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.)

@AusLady - glad I'm not the only one suffering from baboon bum syndrome! The main reason I thought part of it might be a new hemmie is because it goes quite hard and achy after a BM and it can take quite a while for that to ease and soften off again. Do you have anything like that?? It's right next to my external surgery site too, so that also feels hard.

One thing that I've definitely got developing though is a sentinel skin tag from the fissure - right where I had a skin tag removed! Might as well not have bothered, and I bet if I hadn't, I wouldn't have the fissure trouble either! Grrr! Oh well, too late now, so I just hope the fissure continues to heal and this tag doesn't grow too big or cause problems.

That's good that you had no blood today - hopefully that will continue for you🤞With your 4 BMs, do you find they're all full size BMs or do they gradually get smaller? My first one of the day is full, then the second one an hour later is around a third of the size. Then sometimes I'll have a tiny one a bit later - almost like I'd missed a getting a bit out. I find my bum gets more sore and achy with each BM, but I feel okay after the first, so if I could get down to 1, then my day would be so much better. I am getting on with things more now though. No more mornings laying on the sofa waiting for everything to subside - I'm at my desk by 9am, albeit sat on a very comfy latex cushion! It's still not particularly pleasant to sit down in the morning, but not as bad as it has been, so I'm pushing through. I've got alarms set to remind me to get up and active to keep the blood pumping as being sedentary for long periods isn't good either. Oh, the things we do!

We'll, it's nearly 11pm here, so time for bed. Hope you have a good day and I'll catch up with you in the morning 😊

Lol baboon butt! Yep, that's us. But I dont care, no ones removing anything from there again!!! 😜 Yeah I've got a skin tag too. I believe the.surgeon left it there deliberately as too much cutting and removing hemmoes and tags around your anus can make it too narrow. Fork I'd hate to have that happen!! Cause then youd have to stretch it. Gives me cold sweats thinking about it! 😱
My tag does get really sore and hard when I've had BMs. Especially the more I have. Sometimes all my Bms are exactly the same in size and consistency, sometimes the first one is a lot more (which fills me with false hope that it will be the only one for the day) and then the rest get slightly less and less. Sometimes my first 2 are exactly the same and even the firmness, and my second two are more mushy or diarrhea like. I'm all over the place!
And then there's today..... probably the most amount and much softer then previous weeks and then I only had 1 more after that at around 1ish. And it stung more. I can't seem to form a habit.
My dietitian called, she told me to eat a low fibre diet, a bit like the low residue diet I was on before the colonoscopy and surgery. I didn't get any info from my surgeon or hospital after I was discharged so I had to Google the diets to follow after a haemarroidectomy. Ironically they all said fibre, fibre and more fibre! But I just googled a low fibre diet and it said they are recommended after bowel surgery. So I'm going to try the low fibre diet until my BMs are not painful and then start introducing more fibre. I'll basically be eating the same as you @disneylover1 which will slow down my bowels. Hopefully 1 or 2 BMs a day.
I also have a reminder on my watch to get up and walk around every hr if I havent moved. Lol. We are soooooo similar. Do you still soak in the bath or sitz baths after a painful BM? Or just at the end of the day to relax it all?
Oh and I've only had panadol early this morning and none after that, very pleased and am calling that my win for the week. 🤞 I dont need anymore tonight and I sleep the whole night through.

