Hemorrhoid surgery recovery tips

Digestive health
121

Well I am on day 7 post op for my hemorroids. My saddle block anethetic wore off in just a few hours and the pain was pretty intense - unrelenting. It was in the whole general area, anal, perinanal. Now it's calmed down in that respect. At first the first real BM was pretty intense and it has calmed down a bit but still pretty painful. Sitz baths are really important to have right after them. 

Also, I am not on a regular diet. I am eating soft foods, lots of water and metamucil. There is no way I want anything even close to normal. My BS are soft and I aim to keep them that way till the pain with elimination is over. Keep your diet soft and soft formed BMs and that should help. Good luck!

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I'm sure hoping that your pain starts to ease up quickly.  What type of soft foods are you eating ?  How much Metamucil do you take? 

Also I was wondering about taking that regiment mixture they give you before a colonoscopy- that way nothing will be there to have to find its way out. My doctor doesnt require it but I think they should . I am scheduling mine for end of June And will continue to read on everyone's progress hoping it will give me confidence to still do it by then.  Carpal tunnel surgery and a colonoscopy are the only things I've had done so no major surgery experience and definitely terrified

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Let us know if some of the changes help. I'm keeping a journal of all the helpful tips on this deal. I'm really thankful to have found this site and for all y'all out there unafraid to give your day to day experiences. I would hate to know I went into this thing completely unaware of the issues involved. Still on the fence. But I have till June. 

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I was wondering what types of symptoms you and some of the followers had prior to surgery.  I have a prolapsed and it doesn't have pain. Nor itch . Just pressure occasionally after  poop and slight bleeding. My biggest issue is the continuous leakage due to the prolapse keeping you open and  Having to wear pads again and just not feeling clean and fresh. I spoke to the doctor about this and she said even after surgery that might still be an issue and I might have to go to physical therapy after to learn how to try and tighten my colon. I gasped. I don't want to go through all this just to know I still will have poopy stains and leakage. What the What !!!!!!!    Also I was wondering if anyone prior to surgery if you had to go you better get there fast.  I would just have to run to get there and no amount of butt squinching worked.  I can't believe I can talk about This stuff to complete strangers and feel so relieved but can't talk to my family about it.  

So - thanks for listening 

C

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Cheryl, get off the fence, the sooner you do it, the sooner you recover, will it be horrible and include pain, yes, but the longer you leave it the worse it will get and the harder the rehab will be, After 2 years of being house bound to the toilet I am now about to start a new job! At one point I couldnt see that ever happening. I definitly recommend liquid only diet, protein shakes, smoothies, prior to the op, it will help your first bowel movement be less painful, I found it helps to remind ourselves that there are people in 3rd world countries who would jump at the chance to have this operation and not be worried about the pain. Go for it xxx and come in here daily to share how you are getting on

126

Hi Everyone....  I am post-op day 1.....  didn’t sleep at all last night, too much pain!

I am on Tylenol, Advil and oxycodone....  that stuff works!  I am supposed to go back to work on day 11....  hope I can!

Thanks for all the stories and advice,!

127

Well, amazingly I did manage to fall asleep and it wasn't because of the pain killers as I couldn't take anything other than tylenol, but, I think the sedation they used with my saddleblock was still in effect and so I did fall asleep. 

And yes, it was some kind of painful. It does get better. Hang in there, drink a LOT of fluids, do your laxatives and sitz baths and rest. It will be over before you know it. I am on day 9 today and things are improving every day. I still have pain with bms but it's half of what it was. 

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Cheryl, I was eating mostly white rice, carrots, parsley, swiss chard, chicken broth, some flax flakes, sweet potatoes, hard boiled eggs. That was for the first 8 days. Today I added green beans and boiled chicken so we'll see how that goes. I do three tsps of metamucil with my first meal and 2 for the second. You have to work your way up to that over a few weeks as it gives you bad gas if you don't and you don't want to make your intestines unhappy. I'd start with one tsp with the first meal and one for the second for the first week, then the 2 tsp and one for the second, then 3 tsp and one for the third week and then 3 tsp and 2 tsp for the fourth week. This was the schedule my surgeon put me on but seek out your own medical advice as every person has their own requirements on this stuff. I had grade 3 prolapsed hemmoroids with irritable bowel C & D.  

Before my surgery I fasted for three days. Was it a good idea? Well, it reduced my anxiety around making sure all the bowel matter was out of my system and would you believe I did one last bm just an hour before surgery after I had two enemas the night before and the morning of the surgery?! So, for that, it was very helpful.

