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.)

Hi @123Aussie poor you for having to go through all those procedures and also for the fact that you are in those horrendous early days of recovery.
Mine, even those they are close to the exterior as I can feel stitches, were still in fact internal ones which everyone says are less painful than external ones.

I’m recovering slowly but surely now and the pain after my one daily BM isn’t that bad. I still have external swelling which is sore to touch when I apply cream and also when I wipe. So my main concern at the moment is has the op worked or am I in the same state as before?
I’ll give you the tips that have helped me and hope some of them work for you but I didn’t have any open wounds so be careful if you try any!! Maybe check with your GP if they are suitable for open wounds as it could be that they are best not covered up with layers of cream.
I didn’t use any salt in the bath but I used a very gentle honey and mandarin orange essential oil Neal’s Yard bath foam which I know (from after child birth) didn’t hurt my stitches. I felt it was more cleansing than sitting in a salty bath and better than trying to wash with soap.
I found after a BM warmth helped rather than cold, anything icy just hurt and I was worried that it was stopping the blood flow in that area. I had loads of hot cloths lined up and just lay there afterwards with a cloth wedged between my buttocks 😐
The looser my BMs were the more i went and also the more it stung. It was almost as if they were more acidic or something. So priority for me was getting down to soft enough stool but just once a day.
Cleaning afterwards was really painful even with wipes so I found that using either Instillagel (a local anaesthetic and disinfectant lubricating gel) on a large cotton wool pad, using half to clean then the rest to numb the area, really helped. I also used a tiny amount of pre tattoo cream to numb the area before a BM too but according to the leaflet you shouldn’t use it in this area or on cut skin. I was in so much pain I just ignored this. I was washing it off after around 30 -40 minutes so my thinking was how much harm can it do?

Recently I’ve discovered Aloe Vera gel which is brilliant for cleaning, used the same way on a cotton wool pad. It’s soothing and has been used in hospitals after haemorrhoid ops and found to aid healing. Some people who are allergic to onions and garlic are allergic to this too so be careful.
I found Witch Hazel stung so didn’t use that.
I was given Diltiazem 2% cream on leaving hospital (prescription only in the UK) which is supposed to relax the muscles, increase blood flow to that area and is used to heal anal fissures. In the early days this wasn’t as soothing as just normal haemorrhoid cream ( I used both ones containing a local anesthetic and one containing hydrocortisone), but now I’m in less pain I’m am trying to use that twice a day. They recommended using it for four to six weeks.
I’ve found it’s hard to get the balance right of not doing anything and walking around but not too much quite difficult but for me walking does help.
I wore and am still wearing small pads used for light incontinence as they’re soft against my skin and I need that extra cushioning between my bum and the outside world!
I hope something on this list helps.

@AniseedBall I’m really sorry you’ve had a bad day and you are having pain again. Was it you that had the pineapple? Could it have been that?

Are you using any haemorrhoid creams or Instillagel? I had two bad days that I’m sure were food related last week. One was eating a baked potato with skin and another day I ate a lot of dried fruit, the day after in both cases weren’t great.

The good news is that I’ve got a new NHS appointment with my consultant for the day I wanted!!

🥳🥳🥳 All it took was a phone call - I was lucky and got through to someone who had a bit more authority.
I really hope you have a better day tomorrow x

@Dogwalker1 I'm so pleased you've managed to get an appointment. It must be such a relief! How long do you have to wait?

I'm glad you are getting on ok and have achieved the one BM a day holy grail!!

It was me with the pineapple, it was very acidic so certainly can't have helped!! I wasn't given any creams or anything when I was discharged, just told plain water or salt in the bath. I will ask about them next week. I thought you had an external one removed which was why you were given cream. There is no consistency between doctors. I always thought they weren't stitched in the uk only in America but your case shows that's not correct.

@AniseedBall that is a very good point. Why was I given cream if they were internal? According to the instructions I was supposed to use a finger to try and get the cream inside (haha as if that was going to happen 😬). I’m pretty sure all three were internal but prolapsed. Maybe they weren’t that high up - she did do a drawing for me in the consultation but it wasn’t exactly anatomically correct. I’m hoping that her surgical skills were better than her artistic ones. Two were banded but the one removed surgically was stitched which is the one that is swollen. I think the swollen bit should be inside not outside but maybe it was classed as external? I noticed a stitch had come out today so I’m hoping the others will follow. I can still feel a couple but no idea how many there are in the bit I can’t feel. Before the op I was told that my stitches would dissolve by themselves so stitches were planned. I wonder if it is down to individual surgeons?
My appointment is a day before 6 weeks post op so just what I wanted.
Spoke too soon about going just once as I’ve just been for the second time. I’m sure it’s because I was so worried about not drinking enough yesterday I drank lots of orange juice (with bits!). I obviously overdid it!