I am so glad you all are discussing the consistency and frequencies! I’ve wanted to ask, but I’ve always had a weird gut so I assumed it was just doing something new lol. I have Lupus so my intestines don’t take the water out like a normal persons would and it has always given me daily diarrhea...hence the hemorrhoids. But nobody told me, until the GI specialist that performed my colonoscopy, that high fiber would slow things down for me. I had struggled for 18 years that I know of, maybe longer. Doctors would just say “hmm” or “try gluten free” or “try lactose free” or “let’s see if it’s your blood pressure medicine” 🙄 I wish someone would’ve told me years ago it was just needing more fiber. That being said, with my gut always being hyperactive, I’m back to eating pretty much what I want as long as I include fiber....and my stool for the first time in forever is soft but formed. I used to would wake up, drink coffee and have a morning cigarette (gross nasty habit, I know) and then go have a BM that was substantial. Might possibly would have a second one, but then I was done for the day. Now, I’ve quit smoking completely since the surgery, I’ve only drank 3 cups of coffee since, and my BMs are not a lot anymore. I’m still going 4 to 6 times a day and they’re small. Formed and soft, but small. I’m glad I don’t have daily diarrhea anymore, but I’m having to learn a whole new schedule now and I hope as the swelling continues to go down that I will be able to go more at one time and not have so many. So for now, I’m just doing the stool softeners twice a day and that helps. Had to quit the Miralax because it would run through me in a couple hours, and I didn’t want to have to deal with diarrhea. Plus, the more I go, the more my entire backside aches.

I also wanted to mention L-Lysine. It’s a supplement that someone told me about years ago to help with cold sores. It’s good for tissue health so I figured if it worked great on oral tissue, anal tissue should be the equivalent. I’ve been taking 1,000 mg three times a day for the last 3 days and I can tell a HUGE difference in my BMs and overall pain. I haven’t said anything, but I felt like I had plateaued over the weekend....maybe even went back a couple days. I was discouraged. So I tried the L-Lysine and am pleased. It could all just be coincidence, but either way, I have felt much better today than I did over the weekend. Also, I’ve been sitting on an ice pack for 15 minutes, 3 times a day (a little trick I learned when I had a fissure once). I’ve also been back to using PrepH, just because it shrinks swollen tissue, and my backside looks like a coral reef lol...all lumpy and gross looking. Maybe it’ll help heal things faster. I really don’t care if it never looks pretty, I can’t see it anyway. I just want to have control of my life back. It’s sad when your life revolves around BM and pain and leakage...and this was all before the surgery.

Sorry to ramble on. Going to try to treat myself to a salon appointment later. I deserve something after going through this torture lol. Maybe my bowels will cooperate.

@AusLady - it's sounds like we're living parallel lives on opposite sides of the world!

9am here and I've had 2 soft, pain free BMs, but I do end up feeling like there's a small thorn where the fissure/tag site is - classic fissure pain. Hopefully that will calm down, as not so long ago it felt like I had a whole thorn bush up there!

This is my second op, and I certainly won't be doing it again. If my first recovery had been like this, then there's no way I'd have had a second, but my first recovery was a walk in the park in comparison. I wasn't even thinking about my bum after 4 weeks - completely pain free and 100% healed. Now I'm 8 weeks on Friday and still not right. It's very depressing and frustrating. It does really help having someone to talk to who's going through the same thing though.

My dietician didn't recommend a completely low residue diet but some low residue with soft soluble fibres to ensure that I don't get constipated. So white bread, rice and pasta rather than brown, but ensuring there's soluble fibre with them. Like you said, it goes totally against the high fibre advice you get from hospital. I really think they should work more closely with dieticians for ops like this to give more targeted advice rather than just fibre, fibre, fibre. As we've discovered, too much fibre isn't necessarily a good thing, especially the scratchy insoluble fibres. Hopefully by seeking advice ourselves it means we're on the path to full recovery now🤞

I don't use my sitz bath or take daily baths any more. I'll have a bath every so often if I just feel I need a bit of extra relaxation, but not for healing. Everything that still needs to heal is internal now, so not sure if they'd help me much.

Right, time to get ready for a customer meeting. Hope you have a good night 😊

@AusLady - quick question, how bad did you find the rectogesic headaches. Think it might be time for me to try it, but I'm nervous. Thought about using it before bed so at least I can just lay in a dark room and hopefully sleep. Did you find it helped?

