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.)

@Dogwalker1 sorry to hear about your problems. As they said you haven't got an infection I'd be tempted to see another GP for a second opinion or would it be possible to get advice from your Consultant before going with the gauze option? It sounds like it'd be very time consuming and as you said they are often left open anyway. I'm glad I can't see mine!!

It's so stressful not having access to the people who know. I saw a GP after one round of haemorrhoid injections and she said she didn't know what you should expect to see afterwards.

Thanks for the link and all the best for today.

We've got one more day of holiday today and back to it tomorrow. If it had been today I'd have been ok, yesterday not and you can bet tomorrow will be another story as always with this recovery!

Mon 4/11. Day 11. Not much change today. BM within an hour if waking and so much stinging afterwards. It's like a burning sting, and about 5/10 plan wise. Retractable shower head helps, i think. As does a warm bath afterwards. I did the school run today for the first time and then went to the doctor. All healing well, although she said there's a couple of spots not healed yet. She could see a little thrombosis but didn't seem concerned. Said to put nothing on it all, but I'm going to continue the routine I have. Spent 3 hours in and out of the car, so pretty sore tonight (constant stinging). Warm salt bath again. I probably could have returned to work today, but I'm so glad I have another week off to lie around and just recover. Tonight was ibuprofen, movicol and half a coloxyl. Only one BM today so I'm hoping to replicate that tomorrow

Hi @AniseedBall I’m going to try to see another GP tomorrow to ask about the gauze and also what I should or shouldn’t be putting on that area. Getting an emergency appointment on a Monday at my local practice is always difficult so I’m going to wait.

I know what you mean about some days working time wise and others not. For the first time since the op I’ve not been to the loo first thing. I know it is because I didn’t drink enough yesterday. I’ve got to go and sign something today - it’s a little under a two hour round trip and I daren't leave the house until I’ve been. I’m also slightly panicking about not going and then it being tricky when I do! Seriously, I would love to be able to think about something else for a change, I’m well and truly bored with it now. ☹️

Not bored with anyone’s posts though as they are really helping me keep going! Xx

@dogwalker1 I'm putting procrosedyl, aloe and coconut oil on mine. Half of me thinks it helps and the other half thinks I should do as the CRS said and put nothing on. I find it more comfy if something is there, not just the wound which oozes a little. I'm just not sure.
Good luck with your car trip today. I find a cup to coffee (or even just making the coffee!) Is like a signal to me body to go sometimes. I wish, like you, that I could think about anything else for a change.

Hi @AniseedBall. Hope your day is going well. I know what you mean about each day being different. Today I feel like I had a good day but also superstitiously feel that by writing those words, I'll now have a step back tomorrow. This is so unlike any other surgery I've had. Previously I've been able to see and feel healing every day. But with this one it's so slow.

@123Aussie thanks for the coffee tip. Even though I don’t drink coffee I tried it and it worked!

@Dogwalker1 did you drink the coffee or just make it? I don't like coffee but often wish I did. It could be the answer to my problems!

How did your trip go? I'm concerned about mine tomorrow but thankfully it's later in the day so should be fine BM wise (hope I haven't jinxed anything saying that!!).

I'm fed up of it too - so sick of thinking about my bottom, BM, have I eaten enough fibre... Hopefully it'll all be a distant memory soon 🤞🏻

I had a reply to the email I sent to my women's physio today, she said all the pelvic floor stuff was normal and it was still really early days, I wish the surgeons told us that. It would save so much worry.

Hi @AniseedBall No I did drink it! My trip went fine thanks - it is the first time I’ve left the house since the op without having had a BM. Only people on this thread will appreciate what a brave thing that was 😄
That’s great news from the physio, I agree with you that a bit more knowledge and advice would save a lot of worry. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a hospital helpline for all ops? Press 3 for haemorrhoidectomies...
Now my stitched wound is ‘unstitched’ it is definitely a different sensation. Much more stingy especially after a BM. It eases off quite a bit after around an hour but but doesn’t completely disappear, it’s a shame that the stitches didn’t last longer. I had thought that it was the stitches causing the most discomfort but not so sure now.
Good luck tomorrow and hope the timings work x

@Dogwalker1 damn! Would have been amazing if making it could have helped me. Even for this I couldn't bring myself to drink coffee. A helpline would be amazing. I'd have been ringing every week!

Well done going out without having a BM.
I wouldn't dare to yet. You deserve a gold star for bravery ⭐️ Sorry you are in more pain now your stitches are out. Hopefully it will settle in the next few days.

I've had my best day so far today but there was a bit of blood again when I had a BM so something still hasn't healed properly 😬

@AniseedBall that’s great that you’ve had you best day yet. Very encouraging too as you are just two weeks ahead of me! Is it this week you are back to see the consultant?

