Recovering from a haemorrhoidectomy . . . warning: TMI alert . . .

[Puffykins]

Has anybody ever had a heamorrhoidectomy, and if so, please can you tell me how long recovery took? I'm on day 12 now, and am still in considerable pain - I can't walk anywhere except the bathroom for the endless baths I take, can barely sit up unless I'm on my special donut cushion and even then only last up to 45 minutes. I have two young children, and I just feel that this is so unfair on them. And I'm getting kind of depressed about my lack of progress. I need someone to give me hope. Please?!
(P.S. If anyone is considering having one: strongly consider it. I've never experienced anything more painful than the first 4 days post op, EVER. I would gladly have given birth every day rather than going through the pain I was subject to.)

@Dizzyali77 - no need to look inside as I didn't have anything internal removed - just a prolapsed one so that's more external. Really pleased to get some good news at last 😊

Duzzyali I love the comment ....life revolving around BMs and bum is not the best lol

I can totally relate! I'm off to see my gp on Friday. This week has been a bit scratchy. Was good yesterday...not so good today. If I could work from home I could Def work. It's the travel to and from work that worries me and doing a BM in work!

Also I don't trust the managers in work not to say anything about my condition.....all they know is I needed an op. Don't feel like sharing as I don't want everyone finding out!

Do I could ask to work from home but then they'll need to know why.

Will be delighted when all of us can stop thinking about our bums and BMs lol

Well, I've done 2 hours today sitting at my PC answering emails. Started to feel a bit achy then, so decided to call it a day and do some brisk walking. I've done 240 lengths of my house today which equates to 2.23 miles! 😯 Pretty pleased with that. Really hoping the walking starts to bring the BMs together to just 1 a day.

Post BM ache was better today, so hoping that's the start of that feeling ending. I'm even thinking about varying my diet a bit tomorrow!

@CareBear50 - when people have asked about my op, I've told them that I've had bowel surgery - would you feel more comfortable saying that? I just couldn't imagine doing your commute plus a days work.

Yes, it will be lovely when life doesn't revolve around BMs band bums, and I think we're all getting there🤞

Z

Very quiet on here today, so I guess that's a sign that people are recovering and starting to get on with life again.

I'm still making progress, but really need to sort out morning BMs still. I've been advised to add some soluble fibre with dinner, so going to try that today and see if it helps 🤞

Hope everyone else is doing well x

@Disneylover1 Glad to hear you’re doing ok. I’m doing ok, still bleeding with every BM and still sore as BM passes but just kinda getting on with it as not going to know anymore until I see consultant. 4 weeks post op today so another three until I see him and I’m hoping it will have settled by then.

Hi guys

I've had a pretty good day today.

I'm Def trying to eat more soluble fibre. I have porridge for breakfast with a chopped date to sweeten it, which also provides fibre

Sweet potato also really good source of soluble fibre.

I'm still thinking about returning to work next week....only issue is BMs and drive to and from work

Think I will talk to my manager tmw, tell him I've had a bowel op ( thanks for advice in saying that guys, as did not want to tell him the actual procedure info!) and I'm happy to work from home....not sure though if he will do that.

Today I'm 17 days post op

X

@Dizzyali77 and @CareBear50 - pleased to hear you're both doing well. I'm 4 weeks tomorrow and happy that I'm making progress now, but frustrated at how far behind I am compared to the first op - I was 100% recovered by now last time and back to normal life and work. Not much I can do about it though I guess. I've got customer meetings every day next week apart from Friday, and I've been rescheduling everyone to the afternoon as that's when I'm at my best and I know BMs are finished. I'm back to my consultant next Friday, so will be interesting to see what he says too.

I didn't get out with the dog today as it's been raining, but I'm making sure I'm still walking lengths if the house, so did another 2.23 miles again today. It's very boring, but hopefully is doing me some good🤞

@CareBear50 - hopefully your manager will agree to you working from home for a while.

Hi. I am now 2.5 months passed the surgery. I passed a clot today with a bit of blood. This is first since surgery.. has this happened to anyone else? I do not feel pain it just looked a bit scary!

Hi @Nim272 - I didn't have anything like that with my first surgery, and too early to say for this one. I'd try to get in touch with your consultant if you can.
Apart from the clot, how are you doing? Fully back to normal life?

@Disneylover1 other than the shock this morning, I am almost 100% ok. BM is still uncomfortable though. I do have coffee and tea everyday though I was advised not to. I started working out 3 weeks ago and the max weight I can now lift is 20kg.

