My Hemorrhoidectomy Journey (Part 1)
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Hi there! My name is Michelle and I am going to be 29 over the summer plus my husband & I are going to be celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary this summer as well. Today is March 29th, 2017 and I'm scheduled to have my Hemorrhoidectomy on April 28th, 2017. There's a chance I might have it a few days before, but will know for sure by the end of this week. So, let me start from the beginning of why I'm getting this procedure done.
I have been a constipated person all my life. The hemorrhoids, well, honestly, I don't exactly remember when they began...I just recall it was before or after having our first child. My oldest one was born 3 mos shy of my 21st birthday in 2009. He was born vaginally and I had an episiotomy at the time as well. Our other 3 children were born via c-section. After having my 3rd one in 2011, that's when the bleeding & pain from the rectum really began almost nonstop every time I needed to have a bowel movement.
Due to being busy with family, and other things, plus lack of insurance, I just dealt with those symptoms for over 5 years. I bled a lot almost everytime I had a BM, and sometimes I would even bleed rectally when I just had to pee. The pain was excruciating often when I had BMs, at least 3 times a week, whether or not I bled. And then there was the lingering pain from those episodes that stayed with me throughout the rest of the day which makes sitting down and walking uncomfortable. As if that was not enough, I would get a horrible, bad pulsating pain from the hemmorrhoid itself about once a month or so lasting about a day or 2 each time. I still do dread going to the bathroom when I feel I have to poo because most of the times it's just too painful 
So, finally, after getting my insurance back and now that all my kiddos were about to begin school full time, last summer I decided to start making dr appts and began with seeing a new primary dr in July of 2016. In addition to sending me to other specialists for other minor health issues, he sent me to see a G.I. dr. In August, I saw the G.I. Dr for the first time who ordered a colonoscopy. In September, I had the colonoscopy done, and Dr found and removed a polyp, and said that I have hemorrhoids, one of them very large. So, when I went to my followup appt in October, G.I dr said that the hemmorrhoid should be treated. I told him that I already tried other methods a few years before, like cream and the rectal pills, forgot what they're called, but nothing has even helped. Then he suggested to get it removed or else it will just get worse in the future, as if it wasn't already bad enough. I said ok and he referred me to a colorectal surgeon whom I saw for the first time in December. She checked me and said that I have an anal fissure which has to heal first before getting the hemmorrhoid removed to avoid infection. She also said that the fissure is the main reason why I have been bleeding for what seems forever. She gave me several mini Analphram cream tubes to apply back there, and put me on a fiber diet. I had been seeing her once a month since then, and so glad that the bleeding has gone away for most part, but the pain is still there no matter what and won't leave me alone. I even had a hair get tied up on my hemorrhoid about a month ago, lol...it stung and hurt so much, that even after my husband was able to free my hemorrhoid from that hair, I still wasn't able to sit or walk right for the rest of the day So, finally, just last week, she finally gave me the ok to go ahead with getting the hemorrhoid removed. The fissure is not 100% healed yet, but pretty close to getting there and healing well enough to go through with the procedure. It has been scheduled to get it done in a month.
When I had my most recent appt with the colorectal surgeon last week, I was busy with other things, family, and plus friends visiting out of town. Honestly, it didn't really sink in about the whole surgery thing until earlier this week when I finally had sometime to settle down from all the busy-ness...OMG!
Last week when I asked the colorectal surgeon about the hemmorrhoid surgery because the pain and feeling uncomfortable won't leave me alone, she did warn me that after the procedure, it will be at least 2-3weeks of a lot of pain and more uncomfortable-ness. I said ok, I just want to get it over with. Well, earlier this week after really realizing what I may be in for, I Googled this procedure, and have read so many horror stories about this which honestly have me really nervous and scared about getting this done. Besides that, I have also read many tips & advice on how to manage an easier recovery despite the fact that the excruciating pain will be there no matter what especially the first 3-7 days after the hemorrhoidectomy is done. I felt that I have gotten so much insight regarding this procedure from this site in addition to other sites. So, since I feel that everything I've read so far has helped me in some way, I feel that it would only be fair & helpful as a way to give back to post my experience of my Hemorrhoidectomy for others going through the same to read and hopefully take something good from it. My Hemorrhoidectomy won't be done until a month from now, so no real hemorrhoidectomy experience to share yet, but I begin by posting this, and will post updates of what I'm going to be doing to prepare for this day in addition to posting about my recovery period after I go through with the procedure.