@Dogwalker1 somehow I managed to get the BM right and it's made all the difference. I don't want to tempt fate but I almost felt normal for some of the day. Such a difference even from Friday!

My appointment is tomorrow. It'll be interesting to see what he says about how the wounds have healed. I need to get all my questions written down ready!

@AniseedBall Good luck tomorrow x

@Dogwalker1 thank you 😊

Hi @AniseedBall and @123Aussie I hope you are having good days today and @AniseedBall your consultant answered all your questions.

I tried unsuccessfully to make a same day appointment with my GP today and was offered an appointment with the senior nurse instead. i almost said no then changed my mind and thought that she would be used to looking at wounds etc. plus, as she is senior, she could prescribe if necessary. I'm so glad I did as she was so reassuring and answered all my questions. Much better than the GP at the walk-in centre.
i thought I'd share her advice in case it helps anyone else. My discomfort is mostly outside and about 1-2cm inside.

Firstly she was reassuring that i was healing really well (almost four weeks post op). Just being told this has helped so much. Because I'm still in a lot of discomfort since my stitches had come out, having a bit of not very pleasant looking discharge, I had been worried that I wasn't
getting better and even that I'd gone backwards in my recovery. But it is all normal at this stage.

Secondly she advised, like @123Aussie's consultant, that it is best to not put anything on there. She understood that because of the pain that wasn't always possible but if you do use a haemorrhoid cream use one with Lidocaine and don't use one with hydrocortisone. I've been getting that one wrong as I thought it would help with swelling. I'm really sorry to anyone who took any notice of me and what i was doing. She said using Instillagel was fine too if i really needed to numb the area. She advised trying to wash off the cream once the pain from a BM has subsided enough to do so. Or, if I couldn't manage this during the day, try to at least clean everything off before bedtime and skip wearing anything against the skin during the night.

Thirdly she said at this stage to not soak in a bath for too long and to
wash by using scoops of salted water from a bowl or a sitz bath or from one of those plastic bottle portable bidet squirt things. Approx two heaped teaspoons of ordinary salt (not Epsom salts) to one Litre of warm water.

Lastly she advised how to keep a look out for infection: A pulsing type of pain, feeling unwell, having a temperature, smelly discharge.

I think my expectations of how and when I should be completely pain free and back to normal were unrealistic. Any wound in that area is going to continue to hurt by varying degrees even if it is healing!

@Dogwalker1 I'm glad you had such a positive appointment and got to speak to someone knowledgeable. My Consultant agreed about not putting anything on the wounds.

Did she give a reason about not being in the bath for too long at this stage? I've wondered whether it's a good thing now my pain isn't so bad, I've still been having two a day. They were essential in the beginning but just soothing / relaxing now.

My appointment wasn't quite as I hoped, one wound is about 90% healed and the other (the one that has always been most troublesome) 80%. He said the leakage, discharge should all improve in time but wasn't especially reassuring about it.

The bad news was my lump / swelling doesn't seem to be the normal kind that you'd expect and will go down. The area between the two wounds is what has swelled but I think he expected it to be gone by now. He said it might still go down once the wounds fully heal, might stay as it is but not be troublesome or might be like another haemorrhoid and need removing 😭😭😭

I'm so upset - I didn't have this lump before surgery and didn't even know it was a possible side effect of surgery. He said even if it had been there before it couldn't have been removed at the same time as it would have been one giant wound that never would have healed. But it wasn't there before 😬 that was not reassuring to hear!!!

I have to go back in 6-8 weeks to have it all checked again. 🤞🏻for a miracle.

@aniseedball how did you go with the doc? Fingers crossed all has gone well.

@dogwalker1 sometimes just the smell wound which of coffee makes me go to the toilet, but it night be years of conditioning my body. I had to go before leaving the house every day prior to surgery because cleaning up with these hems and skin tags was a nightmare.

I also had a bit of blood dripping in the toilet this morning. So annoying. I really felt like I turned a corner yesterday. But I also felt like the first bit of BM was maybe a little hard, so maybe just the wounds opening? Who knows. I'll have a look after the bath and see what I can see.

Hi @AniseedBall I'm so sorry that it wasn't good news today - no wonder you feel upset. The thought of another haemorrhoid being removed is just really awful and having to wait another 6-8 weeks 'to see' is really tough too.

Was the 90% and 80% healing to be expected at this stage or had he expected it to all be healed by now?

