My Haemorrhoidectomy experience

Hello everyone,

I am writing today because I want to reassure all those currently suffering with Haemorrhoids and considering or awaiting haemorrhoidectomies that it's not that bad. Before and after my procedure I found this website to be a huge sense of strength and so wanted to share my experience here in the hope that it can also help someone else. I found this post particularly helpful : https://patient.info/forums/discuss/haemorrhoidectomy-sharing-the-experience-497818

I’m a 36-year-old British male, quite fit and healthy, who had been suffering with haemorrhoids for more than 5 years. I literally tried treating them in every way imaginable (various over-the-counter creams, acupuncture, natural remedies, sclerotherapy etc) but just couldn’t get rid of them. I had heard and read plenty horror stories about haemorrhoidectomies so my aim was to avoid surgery at all costs.

However, mine became so large that they were becoming difficult to manage and generally getting in the way of my day-to-day life. I couldn’t go on like this, so I grudgingly gave in and went down the surgical route. There was no alternative.

I had the surgery beginning of December 2020 so it’s been six weeks today since it was done. I honestly feel amazing and am pretty much 100% recovered. If anything, I wish I had done this much earlier instead of dithering for years!

My procedure was done under general anaesthesia and took about 20 minutes. After a couple of hours I was allowed to go home. I felt exhausted but didn’t feel too much pain initially thankfully. I was given the usual painkillers: cocodamol and ibuprofen, supplemented with some laxatives, anti-biotics and Lansoprazole for stomach pH balance.

I implemented a low-residue diet, i.e. not fibre rich, for the first three days after surgery, so only ate chicken/vegetable soup, with white toast, bananas, digestive teas, kefir and plenty of water. I couldn’t pass stool for those first three days due to constipation but had read this was totally normal.

I think the key to my relatively smooth recovery has been the low residue diet regimen for those three days after surgery. I suspect a lot of people may dive straight into the high fibre foods post-surgery, but this makes the stool more solid and therefore painful to pass.

The first bowel movement wasn’t great, but it was far less painful than I had imagined it would be. It did get progressively painful I’ll admit, but after day 5 post-surgery I was already feeling much better.

Naturally, after surgery you’ll spend a few days lying down as it’s not comfortable sitting, but you’ll slowly begin to feel better. Stay strong! It can be a bit of a psychological rollercoaster though that’s normal – it’s character building, shall we say.

Get yourself a box (or two) of gauzes so that you don’t make a mess in your underwear. I also liked to douse them in pure aloe vera gel as this seemed to provide relief and could have hastened the recovery.

In the first few days I practically lived in the bath. This also provided a lot of relief, especially as the wound becomes more itchy as it heals.

Take the painkillers as long as you need them but bear in mind they constipate you. I stopped taking them completely after 7 days.

I did appear to have what looked like a big skin tag immediately after the surgery but I guess this was mainly swelling and has now almost completely vanished.

Overall, I am very happy I did this surgery. I've finally got my life and confidence back.

Good luck! This is your ticket to freedom!

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