@Dogwalker1 even now I wouldn't be putting any cream anywhere internally!! I'm putting some coconut oil on twice a day in the hope some might work it's way inside! I'm sure it's not really doing anything but I want to try whatever might help.

Hopefully you'll feel a lot more comfortable once your stitches have dissolved. I definitely did after my op last year. It was such a relief.

Great news about the timing of your appointment. Funny how if you get the right person they have an appointment available!

Anal pain — pain in and around your anus or rectum (perianal region) can be severe because of the many nerve endings in the perianal region. My doctor prescribed hydrocodone after my hemorrhoidectomy and it did nothing to relieve my pain. I called my doctor and begged him to give me something stronger but he insisted that a hemorrhoidectomy was painful and that I would just have to suck it up.

My partner who is a PsyD psychologist and has worked in research on pharmaceuticals and has a lot of experience with medications told me that I needed something for nerve pain ...since the perianal region has so many nerves. I had some gabapentin (brand name Lyrica), and pregabalin (brand name Neurontin) leftover from a back injury. My back doctor was a believer in high doses of gabapentin for nerve pain (which is controversial) and prescribed me 1800 mg ...600mg 3 times daily. He believed in combining this with pregabalin 600mg once daily.

We had some leftover gabapentin and pregabalin from when I had my back injury and I took this at the same dosage prescribed for my back pain. It completely relieved my rectal pain...I was literally pain free. At this dosage I was pretty loopy but it was worth it to be pain free. Others may want to try to lower the dosage if they do not like the side effects of being loopy...kind of feeling drunk and having some difficulty with motor skills. I hope this information saves others from the horrific pain post hemorrhoidectomy.

Be sure to consult with your doctor and get a prescription before taking any medication.

@AniseedBall thanks for the reply. Sorry to hear you've had another rough day. I've managed to lose 2kg because I'm just not eating enough. I can't quite work out what makes a soft BM without acidic pain. I won't be trying pineapple!

@Dogwalker1 thanks for all the great info. And good to hear you have that follow up appointment when you want one.

I've had an ok morning but no BM. I ended up taking a tramadol last night so maybe that's why. Plus I haven't eaten much. I emailed my surgeon who has responds saying it sounds like I have a clot and it should resolve. That's it. No more advice. I have a doctors appt Monday so will see what she says. Having had so many thrombosed hems I'm worried about then wanting to drain it, but also worried about the pain if they don't. Do they even do that if the clot is on a surgical wound? I have to go out this evening for a couple of hours to a birthday. Dreading it. I'm definitely at the one week "will it ever get better" self pity stage.

@Aussie123 I think most of us on this thread weren’t up to a birthday do a week post op - you are still at the worst bit but hopefully you will see a big improvement in the next seven days. I’m sorry that your surgeon wasn’t much help. I’ve found the whole post op process a bit traumatic and would have loved a bit of professional advice when I was worried. A couple of telephone consultations in between the op and the six week check up would have been really helpful. Hopefully your doctor can give advice on everything and give you something to ease the discomfort.

@AniseedBall have you tried a haemorrhoid cream with a local anaesthetic? It does numb the pain a bit and is supposed to help with swelling?

@radamaker thanks for posting that really interesting info on pain relief. Although I’m past the stage of needing pain relief it did make me think about the different types of painkiller. I suddenly realised that even though I’d stopped taking Ibuprofen for pain, as it’s an anti inflammatory drug, I should still take it because everything is still swollen and inflamed 💡💡💡 So I’m going to start taking it again and see how that goes.

@123Aussie I still haven't worked out how to get a soft stool that isn't acidic or painful. If I could sort that I reckon I'd be fine now.

Re recovery times, I noticed a difference about 10-14 days in. Days 4-6 were the worst, I was warned by my surgeon that swelling is at its worst days 4-5 and that was definitely the case for me. It was a gradual improvement from there to 2 weeks. Hopefully you'll be over the worst soon.