I am going to start planning about when to cut off red meats completely and also when to start on a liquid diet. I have already started taking laxatives again that my dr had prescribed. I had stopped taking them weeks ago and started getting constipated again, so now I'm back taking them. I'm also trying to increase my water intake as it's already a bad habit of mine to not drink sufficient water. Plus, as of next week (after I take a full trip to the grocery store), I plan to increase my intake in fruits & veggies. Terrible how I have my kiddos eat those, but I don't do enough of that for myself, lol. These are just beginning pointers of what I'm beginning to do and plan.
You see, I really hope to God that the recovery and pain does not really take that long. As a matter of fact, I hope a 3-week recovery is possible because there is so much to do and so much to look forward to that I hope this doesn't delay/ruin things, lol. My husband and I have a date night to tend to because of a concert we're planning to attend on May 26th. We already have tickets. Would be a shame to not br able to go or enjoy concert due to pain. In addition to that, we're planning for our kids' birthday party to be on the 20th of May. Too soon after hemorrhoidectomy? Guess we'll see, but I really don't want to ruin it for the kids. Then there's the part how my husband will tackle the kids and house especially the first week of my recovery in addition to his busy work schedule. I don't want it to be too much for him which is why I truly want a quick recovery. As everyone else has said, it will get better and afterall, at the end, it will be worth it, or so they say, heheheh. In a later post either later this week or next week, I'll post more about my plans in preparing for this day. Thanks for taking the time in reading this & by the way, any questions/comments/feedback is greatly appreciated - thanks in advance! 
0 likes, 26 replies
tess94652 andrea1988
Posted
Hi Andrea -firstly good luck on your journey, op and recovery - sounds as though you are doing all the right things! Sounds as though you're in America whereas I'm in the UK. I'm on day 15 following surgical removal of 2 hemmies and associated skin tags (done not with cut and stitch but snip and heat sealing of tissues), and though it was pretty painful the first week or so, now I'm only taking paracetamol after BMs and the not every time either.So it does improve with time and hang onto that knowledge when you're in a lot of pain and getting depressed or panicky about how long will it last!! It will improve for sure! My best advice to you is NOT to get at all constipated after your op and keep well up with the stool softeners!
Very best wishes
Tess
andrea1988 tess94652
Posted
Hi Tess
Thank u so much for sharing ur experience with me and for ur advice. I will keep in mind about avoiding constipation at all costs, lol...I hate to be anxious about what the pain might be like, but ur right, can't be dwelling on that, so have to be prepared and at the same time positive, right? It's official..my surgery date is on the 27th, so it has been moved one day earlier. And yes, I live in Vegas. How are u feeling now since ur surgery? It's been about 3 wks since ur procedure, right? I only hope u continue to heal well. Thanks again!
tess94652 andrea1988
Posted
Hi again Andrea! You're so right to keep positive - it's definitely worth what really only amounts to a few days of pain (which you can manage if you get the right balance between effective painkillers and laxatives).Because to be free of the discomfort/pain/bleeding etc whichever it is that affects you - it's great to be normal again!!! Yes at three weeks I have no pain, no discomfort and no bleeding. And no painkillers or laxatives either. So that's a great goal to aim for! All the very best for the 27th
Tess x
andrea1988 tess94652
Posted
Tess, hi again!
You have given me lots of hope, lol, bc as you know, 3 wks is my goal..will see how it goes, but I'm so glad ur doing so much better and very well now! Thank u so much for sharing - take care 
yoh andrea1988
Posted
hi Michelle.
I too have hemorrhoids(internal ones and sometimes external) but I just drink lots of water, take laxatives and use creams. I also use suppositories but I don't have any now.
what I can advise you is to do research and ask your doctor the procedures and foods to take at least a day before the operation. this is the 'mistake' that some people do and it ends up frustrating their healing process.
lots of luck.
andrea1988 yoh
Posted
Hello You
Thank u so much for your advice, really appreciate it! I tried those methods before for mine, but nothing worked, and now getting this done. My surgery has been moved to the 27th of this month, and going to dr to pick up paperwork in a couple of wks to get instructions on what to do. I have read other people's experiences saying that not following dr advise has been a mistake, so will follow ur advice seriously, thank u! I hope u get relief and the methods u are using work well for u
andrea1988
Posted
Hi again everyone
Just want to let you all know that I have created My Hemorrhoidectomy Journey (Part 2). In Part 2, I talk about my official surgery date (for those who don't know yet), what has happened during the last week, and more plans in how I'm preparing for Surgery day. If interested, please feel free to read and comment. Thanks again in advance - take care!
nancylynn18 andrea1988
Posted
Its been a a couple of weeks since you had your surgery. I don't see any follow up here so I am wondering how it went and what you can do to put me at ease for mine that's May 19th. I am shopping now for what I will need to eat. I want to empty out the day before as though I was having a colonoscopy. The dr only said I need to do one enema but I don't want to have to take a BM for a couple days after the procedsure so want to empty myself totally. Please let me know how you have been. Nancy
andrea1988 nancylynn18
Posted
Hi Nancy!
