Hemorrhoid surgery recovery tips

Digestive health
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Hemorrhoidectomy recovery

I had a hemorrhoidectomy two weeks ago. The doctor warned me that recovery process would be painful. But I didn't think it would be this intense. Here are a few tips to ease the pain. It made a world of difference in pain management for me:

1) ice packs-- most ice packs are not shaped for your butt and the flat ones only numb the butt cheeks, not the surgical site where you need relief. So make your own! Buy diapers (any size 3-6) and fill it with 3-4 cups of water and put it in a ziplock bag (for hygienic storage) and in the freezer. Once frozen, the diapers are curved perfectly to your anus area and won't drip as it melts either because the gel is designed to hold in liquid. I use one diaper several times before tossing. Just put it in a ziplock bag and refreeze.

2) squirt bottles--clean yourself with squirt bottles, not even wet toilet paper or baby wipes were gentle enough post surgery when the area is extremely raw. I bought two big squirt bottles at the drug store and fill them up before any bowel movements.

3) Boneal-- after cleaning the anus with the squirt bottles, I apply boneal (otc lotion for anal cleaning) lotion on toilet paper and dab it on my anus. It relieves the pain and itching that come later in the healing process.

4) sitz bath-- Do this 2-3 times a day and definitely after a bowel movement. Sometimes, I have my bowel movements in the sitz bath to ease the pain. Just remember to rinse it with soap and hot water right away if you have a bowel movement in there so you don't sit in fecal water and develop a uti on top of everything else.

5) if possible, stick to lots of veggies and soups for the first two weeks to allow the wound to heal. No starchy foods and anything binding!!!

These tips were given to me by the maternity nurses after I had a baby, but they are completely relevant here and I am especially grateful for the ice pack diaper trick! It was the ONLY way an ice pack can be applied to that anus area and not to my butt cheeks. Good luck and speedy recovery. BTW-- get all this ready, especially the diaper ice packs before surgery so you will have it immediately after you come home from surgery. You'll be in so much pain and not very mobile, so have all the relief remedies prepared ahead of time!

Hemorrhoidectomy – incontinence complication?
Husband scheduled for Hemorrhoid surgery in 2 weeks
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Hi

I am having the op done in a weeks time (UK) and have just found this site and looking for all possible pointers into what I am letting myself in to

My surgeon states that its not as horrific as people make out and I will be back riding my bike before 4 weeks - Yeh lol - Ive not come across anything that even resembles a positive easy time up to now after scouring the net

He says he was not convinced that HALO would not fix the prolapse so I am having this medieval cut and slice job

Thank you so much for this brilliant advice especially the ice pack one - A real gem

I will give updates after my surgery

Cheers

Dave

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Thank you, I had the op 6 days ago and I have just been sent this link, they are great tips and I will be trying them out tomorrow,

4

Got this done 2 weeks ago.but I've been going to the toilet

5 times for bowel movement is this normal

5

I just had this done today 2/24/17 and it is so painful! I am currently writing you from my sitz bath lol.....

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I unfortunately didn't get to prepare for the surgery. I woke up, surprise, and next thing i know, I'm in the hospital.

The amount of pain i was in before the surgery i can no longer remember, but as a grown man... I claimed it was bad and was grateful to hear that surgery would stop the pain.

Now remember, i said i didn't even know this surgery existed.

So booked into hospital, into gown and wheeled into the "butchers shop". I do remember the anaesthetist was funny and i remember him saying enjoy your sleep.

When i woke up. No pain. Wonderful world in that recovery room. Once fully awake but obviously highly drugged for pain, i was wheeled back to my room and everything was good. I was kept over night and surgeon released me the following morning.

I was told to take FLAGYL and ibupain.

Now starts the real story

The pain. Omg the pain that came, i wished i never had the surgery. But it is what it is. The pain would go and I'll be better. Wrong. First bowl movement was probably what he'll feels like. Then relief.

I walked like a penguin out of the hospital and discovered that our roads are not smooth. I felt everything.

Then when I got home. I researched the op. I saw what I'm in for. This was done last Tuesday. On Wednesday my second bowl movement for the day took a major turn for the worse. Blood. And not just a little. Think kill bill. But i got it stopped and told the doc. Was told it's normal.

Next day. Think kill bill amount of blood part two.

I ended up in casualty and was admitted. I lost close to 1.7L of blood.

Oh.. the pain. Hahaha. I passed out in casualty because of it.