Have you guys returned back to a normal routine? I still feel like I have something stuck up there. It is also scarred and full of skin tags.

Hi @Nim272 Sorry I cant offer any advice as only 1 month and 1 day post op and been bleeding since before with the hemmies and after with the surgery, still bleeding with every BM, and sore on one side when I go for BM. So I guess I’m still healing very slowly it seems.
Try to contact your consultant just to ease your mind.
@Disneylover1 how are you doing today? I’m off to take my Mum to get a bit of food shopping, then got the usual school uniform laundry later 🤦‍♀️. I think I’ve only got two days work again next week 😬

@Dizzyali77 - not so good today 😞 Took my soluble fibre supplement and magnesium last night, and have discovered that they're not a good combination as my BMs have been loose and burny today 😭 I'm going to cut out the magnesium today and just take the soluble fibre supplement and see how that goes tomorrow. So, at the moment I'm feeling sore, swollen and like I'm not fully empty. Once the pain wears off, I'll feel much better I'm sure. I'm still doing my walking and a couple of hours sat at the PC answering emails, but feeling a bit fed up.
Sounds like you've got a busy day today. Did you get the balloon arch done?
@Nim272 - I'm 4 weeks today and definitely not back to normal life yet unfortunately. This is my second operation, and even though the first one was bigger, I've recovered much slower from this one. By 4 weeks last time I felt 100% normal with no pain at all. I'm currently battling trying to get 2-3 BMs to 1 BM. I don't drink tea and coffee and will never lift anything heavy again as I don't want to risk developing more of these buggers! I'm doing a lot of walking though - over 2 miles a day. Try to talk to your consultant for peace of mind.

@Disneylover1 oh no, what a pain. It so hard to know what to eat for the best. I’m feelin swollen and sore today which is why I’m keeping myself busy to try and keep my mind of that and over worrying about the bleeding.
Started using my colitis suppsoetires putting them up with some k y jelly and internally it feels swollen and smaller if that makes sense. I was kinda hoping that the suppsoeties were going to aid in more healing but as I’m not a contortionist I can’t see up me own butt hole 😂 and I’ve not got a small periscope to look inside either 😂 . So I’m just kinda gritting my teeth trying to not over worry and get on with it until I see my consultant.
But it certainly feel like Edward Scissorhands has been up there overnight again 🤦‍♀️

@Dizzyali77 - oh dear, sound like we're both having a bad day. I honestly can't imagine trying to push anything in right now. It's bad enough getting stuff out! I honestly believe that if we could get BMs sorted, we'd feel so much better.

I'm also interested to find out if my surgeon did anything internally that I wasn't aware of, as it can still be very sensitive from my coccyx down. I wasn't expecting anything internally, but maybe he came across something that needed sorting out?

Hoping the pain subsides soon so I can get on with the day as it's even painful to walk at the moment 😞

Morning all! Hope everyone is having a good day so far. My BMs haven't burnt today after I cut out the magnesium, so I'm pleased about that. They're soft, free flowing and quite fast though which seems to send my muscles in to spasm, so afterwards I have this awful ache/spasm/pain from my coccyx down. Told my kids and they've called it butt cramp 😂
Anyone else get anything like that? I'm going to try a different soluble fibre supplement today to see what effect that has tomorrow. Experimenting until I get the balance right.
However, it's 11am, and after paracetamol, ibuprofen and a warm bath, I feel better than I have by this time for a long time. Normally it's around 2pm when the pain wears off.
I've been using Dr Google and started to worry that the surgery has given me Proctalgia fugax or Pudendal neuralgia, but as it only happens after fast BMs, I'm hoping not🙏
Looking forward to seeing my consultant on Friday to see what he says.

Looks like it's just me left now. Hope that's a good sign that everyone else is recovering well and getting on with normal life 😊
The different supplement I used yesterday has slowed things down, so no butt cramp today - yay! Just a bit sore and spiky, bit that's much better than butt cramp.
I managed to get out to walk the dog yesterday and also caught up on all of my work, so feel really pleased about that. Yesterday afternoon and evening I felt great - perfectly normal. So, once morning BMs are sorted properly (still having 2-3), then I'll be really happy.