OMG, I'm so sorry I didn't notice your reply sooner! Not sure where you live, but I'm assuming you're having your surgery in a matter of hours. It has been 3 wks since I had mine. I have been posting updates, they are all broken into parts titles My Hemorrhoidectomy Journey. I'm about to post Part 8 in a little bit or early tomorrow. Please feel free to read all the posts..you will find all the details of my recovery in all those posts. But just to be brief, I don't want to say it has been a disaster, and of course, not a wonderful experience..mainly just filled with pain at different levels no matter what. Yes, please be careful what you eat. I'm still avoiding red meats, cheese, and other foods that may constipate. Also, when it's time for you to go to bathroom for bm, try your best to get into a Squatting position. Please lots of bed rest especially first week, and take it easy the most you can during the following weeks. Preferably don't clean up using toilet paper, instead use baby wipes and have a water or squirt bottle filled with warm water for each bm so you can wash up down there to help keep clean since wiping especially first few days will be painful. For me, hot/very warm water was very alleviating, but for some reason, not so much the last few days, instead, it now stings when I use warm/hot water down there. So much more to this, but again, please feel free to read the other parts to My Hemorrhoidectomy Journey.
I haven't said this yet til now, but before today, I thought the worse was over. This morning, I came to realize I was so wrong that I was even in tears :-( I'll post more details about that in the next part. I'm also glad to admit that I'm starting to be able to move more, but only when pain is low or at least at tolerable level. After bm, it's usually the worse for me which is on a daily basis, that it's even too painful to walk. So that's the time when I'm usually stuck in bed still. It's not easy, and I feel that for me this is a bit harder than when I had my kiddos which was 1 vaginally with episiotomy & 3 csections. I don't mean for this to be a horror story, and of course, each person is different, so therefore heals differently, but I do want to be realistic in all aspects about how my experience is going.
I wish you all the best, Nancy. Hugs & prayers your way, hoping that all goes well with your surgery, and I truly hope your recovery goes much more smoothly for you than it did for me. I really hope to hear more from you. Please let me know how it goes for you. Please feel free to ask any questions and would be more than happy to answer best I can.
It's midnight here, so g'nite, God Bless & take care
nancylynn18 andrea1988
Posted
Thanks for responding this is the first I've seen of this post from you. Yes I had the surgery week ago and I am in pain but mostly uncomfortable sharp throbbing. It's the BMs that make the pain worse and I have not had much luck with that in the last three days. I still get the urge to go when I sit on the sitz bath but All that comes out is globs of clotted blood. I'm hoping that's normal and when I start to pass BMs I will have blood along with that. I have decided to take a laxative this morning and still nothing. I had to vaginal births and the pain of labor is worse than the pain of this. But the BM part is neck and neck with that experience. How long will this pain go on with BM's? How do I follow your other posts? Thanks Nancy
k23652 nancylynn18
Posted
Click on her user name in the message and you can follow her discussions there. I found that out just today. I'm eager to read all the other stories to see how my outcome will be.
nancylynn18
Posted
Can't find part 3 to present.
k23652 nancylynn18
Posted
Hi Nancy,
Click on Andrea1988 in one of her messages and you'll go to another page. At the bottom, there is "Discussions" click on that and it will list all the posts that she's written. Then click "+Follow" if you wish or just click on the part you want to read.
andrea1988 nancylynn18
Posted
Hi Nancy,
Glad to hear from you
I'm so sorry about ur pain..I completely understand it. Although I truly wish you an ez, quick recovery, I hate to say that due to experience, this is only the beginning for you. But each person heals differently, so hoping it's better for you, right?
As in following My Hemorrhoidectomy Journey posts, 2k2 said it right. Just go to my username and scroll down and you'll find all my posts there. I'll be posting part 9 soon.
