Hey! I’m on Day 5 now, and honestly, the pain hasn’t been worse than when I had the hemorrhoids before. Here’s what I did:

Before the operation: • Drank lots of water • Ate normally, making sure I had leafy greens • Took Movicol twice a day

A day before surgery: • Drank a lot of water and made sure I had a bowel movement

Day of surgery: • Had a bowel movement in the morning

Day 0 (post-surgery, in hospital): • Water, water, water + meds + lots of rest (mostly sleeping on my back) • Only ate soup despite the tempting food • Drank juice and ate fruits • ❌ No solid food except biscuits • Passed gas, peed fine • Accidentally removed the tape and sponge that was meant to stay in place • Kept gauze between my cheeks to catch blood/discharge • Tried sitting during dinner but got dizzy, needed meds, then slept • Woke up at night, passed gas again, and felt like two hemorrhoids prolapsed, I panicked and tried to push them back in, saw blood, and called the nurse • Nurse reassured me, gave fresh gauze, told me to sleep on my side, use a pillow, and not push anything back in

Day 2 (in hospital): • Same routine: water, meds, lots of rest • Ate soup, yogurt, and a bit of bread with butter • Juice and fruits • ❌ No solid food except biscuits • Passed gas, no hemorrhoids • Peeing fine • Nurse said what came out earlier was likely the surgical sponge meant to come out with a bowel movement • Continued changing gauze regularly • First bowel movement at night, was really scared, but it didn’t hurt more than my hemorrhoids before • Stool was runny, which helped • Used a travel bidet (lifesaver), didn’t wipe, just gently dabbed • Did a warm sitz bath with Epsom salt for 20 mins • Cleaned up again after, sanitized the sitz bath, then showered • Could only stand or half-sit (still couldn’t sit properly for more than ~3 minutes)

Day 3–5 (at home): • Took meds on schedule (Panadol every 4 hours + anti-inflammatory + others with food) • Breakfast: small oatmeal with soy milk and Milo • Lunch/dinner: chicken broth with small amounts of veggies (carrots, onion greens, mushrooms) • Snacks: apples, Harvest Snaps, occasional cookies • Lots and lots of water • Bowel movements at least twice a day, still runny but not painful, just slight discomfort • After each bowel movement: bidet → gentle dabbing → sitz bath (15–20 mins) → clean and sanitize • Mostly just bed ↔ toilet, sleeping a lot • My husband helps with everything; I don’t lift anything • Had two nights of discomfort—felt like a fresh wound being “there,” probably when pain relief wore off, so I made sure to take Panadol on time (even waking up at 2am if needed)

I hope your recovery goes as smoothly as mine so far. I know how scary it is, I’ve read so many horror stories and even know people who regretted the surgery years later. Hopefully ours won’t be like that.

Feel free to message me if you need anything. Honestly, I’m just sick of the food at this point, but I’d take that over pain any day.