Cheryl, the reason I decided to do the surgery is that I felt that those hemmorhoids, even though they were getting smaller, it was over 8 months that I had them and I was worried that if I didn't get it done, that it was a weak point and if I ever needed to lift something heavy or had a bad bout of the flu with diarrhea then it was going to blow up again and cause me a hell of a lot of pain again. Also, the cure rate with surgery is 95% so I decided to go with the odds and get it done. When the surgeon did the surgery he said that he only had to do two hems because one had gone away and that the ones that remained had gone down in size so that was good because it meant he had to remove less tissue and healing would be better. 

So, you have to make the call yourself. Once I am on the other side of this I will be able to say, for certain whether it was fully worth it or not. I am at day 9 and the pain is about half of what it was surgery and days 2-5 or 6. My surgeon said I'd have pain for 2 to 3 weeks and will be doing sitz baths 4+ times a day for 2 weeks. 

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I have a lot of comfort each time I read your and a few others I'm following  posts. My anxiety level is down too. I have scheduled for June and I am already getting my need list together.  Also I am glad to see what you were able to eat. I actually like all those things in a regular basis now so yeah for me. I'm not eating anything that will stop me up ! 

Do you or y'all know if cereal would work those first few days ? I wasn't sure about how milk does . 

Again I'm so thankful for all y'all. I keep you in my thoughts and prayers for your recoveries to be speedy ! 

C

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Cheryl, as for the cereal it all depends on what type I think. I found a cereal (gluten free as I can't have wheat, oats, etc.) that had flax in it and it really helped slide things out. The key is good fibre as in metamucil and lots and lots of water. As for milk, I am also allergic to dairy so can't speak to that. 

I am happy to hear your anxiety is down and I too am grateful to all of those who posted their experiences. It helped me to be prepared and to know that others have had the same thoughts, feelings and experiences. 

I would say that if you get your diet on point as in having consistent nice, soft and easy-out bms now then you'll be ready for the surgery. For me, as I described earlier, metamucil was key as was the water, also I incorporate ground flax into my diet - usually a few heaping spoonfuls into a glass of water and then let it sit and mix it ever few minutes with a spoon till it's a slippery concoction then I drink that. That lines the intestines and helps with the easy exit of bm. 

Is this surgery painful. Well, yes it can be, but it will pass and in not too much time either. That's life, right? Sometimes a little pain is necessary for long time positive gain. 

I am on my 11th day now and less pain overall. Had 4 bms yesterday. Three were at about 5/10 and one was at 8/10 for a few minutes then it settled after about 15. I took 2 tylenol and slept well after that (bm was just before bed). 

Hope this helps further. A friend gave me GREAT advice for the surgery, she said "Go in strong, come out strong". This was my mantra. I made sure I was in as good a shape as I could be going into this surgery (ie. getting my diet sorted, exercise both cardio and strengthening, and getting everything I would need for surgery post-op care). Also having a good friend to help you out in the first few days would be great too, but one could do this alone as well : )

131

I'm back home after surgery.

So...pain. At this moment in time, it's like a dull ache. I feel like I need a BM but that's the packing to help the bleeding. Painkillers have kicked in and I've set my alarm to remind me to take ibuprofen and paracetamol every 4 hours, 2 hours apart.

I've been given senna and lactulose to help me but I've been told to wait 24hrs before taking these.

Also got metronidazole to help infection.

So.... let's see how tomorrow goes

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You've done it! Sounds like you've got everything set and ready to go. Sitz baths help a great deal. Drink plenty of water and eat soft foods. You're on your way to freedom!

133

I am on Day 7 now.   The constant pain has gotten much better, but the BM pain is still 10/10....  hope it goes down soon!  How are you doing?

134

Wow.  This thread is scaring the heck outta me.  I have been bleeding off and on for 2 years with a grade 3 hemorrhoid that causes me no pain whatsoever, but it freaks me out when I see the blood.  So, banding didn't do anything, and the doc wants to do the hemorrhoidectomy, and band a few smaller ones while he's in there.  I'm going to do it in a few months when my schedule opens up but now I'm getting worried about the postop pain, etc.  I can't take weeks and weeks off to deal with this - planning to do the surgery on a Friday and go back to work a week from the next Monday - on Day 10. (Crazy way to spend your vacation time for the year!)  Was it possible for any of you to stand/walk for a full workday by that time?  I only sit for a few minutes at a time at my job, and there's no place to lay down.  My doc said it is harder on men, and younger women than I am.

