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.)

@CareBear50 - glad that you had a nice evening with your friends and are doing well today.

I'm doing better today. Haven't cried! BMs have been better today after completely cutting out the fybogel and movicol - they were just making me go far too much. Still bleeding, but after the beating my poor bum has taken recently, I'm not surprised!
My hope now is to get my BMs all out in the first 5-6 hours of the day, which then means that the wounds have 18-19 hours a day to heal. Hopefully, over the days, they'll heal a little more every day until one day they stop bleeding🤞

I've also ordered a sitz bath and some dermol 500 that will arrive tomorrow.

Hope everyone else is doing well x

@Disneylove1 how are you today?

Again I am having a good day apart from the flipping itching, it feels like I have a cactus up my bum. Jesus I could scratch myself to death. So far today I have had 4 salt baths and stuck the shower nozzle up my bum at least 3 times.

@OMGimscared - I'm doing better mentally today, thank you. Physically too as my BMs have been better since I cut out the fybogel and movicol. With that I'm eating, I simply don't need them. Still bleeding, but the BMs aren't as painful. Bum is still sore though, but I don't have the internal itch. It's awful, isn't it? It's meant to be a sign of healing though. My itching is external on the buttock skin around my hole. It felt a bit dry, so I've put some Eumocream on and that seeks to have sorted it. I do have the horrible period dragging though, so that's not nice.

Although I've had an awful time lately, I'm still hoping that I've done a bit of healing over the past 19 days and that I'm not at day 1. I really need to look after everything to start healing properly.

Hope that you're well on the road to recovery. Are you still bleeding with BMs? I am when I wipe, bit nothing dripping, so that's good.

Glad to hear you’re all feeling a little brighter today.

@Dizzyali77 - how are you doing today? Are you starting to feel well on the road to recovery/normal again?

@Disneylover1
I think so, still sore when I go for a BM and afterwards for a few hours, which is more of an annoyance than anything. Just feel so tired for some reason, my blood test showed iron levels were low but not aneamic yet. I’m going to start taking Spatone again as from next week which is the liquid iron but doesn’t give the tummy issues and constipation like iron tablets. I don’t know about you but it’s still hard to tell if finished when going for BM and still feel swollen for few hours after going?
Just be glad when go and don’t have to Sitz Bath and think about it all the time.

@Dizzyali77 - yes, I still find it hard to tell if I'm finished too. I'm fed up of the little BMs that seem to follow the main ones too. I'll be happy when everything comes out together again. I've been doing lengths of our house for exercise, and trying to walk approx 1km per day. It's sore though, but I'm praying that things start improving for me now as I've had so many setbacks. I've got a sitz bath and some dermol 500 coming tomorrow, so will start using them too.
Hopefully the liquid iron doesn't cause any problems once you reintroduce it, and you have more energy. Are you still bleeding with each BM or is that easing off?

@Disneylover1
Ssshhhhhh that’s seems to be tailing off now, thank heavens. After two years of seeing a blood bath when going for a BM it’s a relief not to see it and I hope it never comes back. But I guess I could still get some whilst healing but it would be nice now just to be able to build my iron levels up without the need for IV infusions. I’m just glad I don’t have periods anymore otherwise the aneamia would be much worse.

@Dizzyali77 - ah, that's great news. I've still got blood (no surprise there!), but it's just when wiping and not dripping in to the loo, so hopefully it will reduce more over the next couple of weeks. I feel like this recovery is going to take twice as long as it did the first time 😞

@Disneylover1
It’s crazy really considering your surgery this time was less than before. I’m really surprised the bleeding has stopped as suddenly as it has and everytime I go I’m like please be no blood as after two years of it, will be nice to be normal 😂😂 as normal as can be for me

@Dizzyali77 - I think I've been really unlucky with reactions to meds causing constipation, rashes, itching etc, and the fybogel band movicol creating sooooo much to pass. It's really frustrating and yesterday was just awful. I really was in tears all day.
I do remember from my first time that the blood just stopped one day out of the blue, even though there had been bleeding the day before. Just need the pain to subside now and you'll be all set. How are you feeling about returning to work now? I'm hoping that I might be able to sit a bit next week as I really need to get access to my emails. I need to reschedule 9 customer appointments that I've got next weekend too 😞 Times like this, I wish I worked from a laptop.

Does anyone else run to the loo when they need to pass wind - just in case of follow through?

Not always.....but sometimes yes!

I've had two BMs this morning and just been now. I do not wish to tempt fate.....but I'm beginning to feel I might have turned a corner.....but bum us v. Itchy!!

@CareBear50 - glad it's not just me 😄

I hope you have turned a corner and are well on the road to recovery. The itching is awful though. Is your itching internal, the 'hole' (how else do you describe it?¿?), or the buttock area around the hole? Mine is the buttock area around the hole, which is where I got the allergic rash. I'm using an eczema moisturiser on that area which seems to help (Eumocream, although it's been discontinued). Nothing with any sort of steroid, just a high glycerol content. I had the best nights sleep I've had in ages last night. Just woke up once at 6am for a wee, then back to sleep until 8.15am. Had first BM of the day and it wasn't too bad. Cutting out the fybogel and movicol definitely seems to have been the right move for me.

