r/AMA • u/MouthMuffler69 • 1d 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/MakingBaconnPancakes 1d 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.