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.)

@LouiseMac123 and @AniseedBall I’m glad your bank balances have benefited from this op. After watching everything decent there is to watch on Netflix I’ve been online shopping so mine is looking a bit worse 😐.

I have been driving and it’s been fine but I do lower myself gently into the seat as at home I sit sideways on everything. There is no way I would want to try a BM anywhere but home. I seem to need a bit of kit - wipes, witch hazel or aloe Vera to clean, numbing cream, bean bag to lie on afterwards, haemorrhoid cream with hydrocortisone and Tena Lady liners which I’m using as they are softer than panty liners.

I’m getting bored too but am going to attempt going to the cinema tomorrow evening.

@LouiseMac123 I’m semi retired but still do some freelance work at home but luckily I’ve not got any work on at the moment.
I do a days work a week at a local charity but I’ve just let them know I’m not recovered yet and won’t be in.

I would find it v difficult getting anywhere for 9.00 as the whole going to and recovering from going to the loo seems to take ages. I’m sorry that you’ve run out of sick leave and have had to go back before you are ready.

I am using always discreet bladder liners at the minute and they are comfy and they have a nice smell to them so I havent been worried about possibly smelling in work etc. I have a toilet routine also, but in the first 2.5weeks it was bath run, wet wipes all set out, cold face cloth to put in forehead and a cold bottle of water... it was just awful, I'm glad I'm past that stage and hope I dont have to go back to that stage !!

@LouiseMac123 sorry you've had to go back to work before you were ready. I'm lucky not to be working at the moment. I was looking for a job when my youngest DC started school but decided to get this fixed first so I wouldn't have to take weeks off early on in a new job and have the pressure of going back.

I'll give the driving a go this weekend I think if you are both able to do short journeys.

Enjoy your cinema trip @Dogwalker1 I love the cinema, I hope yours has the comfortable reclining seats!

My coconut oil has arrived so I've slapped some on this evening. Fingers crossed for a miracle 🤞🏻

I've started carrying wipes when I go out, even though I'm not going far. I'm still not getting much warning and having random BMs throughout the day so don't want to get caught without 😱

I'm using water wipes, preparation H wipes, witch hazel and salt in the bath. I'm not sure I'd recommend any of this given my progress lately. Good job I'm saving money elsewhere with all the things I keep buying for my bum!

@AniseedBall. I’m sure you’ll find driving more comfortable than being a passenger as the steering wheel acts as a brace for any bumps or braking. We have speed bumps everywhere and when my husband drove me back from the hospital I could have cried 😰.

@LouiseMac123 those first awful days 😱😱😱 I remember being drenched in sweat because of the pain after a BM. And OMG trying to get everything in place in those few seconds before needing to go 😰😰😰.

Hi @AniseedBall and @LouiseMac123
All quiet on here for a couple of days - hopefully that means you’ve both had good weekends bottomswise.
I’ve managed to have quite a few days just going the once which I think is helping and the last couple of days it’s not been particularly painful when going. Uncomfortable but not painful. That’s the good bit. The frustrating bit is that I still feel exactly how I did before the op because of a bulging uncomfortable bit that looks and feels like a haemorrhoid. I can feel I’ve still got stitches that haven’t dissolved yet and perhaps that isn’t helping but I thought that the baboon arse bit might have improved by now. I don’t think the swelling has gone down or it might have done but now it’s back up again and today it’s been a bit more uncomfortable than yesterday. I might have overdone it a bit yesterday as I did a lot of walking. It felt fine at the time but it doesn’t now 🙁
Re the whole discharge, leaking thing I think I’m still having a tiny amount of bleeding mixed with a bit of mucus. It’s as much as say the very last day of a period and it’s browny rather than red but I’m pretty sure it’s not poo. Sigh... TMI but that’s the nature of this thread I guess. In my post op leaflet it said you could bleed intermittently for 4 weeks but I’m not sure that’s how I would describe this as it’s a small amount throughout the day. I’m reassured that you guys aren’t clear yet either and were told that it’s normal.
I hope @AniseedBall you managed to drive and it was OK.

