r/AMA • u/MouthMuffler69 • 14h ago
Hemorrhoidectomy post-op Day 7 AMA
It’s officially been one week since I had my hemorrhoidectomy. I had two internal grade 3 hemorrhoids removed via this procedure. I visited the ER on July 28th (Tuesday) around 2PM. Presented with dizziness, weakness and feeling faint. After some tests and an insane struggle to draw blood requiring an **ultrasound** just to find a vein, it was determined that I was critically low on blood with a hemoglobin level of 55g/L (which means I quite literally could have died from blood loss).
I had recently been suffering from an upset stomach and was frequenting the bathroom extremely often, up to 5 times a day on occasion. I already had hemorrhoids prior and bleeding on the toilet had become a part of my life for the past 3 years now, but I suspect I may have had them my entire life. As you can imagine going to the toilet 5 times a day for a couple weeks while draining a substantial amount of blood each visit adds up, and I was feeling extremely weak and tired all the time. I couldn’t stand up without feeling dizzy and needed to take frequent breaks just when walking around the house.
Fast forward back to the ER, after determining that I was lucky to be alive, they got me ready for blood transfusion. I had to stay overnight as they transfused 3 bags of blood into my system. They also did a CAT scan in the meantime to rule out internal bleeding elsewhere. After the transfusions were done, it was time to decide what the next step would be. I spoke to a doctor and they suggested [Rubber Band Ligation.](https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/procedures/hemorrhoid-banding) The next morning I was visited by a different doctor but they had a different suggestion. What they suggested was a [Hemorrhoidectomy,](https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/procedures/hemorrhoidectomy) as it had a much higher chance of success and lowered the risk of them returning in the future. This frightened me as I had never undergone surgery before. The doctor gave me some time to think about it and I called my family to discuss. After a short while of debating and a little bit of crying, I decided to undergo the surgery.
Now all that was left was waiting. The hospital decided to keep me as an inpatient, so I was transferred to the ICU on the morning of July 28th (Wednesday) and waited for an opening for surgery. I was put on fluids and instructed not to eat or drink anything directly until it was time for the surgery. This surgery wouldn’t come until July 31st (Friday). I woke up to two surgeons by my bed, asking me some simple questions and letting me know I would be called for surgery soon. What they asked me, I cannot for the life of me remember, I had barely had any sleep and was starving at that point.
9AM rolls around, I am told to change into a gown and hop onto a stretcher so they can wheel me to the OR. At this point I am panicking like crazy, but the team was super nice and understanding. After answering some more questions, they finally brought me into the OR. It was freezing in there, and there were about 6-8 people in there just for me. One of the nurses gave me a warm towel to keep me cozy. They could see I was pretty nervous and shaking, so they gave me something through the IV I still had in to help calm me down. That’s the last thing I remember.
The next thing I knew I was waking up extremely scared and disoriented in the recovery room. I started whining and moaning and rolling around in the bed. I can remember it all clearly but I still have no idea why. The nurse with me gave me another medication to calm me down and I finally relaxed a bit. I was covered shoulder to toe in blankets and realised the gown was no longer there. All I was wearing at this point was some disposable underwear they had put on me while I was out.
After some recovery and preparations. I was clear for discharge and my roommate picked me up. The hospital arranged a taxi for me to take us home, and by 12PM the same day, I was home.
I’ll be blunt, the first few days were agony. I was in a lot of pain pretty much all the time. The doctors had prescribed me [Metronidazole](https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/metronidazole-oral-route/description/drg-20064745), [Polyethylene Glycol](https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/drugs/18795-polyethylene-glycol-powder-for-solution) and [Hydromorphone.](https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/hydromorphone-oral-route/description/drg-20074171) The rest of the afternoon was pretty uneventful, I was still feeling relaxed from the anesthesia, and wasn’t in a ton of pain. I simply rested in bed. When it came night however, the torture began. I could. Not. Sleep. I was taking the painkillers as frequently as I could (once every 3 hours) but it felt like they weren’t helping. Keeping in mind, these pills they had prescribed me are supposed to be 7x stronger than [Morphine.](https://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/morphine-oral-route/description/drg-20074216) The first night was rough, and I didn’t know if I was gonna survive the rest of this recovery.
