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.)

Roll on next Thursday when I see my surgeon. Last week I thought I’d really turned a corner as the bleeding had eased and pain was much better but over weekend, really sore when I go and after for few hours and more blood than last week, I’ve a feeling I’ve not healed in one part or it’s a fissure. I’m going stick some anusol around it tonight as I’m so fed up with it all now and just want to be pain free and no more blood when I go free. And I’m six weeks post op on Thursday really thought it would all be healed and forgotten about by now.

@Dizzyali77 - so sorry to hear that, but I completely understand. What's your pain like? Fissure pain is very spiky and thorny. Can feel like pooing glass and the pain is like having a thorn in your bum afterwards.
Hopefully you'll get some answers on Thursday x

@Disneylover1 they said on discharging me it would be a 3 month check up. I can understand why, it being such an awful procedure but now I need answers and to turn that corner.

Hi all
Sorry not been on here, I returned to work last monday and I havent stopped. Today is 4 weeks since my op. and apart from the horrendous time I had when infected I am great, still a bit scratchy but sitting properly, working full hours, cleaning the house, shopping etc etc. I really feel for those of you still suffering, this is just a quick message to send you all love, I am at work at the moment and shouldnt be on here lol. I intend to keep popping on here to see if I can lend any support at any time as I really appreciate the support I was given. Take care xx

@Disneylover1 that’s exactly what the pain is like, bloody awful. I’ve got a new tube of anusol that I had pre op for the hemmies and the leaflet inside says for anal fissures and to use after anal surgery so thought I’d give it a go, just want to heal up and be done with it now.

Grateful for all your support feel very depressed about it all now

@Bradle - 3 months sounds too long to me as there's a lot that can happen - as you know. Is there any way to bring your appointment forward at all. It is really depressing with all the pain and feeling like no progress is being made 😞

@Dizzyali77 - yeah, sounds like you might have joined me in the fissure club 😞 I've been prescribed Rectogesic, but haven't used it yet as I'm scared of the side effects. However, what I have learnt about helping fissures to heal is:
Keep BMs soft, but not too loose as diarrhea can aggravate them.
Hot sitz baths help with blood flow to the area.
Hot water bottles help with blood flow to the area.
Exercise/brisk walking help with blood flow to the area.
Blood flow seems to be a key thing. Rectogesic works by increasing blood flow to aid healing (hence the headaches, dizziness etc), and it also relaxes the sphincter. I'm trying to heal naturally first, and if it doesn't work, I'll try the cream. I've had the odd fissure in the past, and had one with my first surgery, and have healed naturally from them, so hopefully I'll do the same. Do let me know if the anusol helps though.

@OMGimscared - lovely to hear from you and so pleased that you've come out of the other side and are back to work and normal life. When you say you're still a bit scratchy, is that just with BMs or a bit scratchy in general. After BMs are you completely pain free?

@CareBear50 - how was your first day back at work? Hope it went well for you x

New here but I am 6 days post op and am having BM every 3 hrs or so, and with the BM comes the horrible pain. Hot baths help, heating pads help, but nothing really makes it go away....except for the pain pills I was prescribed. I ran out this morning and surgeon will not call in anything else. He said “pain is part of it. It’ll get better” and that was it. I can’t take ibuprofen because I’m on an aspirin regimen, so Tylenol is it as far as OTC. Any ideas to help manage this pain would be so greatly appreciated 😊

Hi @BrandiJo. Welcome to our group and sorry that you're going through this. From what youve said it sounds like you were given some powerful pain killers, and they can cause constipation. BMs every 3 hours can be a sign of that. I've only used paracetamol (acetaminophen), and used ibuprofen a bit, until I discovered that could also cause constipation. So for me it's been paracetamol, hot baths and heat pads. Unfortunately pain is part of this, and you're only at 6 days, so you've still got a while to go I'm afraid. Keeping your BMs soft as important, but not too loose as diarrhea can burn and that's a horrible sensation, as some of us have discovered. Were you given any stool softeners/laxatives and what are you eating? Are you drinking plenty of water too?
We all understand what you're going through, and you're not alone.

Hi Disneylover1 and thanks so much for helping me feel I’m not alone. Only people that have experienced this can truly know how bad it can be. I was given Colace twice a day and Miralax once a day originally. The doctor has swapped me to continuing the Miralax but doing fiber supplements instead of the Colace. I know I’m not drinking enough water. He also sent me home on antibiotics three times a day that has my taste off and nauseous constantly. Not even water tastes as it should. I was trying to do a light diet at first but then figured if I’d actually eat something with some substance to it, it might bulk it up some and help, and it did. And the “going” isn’t even bad! I’ve had those hemorrhoids for 22 years and had just gotten used to the way bm’s felt. It’s nice to just relax and let it go. But once it goes and nature takes over and that sphincter muscle starts to close, that’s when the pain starts. And it’s so bad I shake all over and try to do my breathing exercises but I sound like I’m in labor for about 5 minutes. I go straight from toilet to tub until it eases. I haven’t had any strong pain killers in the last 24 hours, only taken acetaminophen. And I do make sure whatever I eat has fiber in it. So maybe I’ll have fewer bm’s today? Hopefully. Also, as bad as it hurts at times, I’m still glad I finally did something about it. And it looks normal again. (I had 2 large internal cut out and sutured closed, 3 internal sutured off, and 6 external removed. I was in a mess back there for far too long). Thanks for giving me hope for the day. I’ll update tonight.

