I need a haemorroidectomy and i am scared

[ThatisNotMyName]

Have name changed as err...i'm a big prude and that i guess is half my problem.

I've had a problem with piles for years, not itchy, just aware they're there. I can't say i noticed them getting worse during pregnancy or childbirth but when DS was about 5 months old i had a strangulated pile (think that was what it was called) i was in AGONY for DAYS and so very very prudish i was too embarassed to even tell DP what was wrong.

anyway i eventually summoned up the courage to see the doc, was referred to a clinic etc and have just had the appointment where i get examined and they decide on a course of action, which is to be an 'open haemorroidectomy'. reading through the literature has really scared me. i was hoping to pop in and out in a day and had toyed with the idea of keeping it to myself but it seems i was delusional and actually it is a very painful operation and i may need 3 - 4 weeks off work, just one week after i retuen after a years maternity leave.

has anyone else had a similar op? were you in intense pain for weeks? what about breastfeeding my son? he's almost one and i'm winding down the breastfeeding but had hoped to keep on doing an evening feed for a while yet but will the painkillers i need stop me being able to BF?

i know i should've asked the consultant all this but i was a bit shamed and nervous and didn't really think about all this until afterwards

wow sorry for the essay, thanks if you got this far

Sorry to hear about your troubles.

You need to put a call out for the op on this thread

All will be well in the end.

I have prolapsed ones, but they dont really cause any problem. Do I need to do anything, or are they best left to languish where they are?!

Dommy I have Xyloproct but doesn't seem to be helping my large post-childbirth ones! Have pushed them back up before and it wasn't too painful pushing them in but was agony once they were in and I was very relieved when I next went to the loo and they came back out as the pain decreased Maybe I need the magic pessaries too!

Just had this op done last week and was in hospital for two days.

Would have to say it was not the most pleasant experience and at the moment - 4 days post surgery it is more uncomfortable rather than sore. Have to sit at an angle, can't drive etc - really can't sit directly on my bottom.

I have been given paracetamol (anything else is constipating!), anti inflammatories (Voltarol) and an antibiotic for a week plus laxatives and fibre drinks.

I had tried everything - including the aforementioned magic creams - but did not work.

Hoping that this will be the end of it.

Also had a colonscopy at the same time as the consultant wanted to ensure that nothing more sinister was lurking.

i too scared the living daylights out of myself reading up on it and am kinda glad I did cos it wasn't half as bad as it said it would be.

Also, I had a very nice anaesthetian (Sp) who gave me a lovely "block" - bit like an epidural and I got over the pain with that too - you can still feel your legs and walk - you just can't feel your bum.

I am signed off work for two weeks and that seems ample to recover.

It really isn't that bad - you will be fine

[quote]Dommy I have Xyloproct but doesn't seem to be helping my large post-childbirth ones! Have pushed them back up before and it wasn't too painful pushing them in but was agony once they were in and I was very relieved when I next went to the loo and they came back out as the pain decreased Maybe I need the magic pessaries too![/quote]

Goodness yes, will not work without the pessaries they're the really healing part, that's why the piles should be internal - even though getting them there's a bit of a journey itself.

Good on you Chablislover, you seem to have had a good experience.

Interesting to see this has popped back into active convos.

I was the OP

Well I had the operation back in June. Had it done as day surgery at a NHS treatment centre, and yes, it was incredibly painful.

I was sent home without and information about what had actually been done or what to expect, a packet of ibuprofen, some paracetamol and some codeine and lactulose.

had to take the codeine as it was the only thing that took the edge of the pain, was far too scared to take the lactulose for a couple of days as I just could not imagine doing a poo.

In the event it was hideous, much like childbirth. For about a fortnight I simply could not stop myself groaning and waling as I had a poo, and it bled and hurt for a good few months after that.

I did manage to continue to BF DS, he was down to just 2 feeds a day then and apaprently it was fine to BF with a cocktail of Ibuprofen / Paracetamol & Codeine in me!

i couldn;t look after him for a couple of weeks. my family were under the impression i was back at work and i managed to keep quiet what had happened (i just didn;t want anyone to know, although DH did obvs)and all teh childcare was in place as i was officially back at work

I was signed off work for 4 weeks and I needed them.

Now 8 months on I?m ok, don't have any pain but I still have a protrusion, which may just be the skin that was around the big pile, it may indeed actually be a pile but you can be sure that unless it becomes VERY painful I will not be going to ask anyone about it

On balance I suppose I am pleased I had the op, the thrombosised (is that even a word?) the big blocked pile thing I had was hugely painful and I wouldn?t have wanted to live with it forever

However aesthetically (which was also a big problem for me, didn?t want DH to see it etc) hasn?t really been solved because there are still extra bits where there shouldn?t be.