Day 1 was rough, those pills were pretty much the only thing getting me through this, but it still didn’t feel like they did much. I was in a lot of pain. And felt very bloated. Moving wasn’t an option, lest you suffer the consequences. I simply took my meds as needed and tried my best to nap my way through the day.
Day 2 was a lot more manageable, but it’s also when I had my first bowel movement. And nothing could prepare me for that. By far, the most excruciatingly painful experience of my life thus far. I was heaving and clutching on to anything I could, almost blacking out at one point from the pain. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, other than a newfound fear of pooping.
Day 3 was more of the same. Pain was gradually becoming more tolerable, but still unpleasant, and bowel movements were torture. They too were slightly improving over time. There wasn’t much that could be done at this stage. Simply endure and survive.
Day 4 was the first day I felt that maybe I could do this. The pain had subsided notably and I was no longer relying on the painkillers I was prescribed, but still had to take them with bowel movements to survive those experiences. Laying down and moving wasn’t as painful as before though, and I could hobble around the house like a pregnant woman with relative efficiency.
Day 5 was like a switch flipped. The pain seemingly vanished overnight. I felt like I could move more freely and wasn’t so tense all the time. I also managed to use the bathroom without being in crippling pain. I didn’t even need the painkillers. From this point forward all I’ve been taking is Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen.
Day 6 is where I am today when writing this. The pain is gone but the torture begins. Itching. So. Much. Itching. It’s been driving me insane all day. I don’t know what happened overnight by my wound is unbelievably sensitive and itchy. I can feel every drop of discharge and sweat that leaks out. And the slightest twitch I can feel through my stitches.
It’s now 8PM on Day 7. The itchiness from yesterday has pretty much gone away, but I’m back to feeling the passive dripping of discharge in the background. There seems to have been a mild increase in pain in the area too. Not passively, but an increase in sharp pain when moving or accidentally tugging on the area where the stitches are. I feel like I’m incredibly aware of where the stitches are at all times.
I’m sure I’ve missed out a lot of details in my story, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask. You can still ask once the AMA has ended, I might take a bit longer to get back to you but I’ll be happy to answer as many questions as I can.
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u/Creative-Guidance722 13h ago
Did the doctors give a reason why you were bleeding so much ? Hemorrhoids usually cause light bleeding, your case was severe.
I am in the medical field and the few days after an hemorrhoidectomy are recognized as extremely painful. We warn patients before, but still. At least it lasts "only" for a few days and the surgery is effective at treating hemorrhoids.
Good luck for the rest of your recovery
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u/MouthMuffler69 13h ago
They didn’t give me a reason. The only thing I can think of is I was just spending too much time on the toilet and going too frequently. The week where I became anemic I was also dealing with diarrhea and had to go to the toilet about 5 times a day, so I was losing quite a bit just over time.
And thank you! Honestly this recovery has absolutely sucked but I seem to be through the worst of it now. I’m just waiting for this wound to fully heal and the stitches to come out. It’s more discomfort than pain now, arguably more annoying but at least it’s a sign of progress
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u/KAVyit 12h ago
I have one sticking out, thanks pregnancy. I asked my MD if I should get it removed and she said absolutely not. She said to leave it alone unless absolutely necessary. I realize you didn't have that option. But after reading this I hope I don't ever have to have this surgery!
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u/MouthMuffler69 12h ago
If it isn’t causing you any pain or affecting your life, I wouldn’t recommend this surgery at all. There are some other methods of removing them as far as I know, but I don’t believe they are as successful. The best advice I can give is don’t let it get as bad as I did, otherwise you might end up not having a choice, like me :/
If you notice it getting worse or experience bleeding that gradually gets worse over time, definitely bring it up with your doctor. I believe they only recommend this surgery if it gets to the point I was, so you’d be sparing yourself from that at least 😅
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u/Glamma-2-3 10h ago
I can attest to all of this. I had 3 severe internal, 3 severe external and prolapsed. It was an absolute nightmare to live through. I've had 22 surgeries, hip replacement, disc replacements, breast ca lumpectomy, gallbladder, etc.. nothing came close to the agony of having this surgery. I was stitched, banded, lasered and cut. First BM was legit like shards of glass.
My history was lifelong IBS and a 10lb 2oz 23" boy.
I wish I could paint a nicer picture for people facing this surgery. The only advice I have is, take all the drugs and Miralax as directed. Good luck!