Evening everyone

I love reading everyone's posts and hearing how you're getting on

Regarding laxatives-fibre my consultant prescribed laculose. I'm just taking it once a day now in the evening and I'm down to two BMs s day, In the morning. So that seems to work well for me except it makes you fart something shocking!!! I've googled it and apparently it is a common side effect

Duzzyali I have no idea how you could out something up there....dies it not hurt horrendously!!?

Disneylover1 glad to hear you're feeling much better and even managed walk

Night x

Hello all,

I'm on day 5 post op and things have been crazy. I'll give you guys a bit of background, my hemorrhoids never really hurt or itch but they did bleed alot to the point where I have become anemic. It's been going on for years and I decided to get them banded (the doctors told me it was the way to go) so I did just that on Feb 4th. After the procedure (which apparently only took around 4 minutes) I got to go home the same day with nothing but the annoying feeling of having to take a poo (the doctors said that its because of the pressure of the banding, I dont really need to poo). A simple sitz baths cured that and I was able to be myself after a day or 2. No pain or anything. After a couple of weeks, everything was going well and we even have a vacation coming up. I started eating healthy, made sure I was never constipated, and just trying to make a lifestyle change. Out of the blue, 1 week before our vacation, I bled so much more than I ever had. It was to the point I was losing conciousness so I quickly dialled my partner and she rushed me to the emergency and I could barely even hold my head up. I lost alot of blood and I had to stay in the hospital for a few days. It was very frustrating since the doctors didn't really tell me what was going on, they gave out as little information as possible and I was asking questions like crazy. One surgeon did tell me that maybe the bleeding was cause by one of the big hemorroids. The band wasn't enough so in order to get rid of the bleeding I had to go through a hemorrhoidectomy. The only thing they said was that it is painful and I sort of brushed it off because they said the same thing with the banding. It was only my missus (she's a nurse and works in the same hospital) that tried to tell me that it is REALLY painful. Again, I kind of brushed it off because I'm really not one to shy away from pain. After agreeing that I will go ahead with the operation, we had to cancel our vacation and everything is just downhill from there on out.
Day 1 I had to stay in the hospital for 1 more night. I didn't really feel pain but I was very sore and can barely walk and pee. I thought to myself that if this is what they were talking about, I'll recover in no time. And oh boy was I wrong.
Day 2 was still fine-ish and I got discharged from the hospital. The doctors gave me antibiotic, painkillers and laxatives and one even said "Diarrhea is better than constipation" as she told me to take both laxatives twice daily 😡. Thinking about it kinda ticks me off. As I got home I took my meds, then the laxatives as per the doctors orders then rested. That afternoon, I realized the only reason I was fine is because whatever they gave me for the pain was working, and it wore off. I had my first bm and good lord it was just an explosion of air and tiny bits off poo and it hurt so much! It felt like it was burning and getting stabbed by tiny knives!! It was so awful!
Day 3 I could barely get any sleep or rest because whatever the hospital gave me has already worn off and even the painkillers were barely doing anything. I was scared to go to the toilet but I still kept on going because of the explosive farts/poo due to the laxatives. The pain was so much that I was trembling and sweating and can barely move. I seriously thought to myself this cannot be normal. How do they expect us to be ok after a week or 2?
Day 4 got a bit of rest because I was so exhausted with everything. The pain is still there, and I can barely eat anything to keep my energy up. My missus (God blesd her) keeps reassuring me this is normal for this operation. She keeps pushing me to eat and walk but I gotta be honest, I can barely eat because of the pain and the fear of going to the toilet. But I have to soldier on.
Day 5 I really thought after everything the past couple of days, I would see even just a tiny bit of light at the end of the tunnel. But the pain just blocks that right out. I really do hope I see or feel even just a tiny bit of progress.
I'm not going to lie but I have a decent pain threshold but this is something else. I read all the posts on here and it gave me a bit of comfort. I am impressed with each and every one of you. You guys find the time to do other things, while I can barely get out of bed. I really hope we all can recover soon and be rid of this nightmare.

Hi @LooneyTuney1 - welcome to our little group, although it's not a group that anyone really wants to be a part of as it means we've all been through this awful experience.

First off, please don't feel bad that you're not doing anything other than laying in bed at the moment. You're only 5 days post op and all most of us could do then was lay in bed praying for the pain to subside. It's not a quick or easy recovery unfortunately 😞 At 5 days post op I was either in bed or in the bath, but definitely in pain and wishing I hadn't done it. I'm now 31 days post op and starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I had a number of set backs in my recovery so have basically written off the first 14-18 days of my recovery.