@BrandiJo - lovely to hear from you again. I can't believe it took you so long to get dietary advice that worked with your lupus. If you'd had it sooner, then maybe you'd never have had the hemmie problem to start with. I do wish we could turn back time sometimes and take the knowledge we have now with us, but unfortunately it's not possible. Have you looked in to soluble and insoluble fibres? Insoluble ones speed up transit through the system, so if you're having a lot of that, it could help explain the number of BMs. Soluble fibre slows down transit time and is also good to prevent diarrhea. I've been learning about both recently and finding that soluble fibre suits me much better at the moment, especially with the fissure. Are your BMs pain free and less urgent than previously? My BMs have been pain free the past couple of days but I'm still getting some pain afterwards, but again, that's mainly from the fissure. The more BMs I have, the more intense the pain gets 😞

I'm going to try the L-Lysine supplement though. We've got some already as my daughter suffers from cold sores, but I'd never really looked in to why or how it works, I'd just read a lot about it helping with cold sores. I'm willing to try anything that might help, and seeing as my main issue is now my fissure, if it helps with tissue strength, then I'm on it!

Hope you managed to get out to the salon x

@AusLady - there's a good low residue list here. The fruit and vegetables in the low residue section will all contain soluble fibre :)
www.mealplansite.com/medical/low-residue-diet.aspx

Hi ladies, sorry for quick response but I had to start work earlier this morning. @disneylover1 - I didn't find the headache to be too bad, but I was expecting it to be worse. I didn't take anything for the headache. @BrandiJo - thanks for the info and I'll definitely look into it as well.

I'll re-read what you both posted tonight when I'm not in as much of a rush. Hope you both have a great evening.

@Disneylover1 I made it to the salon! It’s right up the street from my house, so I got the roots covered today and got a cut, but going back tomorrow to do the highlights. I was scared to sit for that long at one time today, and she was very sweet about breaking it into 2 appointments. I used to be a hairdresser and loved when clients would do that so I could get out of there a little early so I’m sure she was totally fine with it. Also, I have a coworker that started having bad trouble with her hemmies back in December when mine flared to require surgery. She had 1 thrombosed external but also had a fissure. She swore by the rectogesic. She said the headaches weren’t bad, it made her have a flushed feeling for a few seconds, but it was worth that tiny bit to help with the pain of the fissure. She had a totally different plan of care than I did, so we have swapped many stories and trial and errors. I would try the rectogesic, and if you’re like me, have someone with you or someone you can call and say hey I’m fixing to try this, please call and check on me a few times til we see how it’s going to make me feel. I hate trying new meds, especially when I know I’m going to be alone.

I am also going to look into the different fibers. I don’t know what I did differently yesterday, but I have only had 2 BMs today. And the pain has been more of a discomfort than pain so far today. Maybe I accidentally ate the right combination of soluble and insoluble yesterday.

Also, I called the surgeons office today and got them to work me in a couple days from now. I have stitches that just refuse to dissolve. He snipped out a good bit of them the other day, and after a couple days, I could tell a huge difference. I think those last ones are all that’s holding me back as far as outside healing. Where he removed the stitches the other day, that area has quit itching and the swelling is minimal. The other side where the stitches weren’t ready to be removed is still swollen a good bit, but the stitches are just hanging around, possibly keeping it irritated. So I’m ready to have those gone. This has been the longest 3 weeks of my life. And I feel bad for even saying that, considering y’all are further along in the healing process than me. I know I will never take a pain free BM for granted for the rest of my life....if I can ever get to that point. How great is it going to be to just go to the bathroom without mentally preparing for it?!

Hey @BrandiJo - that's great that you got out to the salon, and really kind of them to split your appointment. Hope today goes as well as yesterday.

Yay on the 2 BMs too! You might find it useful to keep a food diary so you can see what effect things have. I keep note of what I eat with times, along with times, size and consistency of my BMs! I just downloaded a note app to my phone (Colornote) so it's quick and easy to do, and I do find it helpful to refer to.