@Dogwalker1 I've tried some haemorrhoid cream this morning and will carry on using it and see. It's one with hydrocortisone so I hope that's ok to use!!

I've had 2 BMs again today, as far as pelvic floor and bulging there's been a definite improvement but I've had pain / spasms ever since. I think the Movicol is making everything come out too fast for my bum to cope with so I'm going to cut that down today. I don't know if it is diet / softener related or if I did too much yesterday and that's caused today's pain but I've not it like this since the early days. I just need to hang until there until Tuesday and see what my Consultant says. As it wasn't as awful as I anticipated early on I really thought I'd be ok by now. Maybe it is still early days 🙁

@aniseedball that gives me hope! Day 8 and hoping to turn that corner. I agree about the BMs, although I've taken a sachet of movicol every night for five years now so wondering if I have a tolerance. No clue. I'm honestly scared to eat much. How many days are you now? At least Tuesday isn't far so you can get some answers.

@Dogwalker1 nodding my head! More info about the specifics of what to expect would definitely lower all our anxiety and help healing. I can only surmise that none of these surgeons have ever had a surgery like this themselves or they'd understand.

Here's my diary for the day. Really just hoping I can help someone else with specifics in the recovery by doing this, I suppose. And maybe be able to look back week by week and see my own improvements.

Fri 1/11 day 8. Well, this time last week I was being wheeled into surgery. If only I knew then what I know now. Last night I ended up taking a tramadol. Also didn't have a BM this morning which is either because of the tramadol or because I haven't eaten much at all. Maybe both. After doing a few jobs this morning I went to bed at 11 and slept until 130pm. The tramadol leaves me feeling hungover. At 130 got up, had a bowl of cereal with yoghurt and berries and a coffee to see if things might move along. Had a very small BM and then into the bath. Such stinging, mostly at my left (4oclock?). Emailed the surgeon last night about the bloody looking lump at 6 o'clock and he said it sounds like a blood clot and should resolve. That's it. No more info. I want to know if this means it's like a thrombosed hem and should be excised or not, so replied with some questions. He replied and said it should be left alone and would heal in "a few weeks". Ugh. Seeing my Doc on Monday so I can ask her too. I just really want to turn a corner and be on the road to healing. At least the pain is ok unless I've had a BM. Went out for 3h to a function. Standing. Not too bad until I got home because I didn't have a chance to think about it. But then it was quite painful. Took a bath and put on coconut oil and 100% aloe Vera. Stinging pain, so blotted it off and put on proctosedyl. Ill try a little bit of aloe on its own again in a couple of days. Trying to sleep without Tramadol tonight.

@AniseedBall I’ve been using the cream containing hydrocortisone as it’s suppose to help with healing and swelling. The only reason I’m using the other one too is that it contains a local anaesthetic.

I noticed that @Aussie123 you are using Proctosedyl - is that the prescription only cream with a higher percentage of hydrocortisone that an over the counter cream? I am going to ask my GP for some of that when I see them on the 11th. I’ve used it before for haemorrhoids and it always worked re pain and swelling.
I went twice yesterday and once this morning and everything is more uncomfortable today. The holy grail (which I managed for a whole week) is definitely just one BM a day.

Hope the rest of your day is good for both of you.

Would some kind of haemorrhoid cream work? One with a local anaesthetic? If you can bring yourself to do it ask the chemist. I have them but they don't usually cause much hassle. Have settled down a huge amount post babies. At a recent flare up the consultant said to me .... I can do an op, but I wouldn't go there, I've got haemorrhoids and I won't have it!

Salt water bath helped with episiotomy so maybe try it?

@Dogwalker1 sorry you are in more pain today. This recovery is such a roller coaster! I've got Uniroid that I got on prescription so I think it might have anaesthetic in as well. I've also got some lidocaine left from when I had a thrombosed polyp last Xmas so I might try some of that now I'm a few weeks along.

@123Aussie I'm 5 weeks now. Not a good advert for a quick recovery!! I know what you mean about eating, in the early days I felt like I was playing Russian roulette with each meal.

I wish I knew whether everything I'm still experiencing is normal or whether it's something I'm doing wrong with diet or level of activity. I'm going to take a big list of questions to my appointment.