Re the lump - can you ask for a second opinion? There might be another way of dealing with it either now or later if it doesn't go down. It seems so drastic to suggest to you now that you might need another operation because of the first operation. I had no idea that was a possible side effect of the op. Could you ring the medical insurance people and speak to someone and see what your options are?
Is your lump on the outside? I think nurse thought as my now open wound would be exposed to the water in the bath it wasn't a good idea to really soak it as keeping it dry was the most important thing.
In the meantime I will keep fingers crossed that everything will settle down and the lump will go down too. x

@Dogwalker1 thank you. Of all the things I thought could happen I never imagined I could get a new haemorrhoid / swelling that acts like one. It's been here since I got home from the hospital so definitely not something I've done since.

I need to see if either the swelling goes down as I continue to heal, doesn't fully go down but causes no problems or doesn't go and causes problems and will only be able to tell when the wounds are fully healed so know the pain isn't from them.

He didn't directly say very much but I got the impression he would expect them to have healed better by now. He did say some people's are fully healed after 2 weeks but also said I'd probably continue to have good and bad weeks. The one that 80% healed has caused issues all along, more painful and in the early days bleeding for no apparent reason. I can still feel it most evenings and whenever I sit to have a wee so I think because of the position (11 o'clock) it keeps getting aggravated.

The lump is partially internal and partially external from what I can tell. He did say if I had this removed it would be less painful than the current surgery as only one but I'm not convinced as this has the external component too. I'm not ready to think about that yet.

I'm see my Women's physio next week so I'll see what she says before I decide what to do next. I just don't want to feel or have to think about my bum all the time!!

@123Aussie sorry you've had extra bleeding today. I got the impression from my appointment today that it's normal for wounds to heal a bit, open back up a bit etc but very stressful to have to deal with. I hope tomorrow is better for you.

My appointment wasn't the best. I think we had cross posts, I'm 80/90% healed but my swollen lump might need surgery to remove if it doesn't go down 🙁

@dogwalker1 thanks for sharing all that your nurse said. It's super helpful! I'm sure I read elsewhere (maybe early posts on here?) About others using hydrocortisone, so I'm not surprised we both thought that was ok. Great news that you're healing as expected though!

@AniseedBall not sure what happened there with me not being able to see your earlier post, sorry! I'm also really, truly sorry to hear about your appointment and that lump. On the bright side, sounds like both your wounds are only weeks away from 100%. With the lump, I'm almost convinced I'm going to end up with some skin tags. Is that what yours might be? They can shrink with time, but sometimes need removing if they're uncomfortable. I've had tags removed twice (by my CRS) and the healing was pretty much done within a week, nothing like this pain and discomfort now. Mine were left there after a fissure and a hemorrhoid. Fingers crossed you won't even have to worry about that and you'll be 100%, lump and pain free by the next appointment. I reckon that's what we all want for Xmas!

Tue 5/11. day 11. BM a bit harder this morning and left me feeling like there was more there. So probably movicol and one coloxyl is my happy medium for now. Same stinging pain afterwards. Realised I have minimal wound discharge and have had no blood for a few days, even on BM. Had to have two short drives today. Painful to sit, like I can feel the wounds opening as I put pressure on them. Overall, a good day, sitting dor a bit longer on soft chairs, although i have to sit sideways after a minute or two to relieve the pressure on the wounds. Even feeling a bit guilty for not being at work. I've been eating a little bit more, but the chocolate milkshake yesterday was a dumb idea, so I need to watch what I'm consuming. I've lost 2kg over 12 days, which is a bonus. Would be nice to keep it off. Bedtime had 1 movicol and 2 coloxyl to balance out today's efforts.

Wed 6/11. Day 12. Woke and had a BM within about 5 minutes. First bit felt more formed and hard. When I looked down at the end of it all, there was blood in the bowl and a couple of drops of blood fell in as I watched. Damnit. After feeling so good yesterday, this happens. I cleaned up (my routine is first wipe carefully with soft TP a couple of times, then a warn wet washer, then shower with moveable shower nozzle, then warm salt bath- a thirty second BM takes me 15 minutes to clean up). Had a look with the mirror. All very red and a bit swollen around the incisions, but i did just have a hot bath. The little thrombosis on the wound at 6oclock looks less dark now, so hopefully that means it's resolving. Got the kids off to school then did some work that the office has been asking for. Managed to lie down for about an hour and a half after that. Second BM at 1245 with no blood, so not sure what happened this morning. Maybe the harder bit of BM stretched the wounds too much. Same pain after second BM. Cleaned with TP and washer then into the bath. Trying to limit the bath to just 10 mins now in case it's not helping the healing. Ok afternoon, just trying to rest before I have to go back to work. Only putting coconut oil and aloe on now in the hope the studies are right and it helps healing.