Hi. I done more at the weekend than what I have done post OP yet. Although was only at a farm on both occasions for Halloween events. I did need to keep taking seats and was waddling about as though I'd pooed myself lol. Had to come home and jus take it easy. I wnt to toilet 4 times on sat so jus stayed in bed most of the day. I jus seem to get good days and bad as thurs and Friday were good but then bad on sat and sun. I'm goin to aim for a good week of eating as I have been eating a load of rubbish, so will see if that helps things. As I said b4 I got lucky with the bleeding as I hardly bleed at all which I'm so thankful off. I'm still getting mucas throughout the day which isnt as much but still enough that I need to wipe clean every few hours and wear a pad. This will be me in week 5 this week, so I'm jus hoping by end of week I can say I'm better, although it's quite slow. Have sae that you said you are still and have bulging... again I dont have that, can only feel scars and one thicker than the other.. I still havent looked in mirror, will do towards end of week.

Can someone please advise which cream would be best to help heal the scars? I think mine are still quite open and not closed over, I'm scared to put cream on and maybe make it worse? My dr has never prescribed any and anytime you phone I feel like I'm wasting there time. I'm not up with my surgeon again for another 2 weeks. Thanks

Hi @Dogwalker1 and @LouiseMac123 it's good to read your updates. I've had a really up and down few days. I've been doing a bit more and suffering for it. At times I'm wishing I'd never had it done, all the side effects / symptoms I have had are worse than what I was suffering before. I just hope it's worth it in the end.

@Dogwalker1 I'm glad you are making progress with the pain and just having 1 BM. I'm sure that must make a huge difference to healing. Did you change anything to get down to 1? I'm still having 2 or 3 and I'm know it's delaying my progress.

Sorry to hear about your swelling, it's so frustrating. How many weeks are you now? I still have my lump and I'll be 5 by the end of the week. Although it's gone down quite a lot it is just like a haemorrhoid and gets larger if I do too much and is painful towards the end of the day. I am also getting a tiny bit of mucus like I used to as well 😬 I just hope it is swelling and will go down eventually!! I didn't have stitches but maybe once yours have gone the swelling will improve. Do you know when they will dissolve?

I'm still occasionally getting a bit of blood when I wipe so I'm sure what you described normal for this stage. I'm impressed you got a post op advice leaflet!! The wound near my lump also randomly bleeds a tiny bit later in the day too.
I'm still getting the yellow discharge and a bit of leakage. I hope I'm not speaking too soon but I think less than I was which is one positive!

I've haven't tried driving yet, I had a rough weekend and as I didn't need to for anything I didn't want to risk any additional swelling.

@LouiseMac123 I haven't got any external wounds so haven't been putting anything on apart from a bit of coconut oil. I wouldn't worry about contacting your doctor again to ask for advice. Maybe they'll get the message that if we were given information about recovery in advance we wouldn't need to contact them so often afterwards. I hope they can help.

Hi @LouiseMac123 I was given a cream called Diltiazem when I left hospital which I was supposed to use twice a day. It’s classed as a specialist medicine and it’s a muscle relaxant which is meant to aid healing as it encourages blood flow to that area. The leaflet inside said that it was mainly prescribed for anal fissures. I used it religiously for the first three days until I started having BMs but it seemed to make the pain worse (stinging) compared to haemorrhoid cream containing anesthetic. I did try again at the weekend to use it and although it didn’t make the pain worse it still wasn’t soothing so I’ve ditched it again. Perhaps it would be ideal for your open wounds.

It is prescription only. I’m using two types of haemorrhoid cream, one with hydrocortisone and one with local anaesthetic plus I’m still using a tiny bit of the pre tattoo cream before going for a BM. If you aren’t allergic to onions or garlic you could try the pure aloe Vera gel. I use this when wiping.

I must admit I have too many products and I’m desperately trying to work out which one will be the miracle one. Some days I use all of them I’m I’m quite surprised that they have not reacted with each other and caused some kind of chemical reaction! My main concern is the pain from one area of swelling, if it wasn’t swollen I don’t think it would hurt but nothing seems to be making the swelling go down. I do find that the cream acts as a protective barrier and when I haven’t used it I’ve found even the pads to be a bit scratchy.