@yellowallpaper I was told not to use anything other than a salt bath but now I'm further along I will try some cream, thanks. My pain is mostly internal so I'm still taking one dose of ibuprofen in the morning. I wouldn't recommend this operation as you can probably tell so hopefully you will never need to consider it. I'd tried everything else so if it does eventually get better and I haven't got the daily pain I'll be pleased I had it done. My Consultant called it the 'nuclear' option 😱

@Dogwalker1 procrosedyl is over the counter here. It has hydrocortisone 5mg/g and cinchocaine hydrochloride 5mg/g. I have another called sheriproct but it's prednisolone hexanoate plus cinchocaine hydroschloride. I read someone on here say hydrocortisone was good, so have stuck with the procrosedyl.
Each time I have a BM I've been putting on a little of that, a little coconut oil and a little 100%aloe. Post BM I get an awful stinging pain at my left, about 4oclock. I'm not sure if the potions make it worse or better or the same.

@yellowallpaper you're right- the baths are the best of all, I find. Just so time consuming and hard with kids around needing the bathroom. I'd be trying other options before surgery if you can. My first surgeon did HALRAR (I think it's also called HALO). Definitely an easier recovery, it just didn't work for my externals. (Or internals for that matter- also had sclerotherapy then 2x banding!)

@aniseedball are you back at work? I have to go back in 8 days (at the end of 2w recovery) and am so worried. I received disapproving words from a family member today about taking a second week off. But I feel so hopeless, how can I work like this? The "nuclear option" is certainly the best way to describe this procedure.

Sat 2/11. Day 9. BM this morning when I woke up. Not painful to do, as usual, just pain afterwards. That same stinging at 4oclock position on my left. Bath, then did some jobs around the house, had an upsetting conversation with someone and cried myself to sleep. Woke at 1 feeling better. Just need to take this at my own pace. Made myself walk around the yard and house. Had a coffee and another BM. Bath, Same stinging, same spot. Tummy is grumbling like I have the runs today. Managed a quiet afternoon of housework reading and trying to feel positive. Ate more for dinner than i have all week, fingers crossed that's ok. Movicol tonight then bed.

Hi @123Aussie,

That sounds like a really tough day - I’m sorry that you had such an upsetting conversation with someone. Probably the last thing you needed right now.

My tummy grumbled a lot and felt more upset than it actually was in the first couple of weeks. The fact that you are managing to do bits around the house is really positive.
Wishing you a calmer day tomorrow x

@123Aussie sorry you are having to deal with unsupportive family members along with everything else. No one who knew what this operation was like would consider a week off work enough. You are absolutely right to take it at your own pace. I don't think I did anything apart from get drinks / snacks in the first week.

I'm not working at the moment so I'm lucky not to have the pressure of going back to work. I think I could have managed, depending on the job about week 3-4 but getting anywhere early in the morning would have been tricky. I'd have needed a later start some days.

So after lots of moans I've had a much better day today. I can see some light at the end of the tunnel and feel hopeful again!

The random spasms / shooting pains from yesterday have gone. BM were still a bit painful but the pain didn't last very long. I still have swelling, discharge and leakage but all less than before. I'm sure there will be more ups and downs but for people reading in the future wanted to share the good too.

I hope everyone else recovering has had a good day today as well.

@dogwalker1 the tummy grumbling is so weird. Maybe just anxiety, or maybe my bowels knowing something is up. Hoping it settles in the next week whatever it is. I hope you're having some good days.

@AniseedBall yep, the mornings are my main cause of anxiety! I'll have to start getting up super early and Hoping the B.s. still happen right when I get up. Then I'll have time for the bath plus getting the kidas ready for school. I can't change my work hours or start time, so i'm a bit stuck. I'm glad you're having positive days too. Let's hope this is the new normal for you.