Please don't feel bad for feeling pretty good at 3 weeks. I did after my first op and wish that for everyone. Unfortunately I've got the longer recovery experience this time, but I'm getting there :) Once the thorny fissure pain wears off, I feel great. Until then, it feels like I'm sitting on a thumb tack (or drawing pin as we call them in the UK). It's not too bad, and definitely better than where I was a few weeks ago. I know I'll be healed soon, and I've decided that tonight is the night to give the rectogesic a go 😬 I'm going to take some paracetamol half an hour beforehand, just to be prepared, and then pray I don't get a bad headache. My husband is here to support me (don't know how I'd have got through the past 8 weeks without him!), and at least I can lay down and hopefully sleep while it works its magic. I'm just using a bit of anusol at the moment to try and soothe things. I started taking the L-lysine yesterday too.

I agree with you about your stitches, so I'm pleased you've got an appointment to have them removed. They don't tend to stitch in the UK, so I haven't had that to worry about, just the internal stitching from my mucopexy, which I can't feel. I do remember having episiotomy stiches after giving birth though, and they just weren't dissolving - not matter how often I lay in the bath! So, I got my midwife to remove them and the relief was instant. Hopefully it will really help you to get to that final recovery milestone🤞

I’m anxious to know how the rectogesic experience was for you @Disneylover1

@BrandiJo - not tried it yet. It's only 6.45pm here and I plan to try it tonight before I go to bed. I'm quite nervous about it and hope that I don't suffer too badly. How long did you find it took to work for you?

@Disneylover1 I never was prescribed the rectogesic, only my friend was. She offered to bring me some to try when my fissure was flaring back in December, but I declined. The ice packs were helping, along with the L-lysine, so I just toughed it out. I’m already on blood pressure meds due to having Lupus and it effecting my kidneys, so my BP runs pretty low anyway. I was just scared that anything like that would bottom me out. My friend is a nurse also and said it wouldn’t effect me like that, but I just opted not to just because nobody in my family was going to be here with me when I tried it. I was desperate though and if I could’ve tried it, I would have.

@BrandiJo - ah, I misread your first post about it. I'm really hoping it helps and I don't suffer from the side effects too badly. To be honest, I don't think I was in the right place to use it when it was prescribed 2.5 weeks ago. I was feeling very emotional and low, so not really strong enough mentally to cope with more potential pain. Plus, I'd list so much weight that I couldn't even stand up without getting dizzy, so was worried about that side of things too. I've out some weight back on over the past couple of weeks, plus feel stronger mentally. Plus, I'm at that stage when I'm ready to give something new school if it might help. I just want the tissue gone as then I'll pretty much be sorted and that's a tempting prospect now. I'll report back in the morning. Pray for me! 🙏🤞🙏🤞🙏

Whoops, should have read that before posting. Hopefully you can figure out what the typos should have said!

@Disneylover1 I just realized that didn’t answer your question though. She said as far as pain relief, it was within seconds of applying. It took 2 days for her to not feel the burning anymore, just a dull pain or uncomfortable. She continued to use it once daily for a month. She is doing fine now, continuing her fiber, and hasn’t had anymore issues with hemmies or fissures.

Thanks @BrandiJo. Hopefully it will work well for me too. My fissure isn't particularly bad now, but I'm frustrated that it's still there, so time to bring in the big guns!

Hey @Disneylover1, how did you go? I hope all went well? Sorry I didn't respond last night but I had an appointment that went longer then i anticipated. And i didn't have a good day pain wise yesterday so I was exhausted last night. So I still haven't had a chance to read your posts properly. But from what I've read we all seem to be going good, then we have a set back that really knocks us down physically and emotionally. I never thought it would be like this. Hoping today is going to be better.
I haven't been game enough yet to get my hair done lol. Only one BM so far this morning and it was little. Think the new diet has kicked in.

