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.)

@lollydarling thanks... Hope you recover soon... What's your current status? @AniseedBall @Vikki6 hi peeps... I am new to group guys hope you do well!

@IAMC1997 sorry you find yourself here. I haven't heard of laser treatment either unfortunately. Other options my Consultant mentioned were the stapled haemorrhoidectomy and the Halo procedure. You'll find the details of you google them both. Neither were an option for me so I can't remember the details of who they are suitable for.

Stage 3 haemorrhoids are ones that prolapse but also go back up and stage 4 are prolapsed all the time if I remember correctly.

I had two internal ones removed almost two weeks ago. I previously tried two sets of injections and two sets of banding, none of which worked for long. I can say at no stage in this recovery have I had the pain I had at the first round of banding. I've honestly never known anything like it even so I was so fed up of living with haemorrhoids I was prepared to try it a second time.

@Vikki6 great to hear you are doing well and glad you had the operation already. I'm making slow improvement but there seems to be a different problem each day so not sure I can say that quite yet! Have you lumps gone down now? Mine hasn't really and is giving me pain as the day goes on 😭 I think it's that at least!!

@lollydarling glad you are doing ok. Day 12 here, I'm not as bad as I was in the early days but still praying for a big turning point. Pain had eased off with BM over a couple of days until this morning when it was really bad again and lasted hours. Once that eased off I went on to soreness, I think from the lump!! Then the other evening I started bleeding again - I hadn't even had a BM. There's always something different hurting / causing discomfort 😬 Hoping for a good day 13!!

@AniseedBall you still have your lump?

Also, does anyone here know whether smoking can be a reason for haemorrhoids?

@John95 and @Vixster11 I guess you've been well since the operation now? I'm totally new to this place... Can you share your experiences after an year of operation?

@IAMC1997 it's an area of swelling which is apparently normal after the operation and should go down in time.

@AniseedBall okay... Hope you're doing well

@IAMC1997
Good Morning and sorry to hear of your pain.
I am now exactly 13 months post op.
Unfortunately, I never did heal completely.
I still take lactulose daily and cannot sit on the loo seat for a BM.....too painful .Without lactulose....BM WOULD be such as to cause DAILY tearing and then bleeding ...leading to a vicious circle of more pain.
I am awaiting further examination under G.A AND BOTOX INJECTIONS into surgical site.
I have no optimism at all that this will solve my problem but have no option but to proceed .....hope springs eternal.
I expect to be on Lactulose for the rest of my life daily.

However..all that being said.....I seem to be the exception to the rule and most people go on to make a full recovery in time.
With hindsight ...my eventful attendance at A&E with exhaustion and disorientation from pain, 8 weeks post op, was an indication that things were very wrong .Most people will recover well..I was just not one of them.
In hindsight I knew things were very amiss but tried to be stoical and not alarm my family.Attendance at G.P WAS PRETTY USELESS. during the initial 4 month post op period..he meant well but made the mistake of thinking that it was just another patient complaining of post op haemorrhoidectomy pain......which the medical profession expect to be bad anyways.
I attended same G.P last week..13 months post op,. still complaining of pain and bleeding after B.M.
There is nothing they can do except wait for further treatment under G.A as mentioned above.
Hope this helps.......remember ..most people have an initially very painful post op period of c.2 months.
I concentrate on the fact that I am far better off than many people of my vintage and stay positive.
I wish you a full recovery.
John

@John95 I am sorry of your condition... Apart from problems while having a BM, are you able to lead a normal lifestyle? I almost read every post under this thread... And I'm in a string dilemma and reconsideration of undergoing this... The big thing in my mind is my age... I'm just 22... I'm looking for all other options....

And I will pray for your well being and hope you recover completely... Keep us posted... Have a good day...

@IAMC1997
My advice is simple.
only have this surgery when all other options have been explored.
This is invasive surgery.....a haemorrhoidectomy procedure involves surgically removing a chunk of tissue from your bottom.. which is a very sensitive area.Hence the severe pain post op.
On the positive side....you are 22....so should heal quickly and most people go on to a full recovery within 2 months ,happy that they had the procedure done.
I wish you the best of luck but there are no guarantees in life.....ce'st la vie!

@John95 thanks a ton... And yeah life's uncertain! Cannot explain how I felt when I first saw bleeding and the next 3 months till now has been traumatic stress!

