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 that's just awful, I'm so sorry to hear about today. So depressing when you think you are over the worst. I hope the new painkillers have helped and you are feeling better this evening. Did your GP have any idea what might have caused it to happen?

Hello @Dogwalker1 I had the issue you described re being able to wee after I had banding. The swelling or something shocked my bladder and for a few days I struggled to wee and felt like I needed to go all the time. I also got it when my haemorrhoids were bad so I think again caused by swelling. I hope this settles down for you soon.

I can't take ibuprofen on an empty stomach and for the first week or so needed a BM as soon as I opened my eyes so I'd be stuffing down an oatcake or digestive, necking the ibuprofen, dashing to the toilet and shouting for my husband to start a bath if he was around. In the early days the pain was hideous painkillers or not though. The only relief is the bath until the pain subsides a bit. One day I sat in an inch of bath water waiting for the relief as it filled up! This does improve and now I have time to take the tablets and run a bath in advance.

Regarding the Movicol I think you can decide / work out what you need to take depending on how your BMs normally are and your diet rather than just take what they say. I was told to take two sachets a day but no one asked what my BMs were like or anything about my diet. Like you it was pregnancy / childbirth that caused my problems. It really should be tailored.

@Misssmith82 good luck back at work.

I hope all those without one manage to get a follow up appointment. It sounds like I'm lucky to have one booked for 6 weeks post op.

I hope everyone has a good BM day tomorrow and things get back on track for you @lollydarling 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

Sorry about all the bold, I don't know why that happens 😬😬😬

@AniseedBall I can relate to that early morning scene!

I wanted to share an alternative method post BM which I’ve just tried this evening. Mornings are worse so watch this space to see if it works in the morning too! I had already dragged a small beanbag into the bathroom from my daughter’s room to use as a step when going to the loo as it’s definitely makes things easier to go with your feet slightly raised. After I’d been the pain was pretty bad as but instead of running a bath and sitting in it I cleaned myself gently with wet toilet tissues then ran a basin of really warm water. I then soaked a facecloth, wrung it out and positioned it between my buttocks as I lay head down, my chest supported by the bean bag with my bum in the air. It was so much better than sitting and the pain didn’t escalate into that really uncomfortable throbbing ache type of pain. I got up a couple of times to resoak and rewarm the cloth but it stayed warm for longer than I thought it would. I kept it in position by pulling up my knickers! Not elegant but I spent a lot less time recovering from a BM than I normally do.
Luckily I have a ridiculous number of facecloths as I bought a job lot from ikea once before my daughters went off to uni but I suspect it was the immediate positioning of bum in the air that made the difference.

Did anyone here have more than 3BM before op? Like while having haemorrhoids?

@IAMC1997 no - one of two for me.

New day new issues 😭 I think it must be scar tissue but it felt like my skin was tight, struggling to stretch to allow the BM out 😬😬😬 BM was soft so that wasn't the problem. Has anyone else had this? I'm now worried about getting a fissure or something but I guess it's another thing to be expected?? Or maybe just another stage of pain as healing progresses 😫

@IAMC1997 no I used to go once a day

@AniseedBall could it have been an involuntary spasm? Hopefully it’s not a new symptom - there seems to be too many of those on this thread 😕

Tried the my new position today of bum in the air, making sure it was the highest position of my body, straight after a BM. I stayed like that for 15 mins, hot cloth wedged between buttocks and it definitely helped. I still had a warm bath afterwards but I’m in a lot less pain than I was in yesterday. I have just been the once today after halving my Movaril dosage which will have helped too. Yesterday by this time I’d been three times. 😰

@Dogwalker1 it could have been a spasm, I didn't think of that. Will see how it goes tomorrow! I find navigating all the additional symptoms / problems so stressful. I wish they warned you about them in advance. That's why this thread has been so useful, the doctors certainly don't tell you about all these issues!

I'm glad your new position and flannel technique are both helping. It must have been such a relief to have less BMs too! The pain does decrease as time goes on, with the odd blip or three along the way!!