I am a bit bewildered as to why they went straight in and did this big operation, I really feel I wasn?t prepared for it properly and no one explained what was being done, how, why etc.

partly my prudishness was to blame, I didn?t want to ask any questions, just wanted it over and done with but with hindsight that I had no idea what was involved, that it was done in day surgery and I was sent home with a painkiller that made me constipated, and no doubt prolonged the long recovery process does make me a bit cross

oh and i'm pregnant again so no doubt will be back to square one soon, i am taking fybogel now and then and eating lots of fibre, but to be honest i never was constipated, that's not the reason i had them

Hi Marrow, nine weeks after birth your body is slowly and surely recovering from pregnancy and birth. I was in a terrible state piles-wise at the time (but still in seventh heaven with my LO ). It's great to be responsible and get these things checked out but sometimes it's equally great to let your body do its own healing. Linseed really helps with constipation.

I will confess something here. Between May and January I was severely traumatised by the gastroenterologist who wanted me to do an emergency colonscopy without sedation when I was ebf my LO at 4 months. She kept going on about bleeding and colon cancer: it was AWFUL. I became obsessed with the slightest drop of blood down below. However, after seeing a fab GP a few weeks ago I have had NO bleeding whatsoever and the sane specialist confirmed the piles had gone a few weeks later. This would suggest that being in a fretful state of mind does not help things. I am stating the obvious here but sometimes it helps to read it.

Thatisnotmyname congrats of the successful op and pregnancy.

it is a good idea to take the stool softeners they give you like Lactulose even tho' it may make yo go more. But why do they wait until you've had the op to prescribe it??? What you dont want is constipation following a bot op OOOOh nooo.

But what they dont tell you is to drink a gallon of water and a gallon of lactulose a few days BEFORE the op, in that way going to loo would've been far far less dreadful and damaging longer term.

Well I am now booked in for an open haemorrhoidectomy and terrified. Consultant has said that surgery is the only way to deal with them.

Chablislover and Thatisnotmyname I have some questions. Chablis you seem to have made a good recovery. Was it the open or stapled hamorrhoidectomy you had or HALO?

Thatisnotmyname - Is the pain constant or just when you have a bowel movement? How long is it until you can sit down? If my husband takes two weeks off work do you think I'll be able to take care of my baby after that and drive to pick my daughter up from school? I'm so terrified I'm going to be left incontinent by this.

Did both of you have a general surgeon do the surgery or a colorectal specialist?

Sorry Marrow, I?ve only just seen this

ok, I?ll be honest, but a) it was a while ago, and I?ve kind of done my best to completely forget about it so the detail is cloudy and b) everyone is very different and I guess our experiences may not be the same

It was very painful, constantly for at least 2 weeks. I took codeine, paracetamol and ibuprofen every however often it was I was allowed. with hindsight i wouldn't take codeine (makes you consipated and i'm sure this made things worse for me)I stayed in bed for, I think two weeks and didn?t do much at all. I think I was up and about after about 2 weeks. My DP took two weeks off work and I seem to recall I was ok looking after DS for a few hours at a time after that

I haven't been left incontinent; you need to speak to your consultant about this fear. I do remember though that for a few weeks, when I needed to go, I had to go pretty quickly, I guess the muscles or whatever weren't working as well as usual, but this passed and honestly now, I?m fine, really nothing is any different.

I think I had a general surgeon, as I said previously I had it done as day surgery and everyone else was there to have cataracts and hernias fixed, so no, I?m pretty sure he wasn?t a specialist

As I said previously I?m not sure that had I known the level of discomfort and disruption I probably wouldn?t have gone through with it. My desire to have something done was based mostly on vanity, I didn?t like having piles and didn't want DP to see them, well y'know

But other than one incident when it became thrombosed and was VERY painful they hadn't been uncomfortable or itchy, just an unpleasant thing to have

Secondly, with hindsight I would have asked more questions about what was actually done to me during the procedure, as I?ve said I was so embarrassed I just had the very bare minimum of consultations and scampered

So my advice would be to put some thought into how much you want rid of them and ask any and every question you can think of, even if you only think o them afterwards phone them up or whatever.

I?d still dearly like to know if I?ve actually still got a pile or if it's just a skin tag, I can?t tell

If you want any more info or handholding PM me, and goood luck, i'm sure mine were fairly extensive and my own silly approach and wimpishness definitely contributed to making it such an unpleasant exerience X