@BrandiJo - wow, you had a lot done! I've had 2 separate ops as my surgeon said it wasn't safe to remove so many in one go due to the risk of stenosis. I had 3 big external ones removed the first time and 2 this time - 6 years apart. Mine were the result of childbirth 17 years ago. I'm just praying that this operation means the end of it🙏

My antibiotics made me nauseous too, and I was sick on them, so the Dr prescribed me some anti sickness tablets so that I could eat and keep food down. That might be worth asking about. I've still lost over a stone on weight though, and I wasn't big to start with! It took me ages to find the balance of food and fibre supplements/laxatives, but what actually worked for me in the end was just eating plenty of fibre (good balance of soluble and insoluble) and cutting out the fibre supplements and laxatives completely. All the fibre supplements were doing was creating even more waste, so I was having even more BMs. Water is essential, so I make sure I drink 2-3 litres a day, and I take a magnesium supplement at night as that helps draw water in to the stool to keep them soft. I'm now down to 1-2 per day in the morning.

The aftershock of BMs is awful in the early days. I've had terrible muscle spasms where it felt like every muscle in my bum had gone in to shock. My kids called it butt cramp 😂 Funny now, but not when suffering from it. There's really not much that helps except hot baths and time. Time is key to recovering from this ordeal. I'm 5.5 weeks post op, but had so many set backs and complications during the first 18 days, that I did very little healing, so have written them off completely. So, from a healing perspective, I'm 3 weeks and feeling better every day. I recovered from the first op, so know that it does get better, and I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel this time. Each day I can do a bit more and have less pain and discomfort. I'm still super careful about what I eat though and won't start eating as I did pre-op, until I feel 100% as I don't want to set myself back at all.
Recovery can be a roller coaster, but we're here for you to help get you through this x

Hey all! Very quiet on here at the moment which I'm hoping is a good sign. Would be lovely to hear updates of how people are doing.
I'm day 41 post op and feeling better and better each day. I can tell I'm getting back to normal as I can sleep later in the morning, whereas my bum had been waking me around 6am ready to go! This morning I didn't wake until 8.15am, and now go without that urgency I had before. Working, walking and doing everyday things much more easily. Still a bit swollen, but it can take months for that to subside fully, but other than that I'm doing well 😊

Hi everyone. What a sorry state we are all in. I Feel as bruised and battered at 9 weeks as I did at 4! Somehow Took a definite backwards step.

Hello everyone! I can tell an improvement in the last couple days...a very slight improvement but slight is better than none. I’ve started swapping between ice packs and heating pad, just depending on what feels best at the moment. I’m not shaking with BMs anymore, which is huge. They still burn like hell but I’ve had 3 BMs today without needing someone to help me from toilet to tub. So that’s progress. I’ve learned if I rinse my bottom with luke warm water from a squirt bottle before I go into the warm tub, it makes the burning time less. My appetite is improving. My energy is improving. My only complaint today is I am crying at everything. I don’t know if it’s the anesthesia effects on my hormones, the fact that I will start my cycle sometime in the next 24 hrs and it’s those hormones, that I’m getting depressed because I’m so limited on what I can do, or all of the above. But I’ve never been a cryer. I’ve always been the tough chick, but the last few days, I have been the girl that cries at least once a day 🙄.

Also I just want to say a huge thank you to @Disneylover1. Even though there seems to be oceans between us, you have made me feel like I’m not alone and have given me so much hope with your encouragement. Thank you for your advice and feel free to give us any more insight as it comes to you 😊

Hi everyone

I'm now almost five weeks post op

I started back at work on Monday this week, and they've very kindly said I can do reduced hours for two weeks, to hopefully avoid rush hour and the possibility of needing loo en route.

It has actually been great to be back in land of living again and being back to work almost like normal!

I've been v tired though and having been taking things very easy this week.

BMs at work are manageable. I take baby wipes and dampened cotton wool disks in a little ziplock bag, which I can take to loo. This works well.

Bum is feeling much better. Sometimes I even can't feel my butt!!! Down to two BMs per day which are generally before work but not always

Bum is still s bit achey but boot really sore. Still trying to have a bath most nights in Himalayan bath salts. Still experiencing a yellowish discharge which I understand is v normal. Will be v glad when that disappears

Thoughts too all of you wherever you are on your journey. Xxxx

@Bradle - so sorry to hear that you've gone backwards in your recovery. Have you changed anything recently that might account for it?