@AniseedBall I would have thought that scar tissue problems wouldn’t have just appeared overnight so hopefully it wasn’t anything new. Since the op I have the sensation of clenching my bottom most of the time. I’m not sure if it is actually clenched or just swollen but it’s definitely not relaxed.
I agree that the whole experience has been made more stressful by all the things the doctors didn’t mention.
I came out of hospital with the following advice on the back of an A4 sheet: You should be well enough to return to work after four days. Perhaps if my job involved personally testing pain relief...
And that I must avoid riding a bike for the first 24 hours! 😬
I so want to rewrite that advice leaflet!

My doc who advised me to take up this op was like... "You just need a day's rest and you can even ride your bike"😐

@IAMC1997
OMG!! Are you sure he was a doctor and not some work experience six former?!

Everyone who dealt with me looked incredibly young but I guess that is a sign of getting old 😐
How are you dealing with being back at work? I’m now day 6 post op and am (touchwood) feeling better than yesterday. That’s the first time I’ve been able to say this so hope I’m not tempting fate here.

I've not yet gone through the op... I came here to ask for Suggestions... And in the process I am giving and taking some moral support...

@Dogwalker1 @IAMC1997 what is wrong with all these doctors? I'm three weeks tomorrow and still can't sit down on my bed long enough to dry my hair without being uncomfortable!! The thought of riding a bike 😱

We should put together the Mumsnet guide to surviving a haemorrhoidectomy!!

Sorry @IAMC1997 we must be scaring you so much!

@lollydarling hello o hope you are doing better today. I was wondering when you said you were bleeding, was that just with a stool? Since yesterday night I’ve been filling the toilet bowl with blood and not even a stool present - not sure that’s normal?

@Kazabevron that doesn't sound normal. I would get it checked out just to be on the safe side.

My Consultant said you should have minimal bleeding and anything more than that should be checked. He said around day 4-5 a very small % of people get a lot of bleeding and need to go back to get it sorted. Early on I had some bleeding without BM but not the amount you are describing. I hope you can get seen today and it's all ok.

@Kazabevron oh no I'm sorry to hear that! I really think you should get that checked out as soon as possible x

Since yesterday all my skin around the wound has turned yellow (mine were external). Does this mean infection or healing? I'm panicking again, especially as I'm back at work. I wish I'd never had this done I really do.

@Misssmith82 mine were internal so I don't know what they've looked like but I'd get it checked out just in case. Did the hospital give you antibiotics to take when you were discharged?

@AniseedBall no, just my codeine haha. The walk in clinic only gave me painkillers too. I'm going to make an appointment with my GP. Honestly, these doctors! We would do a better job!

@Misssmith82 I'm astounded by these doctors. Surely antibiotics would be standard for an open wound, poo combination!! I hope you can get in to see your GP today and it's all ok.

@Dogwalker1 noo not at all! All these posts gave me an insight on how would it be...

A question for anyone who is further along the healing process than I am. I’m a week post op.
When does the swelling start to go down? I haven’t looked yet but I can feel that there is still what feels like a largish pile or two sticking out. This is the painful bit and the bit that’s most worrying me as I mainly had the op to get rid of this. Previous people have referred to it as Baboon’s arse which is a pretty good description. I’m scared that I’ve had this done and it’s not addressed the main issue. Before the op it was hard to clean after a BM and I was getting a little mucus type discharge so I was expecting everything to be ‘neat’ in that area.

@Kazabevron

Echoing other people I would get that checked out. If it is a significant amount I was told to go to to AandE. I hope you get seen soon and get it sorted. Let’s us know x

@Misssmith82
Hopefully it’s just bruising but I’d get it checked out too. Especially if you weren’t given antibiotics. Which seems just crazy 😕

@Dogwalker1 I had / have exactly the same and was so worried it would all be for nothing. I'd say it was getting on for two weeks before it started to go down. Three weeks on it's still there but considerably smaller most of the time.

It can still be painful, mostly towards the end of the day but a trusty bath helps. I am hopeful now that I might have an almost normal bum by the end of this and I certainly wasn't at the start!!