I'm home now, discharged again with all clear, 6 days later. But the pain has gone down alot. No more blood, but I've stayed hydrated, eating alot, if everything, and tons of fibre. Oh again i must say, staying very hydrated.

What they don't tell you is things like this happen. My case was a weird one. No one knows what went wrong or why. No infection, no new tears..

I'm on the road to recovery, staying clean. But still every bowl movement hurts like being stung by a bee.

Good luck all.

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Thank you for posting! I had surgery 6 days ago and this info really helped.

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Thank you so much! All your recommendations were very helpful. I'm so glad I found it before my THD procedure, it definitely helped going through recovery much easier. I wish those recommendations were included in post-op instructions by the hospitals! Thank you!!!!

9

I laughed I couldn't help myself but I'm in such pain. Everything you said as far as pain goes describing me to a T* typing this sitting in my bath, that's the only way it helps my pain a bit. Thanks for sharing your experience with us! =D

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Do you still feel pain by the way? This is my 3rd day after the surgery but pain is getting worse...

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I am 1 week post op today.

After having quite a substantial bleed on Sunday evening , I am now on "bleed watch" and will have to present myself to A and E should it happen again. Everyday I wake up hoping for improvement, No such luck at the moment 😑. My pain threshold is very high but OMG this is unbelievable. Did anyone use any cream after BM ? Have tried the frozen witchazel,aloe gel soaked into the pads, but its only gives relief short term. Also was anyone else BM incontinent ?

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Thank you so so much for the tips! I'm having surgery tomorrow and am a bit nervous. I just went out and bought the squirt bottles, sitz bath, a Boneal equivalent and big pads used for incontinence (couldn't find adult diapers). I wet just the back of a few, put them in the freezer and have them ready to go for tomorrow.  

For my last meal today at lunch, I just had cereal and am focused on drinking water now. 

I am worried about UTI/yeast/bacterial infection from the sitz bath so I'm going to start female probiotics tomorrow, probably should have done that earlier in retrospect. 

Today is Thursday and I'm planning to return to work on Monday. Anyone have thoughts on whether that's even feasible?

I feel better knowing I've done something to prepare. Thank you!!

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Oh, I was also thinking of taking laxatives post op to combat the constipation from the pain meds. Thoughts/experience?

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Thank you for sharing these. I used some and would like to add to the list. 8 days ago I had an hem-ectomy. Wow! Very shocked by the discomfort and how long it would take as I was thinking 2-3 wks. I have been determined to heal rapidly and w/o use of heavy pain killers like Percocet, etc. So far I must say that I'm healing quicker than I imagined I would at 8 days and I will share what's working for me. *and just so you know I can def relate, all 3 of my veins were down and the Dr. called them "impressive" to put it nicely. On my way home from surgery I got very nauseous and as soon as I hit the door I had to vomit (reaction to the anesthesia), that immediately started things to bleed and I couldn't get the constant bleeding to stop for over an hour. While sitting on a hard surface with ice trying to apply pressure I began to sweat and vomit more at the same time! On the phone with the nurse I decided after an hour of this scary scenario (not sure if it was blood pressure due to the lost of so much blood or what) I went to the ER. Still throwing up on the way there.. Finally my body began to clot and things slowed down. So after this ordeal I did more research and have been applying these natural rememdies:

1. SITZ BATH with epson salt and vitamin E oil ( some say the warm water soothes-didn't do much for me)

2. SPRAY BOTTLE filled with cool epson salt water (to cleanse yourself after BM or whenever)

3. EPSON salt helps with soreness and swelling

4. HAIR DRYER /FAN to keep the area dry to heal quickly (moisture doesn't help so stay dry and allow your bum to breathe- I sleep w/a hair dryer on COOL under the sheet )

5. ICE I made thin ice bags of crushed ice to sooth the swelling and discomfort

6. GUAZE To keep your bum extra dry (get guaze pads or the rolls-cut to proper size and gentle cover the area altho you still have on the maxi pad

7. MAXI PAD/PANTILINER to catch blood or drainage at all times

8. ARNICA 30c found at a whole foods store (5 beads held under the tongue 3 times a day)

9. BROMELAIN W/Quercitin found at vitamin store (made of pineapple extract and helps with swelling and pain)

10. VITAMIN C to build up your white blood cells to heal the body and fight off infection

11. STOOL SOFTNER 3 times a day to help your stool be SOFT! A must!

12. METAMUCIL to give bulk or "fluff" (softness) to your stool to help make passing less painful

13. COLLAGEN tablets to help my skin build and heal.

14. IBUPROFEN every 4 hrs to reduce pain and inflammation.

15. LIDOCAIN 2.5% to numb the area a bit (just before a BM I apply this to help the pain)

16. Be your own cheerleader! You made a good decision to help yourself. Youve got this!! Appreciate and be proud of your body for serving you.