Sun 3/11. day 10. BM immediately on waking. I get no notice- just have to GO! Liquid, whixh is fine cominf out but stings aftet. Still the same stinging pain, relieved a bit on bathing, but it returns as soon as I'm out of the bath. It feels like a wound stingibg, not a muscle pain. Lay down and let the area air out a bit this morning for half an hour. Procrosedyl, aloe and coconut oil on it. Did a bunch of housework in preparation for afternoon visitors and the week ahead. Another BM at 1115, so liquidy. Sat in the bath again. Wondering how to manage these middle of the day BMs. when back at work next week. I cant just go whwnever i want, so hoping the urgebcy subsides by then. Maybe a bag with thermos of hot water and wash cloths in it to hold against the area after a BM in lieu of a bath. Anyone else got suggestions? Family stuff all afternoon. Turns out sitting is NOT comfy at all yet. I have to Perth on one cheek. Another small BM with lots of explosive gas at 1830 and another bath. So sick of the bath. Ate badly today (cake, pastries, more cake) so am worried how that will go tomorrow. Fingers crossed

@123Aussie hopefully your BMs will settle down before you have to go back to work. In the beginning I had to go the instant I woke up, now it's a bit later but there's no hanging on. I'm back to the school run next week after holidays and lots of help and I don't know how it's going to work if I need to go 😬 I'll have to get up earlier and hope!

I hope your pain settles down too - the searing pain of the early days is truly awful.

@Dogwalker1 I hope you have had a good couple of days.

Today hasn't been as good as yesterday. I've just been exhausted, I think the pain and stress is taking its toll. 🤞🏻for some energy tomorrow!

@aniseedball after a very uncomfortable conversation in re pharmacy (involving three staff members and lots of actions to describe what I want!) I've found they don't have portable bidet bottles. They suggested a one time use vaginal douche. I'm, no thanks. They then suggested a squeeze sauce bottle from the cheap shop. Not a bad suggestion, but I've ordered a portable handbag sized one with a retractable, bent nozzle that looks much less like it would make all my clothing wet too! Should be here by Friday, fingers crossed. Thanks for the suggestion.

Hope you've been well and been able to manage some rest to combat the pain? I think you're right, the stress and constant anxiety is almost as bad as the pain for me.

Thinking of you this morning @AniseedBall back doing the school run and @123Aussie back at work. Hope you both managed to leave on time

This weekend wasn’t the best as I thought I’d developed an infection and ended up waiting hours to see a doctor at the walk in clinic. I’d been feeling a bit sore for a couple of days and the soreness seems to be constant, not like the usual discomfort after BM which eases up quite quickly. I wasn’t massively sore but tried to examine the area by taking photos on my iPad and checking. I got a bit of a fright as I could see this area inside that looked yellow and to my eyes infected.

The doctor was really kind but, as she said, she didn’t know what was done and what it should look like and how the wound should be treated. She was reassuring that the wound wasn’t infected (just because there is a yellow discharge doesn’t mean an infection) but she said that I did have an open wound just under an area where two stitches still remain. She suggested that I come in every day to have the wound dressed with gauze 🤕
I got home and did some research online and don’t really think this is necessary. I found a couple of NHS post op leaflets that were better than the one I received - they mentioned stitches bursting and open wounds and were reassuring that these wounds would heal just fine without any need for dressings. If stitches burst just after the operation and the bleeding is severe then sometimes they’re stitched again.
I tried to tell her that some surgeons don’t stitch anyway and that people are left with open wounds from the offset but I think she was concerned about the possibility of me getting an infection.

I’m supposed to be going back today to the walk in as she is on duty again but I’m not sure if I want to start putting gauze on the site everyday as I’ve not heard of anyone doing this.

I agree with you both that the aftermath of this op is so stressful because I’m not sure what I’m doing and from yesterday’s experience I’m not convinced that GPS know either. So, I’m still trying to decide whether or not to go back to the walk-in to see the gp I saw yesterday, try to get an appointment with another GP or just leave it knowing I haven’t got an infection (yet!).

I’m including the link for the patient leaflet as it might be of use to anyone reading this thread
www.whittington.nhs.uk/document.ashx?id=7515

@dogwalker1 oh no! What a rough trot. My wounds are all external and not stitched. My GP today said to keep just soaking in salt water and air the wound when I can (which is quite difficult!). She said a little yellow discharge is just healing. If I were you I'd leave it a few days, doing as you are. If youbwont have signs of infection (temperature, heat, redness) then it's probably ok, right? Although i realise my advice is completely ridiculous as we're all in the same boat! Wishing you luck x

@123Aussie yes I think I agree with you I’m just going to leave it.

So you are not applying anything now on your wounds? My wound is just inside and putting cream there and externally is definitely soothing, but if it isn’t helping then perhaps I shouldn’t put anything on there?
Good luck with the airing!