Hi @123Aussie it’s sounds as if you are on the right track😊 I’m like you re the cleaning up after a BM. It takes ages plus I do want to lie down afterwards as I feel it might help with the uncomfortable swelling. I still feel as if I have the same symptoms of haemorrhoids. I’m now at the stage where I would put up with the swelling if it wasn’t painful. That was one thing that I didn’t ask the nurse about yesterday - is the swelling likely to go down after the wound is healed? @AniseedBall I guess this is where you were two weeks ago so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for both of us that our swellings go down of their own accord. We don’t want to be on this thread any longer than we have to and I’m really looking forward to when we can both post that our bums are fine.
I too tried to get a good look in the mirror this morning but realised that I’m not doing myself any good by pulling and prodding. So I’m not going to look for a week to try to avoid any disturbance of the area.
I tried to go without any creams this morning but felt itchy and irritated so put the tiniest bit of aloe Vera gel on the outside and that seems to have eased that. I’m going to take maximum ibuprofen too for a week to see if that helps with the inflammation.

Thanks @123Aussie It's really useful to know about skin tags, hopefully this will go or at worst become a skin tag. I had one after my first pregnancy but it never gave me any trouble and he seems to have removed it along with the haemorrhoids. It's good to hear that it isn't as painful as this if I do need to have it removed. I'd read awful things previously! You really have suffered - I do hope this recovery is it for you bottom wise!! A trouble free bottom for Xmas is my dream.

@Dogwalker1 what is your swelling like, generalised or a lump? Mine has gone down since the beginning but does still flare up if I do a lot or when I have a bath.

I've set myself back today 🙁 I don't think I drank enough yesterday with being out so long at the appointment and then with the not so good news didn't make up for it later. I've had 3 hardish BMs and ended up with a bit of bleeding and pain (not bad but lingering) so I'm trying to take it easy today and keep drinking! I was going to see how I got on without my morning bath but gave in (not a great start). Yesterday was almost the opposite and also a bit painful - one day I'll find a happy medium 😀

Hi @AniseedBall I think having more than one bath a day is fine but don't stay in there for hours - which I did at the beginning!
My swelling looks and feels like a haemorrhoid and the area deeper and surrounding it feels swollen too. It's at the entrance mainly and just in front of my open wound. The nurse said said that bit looked red and sore. I think it has been there since the beginning but then unlike you I looked like that before the op. It did get swollen and painful before the op it just happened not to be playing up pre op. Is your pain from your lump or from your unhealed wounds?

To be honest I wish I'd asked a few more questions before the op! I'm not vain about what my bum looks like but before the op I had difficulty cleaning up after a BM and I did have some mucus which wasn't nice. I should have been clear in asking if those problems would be solved. Like you I'm hoping that at worst it will turn into a skin tag.

@Dogwalker1 that's good news about baths, still my lifeline!

Hopefully your swelling will go down. It'll be interesting to see what your surgeon says when you have your appointment. Did the nurse pass any comment?

I did ask about mucus before the op because that was one of my symptoms and he said it should go and if not we'd have to investigate as it'd be being caused by something else. We weren't considering a new haemorrhoid at that point! I am still getting a bit of mucus now as the day goes on so I'm guessing due to the lump.

I think the majority of my pain is from the wounds, one in particular, but need to wait until they've fully healed to be able to tell. If the lump isn't painful and symptomatic I'll probably just leave it. The only side effects I was made aware of was the slight chance of haemorrhoids reoccurring, none of this other stuff.

@AniseedBall no the nurse didn't really make any comment. I went in there to query whether or not the wound should be dressed and whether I should use a prescription cream containing a higher percentage of hydrocortisone to help with the swelling but as she said it was better not to use it I then didn't ask any more about it. I guess she was mainly concerned with the wound. I do feel like a bit of an idiot in terms of what I should have asked or what I should have known.

My stinging doesn't seem to be as bad today but the aching pressure pain from the swollen bit feels worse. I have an appointment next week with a GP from my practice I was going to cancel it but have decided to keep it so they can double check on the healing and any signs of infection. I will ask then about the swelling but I guess that I'll only get real answers from the consultant's appointment which is two weeks today.

@AniseedBall I've just spent a fun hour online looking a images of the differences between skin tags and Haemorrhoids and I think my swelling does look more like a haemorrhoid and I'm guessing that skin tags don't hurt.

Interestingly also just had a call from someone reporting to be from my internet provider from BT saying that there had been a breach in my internet security and now none of my information was safe. Very bizarre as at the time of her call I was looking at close ups of stranger's bottoms - if I'm being watched online now is not a good time!! Those calls are always scams aren't they? I said I didn't deal with anything like that over the phone but I guess I should check it out.