Hi @AniseedBall it will be three weeks this coming Thursday since my op. I’m also wondering whether it has been worth it as I’m worried that I’m going to be left in no better state. I wasn’t in any pain before the op. For me having the op was for hygiene reasons although very occasionally I would have bleeding and/or pain. My consultant knew this so I’m hoping that eventually the swelling and pain and mucus will go. All I want is for me to be able to go to the loo without pain and to clean up afterwards without using using up half a loo roll and lots of wet wipes. At the moment even loo roll is too scratchy to go anywhere near my bum.

Like you both I overdid it at the weekend but at the time I felt fine (or at least no worse). I must have walked for a least four hours on Saturday with lots of tea breaks but the discomfort I’m in now feels exactly how I used to feel if my haemorrhoids were at their worst. My stitches should have dissolved after 7-10 days but I remember they said that after childbirth and no one seemed surprised or concerned when they took weeks to do so.
Re going just once a day I’m still taking just under a sachet of Movicol (divided in two) everyday. I’m eating just my normal diet - healthier on some days than others. I’ve had days too when I’ve eaten rubbish just because I’ve felt a bit sorry for myself and it doesn’t seem to make any difference. I am drinking much more fluids than usual though. If I was going more than once I’d cut down on the Movicol but I daren’t risk it now even though the urgency I feel before going is not nice.
The post op leaflet also said that ‘you should be well enough to return to work after four days’ so although it’s impressive that I got one I wouldn’t be too impressed!
I’m still trying to work out if I should see the consultant before the six weeks or if it will be a waste of money and I will end up paying to see her again later. If I had been given an nhs appointment I would just wait but as I haven’t been given anything I’m feeling in need of some reassurance.
Thanks both of you for your posts. It is really helpful, x

I’ve just called the NHS hospital where I had the procedure to check on the logistics of them getting my NHS notes over to the surgeon who did my op to her private practice. And they can’t do that 😰😰😰. Also they said that there has been a mistake and that I should have been given a six week follow up appointment 😩😩😩. They now can’t fit me in until middle of December.

So even if I make a private appointment my surgeon won’t have my notes. The hospital have just said that I should see my gp with any concerns. I’m feeling very frustrated as I read my discharge notes really carefully before leaving the hospital and I queried the lack of follow up appointment but was told that I wouldn’t have one.

I’m now going to try and speak to the surgeon’s secretary . Wish me luck!

@Dogwalker1 I've just seen you latest post 😬
What a nightmare!! Especially as you asked about a follow up appointment 😡 Expecting you to wait until December is ridiculous when it's their mistake.

I wonder if you could get copies of the notes for yourself then you could send them on to the Consultant in advance of an appointment? Or if they won't let you have them could your GP request them and send them on? I don't know the rules on access to medical records. I hope the secretary can sort it out or at least advise you on what to do! Good luck!!

Maybe I was better off without a leaflet if it said back to work after 4 days 🙄

I was in pain most days prior to the op with my haemorrhoids prolapsing and did get some mucus too but I didn't have all the other things including difficulty going to the toilet. I just pray this isn't wrecking my pelvic floor repairs because they really haven't felt good the last week or so. I'd have tried to go back this week to get that all checked if it wasn't for half term as the worry is taking it's toll.

Let me know how you get on trying to sort an appointment.

@AniseedBall I agree it’s completely ridiculous. I asked if I could get a copy of my notes and was told no! I really didn’t think that would be the case? My body and all that... Going via the GP is a good idea though. I’ve spoken to the secretary and she seemed to think that getting my notes wouldn’t be a problem but she’s going to speak to the consultant today and get back to me.

I suppose my op wasn’t complicated so surely if the worst came to the worst I could remind her what she did and she could look and also answer all my queries, which hopefully will be fewer than all the ones I want to ask now 😐. I was thinking that the reason they leave it six weeks post op is because they know that there isn’t a chance of letting them anywhere near our bums before then 😰.