 

135

Well I am two weeks and one day post op. The resting pain has reduced considerably. Paid during a bowel movement has also reduced considerably. I am able to be up for a couple of hours straight but I have to be careful moving about. I overdid it the previous day and felt it both in resting pain and pain with a bm. I'd say things got much better in the second week, around day 10-11.

136

UPDATE: It's been two weeks and one day since my surgery. I'd say the first week was pretty intense. I could only use tylenol for pain as I had a bad reaction to oxycodone which was actually worse than the pain, lol! Things really started to improve around day 10 and continue to improve. I had two hems removed, one small one large and they were both internal. I also have stitches: Here's a brief description of things so far:

1) pain after surgery was pretty intense and it would have been much less if I could have taken percocet or some other opiod but couldn't. Saying that, the pain didn't kill me so I guess I'm one tough mother, lol!

2) I found ice packs pointless as I didn't want ANYTHING touching that area at all

3) warm sitz baths with epsom salt 4 x a day for 20 minutes each time and after BMs was very important and helped a lot for pain relief, assisting healing and infection prevention.

4) I spent most of my time laying down for the first week especially. Have everything planned that you will need and/or a friend/partner/family member to help you

5) Laying on my stomach to sleep was helpful.

6) I ate lots of soupy meals drank a LOT of water and made sure I prevented constipation like my life depended on it, lol!

7) There was a smell, pretty intense for awhile and it is slowly going away. My guess is that the surgeon cut into an anal gland and now I know what that smells like. We needn't do THAT again. 

8) The second day after my surgery I passed a small bowel movement of dark red blood clots. They don't thell you THAT in the post hem surgery pamphlet, but it was all part of the healing process. 

9) I had some light pink leakage and wore a pad for that. Now 15 days later it's much lighter.

10) I ended up using the tub instead of a sitz bath pan you put in the toilet as I didn't want the pressure of being in a sitting position. Anyone want a never-used sitz bath pan? :D

11) As a result of being on flagyl to prevent infection I developed oral thrush - my tongue turned white 3 days after finishing the prescription. I am using alternative remedies to get rid of it and it appears to be working. You can also get a prescription of nystatin from your doctor to swish in your mouth. 

It's important to note that everyone's surgery is going to be different in how many hems they have, where they are located, etc. and everyone heals differently. I wouldn't be able to get back to a job out of the home as I had to have sitz baths for 2 weeks (surgeon's orders) and I don't feel clean unless I spray off in the shower but if I had to be out I'd get one of those portable bidets. That would work.

The biggest turning point in the pain was really after the first week. But keep in mind, it's only 7 days out of 365 and if you have been suffering with hems for years, you'll FINALLY get your life back! 

137

On day 6..... BM stings!! I'm finding that the pain kicks in a min or two later and normally lasts about 10mins. After a warm shower I'm back on my feet. I've little pain while resting (in more pain watching day time tv &#128557.

Hope everyone is doing ok?

138

Hi Sandy , I’m 16 days post op and slowly getting better.

It has been the most horrendous experience I have ever had!

I have had 3 children and I’d rather have another than go through this again!

It is still sore when I have a BM and it aches down there for hours after . I still find it hard to walk .

I also seem to go to the toilet more than I ever did before , maybe that’s a good thing so I’m not getting constipated .

When I roll over or stand up I feel a pull in my bottom and feels like I’m about to drop something out .

I also have a huge tag down there which hurts when I walk .

Baths have been my saviour and drugs .

I just want it to get better 😔 I’m so over feeling like this . I wish I was told how much it was going to hurt and the recovery because I would never of got it done ..... 

 I hope you are recovering well.

139

I have been the same , when I have to go I have to go!!!!! 

I’m hoping that will get better 🤞

I don’t go far from home because of it.

I’m still very sore after a BM and it aches for hours after.

I also have a tag down there which is bloody annoying.

I’m 16 days post op 

140

Hang in there, Ouch-Ouch. It will get better. I over did it two days ago and went backwards a bit and now having been up for about 3 1/2 hrs straight catching up on work I feel it - sore and some pulsing/spasms but about a 2-3/10. NOTHING like it was the first week. Let's see how things are by 4 weeks. I am at 16 days as well. Is this something I'd wish to repeat, nope. Once is enough thank you and remember that the cure rate is 95% and that is the main reason I wanted to get this done. The hems needed to go so I could get my life back and I can already see it was a good decision even though it's going to take time to heal. Keep focused on the FREEDOM you will have again!