Hi, my name is Vitalii, I’m 31 years old. I want to share my experience and results 11 months after having hemorrhoid removal surgery (hemorrhoidectomy). This is based entirely on my personal experience. I apologize for any translation mistakes if something is translated incorrectly, since English is not my native language.
When I decided to go through with the surgery, I was looking everywhere for real reviews to prepare myself mentally and understand what to expect. But I couldn’t find much detailed information. Hopefully my story will help someone.
I’m a gay vers guy, and bottoming is part of my sex life, but once the hemorrhoids appeared, sex became completely impossible. I’ll start with how it all began and what I tried to do on my own.
BEFORE THE SURGERY
About a year and a half before the surgery, I started noticing occasional bleeding when going to the bathroom, and sex became painful. I immediately understood what I was dealing with. I bought suppositories right away, but after several packs, nothing improved.
At first the hemorrhoid was internal, and later an external one appeared too.
Looking back, I think the causes were a mix of things: lifelong constipation (I could strain for a long time and not go for days), drinking a lot of alcohol, long sitting at work, driving most of the time, and probably genetics.
My mom told me she occasionally had hemorrhoids that went away, and my father had them too and tried to treat them with home remedies. All of this probably played a role.
I’ve never had issues with extra weight. I’m average build (65 kg, 176 cm).
Half a year later, everything kept getting worse. I now had external hemorrhoids as well, and every bowel movement meant bleeding and pain. I tried to find solutions online and ended up trying a huge number of things - home remedies, pharmacy products, advertised “miracle cures.” Here’s what I remember using: different rectal suppositories (including sea buckthorn and even homemade potato ones), various hemorrhoid creams, varicose vein pills (I read they helped some people), camphor oil, and even a “newspaper remedy” I saw on YouTube where a woman said eating 10-15 cherries with pits makes hemorrhoids disappear. I tried it, it does NOT work 
And that’s only part of the list.
At the same time, I exercised regularly, did pelvic/anal area exercises to improve blood flow, and followed a high-fiber diet, but fiber foods barely worked for me, and my stool was only sometimes soft. I ate tons of vegetables, apples, beet-carrot juice, plums, flax seeds, etc.
I also immediately stopped bottoming, and I developed insecurities about anyone seeing it, it looked awful.
About 1.5 years later, I started having pain even during the day and sharp stinging sensations while driving. It became unbearable, and that’s when I decided I needed a doctor and was ready for surgery.
I’m originally from Russia, but I live in Austin, Texas (USA).
In September 2024 I went to a primary care doctor. She examined me, prescribed lidocaine, and scheduled a follow-up. I returned in October with no improvement. She referred me to a surgeon, whom I saw in November. He examined me and confirmed I had severe internal and external hemorrhoids and recommended surgery under general anesthesia.
I agreed and scheduled the hemorrhoidectomy for December 18, 2024.
Since my English wasn’t good enough, I requested a translator, and the clinic provided an online video interpreter.
I was also stressed about the cost, because in the US they perform everything first and only later send the bill to the insurance. You never know the final amount in advance.
Before surgery I received instructions: no food or water for 12 hours, confirm any allergies/infections, I asked whether I needed an enema - they said no, I asked if I needed to stay overnight - also no, someone needed to pick me up 2–3 hours later.
SURGERY DAY
I was nervous, it was my first time under general anesthesia. I arrived at 9:00 AM, they took me to a room, a nurse checked on me, and then I waited. Later they came in and asked if I was ready. I said yes, they gave me anesthesia and wheeled me to the OR.
I woke up a couple of hours later, confused at first, not realizing the surgery was already done. They gave me strong pain medication. The doctor checked on me and shortly after waking up I was taken outside in a wheelchair where I was picked up by car.
Once we started driving, I felt nauseous and asked to stop for 5 minutes. After that the 25-minute drive home was okay. We stopped at a pharmacy to pick up my prescription (strong painkillers and lidocaine).
AFTER THE SURGERY
The first day at home was surprisingly good. I could walk, sit, move normally (thanks to the pain meds). But the hardest part was still ahead.
On the second day the pain began. Even peeing hurt. I was terrified to have a bowel movement, so I didn’t want to eat. I ate only vegetables at first and drank juices to avoid constipation.
Walking and sitting felt like burning and pulsating pain from inflammation. I spent most of my time lying on my side.