Anyways, plz keep me posted on ur recovery. I wish you all the best - take care & God Bless
nancylynn18 andrea1988
Posted
Thanks for your response. This is day eight and I haven't had a BM since day three. And that wasn't very much at all. All I've been eating is a lot of fiber drinking lots of water and soup. My doctor said I should have some bulk food so been eating a little pasta too and wheat crackers. I don't agree with him so I'm not going overboard on some solid food. Now I fear I'm impacted since I don't have any things come out when I spasm in the sitz bath besides blood clotting and bleeding. When I have the real urged to go BM should I have to squeeze and squeeze till something comes out? That hurts like hell and I don't think that's good for my recovery. I have taking a laxative yesterday as well as one glass of MiraLAX. And still nothing.When should I be concerned that I am having A real problem or just have to get this out with A large amount of MiraLAX and laxatives? Do not want to get diarrhea either. Help!
andrea1988 nancylynn18
Posted
Nancy, hi again!
OMG, it's obvious you're constipated...you seem to be doing everything right. I don't mean to be the burden of bad news, and you probably already know this, but when you finally do go, it will be very painful. I do hope I'm wrong though...I truly hope your recovery is much easier for you. And everything I say is based on my own personal experience...
When I first had my surgery. I didn't have my first bm until 5 days later. Very, very painful of course. The days leading up, well, I was kind of worried but at the same time ok because I knew what I was in for. My husband, on the other hand, was getting very worried that no bm was happening. And diet was very much like yours. It finally happened, the dreaded bm. Every now & then, I get constipated, and the days that I am constipated, I try to "enjoy" the day bc pain is lower and really no afterburn, but the bm after constipated is, you can say, the worse not to mention afterburn. I doubt you will have diarrhea unless you over do it with mira lax of course. I never have tried mira lax so cant say anything about that really. Not including thr mira lax, I do suggest to try taking at least 3 laxatives/day with lots of water. Please try not to push/strain unless you really feel it necessary to do so. It adds to the pain and doesn't help with recovery. And I think that if there's still no bm in a couple days, to go to er just to be on the safe side. Please keep me posted - I wish you all the best & take it ez plz - God Bless
nancylynn18 andrea1988
Posted
So tonight before bed take 2 dolcolax? Says not take more than 2 at one dose. Yesterday took 1 and nothing happened. Have u taken 3 and didn't have terrible diarrhea after. Don't want that. Ugghh!! Sorry to keep burdening you. You are still recovering too. My brain is fuzzy but did u have tickets for a concert this weekend or was that another poster? If it was u, did u make it?
andrea1988 nancylynn18
Posted
No worries, no burden to me whatsoever - I'm more than happy to answer any questions that may possibly help during recovery
Yeah, 2 Dulcolax sounds good. The stool softeners that I was prescribed is called Dosucate Sodium. According to instructions, only supposed to take 2 per day. Like you, I was afraid of diarrhea, but when desperate, took the chance. Now, I've been taking up to 4 per day & so far, never have had diarrhea. It doesn't help much when I'm constipated either, so I just wait. I know I already said this & I'm not a good example when it comes to this, but when u go to bathroom & finally do go, try not to push unless you absolutely need to. You'll know what I mean. Straining/pushing hurts as well as it doesn't help with recovery & the surgery site. Despite following diet, drinking water & taking stool softeners, I still am having difficulty passing bms, so yeah, I do end up pushing, and obviously it hurts. Perhaps that's why my wound is still open? Not sure, forgot to ask Dr that yesterday. I had followup appt yesterday & she said wound is still open, but healing ok & bm will continue to hurt. As for Air Supply concert, we were close to giving up tix, but did manage to go. Was wonderful! I'm so happy I didn't miss it despite all the uncomfortableness
Yesterday was also my first day out since surgery & realized that vehicle ride is still pretty painful. I will explain more in part 9 which I will post soon..sorry it's taking me forever to post, lol.
Anyways, back to you, also, when you go, try to get into a Squatting position. The easiest way for me to do that is using my daughter's old potty as a step thing to elevate my feet. Hopefully that makes sense
It's supposed to help with the passing of bm plus supposed to be less painful. Painwise, not too sure if it helps, but I do believe it has helped in some way of passing bm at least a bit. Surely you're to have bm soon...I just hate to think how painful it may be for you after all these days of constipation. Yet, I do hope that's not the case for you, and that thanks to the laxatives & miralax, it does pay off and you do end up having an easy bm. At this point, try to avoid ANY type of food that may constipate. Red meats, cheese, ice cream, regular milk, too much bread or crackers, chocolate...too much to list here, but I'm sure you can find the lists on google. And if no bm in a couple days, please don't hesitate to go to er just to be on the safe side..I'm sure they can help you out if need be.
Again, please keep me posted on your recovery & never hesitate to ask me anything. That's what we're all here for on this site, right? To help one another
Take it easy & talk to you soon - take care & God Bless