@BrandiJo - so pleased to hear that you're starting to see slight improvements. Getting down to 3 BMs and not having the shaking is a great step forward. The fewer BMs you have, the more healing time your body has, so that's great.
As for being emotional, I've had full on breakdowns during my recovery process. I do think it's normal, and it's good to cry sometimes. Hormones could well be part of it too, but it's also very depressing being in pain and not being able to live life like you normally do. You're still early days, but if you're feeling a bit of progress every day, then it's a step in the right direction. My first op was fully healed by 4 weeks, and I flew to Orlando for a 2 week holiday at 5 weeks, so it is possible to be fully recovered in 3-4 weeks. This time has been a different story unfortunately, but I'm definitely doing sooooo much better now. I'm 6 weeks post op, but 3.5 weeks from when I started healing as I've written off the first 18 days. This past week has been the best to date. 2 morning BMs which are soft and easy. I've still got an ache afterwards, but I believe that's down to the mucopexy procedure that my surgeon also did (only found out about that a week ago).Still, there's no blood, no pain when going, I'm much more active and walking a couple of miles every day, working in the afternoon and did a 4 hour wedding set-up yesterday. Sometimes I don't even feel or think about my bum, and others it's still a bit tender, but it's all steps in the right direction 😊
One thing that I have done though is not varied my food intake much. Once I found food that produced soft BMs that are easy to pass, I've stuck to that regime as I don't want to do anything yet that might firm things up, or make things too loose and set me back. It might sound incredibly boring, and I am craving things, especially sweet things, but I'm being strict with myself. My current diet consists of:
Breakfast: porridge
Lunch: vegetable soup (not tomato based as that can produce acidic BMs,), bell pepper sticks, cucumber sticks, hummus and a peeled pear (for the soluble fibre)
Dinner: small chicken breast, cauliflower cheese, broccoli, cabbage, green beans and gravy (English brown gravy, not American breakfast gravy - they're very different 😂).
Treat: a single square of chocolate after dinner, and a hot chocolate drink (made with water, not milk) in the evening.
I'm also drinking 2-3 litres of water a day and taking my magnesium supplement at around 9pm.
I'm seeing a dietician on Tuesday to talk more about diet, different types of fibre etc. I'm dying to get back to my normal diet, which was always very healthy as I try to eat clean as much as possible, but want to wait until I'm 100% healed first, especially as my normal diet features lots of tomato based foods. I'll share any nuggets of wisdom my dietician gives me.
I've been more than happy to help people as I found talking to others who really understand the pain and trauma so helpful to me. As wonderful as my family have been, they don't really understand what I've been going through. This little support group has been a real lifeline for me.

@CareBear50 - so lovely to hear from you as I've been thinking about you the past week. Glad to hear your week at work has gone well and you're still improving. Being back in the land of the living really is lovely and takes your mind and focus away from your bum. Feeling normal again is so good for mental health and recovery.
I'm still a bit achy too, but the intensity of the ache is less, and also have a small bit of discharge now. Definitely on the road to recovery though - finally! I even did a 4 hour wedding set up yesterday which was hard, physical work. Add in travelling time, takes it to 6 hours, and we even had dinner out on the way home. Just a Toby Carvery so I could stick to my chicken and veggies dinner, but still so nice to be out and about and not scared of leaving the sanctuary of my own home and toilet!

I hope @omgimscared and @dizzyali are doing okay too 😊

@Disneylover1 Thank you, can’t say anything has changed, my diet seems fine. I’m putting it down to where they’ve cut me. A friend tells me it took her 6 months to not feel anything. At this moment I can believe it. Compared to that awful first 2 weeks im doing marvellous just that achy drag that never stops. @CareBear50 @BrandiJo you will get there it just takes a while. So good to have this thread as our Drs and nurses know very little about this procedure.

@Bradle - yes, I know what you mean about the achy drag. I have that feeling for a few hours following BMs, but it then subsides and I feel great. Does it subside for you at all? I put it down to the internal stitching I had (mucopexy). My surgeon said those particular stiches can take 3 months to dissolve, so I'm half way there. I do find it worse if my BMs are too loose or fast flowing. Had that this morning (possibly due to my meal out last night), so having a dead sea salt bath to try to relax and ease it. Feels like mild butt cramp 😂

Sorry @LooneyTuney1 - didn't mean to forget you. How are you doing now? Well on the road to recovery I hope🤞

@Disneylover1 It doesn’t subside, not keeping me awake though which is a good thing.

@Bradle - oh, that must be miserable :( Can you talk to your consultant about it?

I will be seeing them soon. 😢

@Bradle - 🤞they will be able to give you some answers and advice. I do get annoyed when people are fobbed off with the 'the pain will die down eventually' line.