Hello everyone!
I wanted to share a day by day experience of my hemorrhoidectomy and Lateral Internal Sphincterotomy surgery and recovery.
I had read every single story on here before I went for the surgery myself, and I’m not going to lie, they were really scary and I almost called it off. However, I wanted to provide a somewhat positive story to counter balance the more negative ones out there. If you are considering this surgery - it is only day 3 and I am already happy I did it. I will add the caveat - I only had one external hemorrhoid removed. I also have read a few medical studies that say LIS helps with hemorrhoidectomy recovery.
Prior to surgery, I was very anxious and therefore I did not eat much two days before. I’m not sure if I recommend this or not, and wouldn’t want to suggest anyone not eat. I also started stool softener about two weeks before, and started eating clean two weeks before. I also highly recommend installing a bidet - I got one off of Amazon for really cheap and it’s been the best thing for recovery so far, because you don’t need to wipe as much and irritate the area
Day 1 - Surgery day
I arrived two hours before my procedure. I was not instructed to do any bowel prep, just not to eat past midnight the day before.
They get me in the gown and insert the IV. I meet with my surgeon, 3 different nurses, and the anesthesiologist. They’re very kind and reassuring (I was definitely in a bit of a panicked state). They were able to get me in early and before I knew it I was asleep!
I wake up in recovery and feel nausea, which they give me something for that makes me feel better immediately. I did not have any pain. I did have a terrible uneasy feeling which apparently is common.
All in all, I was at the hospital for 4 1/2 hours from start to finish.
Day one is uneventful otherwise. I go home, I have some chicken noodle soup with crackers and take my first Percocet to try and stay ahead of the pain. I also take stool softener and Zofran for nausea from the pain meds. I take my next Percocet 8 hours later, then drift in and out of sleep. I then had some bone broth with more crackers later on that day. No pain all day today!
Day 2 - Day after surgery
The morning of day 2 is just like day 1. I wonder if I even had surgery, that’s how good I felt. I was able to get up and walk around and do some very light housework. I felt like I had to go to the bathroom, so I try for my first bowel movement that morning which is unsuccessful but not painful. I am noticing some gas and that if kinda just comes out on it’s own, but this is normal. I had some chicken and rice soup, of which I barely ate the rice. I also was able to take a shower, which felt really amazing. I am still taking Percocet every 6 hours but find I am often counting down until the next one as the day goes on. Take the pain pills if you are able, trust me. This is no time to be a tough guy!
I tried two more times today to have a BM with no luck, but very little pain. I think the fear of pain was keeping me from going.
I ate some miso soup, and I then ate some more chicken soup and crackers. I also ate an avocado to try and get some fiber. I managed to have an extremely pathetically small BM towards the end of the day. It was a victory though! I ended up having the BM in the Sitz bath, but honestly, no shame at this point.
Then right before bed I started to develop really bad neck and abdominal muscle pain. Like you get after a really hard workout x20. No fever, so it’s only what I assume is post surgery soreness. This was the worst of it so far, and Percocet only helped a little. Eventually I was able to go to sleep.
Day 3
In the morning I had a successful BM with no pain! It was runny and only partially solid, but my surgeon said that was probably a good way to have them for the first week or so. I was so nervous about pain but I just let nature do it’s thing and didn’t force it. Kinda just let it “fall” out of you if you can and it’ll be a much better time.
Still having the neck and abdominal pain, but nothing too terrible. The Percocet every 6 hours is still greatly appreciated but I can see myself not needing it soon.
I will continue to keep this updated! All in all, probably max 4.5/10 on the pain scale so far, and mainly from the body soreness!