Having surgery on wednesday

Digestive health
1

Firstly. I'm so glad I found this forum. Secondly I feel so ill prepared. I have surgery Wednesday and the doctor didn't tell me anything to prep for this surgury. I'm 26 and a mom of 3 and I've been dealing with these assroids (we've named them arod so it isn't uncomfortable to discuss with my husband) for years. They got so bad a few months ago I finally seen a doctor who said it was either surgery or just live with it. 

I have surgery set for this Wednesday coming up. And my doctor told me I would likely be mostly back to normal by the second week. But from reading this forum I think I might be in over my head. I have a formal function to attend exactly 16 days after surgery. It's mandatory. But after reading these forum, I feel like I may cancel until after the holidays. 

I guess I'm looking for someone to say, I will be able to put on a dress and heels and comfortably attend a gala, 16 days after surgery?! Not to mention I have to car for my 3 kids (who are all under 5 years old) by day 6 post op as my husband can only take off 5 days from work. Should I reschedule?

2

I'm on day 15 post op now, I could put on a dress and heels but definitely wouldn't put away my full bum briefs just yet. I'm 80% recovered which is pretty good considering how I was this time a week ago. 

There is no preparation you could do other than stock up on pain relief and ensure your grocery supply is stocked up for your children. Make the most of your partner being off and even if you feel better take it easy. I had a day after a week post op were I felt fine, cleaned my house and ventured out. The day after I prolapsed! Not good just be sure to follow the advice your given and you will be fine. I was given instillagel from my Gp to use when I go to the toilet so if the pain becomes to much afterwards ask if it could be prescribed. Works wonders, honest.

Won't lie to you, the after pain is unbearable. Plenty of hot soaks in the bath help.  

Good luck 😉 

3

Hi,

It's a different experience for everyone and also depends on the type of haemorrhoids and whether they are internal or external plus lots of other factors, so no one can really advise you on how long the recovery will take. I guess this forum isn’t representative of all who have had the operation but it’s predominately those who have had post-op problems (like myself). There must be many for who it’s a straight forward procedure and who would not contribute to a site like this so don’t get too phased by what you read.

Here’s my take on things and some tips. Bear in mind I’m not in any way medically qualified and these points are based on my personal experience.

The wound from many ops is left open to speed up healing. Surprisingly (for me at least) passing a motion over an open wound isn’t as uncomfortable as you might expect and doesn’t cause infection.

You are likely be VERY uncomfortable for the first week – take all the painkillers you are prescribed, you don’t have to be brave. You may think you will never recover – YOU WILL GET BETTER!

Week 2 will still be uncomfortable, but you will be able to function. You should be able to attend your formal event, but you may not be very comfortable.

Your bowel movements may be all over the place until things settle down. Have a supply of pads/liners to hand ready to wear in case things get messy.

If you don’t have a bidet at home buy a portable one (sometimes called a sitz bath) from Amazon. They are very cheap, and it will give you lots of comfort post-op and help keep you clean.

Above all else, don’t be constipated before the operation. The op will be traumatic for your whole body and the very last thing you want is to have trouble going to the toilet. Also, you don’t want to strain on the toilet, this might damage stitches if you are given any. If you are prone to being constipated start on a low level of stool softener before the procedure (e.g. Laxido).

Good luck and remember, YOU WILL GET BETTER!

4

I'm nearly 4 weeks and turned a corner on week 3 when I felt good enough to go back to yoga classes . Definitely recommend starting a good fibre diet with at least 1.5-2 litres a day of water to get you ready for surgery and recovery. Passing soft stools have been a life saver , trust me you don't want to be constipated  after surgery. The sitz baths with a little Epsom salts have been fantastic , definitely recommend. 

I took mild laxative and softened daily before surgery and still do now , I have stated passing firmer stools now and taking a little more effort to pass and still get a little uncomfortable after so I'm keeping up with the daily regime to keep them softer and easy to pass . I found standing up was a lot easier for me opening my bowels and only just starting to sit down again on the toilet 

Ensure you dry thoroughly after getting the area wet and try to get some fresh air to that area every day , I got a rash in week 2 and it was really uncomfortable! 