What laxatives have you been given? One thing I learnt early on is that if you're taking laxatives, then it's essential to eat. If you don't, then you basically produce fire water that burns as it comes out and for hours afterwards as it's coated your insides too. Food actually helps to avoid this burn.

What are you eating? I know it's scary to eat, but it is needed.

Are you taking baths at all? I spent hours soaking in the bath during the first few weeks as it gave some pain relief. I was having up to 6 a day!

I only started walking at 18 days, and gradually started working again last week, just a couple of hours a day. I'm self employed and work from home, so that makes it a bit easier. Today is my first customer meeting this afternoon and I'm nervous about it, but know that I normally feel better in the afternoon once my morning BMs are out of the way and the post BM pain has subsided.

It is hard, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Getting your food/laxative balance right will really help you though.

Hi @CareBear50 - good to hear from you. Did you talk to your manager about working from home? How are you feeling now?
I've got customer meetings this week which I'm nervous about but determine to try. Then I'm back to my consultant on Friday.

@Disneylover1 I was given movicol and lactulose. I actually stopped taking them both and stuck with movicol for now. I mean there's really no point in taking both since I'm eating mostly fruits high in fiber plus metamucil. I had my first protein today (which is egg). And yes I'm taking baths multiple times a day. After a bm it sort of calms the pain a tiny bit but I still find myself kind of rolling in the tub just because it still hurts. I'm actually writing this while I'm in the bathtub. It's very uplifting seeing everyone so supportive with each other! Tbh I have been feeling really down because I couldn't really do much. I mean I really miss the simple things like just being able to sit down or walk outside! Still seeing everyone here be as supportive with one another really gives me comfort😊

@LooneyTuney1 - I was given movicol and fybogel too, but had to stop them as they were causing more problems than they were solving. I was having a lot of BMs each day (over 20 small ones one day😱) and they were loose and very firey! I know that the doctors said diarrhea is better than constipation, but diarrhea burns! I was eating healthily, so decided to cut both out and that really helped. My diet consisted of:
Breakfast: porridge
Lunch: vegetable soup (not tomato based as tomatoes burn!), followed by an apple. Pears are good too. Once my appetite increased I also added pepper and cucumber strips with hummus.
Dinner: vegetable stir fry with brown rice. I didn't use any stir fry sauces as didn't want to irritate with spices etc, so cooked the veges in garlic oil and added salt to flavour. I gradually introduced chicken too.
I also drink 2-3 litres of water a day. Magnesium is good to help keep stools soft, so after dinner I'd take a magnesium supplement - just Wilko's own brand. My thinking was that I was basically just eating fibre, so why did I need to add more fibre supplements and laxatives to that? I went from 6-8+ BMs a day to 2-3, and all in the morning, so once the pain from them wore off, I'd have good afternoons, evenings and nights.
I also wrote many of my posts from the bath. It does feel like groundhog day, especially when you don't see any improvement on a daily basis. It does come though. This is my second op and I was fully recovered by 28 days. My current one had a lot of setbacks to start with, so I'm at 31 days and about 80% recovered. I still have some pain after morning BMs that takes a while to subside, but once it does then I feel normal. I can sit for a few hours once the pain has subsided too, but my surgery site is more external and still healing.

I found this site and the people on it a real help, comfort and support too. Just knowing that others understand what you're going through really helped me not feel so alone.
Keep posting and hopefully you'll start to see improvement soon🤞

@LooneyTuney1 - sorry, I just reread your post and saw that they gave you movicol and lactulose! That's crazy as they both act as osmotic laxatives. I've never heard of that before. No wonder your BMs were so explosive and painful! The metamucil is basically the same as fybogel. Movicol really didn't agree with me, so you may want to try a day without it to see what difference it makes. It's scary, but I've found that it's taken trial and error to find a happy balance that has allowed me to heal.

@Disneylover1 you are very brave person having gone through this twice! I can't imagine going through this again! They gave me those 2 laxatives because of the strong painkiller that they gave me causes constipation. I tried the painkiller twice and to be honest after the first couple of bms that were very soft/liquid-ish and hurt like hell, I can't imagine what it would feel like when I'm constipated! So I stopped taking those painkillers (oxycodone) and just went with panadol.
What time did you take youe laxatives? I'm so exhausted because I haven't had a decent night's rest because of the pain (sometimes with bm).
Any more advice would be greatly appreciated!