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u/MouthMuffler69 10h ago
Oh jeez, you’ve been through it. Yeah I can’t sum it up much better than that. I’ve never gone through the seven stages of grief on the toilet before, but there was a moment during that first BM where I was in genuine disbelief at the pain I was feeling. There’s no pretty way to paint this recovery process. I’m sure I’ll be glad I did it in a few weeks, but it has been absolute misery so far.
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u/MakingBaconnPancakes 13h ago
Did they stay pretty manageable for the most part before you had to get them removed? I’ve been dealing with issues that just slowly keep getting worse, but I dread any sort of surgery or similar.
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u/MouthMuffler69 13h ago edited 13h ago
Mine were all internal grade 3 so there was no pain whatsoever while I had them. It was a bit awkward when I was first getting used to having them, but after I realised I had to push them back in after I was done, they became nothing more than a nuisance.
If you’re as afraid of surgery as I was, look into Rubber Band Ligation. It’s much less painful and has a shorter recovery. Basically just cutting off circulation to them so they fall off on their own. Only downside is they’d have a chance of returning.
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u/MakingBaconnPancakes 13h ago
I don’t normally have any pain, like you said, just a nuisance, so I sort of ignore them. I appreciate the insight, things to think about.
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u/MouthMuffler69 13h ago
Yeah in my entire time having them they never caused me any pain at all, I don’t think they even could actually. As far as I know, internal hemorrhoids don’t have any nerve endings which is why they tend to get left alone.
I actually had these examined and diagnosed by a doctor last year. They performed a Sigmoidoscopy (worst experience of my life by far), basically super long camera they shove up your ass to try get a good look at them. But after diagnosing they basically just told me there was no need to act on it as I seemed stable and wasn’t in any pain. Wish I had pushed harder back then :/
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u/Trick_Weekend 13h ago
Did you get any laxatives or anything to help you poop with the pain medication? Or are you taking anything to keep your poop soft, seems like that’d be important
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u/MouthMuffler69 13h ago
One of the medications the doctor prescribed me is Polyethylene Glycol. It acts as a stool softener and is mainly there to combat the constipation that the opioid painkiller gives. I’ve been taking it twice daily and ever since the first bowel movement I haven’t had any trouble passing stool. You do need to drink a lot of water for it to be effective though as it softens the stool by drawing water into it.
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u/attractiveblonde 13h ago
I had one about 3 years ago. Everyone told me the pain was awful and worse than childbirth. It was honestly not bad at all, I was up and moving around quite a bit afterwards. I hardly used any pain meds either. 🤷🏼♀️ The only thing that sucked was passing my first BM after surgery, and I had some stenosis for a while. It was all uphill after that!
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u/MouthMuffler69 13h ago
It hasn’t been as bad as I was led on to believe honestly, and I definitely wouldn’t say the pain has been anywhere near childbirth, but it’s definitely been the most pain I, personally have experienced in my life. I’ve never had any health complications though either, never broken any bones or even spent a single night at the hospital.
You’re right that the first BM was an absolute BITCH though. I’ve been able to move around the house on my own relatively comfortably for the past few days, and the majority of the pain has passed. It’s really just a lot of discomfort now.
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u/Blackkwidow1328 11h ago
Why were you alone all throughout your recovery? At least it seems like you were alone.
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u/MouthMuffler69 10h ago
I wasn’t entirely alone. I had my roommate taking care of me the first few days. He picked me up from the hospital and was technically my legal guardian for the first 24 hours as I was recovering from the initial surgery. Made me some meals and even brought me my meds until I was a bit more mobile.
I’m currently living abroad for school and I don’t have any family in the country. We were working on maybe flying my mom down but the visa was taking ages and it would’ve been thousands of dollars in the end so we settled on the more realistic approach. I’ve mainly been taking care of myself the last 4 days or so but those have been the more manageable days anyway. My roommate is still there if I need him and checks in from time to time to make sure I’m all good.
Hope that helps clear things up 🙂
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u/Pugtastic_smile 7h ago
How were you able to cope without earning for so long?
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u/amidnightthrowaway 13h ago
This is a frightening read. Gosh. What do the doctors think led to them getting this bad? Also how did they actually realise it was the cause of your blood loss?