You should be ok to attend your night out , I've have good days and then bad days after which was really frustrating but I turned a corner like I said after 3 weeks , the pain , throbbing and aching in the back passage area post bowel movement was so frustrating but that eased after 3 weeks . I'm still a little uncomfortable coming up to 4 weeks but I feel so much better . It definitely is the worse thing I've ever gone through and that includes 4 babies with no analgesia ! Keep positive, keep up with the pain meds , try standing up passing stools , breath through the pain and remind yourself it will get better ! Because it will , best of luck  

5

Nezbug

Not to scare you but be sure to ask your surgeon before committing to this If there is a likely chance thats the roids will come back? If he says yes Post pon it or better yet live with them. Your choice your body

Im on my fifth week. Have always been healthy for my age. 56. But always constipated since i was five. The last 10 years my diet has change for clean eating n plenty of fiber n water and exercise. But the constipation never change Its just the way i am. Some ppl have diarrhea which I've never experienced in my life unless brought on by an by a clean out before colonoscopy. With this said Ive take re store a lax for the past two years as these roids have been giving me problems since my early 20s.. Doc say caused from strain. Anyway in my family there is a history of colon cancer. and crohns. Ive had internal bleeding roids every bm daily for 8 months ya think i was on my period. Which i haven't had for 10 yrs. And with internal i have external. So thats my deal and unfortunately needed this hemorrhoidactomy. Im going on my six week my bm have been soft but never easy. After each bm I have n still have a great amount of pain. Going on my sixth week now i thought id be back to work my 2nd week of having this surgery. Nope not a chance. Im still having way to much pain not even close to being healed 100% yet.. Yes the pain has lessened in the last week finally but only by the hours were as before it would last 7 hrs. So i am on the mend like many of us slowly. Everyone is different I thought i was healthy enough to get though this with little down time like the surgeon said... Well. Iam also so thrilled to have had this done to find out i now have two skin tags on my ass which i never had prior to surgery plus guess what i got external roids that came back the 2nd week. Im so not happy. And from reading many post here im not the only one. And wish i had never had this done.

6

I'm so nervous that I would be able to even walk right by 15 days post  op.  There are so many bad experiences on this site. But I guess it makes sense that if the recovery wasn't completely horrible (weeks and weeks of pain) one probably wouldn't even look for this forum, let alone post their experience. Thanks for answering. Hopefully I'll be ok for the gala. 

7

Hi! I just had a full hemorrhoidectomy this past Tuesday. I’m 47 with 3 kids my self between the ages of 17-11. Fortunately my husband was able to take the week off and care for us all. I’ve been dealing with these for 30 years, managed them for many but after childbirth they became quite and issue. The last couple of years have been rough and I’ve tried different ways of treating them without surgery but finally came to the conclussion that I’d done everything I could but surgery. So there’s my background that led me up to 6 days ago. I’d prepped myself for very long time mentally that this was going to be an event. And it is! 

I don’t want to tell you not to do it, but I’d be surprised if you will not need the 2 weeks at least to get yourself back on your feet. And don’t mean in high heels! Lol!  it is mentally and physically exhausting. I cannot take care of myself right now other than resting and following post op instructions. My hubby goes on a work trip tomorrow and I’m on my own. At least my kids are old enough to take care of themselves somewhat. I’m just thinking of trying to build back my strength to take care of me. I didn’t realize how exhausted and weak I would be but since I’ve only been able to lay in bed to heal pretty much and have eaten very little in order to control my bowels. I’m at the point where the surgery site is healing decently and I could move around if I wasn’t so weak. I could not imagine being this way and having very young children to care for as well. 

Tips I’d recommend:

1. Up your water intake before and after. 6-8 glasses a day

2. Increase fiber before and after - I take Fibercon and ate easy to digest fiberous foods (Google “low residual diet”). After surgery I’m eating mostly protein shakes, chicken broth, boiled/mashed carrots and applesauce. I do eat some saltines before taking Ibuprofen 

3. Prep ice packs. I used snack sized ziplock bags and filled with water and froze. Wrap in a handkerchief or something similar and use on the site after surgery for some relief

4. Make sure you have a stool softener, Tucks pads (or witch hazel and gauze) and some ibuprofen for after surgery. Dr ordered Percocet and I took two doses day of the surgery and it made me super tired which was great but nauseous which wasn’t. I switched to 3 ibuprofen for pain and have been sticking with that. 

5. Get a sitz bath! You definitely want to soak to relieve discomfort as well as help heal the area and keep clean. After sitz bath apply Tucks and Neosporin. Try to keep area dry by patting or using a hair dryer. LOL

6. Use a stool when using the toilet. We should all be doing this anyway since it’s the best way to move your bowels efficiently and timely. After surgery it’s a bit tense in that area so I found I’d make sure I was as ready to go as I could be before sitting down and using a stool. 