The clinic called to check on me. I told them the pain was horrible and I couldn’t go to the bathroom. They said it was normal.
I continued taking painkillers and also started laxatives because I knew eventually I’d have to go. On the third day the pain got even worse. In the evening, with a full stomach and laxatives kicking in, I decided to try. It was HELL.
It felt like being drilled inside - diarrhea mixed with blood. Somehow I did it.
For the next 12 days I continued taking laxatives. Sometimes I had to go in the shower because sitting on the toilet hurt too much, and sometimes it started coming out on its own. The first 10 days were the worst, constant lying down, crying, and being terrified of going again.
I used gauze pads in my underwear because of blood and because diarrhea could start unexpectedly. I didn’t use toilet paper, washing in the shower was the only option because it was hurtful. Later I bought a bidet and installed it.
Bit by bit, things improved. Walking became less painful, I started going outside again, and I stopped laxatives to avoid dependency.
I switched to senna tea, a natural laxative and stopped it after a few weeks too. Bowel movements were still uncomfortable, but manageable.
Two weeks after surgery it was New Year’s Eve, and I even visited friends. On January 3rd I went back to work.
RECOVERY
For about 3.5 months I had slight yellow discharge, so I used something in my underwear to avoid stains. Bowel movements were still a bit uncomfortable even with soft stool. I stopped laxatives as soon as the daily pain went away.
Then I remembered a fiber supplement I used before. Herbalife Active Fiber Complex. I bought it and started taking 1-2 scoops before bed.
Honestly, it was life-changing. I started going regularly every morning with no constipation at all.
I still had a little blood during bowel movements. The doctor warned me this could take time. Touching the area with my finger still felt uncomfortable. I booked another appointment with my surgeon because I was worried bleeding was lasting too long. He examined me (the finger exam was VERY painful) and said everything looked good - no hemorrhoids left, just healing, and I needed more time. He scheduled another check in 1.5 months.
Around 4 months after surgery the bleeding stopped, but only for a week. Discomfort during the day disappeared, touching felt fine, and bowel movements became much easier than before surgery. But after a week, a little blood appeared again.
I visited the doctor again. He said recovery was almost complete and only skin tags were left. These skin tags scared me sometimes, because in the mirror they looked like hemorrhoids.
At 7 months, I panicked because I thought the hemorrhoids came back, there was inflammation, walking was uncomfortable, and it felt like a big swollen vein. After 3 days it went away. A little bleeding still appeared a couple times a week.
FINALLY, after 8 months, the bleeding stopped completely. I tried using lube and inserting a finger, it felt tight and unpleasant. I started applying natural vitamin E oil after the shower inside and outside the anus (just a little, not deep). At 9 months I started using a small toy (like a prostate massager, about 1.5–2 fingers thick). At first it felt uncomfortable, but it got better every day. I also went to the gym 3–4 times a week, walked on the treadmill, later started running, and did daily 10-minute workouts at home. At 10 months I tried a toy the size of a penis, and it slowly started going in without problems. At 11 months I finally tried sex, everything was great. No pain, no discomfort. The anus actually looks better than before surgery. Only small skin tags remain, which are normal after hemorrhoidectomy. They don’t bother me, and if I ever want them removed, the surgeon can do it (with a shorter recovery), but for now I’m leaving them.
In conclusion: full recovery took almost a year.
Would I do the surgery again if I had to? Absolutely yes. Living with hemorrhoids was miserable, and although the first 2 weeks after surgery were extremely painful, it was worth it. I now realize I should have gone to a doctor much earlier.
INSURANCE AND CLINIC
Two months after the surgery I received the long-awaited insurance letter: $12,000 for the surgery, about $1,000 for anesthesia and medication. My insurance covered everything, and I ended up paying $0. They also covered all doctor visits before surgery. I consider myself very lucky.
My insurance at the time: Ascension Personalized Care (I paid only $1 for it every month)
Clinic: Ascension Medical Group
Address: 1101 Wolf Lakes Dr, Georgetown, TX 78628
If you have questions, feel free to ask in the comments. I will check in from time to time.
If you need the contact of the surgeon who operated on me, or if you want to buy the fiber supplement (it’s sold only through distributors), message me on Telegram: @chromatis
And for any other questions, please write in the comments. It might help others too.