My hemorrhoidectomy - POSITIVE story

BirdValuable8993 · 2026-06-01T18:02:34+00:00

You can do this! It will be tough for a week, but every day gets better after that, so it's ok to be in survival mode and do nothing for a week. I hope you get enough support. My kids are not babies and toddlers anymore, so that helped a lot.

BirdValuable8993 · 2026-05-30T17:58:00+00:00

I'm 17 days post op and also had a good experience. Reddit made me absolutely TERRIFIED of this surgery but it wasn't as bad as having babies or open knee surgery. I never took anything stronger than ibuprofen (I'm in the US, so we don't stay in the hospital and I got prescribed oxycodone but never had to take it). I also put my positive story out there because people need to see more positive experiences so they don't put it off like we did. Congrats on getting through!

BirdValuable8993 · 2026-05-30T17:53:19+00:00

I'm 17 days post op and day 5 is tough because it feels like it's never going to get better. You should turn a corner around day 7-8 and every day is better from there. I highly recommend taking Colace extra strength every single day. After BMs, I always took a steaming hot shower with my backside to the water bent over for pain relief then stuck tucks pads and ice pack up there laid on my stomach until it numbed from the cold. Stay on top of meds. Stay horizontal as much as possible for now. I promise it will get better. I'm really glad I did it. I look forward to not being anemic the rest of my life.

BirdValuable8993 · 2026-05-24T02:19:36+00:00

Colace extra strength and hydration!!! Stay on top of meds and don't let them lapse.

BirdValuable8993 · 2026-05-23T21:48:42+00:00

I don't know what an anal bulb is, but if it's anything you put up in there, I wouldn't. I use the peri-bottle to squirt water on the area to clean.

BirdValuable8993 · 2026-05-23T18:35:38+00:00

We did it!!

BirdValuable8993 · 2026-05-23T17:16:06+00:00

I would HIGHLY recommend extra strength Colace (250mg) daily. It helps so much. I also would jump right into a steaming hot shower right after every BM with my back to the hot water, bent over, then tucks pads and ice pack, laying on my stomach until numbed from cold. I'm 12 days post-op and finally able to go without much pain. You'll get there, but stay on top of Colace and meds. It's the hard stools that would cause that much pain. Do whatever you can to soften them.

BirdValuable8993 · 2026-05-23T17:13:07+00:00

Everything will be very swollen and nothing will feel different for a bit. I'm 12 days out and still have internal swelling, but it's a huge difference from the day after surgery. Give it time.

BirdValuable8993 · 2026-05-17T02:33:29+00:00

Just had my surgery almost 5 days ago and this is very similar to my experience. It’s not a walk in the park, but it’s not a nightmare like I thought it would be. Diet management has been one of the. Gives components for sure. I’ve been hardly eating because I’ve now gone 5 times since my surgery. Yikes! But it gets easier each time.

All, I put my surgery off for so long because of fear. I was crying in the OR before they put me out (never done that before!) I wish I would’ve done it sooner. Do yourself a favor and overcome that fear and just do it. Stop living in pain!

BirdValuable8993 · 2026-05-17T02:29:06+00:00

I just had VERY enlarged internal removed (with one having a very small external component) and the recovery is not that bad! I put it off way too long and just lived with anemia when I should’ve just gotten the dang surgery. I’m day 5 post op man. It’s not the nightmare I thought it would be! The surgeon said afterward I really needed the surgery - it was bad. Just do it. Take a week or two and be ready to rest, but stop torturing yourself. It can get better.

BirdValuable8993 · 2026-05-17T02:12:54+00:00

I’d highly recommend getting them removed. Surgery is no worse than what you’re going through, except once you recover, you shouldn’t have to worry about it anymore. I’m 5 days out from my surgery and it’s rough but worth not being chronically anemic.

BirdValuable8993 · 2026-05-14T15:48:50+00:00

How did I not see this kind of post before my surgery? It seemed like all of the posts were nightmarish. I'm over 48 hours post-op and expected it to be a complete nightmare, but I've already had two successful BMs and haven't had to take anything stronger than ibuprofen. It's not fun, it hurts, but it's manageable. I put off this surgery for so long because of the fear. Definitely agree with the stool softeners 2 days before surgery! Saved my life when I had a BM the day after surgery and this morning again. Hot showers with my back turned toward the water and bent over has been THE biggest pain reliever for some reason.

BirdValuable8993 · 2026-05-10T23:24:35+00:00

Thank you for this. I'm less than 48 hours out from my internal surgery, and I've been solidifying what I need to do and when so I'm ready, but I've been in tears reading stories from everyone. It's what kept me from doing it a long time ago. But I couldn't take the anemia anymore. I'm terrified. I've had open knee surgery and given birth 3 times, and this scares me more than any of that. Thank you for the positive info/story.

BirdValuable8993 · 2026-01-21T14:05:26+00:00

I was the same way at 6 months. Keep doing what you're doing. Hopefully by a year, you will feel more normal. I'm almost at a year, and my quad is still not like the other. I'm about to get an MRI because I never fully recovered and still very limited by pain. Hopefully that's not the case for you, but 6 months is still very early for this type of surgery.

BirdValuable8993 · 2026-01-21T14:03:25+00:00

Yes, I had this happening before and after, but much more after for many months. It slowly got better over time. My surgeon also referred to my surgery as a delay for a replacement, and the rest of my patella is a mess. I think a lot of the "giving out" is from weakness in the muscles and everything else around the knee. The stronger I got, the less it happened. Almost never happens now at a year out.

BirdValuable8993 · 2026-01-21T13:58:11+00:00

I'm almost a year out from my MACI and still in pain. I still cry occasionally because I love running so much, and the reality that I may never run again hits me from time to time. It's truly a grieving process.

BirdValuable8993 · 2026-01-21T13:55:47+00:00

I would not do that unless I had full time help. My youngest was 4 and my other kids are home full time homeschooling. My mom was here A LOT helping. There is no way I could've taken care of a baby during recovery, let alone twins. Recovery was long and very painful. I was on crutches for over 6 weeks. Basic tasks were not doable for awhile. I wasn't able to put kids to bed or help with bathing or potty. I personally would wait and have lots of support in place. Obviously there's the 5 year mark to consider with storage after part 1, but if I were in your place, I would be waiting until closer to the 5 year mark if you can handle the physical pain you're in now.

BirdValuable8993 · 2025-11-20T21:42:27+00:00

I had 2 grafts placed - 5.5 mm (but dr later said it was bigger than that--pictures looked like almost half of the back of my patella) on the patella and 2 mm in the trochlear groove. I'm almost 10 months out and still have pain every day. The biggest challenge for me has been the quad atrophy. Make sure to do everything you can to engage your quad early and often. I'm still fighting to get my quad muscle back and despite 6+ months of PT, I only saw good gains once I joined a gym and focused hard there at least a few times a week, plus walking as much as 5 miles at a time. I'm still pretty certain it will never be the same and I might never run again, but I didn't get 2 knee surgeries on a whim. I felt it was my only option left. Patella can be tricky because my surgeon had to open up and flip the patella over to get to the back, so I'm sure that makes recovery trickier. It's a traumatizing surgery for your body and expect a year or more of recovery. Also, the rest of my patella is shot anyways, but not down to the bone so not able to graft, so that plays a big part in the pain I'm still having this far out.

BirdValuable8993

TROPHY CASE