7. Just in case you get a burst of energy day 4, don’t clean the house! It’ll just backfire on you

8. Remember throughout... It will get better!...No pain, No gain!...Take care of yourself while you can!  Everyone heals differently so do your research on sites like this but know that your case could be different. I found this forum to be insightful but also a downer. I don’t think all experiences are as bad as some posted here. 

Another thing is a bidet that has been super helpful! I got one that attaches to my toilet about a year ago and saved my butt as well as my septic system. Worth the investment although I think I only paid about $60 for it on Amazon 

It isn’t easy to find the right balance of stool softener and diet to maintain the right BM. I took too many stool softener day 2 and it was torture on the potty. 

My suggestion would be to hold off until after the holidays if you can. It’s not going to be easier then but if you have obligations in two weeks don’t push it. Best of luck to you! 

8

They've been so bad I really don't want to put it off for after the holidays. But I absolutely can not miss this event. I'm so torn. And terrified. 

9

Your health and well being should come before anything as it not only affects you but your children. Avoid the event and get it done if it's causing pain and discomfort. Had the surgery 3 times and survived each time. Everyone copes and heals in different ways, hospital treatment is difficult to come by these days without prolonged waiting lists, if you put off now you could be waiting another few months. Get it done and deal with the aftermath when it comes. Hope all goes well for you. All the best

10

Are they internal, external or both? I had both. Tried infrared treatments about 10 years ago for external but that didn’t help Much. Had the internal ones banded 4 times which helped a lot. After that I could maintain the external ones for several months until I had surgery. 

11

Curious why you had surgery 3 Times.  Did they just keep coming back or could they not do them all at once for some reason? Also I had mine in a surgical center and only waited a week but hospital would probably be much longer I imagine. 

12

Also there are different types of procedures/surgeries. Keep that in mind when you read posts on here. Some drs only do partial for certain reasons. There is also stapling but my dr didn’t recommend that because he said many end up having to go back for surgery anyway. And then there are thrombosed (blood clots) which I had one that I am aware of. There are internal ones that prolapse (extend outside the anus) as opposed to external hemorrhoids that are only able to be removed completely with surgery to cut them out which is what I had mainly. 

13

My 1st surgery was in 2005 after childbirth I ended up with internal piles along with fissures. Surgery helped along with cream which was fab, (glycerol trinitrate) stopped making it now, shame!

After giving birth to my second child in 2012 all my troubles started again, had surgery in 2013. Same as before, was in agony afterwards but healed after 2weeks.

Just had surgery again as I had a suspicious lump on my perinium, went for surgery to remove lump for further testing, came around from surgery to be told lump was removed, along with 8 polyps, 3 piles, fissures and Botox. Really went to town on me. Don't think I will ever be normal in those areas anymore. On the mend finally now but after this experience I will never ever go through surgery there again. My heart goes out to everyone who suffers with these issues.

14

And yes hospital is a lengthy wait. 10months I waited and that was for a suspicious lump, absolute joke! 😕

15

I'd say reschedule so you can be better prepared. I had 3 bandings over last summer and that is not surgery but still. it took me a couple of weeks to even want to sit in a car. (I did, but I didn't want to). The worst that could happen is I'm wrong but it I'm right, you'll be happy to be better prepared and get some help. Stress is a huge contributor to hems so try and control that. Look on Amazon and see what kinds of ice things they have for hems. Use that along with whatever else you use. The problem is not gonna go away at this stage. My Dr told me that some people go back to work the same afternoon. I could tell that she never had this done. Good luck! There are such good products to assist you in your bathroom habits. Check out the Squatty Potty!! Seriously look for frozen stuff. I got this thing that you freeze and stick in your butt that was a lifesaver. I tried to find it again and couldn't. It was easy to forget it was in my butt so several got flushed down the toilet. Best of everything.

16

If you are having a haemoroidectomy you will need more than 2 weeks to recover. Reschedule. I Know!

You need to prep for this by having fish,chicken, for a couple of days before. Look it up on internet. Best Wishes.

17

One other thing that will help enormously when you have had the op is a sitz bath. A life saver! They sell them on Amazon. This was my best friend for quite a while!

18

Wow! That’s quite a story. So sorry you had to go through all of that. My doctor would not do surgery until I had finished having children. What a terrible thing to have to wait so long in a situation like that for the hospital. I️ was fortunate to be able to do it in a surgical center.

And wish they still made that cream too!!