Hey @AusLady - tonight is the night I'm going to try it, so in about 2 hours as it's 8.30pm here. I'll report back how I get on in the morning🤞
Sorry to hear you've had a bad pain day. It's definitely a rollercoaster with ups and downs isn't it?
That's good about the 1 small BM. Was it still soft and easy to pass? My fear about going totally low residue is that BMs will become harder, which isn't what I need with a fissure. However, once the fissure has healed, I think I'll be pain free, and will be able to adjust my diet more. I'm planning to go back to see my dietician once it has to get some guidance about reintroducing food to get back to my normal diet.
Hope you have a better day today 😊

Hi guys I haven’t posted for a while but thought I’d update. So I went for my op on 21st March, I’m now day 6 and I have to say I’m recovering really well. I’m pretty much back to normal, obviously still in some degree of pain especially after BM but for the most part I’m alright. I haven’t needed painkillers during the day and i take them at night as I find I’m most uncomfortable by the end of the day. I’m driving again, and I want to go back to work next week. I am maybe extremely lucky but it’s not as bad as I anticipated. The negative side for me is when the op was being done the surgeon discovered I had a prolapse so that’s gonna have to be operated on and within three months. I really hope the ladies still suffering with their ops feel better soon and I do accept I may just be extremely lucky. Or it may be the calm before the storm. But right now I’m doing ok. Xx

@Mumjo101315 - wow, sounds like you're doing amazingly well! What did you have done? I hope it continues and you're one of the lucky ones 😊

Rectogesic update - so I applied some last night before bed and I was fine. No headache, dizziness, palpitations etc. However, the box said to apply a 2.5cm strip at least 1cm inside the bum, but I'd read on forums to start with a smaller amount and build up in case of headaches. So, I used a pea sized amount and tried to get it in as far as possible, but there's no way anything is getting up my bum by 1cm at the moment! So, not sure if I've used it correctly and that's why I had no side effects 🤔 It says to apply twice a day, 12 hours apart, so I'm going to wait for my morning BMs to be finished with and then apply the next lot and see if anything happens.
Hope everyone else is good 😊

Hey @Disneylover1. Hope the rectogesic worked ok for you? I'm just assuming that its morning there now? 6.30 pm here atm. Time on this app is not Australian time.

So I ended up having 3 BMs today. There was actually no pain but a bit of an ache afterwards for a couple of hours. All the same consistency, not hard. But I had to push a bit more.... didn't like that at all. So I had pumpkin soup for lunch today. See how I go tomorrow. Called my dietitian and she recommended a stool softener called Osmolax. If I'm the same tomorrow I'll buy it but I didn't want to try it today cause of my work tomorrow. And not really any blood on baby wipe. I think it was the nuts (muesli) and all the berries I was eating that made it most unpleasant. Yesterday (Wednesday) was my 8 week mark so I'm hoping everything will just continue getting better and better for us all!!!
I'll also try that L-lysine on the weekend too when I get a chance to buy it.
@Mumjo101315 that is great news for you!!! I remember feeling as though I turned a corner on day 10 too!!
And @disneylover1 have you looked at any yoga stretches for fissures as well? I know you said you do stretches for your pelvic floor which I looked up online and do.some now as well. Lol.

Just read your update @disneylover1. I never put it inside either, just on the outside and thought it would work it's way in?? Lol.
Glad to hear you didn't have any side effects. And I hope it all gets better sooner for you.

@AusLady - yes, it's morning here - 8.20am now. I had the same theory about the rectogesic working it's way in too! I tried to get it 'in' as much as possible, but no way was it going 1cm. Doesn't sound like far, but might as well be a mile!

Have you thought about trying a magnesium supplement to help keep things soft and moving? The magnesium helps draw water in to the stools, and is natural. I'll post details of the one I use, and I just take 1 in an evening if I feel things aren't moving as I'd like. Seems to work for me :) Definitely stay away from the nuts and berries for now though. The highlight of my day food wise is now my 5pm snack of stewed apples (no peel), oat crumble and custard - really enjoying that, and it's helping me put a bit of weight back on too.

Not looked at yoga exercises for fissures, but will now! The pelvic floor ones really helped with the ache, and I'm not really suffering from that too much now, just the fissure spike/thorn.
I'm taking the L-lysine supplement too, but the 1000mg tablets are massive! I have to cut them in to 3 in order to take them without choking! Willing to try anything if it will help though.
I must admit that I tend to use Amazon a lot to buy from as I have same day or next day delivery for pretty much everything, so it makes life a lot easier. Is that an option for you?