my kids need to go to school my Mrs will be off work 10 days to help me but am I OK left on my own while she takes kids to school. what do I need to do before op to prepare myself. where can I buy male pads or nappys that I have been told to buy. can you help me with this please 🙏
john777777 michael63720
Posted
As long as I was on painkiller I would not drive. So that was 3 days. I got baby diapers and put water and froze them. They were good on my butt as it would burn like hell after you went to the toilet. First time I have cried since i was a kid. On day 14 and no pain exept when toilet time. It hurts to go to the bathroom for a long time after. But it is worth all the pain. I drink half a glass of prune juice and it make bathroom time better.
Good luck
FAZ78 michael63720
Posted
I had this operation on Friday 12th September. The procedure wasn't that bad all things considered; they gave me an enema the morning of the op, then I went in shortly after a BM. The procedure was done under spinal block, and some sort of sedative as everything becomes a bit of a blur after the spinal injection. I got out of bed a couple of hours after the op, and as soon as I was able to urinate they sent me home - I went in at 7am and was back home by 7.30pm. I was given a combination of Cocodemol and Ibuprofen to take throughout the day/night, Laxido and Fybogel to take twice a day. The next day was fine in terms of pain, it was mainly discomfort and a sense of something swollen inside my back passage. I stopped taking painkillers on day 3, as I was getting constipated. On day 5, I had to take two micro enemas to help things going and oh boy it was hell - the most painful BM I have ever experienced! It took a lot of pushing and breathing, and I felt things got quite swollen down there so I was very scared that the hems had come back... this wasn't the case though and it all got back to normal in a few minutes. After the first BM, I was better although every visit to the toilet is quite painful. I am on day 9 today, and I have a little pain for which I take one 400mg Ibuprofen and discomfort when I move around too much. I am hoping to get better in the next few days, go back to work the week following the next and get back to some light jogging also - I am a keen runner and I'm missing it very much. I'd say fiber, liquids and a soft diet are key. The procedure itself is doable, consider I had never undergone surgery before and I was fine a couple of hours after the op. Take painkillers only if necessary, as they make you constipated. Try to move around a little every day, and take your time with the healing process. I did not buy a great deal of paraphernalia, but what I did have and found good was a sitz bath - I had one after every BM for the first few days. Take lots of warm baths, possibly with Epsom salts, as they are a great natural pain relief. Good luck, and keep us posted on how you get on!
michael63720 FAZ78
Posted
thank you so much 3 days and counting
FAZ78 michael63720
Posted
You will be fine, pain is temporary but the results should be long lasting... I am on day 10 now and despite some issues that will hopefully be addressed soon, I find being able to go to the bathroom and not having to lie down for the rest of the day absolutely amazing! I only miss running, but that will hopefully come back soon.
Good luck and stay positive.