@Dogwalker1 I'm surprised they said no the you getting the notes. I would have thought these days patients could have access if requested.

I bet if the Consultant's Secretary requested them they get a copy. You're right though, I'm sure she'd be able to take a look and answer your queries without the notes though. I bet they get people asking for second opinions all the time and as she was the one who did they surgery....

Even at 6 weeks I can't imagine anyone looking inside my bum 😱 I'll have to dose up on painkillers beforehand!!

@AniseedBall it’s a shame you can’t get reassurance this week during half term. It’s hard not to worry but I’m sure there will be no permanent damage and it just that everything has been traumatised and will take a while to settle down. The sensation I had after my heavy lifting experience was exactly like I was having some sort of prolapse yet nothing had moved or been undone re the VR but it really felt like I had damaged it. I Have you tried doing some pelvic floor exercises? I’ve been doing a few to try to alleviate that heavy feeling and get the blood flowing in that area.

I'm hoping it's just the stress of the operation on the muscle strength and swelling making everything feel worse than it is🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

My PF is weak despite years of exercises and the op. The damage done during childbirth means all I can just maintain it at this level now so can imagine it's a bit shot at the moment. I am doing my exercises when I can, when the lump is swollen it's painful so not ideal.

It's a two hour round trip and I don't fancy driving so it would mean taking the kids or finding a babysitter so I'll just wait, it's no long now. I am wondering whether to email my Women's physio but I guess she wouldn't know without seeing me so I'm looking for a cancellation to try and bring that appointment forward.

Hope you hear about your appointment soon!

@Dogwalker1 @LouiseMac123 how are you both getting on? I hope you are doing ok.

@Dogwalker1 did you get an appointment sorted out?

I've been feeling slightly better the last couple of days with pain and down to 2 BMs which is more manageable. I had quite an active day yesterday so more painful this morning but that seems to be the pattern. I've still got my swelling although it is generally smaller but it does increase with activity. I'm just praying I get good news about that next week. I'm also still getting discharge and leakage but again I think that's a bit less than it was.

🤞🏻at some point it all sorts itself out!

@AniseedBall @LouiseMac123 The consultant's secretary didn't get back to me - it's a private clinic in London which has various consultants working there so I guess it's not as simple. I'm going to go back to the hospital in person once I have received my letter giving details of my December appointment and try to change it to an earlier one. I think I will stand more chance of getting one if I am in the right department and pleading my case in person. If this doesn't work i will just have to kick up a bit of a fuss getting my notes either through the consultant or my GP and make a private appointment. It is a bit annoying as I feel I'm spending £250 that I really didn't need to. It's pretty bad too that if this had happened to someone who hadn't realised that they should have had a follow up appointment, they just wouldn't have had a proper check up.
If it wasn't for the painful swelling I would say I'm recovering fairly well. I'm hoping that once the stitches come out the swelling might start to go down.Yesterday I didn't seem to have the discharge but it is hard to tell as Im using so much cream down there. If it wasn't for the cream I would be even more uncomfortable. I'm slightly worried in case the stitches (even though they should dissolve) need to be removed. As in the swelling is stopping them dissolving and coming out by themselves. I've got an an appointment with my GP on the 11th so I will ask then but I can't tell how far up the stitches are or how many, I just know I can feel some.
@AniseedBall when is your appointment with the consultant? Is that the two hour round trip? My daughters are all grown up now, I don't envy you trying to juggle child care around this. I'm glad you've got down to two BMs - here's hoping you'll get down to just the one!
My pelvic floor doesn't feel back to normal - it's a weird sensation rather than pain but I guess the best description I can think of is it feels engorged and heavy.
As I feel so much more comfortable in the evenings I've put it down to activity helping but I guess it's just it's further away from when I went to the loo.