Love and quick healing to you all!!

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I am a 34 y/o make and I had this surgery done 2 weeks ago. I'm so grateful that I found this blog. I followed everything noted above. I couldn't agree more with every bullet point. Yes, this surgery is incredibly painful. I do not think it is possible to even begin to describe the pain. I do not mention this to scare anyone. I mention this because I think it helped me to read about the pain intensity so that I could better prepare myself. Yes, everyone is different but I've found most of the detailed information and blogs about the surgery to be very true.

My only suggestion to add is another way to ice the area. My surgeon suggested this icing method (prepare to laugh). Get a bag of hotdogs and place them separately in a ziploc bag. Place them in the freezer. When you ice, taken one out and roll the bag up and now place it on your anus. You'll thank me. I thought it was the craziest idea but it worked. And trust me, when you're facing the pain, you'll be willing to do just about anything. I iced consistently for one week.

I had surgery on a Thursday and returned to work the following Monday. I had the ability to work from home for the first week following surgery. I'm confident that if I couldn't work from home, I would have taken 10 days off of work.

I'm happy to report that after 2 weeks, I'm beginning to feel human again. I continue to have some discharge but over time that is supposed to go away. I'm starting to appreciate that I've gone through all of this to get rid of the terrible hemorrhoids that I had. I wish everyone well that is preparing for this surgery.

Good luck and you will get through the pain. I promise. Take deep breaths, follow the directions your surgeon suggests and try some of the methods that we have all shared.

God speed!

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Well I am now 7 days 2 hours after my surgery just some tips I found working lots of water / fruit / high bran foods avoid caffeine and codene pain will starting to ease at day 5 still very uncomfortable today but must ad I stopped taking painkillers this morning so must say it does help also to take stool softeners to help ease the pain hot tub of water before bowl move also if needs be during BM helps me fine.  Hope it helps 

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I got the surgery done last Friday and it's been a week now. It's crazy to hear some stories of people going back to work just a few days after surgery. I'm still not confident to be outside my home or far from a toilet. I feel like just a short time after eating a meal/snack, I have a BM. It's not even noon and I've already had 3 BMs. Is this normal? Someone else asked this question. Also, how did you clean yourself when had a BM outside the home? I have to have a bath, and use a squirt bottle and air dry. I can't be doing that if I were at work or anywhere else. 

I've been having one glass of Metamucil each day and I'm wondering if that's contributing to the multiple BMs a day. I don't want to stop taking it because the risk of hard stools. But I'm eating mainly fruits and veggies and lots of liquids so it could just be that I'm not use to all this healthy foods. 

I usually get pain between the scrotum and the anus after each BM. I've iced it and that seems to help. I'm not sure about the pain meds because I felt I had some great pain even when I took then. I'm done pain meds now and just on Tylenol.

I wear multiple panty liners or medical abdomial pads all the time and I'm still bleeding all through the day. Also, did anyone else have problem urinating??? I find sometimes I have to push or force it out.

I'm glad I'm not the only one suffering. Also, how long did it take for the swelling lump to go away? Mine seems like it's about the same. I was really worried at first when I saw it becuse I thought the surgery didn't remove everything but I read this is normal. I hope I'm healed or feel drastically different in the 10-14 days I read online. I can't wait to be normal again. 

Happy Healing everyone

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Hi-

Everything you are experiencing is normal. I'm now post 4 weeks and still have some urgency and light spotting. My surgeon explained it like this. "Your anus is now clean and clear. All obstructions have been removed and your anus is like that of a newborn. It's going to take some time to build up the muscles in your anus."

As for the urinating, yes to that too! It gets easier (at least for me) after about 8-10 days.

Good luck.

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One other thing.... it took until about a few days ago until all of the swelling went away.

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Thanks so much for your kind response. You have no idea how much better that makes me feel. Did you also have a fissure in the process? I do and I'm just worried with all this activity multiple times a day down there, it won't have enough time to heal. That's a thought that just crossed my mind tonight as I was having my 7th BM today. 

What your surgeon said is right about being a newborn again. I just pray I don't poop my pants while I'm out in public.  

Thanks again & I hope you keep others posted of your recovery.