I’ve had a shit day today! Pain, about 3 BM, I feel like crying!! 4 weeks tomorrow and although it subsides a lot quicker after BM it’s still painful. Going to see my Surgeon on 31st so I’ll get more info then. I’m so glad we’re all going through this. It does make me feel a lot better knowing youse are going through the same pain (as horrible as it is) and I wouldn’t wish pain on you all but I’m glad in a way (sorry lol)

Hi guys what's your opinion about donut cushion? Is it good in avoiding pressure which might be a conservative means ?

@Vikki6 what a nightmare! 4 weeks on you must be so fed up!! I hope you have a better day today. It'll be interesting to see what they say at your follow up appointment. Mine isn't until the beginning of November. He did say when they go back for that appointment most people are 90% recovered and glad they had the surgery.

I see a Women's Physio for another issue and she said there are two stages of tissue healing at 6 and 12 weeks. I've had that in the back of my mind but was hoping it'd be the two weeks the surgeons all tell us. Maybe they mean by two weeks most people can function on a basic level!!

I feel like I'm playing Russian roulette every day with what I eat and I'm not varying things much. Monday BM1 no pain or bleeding, BM2 both. Tuesday BM1 loads of pain but no bleeding, BM2 both 😬 so I decided to cut down the Movicol and fibre just a little bit yesterday as things had been a bit loose, today hard BM with both pain and blood 😬😬😬

How are you getting on @lollydarling?

@IAMC1997 I would imagine a doughnut cushion would put too much pressure on your bottom but I'm no expert so probably worth asking your doctor for advice.

Sure @AniseedBall and yeah @lollydarling what's your update?

And @AniseedBall how many weeks post op??

@IAMC1997 2 weeks today.

Hi all... How ya doing?

It's definitely 2 steps forward one back here. I felt like I'd turned a corner the last couple of days with pain and bleeding but I'm in quite a lot of pain again today (thankfully no bleeding). I ended up with a hardish BM this morning, not sure how as my diet hasn't changed, and the pain isn't subsiding 😬 I'm fed up now!!

@Vikki6 @lollydarling hope you are doing well.

@AniseedBall do you eat watery fruits daily? I suppose they help a lot... I hope you'll be okay...

@IAMC1997 thank you. I think maybe I didn't drink enough yesterday. Hopefully I'll be back on track tomorrow 🤞🏻

Hey @AniseedBall @IAMC1997 @Vikki6 hope you are all doing well! Im 3 weeks post op on Monday and feel like I'm going round in circles a bit, I can be ok one day then in agony the next , it seems to follow a pattern of if I do too much on one day then it sets me back.. it's a pain because I just want to get back to normal now and I'm due back at work on Monday. I don't know how I'll cope because morning BM is still very painful and can be in a fair amount of pain for a good few hours afterward. I'm currently still taking regular painkillers and movicol morning and evening. But yeah, dreading going back tbh I defo don't feel ready..

@AniseedBall how you getting on now my darlin? Did you see an improvement at 2 week mark? Interesting about the tissue healing.. it must be and expectation to function somewhat at 2 weeks because like I say I'm 3 weeks nearly and still suffering a fair amount of pain. It's more of a discomfort now though with periods of sharp/stabbing rather than that constant agonising pain. Still gonna be a challenge sitting at a desk all day though 😭

@AniseedBall sorry I just saw your update from this morning! You poor thing, I empathise with you completely it's soooooooo bloody frustrating isn't it. Did you speak to docs about the anti inflammatory? Maybe for today up my your water intake and lots of broccoli 🥦 god id kill for a greasy pizza I really would 🤣

@lollydarling I'm with you on the pizza. I keep seeing adverts for Dominoes. It's never looked so appealing 😁

Sorry to hear you are still up and down. Going round in circles is a great way to describe it. That's where I'm at! It's so frustrating!! I hadn't thought about pain coming back / being worse when you've been doing more. That would make sense. I was two weeks post op on Thurs, really felt like I'd turned a corner yesterday so did a bit more (still not much) and then had pain for no apparent reason in the evening then the long lasting pain after the BM this morning.

Good luck at work next week. I hope your job allows you to get up for regular breaks. I've not even attempted sitting yet 😬 Would they allow reduced hours for a bit of it's too much?

I had surgery yesterday and the doctor told me there may be some slight pain first time you try to go to the toilet.

Slight pain? I literally just felt like I was dying, I passed out and still haven’t been able to go. He prescribed me codeine but I’ve been reading that this is the worst thing to take as it makes you constipated :( it’s a Sunday so no doctors are open, I just went to the pharmacy and burst into tears in the middle of the shop (embarrassing) and she told me to take lactulose. Please tell me this helps a little bit :(