I hope that you both have good days today x

Hi. I get free medical insurance with work so I have been lucky that all mine was private and done in a private hospital etc. That is prob why I got a post OP AP. at 4 weeks then again in another 2 weeks and he said he will prob see me 4 wks after that. I really feel for you that your notes are not available and you are having to chase appointments up. I'm 5wks plus 4days post OP today. I'm not as sore but still not back to normal and forget what normal feels like lol. I still cant walk very far and still feel quite tired and jus want to sit in my pyjamas all day lol not sure if that's my body telling me that or I'm getting lazy or a bit depressed at it all but def think its jus my body telling me to rest.

@LouiseMac123 That's interesting to hear that your consultant wanted to see you at 4, 6 and 10 weeks. @AniseedBall you were private too but your first follow up ap is at 6 weeks? My consultant's secretary left a message to call her today re my notes but it's too late now so will ring her first thing. If I make a second appointment privately it is quite a bit cheaper and I'm now wondering whether I should make one for around 4 weeks and then one at 6 weeks.

@LouiseMac123 I'm sorry that you can't walk very far as there's not a lot you can do other than sit around in your pyjamas if that is the case. To stop you feeling down perhaps invite people round for coffee to cheer you up - it will give you an excuse to get dressed too!

My mornings seem to be completely unproductive as that is when I'm most uncomfortable. Your wounds are exterior and still open aren't they? Have you asked the consultant or GP if it is best to not move around until they heal? Or if there is any cream they can prescribe to help speed up the process?
I've had an ok afternoon and not been in any major discomfort. If I'm distracted I can almost forget the op but as soon as I wipe, clean or apply more cream it still feels swollen and tender. Which makes me anxious! As I was in town today having a haircut I haven't been drinking nearly enough so going to spend the evening trying to make up for that to avoid any problems going to the loo tomorrow!

Hi @Dogwalker1 sorry you are still having trouble sorting an appointment. £250 is a lot to spend if you don't have to! Hopefully the GP will be reassuring about the stitches and swelling when you see them.

I did have my op privately and the first pre op appointment is the 6 week one next week. I don't know if it's 6 weeks because they were internal so will need to use a proctoscope or something to see what's going on  Even though reassurance earlier would have been good I can't imagine either the long drive or the examination before now!!

Heavy and engorged is a great description of how my pelvic floor has been feeling. I couldn't put it in to words but reading your post made sense. I guess it would have that effect but yet again wish someone had warned me in advance.

@LouiseMac123 I know how you feel with the tiredness, I'm still feeling worn out. I have been wondering if I'm getting depressed as I feel like I can't be bothered to do much but I just think the stress and pain have really taken it out of me so I'm trying to do somethings but also resting a lot when I can.

Apart from the lethargy and pain first thing I haven't been too bad today. I went for a short drive and it was ok, not as bad as I thought it might be. The one mistake I made today was eating some slightly overripe pineapple 😬 The bloating since has been awful - never again!!

Hi all, I'm a week out from surgery and glad to find this forum. I think I've read all the way back to the start! I had two external hems removed (I thought one was just a tag and asked him to remove it while I was under... turns out it was more extensive than that and he removed a hem there) and an internal sphincterotomy. I've looked at my wounds and it looks like a war zone. No idea what wound it what. Prior to this I had:
2013: repeated thrombosed external hems excised at the docs
2014: c
2014: HAL RAR and then botox for a fissure caused by the HAL surgery (Two separate procedures)
2015: colonoscopy and sclerotherapy of internal hems
2016/17 continued problems with externals thrombosing.
2018: sigmoidoscopy, banding of internals and removal of tag
2019: colonoscopy, repeated banding of internals and removal of tag
2019: hemorrhoidectomy and sphincterotomy

Here's my diary:

Fri 25/10. Day 1. surgery day. 2 ext hems removed and 1 "mininal" sphincterotomy. Arrived at 1230, waited so long. Enema at 2, surgery finally at 430, discharged 8pm. Hospital like a factory, terrible. 3 hour drive home was super uncomfortable. Had a tramadol and slept.

Sat 26/10. Day 2. Tramadol at midday. Pain only 4/5 except when occasional spasm. 1800hrs pain was worsening, so showered to remove packing and bandages. Nauseated after removal (bandage taped to buttocks and some internal gauze that took effort to remove). Took anti nausea pill. PM took stool softener (movicol and 2 ducolax pills) and bed.

