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Surgery on Thursday (hemorrhoid removal) any advice on recovery?
urahonky
Cynical Old ManRegistered User regular
Cynical Old ManRegistered User regular
As the title says I'll be having my hemorrhoids removed on Thursday and was wondering if anyone here has had the same procedure done. I'm more worried about recovery... The surgeon said it would be 'uncomfortable' for up to 2 weeks and that I'll be doing epson salt baths 3 times a day but after that I'm in the dark.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
Does anyone have any suggestions?
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It depends on where they are and what kind of procedure. I've been told the first bowel movement is the most painful thing after hemorrhoid removal.
Moderate your fiber intake and make sure you get lots of liquids. Opiods cause constipation, which will make hard stools. Eat a few prunes with breakfast and match them with a full glass of water.
Consider getting wet-wipes and being very gentle or use some warm water and your hand to clean after a bowel movement. Yes it's contrary to western practice but think of it as a manual transmission to cleaning your b-hole.
Your throat might be sore immediately after surgery from the ET tube. Don't fuck around... nothing to eat after midnight before surgery.
I've had hemorrhoids that mostly resolved on their own and it's been painful enough that surgery seemed like a good idea. Stay positive, they hurt before, they'll hurt post-op but it will be in the trajectory of improvement and recovery.
I'm both looking forward to Thursday and dreading it all at the same time.
Yeah I'm transitioning to nothing but veggies and water all week to make the initial pass as painless as I can make it. They do have me doing an enema the night before and an hour before heading to the hospital. So hopefully these things will help me out in that regard.
The epsom salt baths are just kind of a way to relieve the leftover tissue, and not strictly necessary. I don't know where a person would find time 3 times a day for a bath. I just took one when I got home from work for... maybe 4-5 days?
Also, be aware that while they'll likely be removing blood clots, that doesn't mean the hemorrhoids themselves will immediately vanish. The tissue will still fill up with blood, and it may even feel like they've "clotted" again, but they will eventually clear up on their own. Just be patient. You'll feel a LOT better once it's done, trust me. Just don't freak out over a bit of blood when you wipe for a while. Get some of the Preparation H medicated wipes instead of dry toilet paper, you won't regret it.
Already kinda doing that now. Luckily my work is letting me work from home the following week and I'm a developer so it won't really effect my work all that much.
And they'll be putting me under and I have to stay overnight at the hospital. Not sure if it's precautionary or whatever but that's a thing that I have to deal with.
So this was for SRS but I think the same principal will apply here: they make pillows with openings you can sit on. The idea is to move pressure away from the sensitive area. If you have trouble sitting after, one might be a good idea.
Or consume anything else that might irritate your bowels afterwards.
For me, it was painful to sit and nigh impossible to pass for a couple of days and then it became pretty bareable thereafter.
Basically recovered over the weekend, and then back to office work.
Definitely need that Preparation K gel or wipes or whatever lubricant/topical painkiller.
My haemorrhoids were painless going into the procedure though.
And if they were ever external, were internal at that stage.
So.. I might have been an outlier.
You don't want to have to start over because the prep didn't stay down.
I think the tablets I had were Maxalon.
Only suggesting it because standards changed in Aus, and the doctor could no longer distribute it, and so removed it from the medication plan.
But it's absolutely necessary to keep the prep down so I don't know what's happening there.
That prep was legit the worst thing I have ever put in my mouth, and that is saying something.
Which in my experience is lemon flavouring.
And plain jelly is pretty good at making you feel full on a clear fluids diet.
The nurses seem to always recommend clear chicken soup as substitute food, but you can bite jelly.
My prep was not flavored. It was truly terrible. My dad had a colonoscopy a month later and he got to do his prep as pills. I will admit I hated him a little for that.
I wasn't sure because my procedure was paired with a short colonoscopy after.
A straight haemorrhoid treatment wouldn't need to go far to get the job done, so I'm not surprised you didn't need the prep.
:I
They do pills?
The prep I've had is lemon flavoured in as much as dumping lemon jelly crystals into brine would make that lemon flavoured.
Still makes it hard to drink anything else with that flavour, even if it doesn't seem to improve the prep any.
Menstrual pads are fantastic. Put some healing cream on them and just place them in your underwear. It will catch any bleeding or discharge and also keep the inflammation down. Hemmroid surgery will heal quickly but it might hurt. Don’t be afraid to take a few days off. The special pillow is also a great idea. Also wearing double underwear can help too for the first few days. Follow the low fiber diet. Eat instant mashed potatoes or whatever. Take lots of sitz baths.
It's interesting. My post op says that I need to take 1tsp of Metamucil and one Senna tablet. Nothing dietary other than avoiding foods with seeds and milk (already done since I'm Lactose Intolerant).
Good luck with that!
I did and he told me that Senna works a little better in this situation because it does more than softens the stool. It also helps the digestive track... So I'll stick with Senna for now.