@Dizzyali77 - quick question about the dermol 500 - did you just add a couple of squirts to your sitz bath and swirl it around (like you do with bubble bath)? Did you actually wash the area with your hand/cotton wool etc, or did you just sit with your bum in the bath? Mine arrive today and just want to check what I'm doing.

@OMGimscared - hope you had a good night and are continuing to recover.

@Disneylover1 Hey yeah just two squirts in the Sitz Bath, swirl it around a little bit so it doesn’t sit in a lump. All I did was sit on the Sitz Bath and pay dry with a towel, but I’m using water wipes to.

@Dizzyali77 - thank you 😊

Morning all, touch wood it appears that all of us are slowly recovering. Day 11 - I don't get any blood with bm, well not that I notice. The itch is driving me to distraction, I have just had to have an antihistamine before my talons claw me another bum hole. My itch Is external on my actual exit hole. I have been sleeping great, I am now up all day albeit on the sofa. Think I might even get dressed today. I am am signed off until the 2nd march but I am missing work so much, my friends and my pic, I am a graphic designer so I have an unhealthy relationship with photoshop and Indesign - I can be a bit of a geek lol. So today I intend to get the work laptop out and photoshop a pic of my best friend from her 50th party so that she can frame it.

I am so pleased that we all may be seeing a light at the end of this vile tunnel. Although Disney and dizzy you pair really have been through the mill, it doesn't bear thinking about xx

@OMGimscared - I so pleased to hear how well you're doing, especially after your nightmare start with the awful infection. Great that the bleeding has stopped too.
Hopefully the antihistamine won't affect you like it did me, with constipation. The itch is crazy unbearable though, isn't it? I've got spiky bum at the moment after BMs.
Sounds like you'll be ready to go back to work on 4th March, but no harm in having a play on your laptop now, especially if you feel up to it. I'm wishing I had a laptop so I could start replying to a few emails, but I don't, so need to wait until I can sit for a while. Not there yet, but getting a bit closer every day 😊

@Disneylover1 and @OMGimscared
Sounds like we are all slowly getting there, just to think this time three weeks ago I was then coming round from the surgery.
I go back to work on Monday but it looks like March is going to be fairly quite as my boss is still keeping hours down, 😔 but she has said that it’s “whoosh” her words as from April. So looks like I’m probably only going to be working a day or two. Watching Now 80’s on music channel and feeling old 😂

Glad that, apart from the itch, everyone seems to be doing okay.

I have not had a good day. Four BMs this morning make it feel like I have ripped my bumhole anew!!! So fed up with this. Have taken cocodsmol twice today and am really scared about next BM.

Sitting in salt bath at the moment.

Was such a gorgeous day today too would have loved to have been able to go out for a walk in the fresh air.

Don't know about anyone else but skin on my face is looking really bad and dry but red blotchy. Is this related???

@CareBear50 - sorry to hear that you've had a bad day. Hope the cocodamol doesn't make it worse. I've had 4 BMs today too, but all soft so they've been fine. I've found a food regime that seems to work for me and I'm sticking to it. Means eating the same thing every day, but I'm happy to do it if it keeps things soft and easy until I'm recovered.

Not had any skin problems, apart from the one on my bum due to the lidocaine gel. My skin is actually looking better than normal and I've just been using Nivea wipes for the past few weeks.

Disneylover1 I am going to take a leaf out of your book and eat an unvaried diet tmw.

Today I've had one wholemeal toast, two poached eggs, five dates, spinach sweet potato halloumi lamb salad, half a biscuit and loads of water and four cocodamol in 24 hours and laculose.

Bum is bleeding.......and I haven't been to loo since this morning.

Next BM I just know will be v v v sore. Dreading it.

Tmw I am going back to porridge and berries and will try to stay off cocodamol. So fed up.

Hope itch is improving!

@CareBear50 - oh dear, sounds like you've had a bit of a set back 😞
If it helps, my current regime is:
Porridge for breakfast
Vegetable soup and an apple for lunch
Vegetable stir fry with brown rice and an apple for dinner
1 magnesium tablet (Wilko's own brand) around 8.30pm. Magnesium helps draw moisture in to your BMs.
2-3 litres of water.
That's keeping everything soft and moving. I'm still having 4-5 BMs, with 2 main ones in the morning and 2-3 smaller ones during the day, but as they're soft, they're okay to pass.
It's not a very exciting, but it's working for me.
I'm just taking paracetamol too. No ibuprofen as I've read that it can delay wound healing.
Itching us under control with the Eumocream, but hopefully it will subside altogether soon.
Hope tomorrow is better for you x

Try to stay away from red meat too until you're healed. I've added a few (3) cut up chicken dippers to my vegetable stir fry for a bit of variation - woohoo!

Disneylover1 EDIT......not bleeding from bum.... The ''painters and decorators' ie time of month has arrived!

Yes.....tmw I will be more circumspect with what I eat. Thanks for tips x