Sun 27/10- day 3. woke up late. Rumbling belly but no BM. No painkillers all day but foolishly stood up all day. Silly me, feeling pretty good, wondering what others had complained about! PM had a salt bath and more softeners (movicol and ducolax).

Mon 28/10- day 4. 8am BM within half hour of waking. Burning pain, mostly at the 6oclock site. Cleaned with wet wipes, then showered, then salt bath. Pain persisted so took tramadol and slept. Worst pain today of all so far. Persistent 4/10 pain, but up to 8/10 during BM. Day spent on couch and bed. Ate oats, one piece of toast. Dreading BM tomorrow.

Tue 29/10- day 5. Took ibuprofen at 7am, hoping it would kick in by the time I needed a BM. Then back to bed for half hour. BM within 30 minutes of waking. Pain 6+/10 again. Quick shower then into salt bath. Pain back down to 3/10 after salt bath. No pain relief needed through day. Lots of lying about reading and tv. Still looks like a massacre. Why the he'll did I even look? Dark blue patch at 6oc. Maybe stitches? Maybe this is the sphincterotomy site?

Wed 30/10. Day 6. Pain overnight and hot sweats. Hoping no infection. Took ibuprofen and paracetamol at 7am, same as yesterday. BM at 8am. Not painful to do, but painful with wiping and stinging afterwards. Salt bath immediately after. Another BM at 930. Another bath. This time I blotted with a warm, wet wash cloth. A bit better, but same stinging pain. Third BM at 1330. Again blotted with warm wet washer and had a salt bath. Spent all day on my feet and paying for it in the evening. Constant stinging, especially at that 6oclock site. 5pm and keen for bed. Made a Dr appt for Monday so I can get another week off work. Wound still looks awful. Maybe even worse than before. Only took movicol this evening as I've only eaten half a dozen rice cakes and some oats with fruit.

Thu 31/10. Day 7. Same drill with the painkillers early, then BM. BM still super sloppy, and almost acidic feeling. Afterwards had a quick shower, then a salt bath for 10 minutes. I'm wondering if the salt in the bath (Epsom and normal salt) are causing more stinging? Did a little bit of raking and vacuuming, figured if the pain is constant I might as well get some blood flowing. Lat down for a bit then another BM at 1200. Again, no pain or blood doing the BM but the 6oclock site stings like a mofo when I woke, even if it's just blotting with a wet washer. Blood on the washer- not heaps, maybe a teaspoon, but when I had a look it was coming from the gaping 6 o'clock wound. Trying not to stress about it. Jumped in the bath for some relief.

So that's me taking up the whole message board! I have a few questions for some of you if that's ok?

• does anyone with the external wounds use anything on them to help heal? I have a few products but they're probably called something different here.(I'm in Australia) *Do those with external wounds do salt bath or just plain water? Surgeon said salt is ok, but I'm wondering if it makes the sting worse.
• anyone who's 2 weeks or more on with external wounds able to tell me how they are with driving and work? I've had a week off tomorrow. Back to the GP Monday and will get all next week off. So I really have another 10 days off work. Praying it's enough. Thanks all!

Hi @123Aussie gosh, you've really been through it with all those procedures and operations. I feel for you having another recovery to get through.

Mine were internal so I can't offer any advice on your questions. @Dogwalker1 has had external ones removed and wrote on one of her posts about the things she'd been using to help healing.

My Consultant recommended salt baths even for external ones and I've been using it intermittently but probably not putting in as much as I should.

I'm 5 weeks today and have had a rubbish day. I think I'm paying for doing a bit more yesterday and then doing quite a lot around the house again today.

For some reason BM were painful this morning with a bit of blood again 🙁 and it took a couple of hours to subside. And I'm sore again now. I haven't really been eating any differently so no idea what's going on. I'm trying to get an appointment to see a Dietitian to give me some advice as I'm stuck when it comes to what to eat for the best! And after 5 weeks I need a change.

I hope you've all had good bottom days!!