My Journey

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My Journey

Postby SakPase » 18 Aug 2015, 18:15

Hello - 29 year old, active and healthy male. I'm a runner and a pastor to students at a church to give you a bit of background.

First: if you're confused and embarrassed - welcome to the club. No one likes to talk about this...which means no one knows it is a real possibility in life until they're in the middle of it. But, you're clearly not alone. My doc did six surgeries today. Six! It happens a lot, but no one likes to scream that they have a torn sphincter!

I am now 2 hours post-op. I'm home, sitting on my couch, trying to figure out what the heck is going on in life... :D

Background:
On July 4, I had a hard stool and remember a "pop" that was uncomfortable, but I didn't give a lot of thought to it. That afternoon, another BM which hurt worse with a little blood. That night was so uncomfortable...but I'd experienced similar pain before and it would subside in a day or two. I would typically just increase fiber with Fiber One bars and Cracklin' Oat Bran cereal. Unfortunately, this was the start of a six week journey.

The following days sucked, to say the least. July 6 my wife and I were out of town for 18 days where we work with a summer student leadership conference. I thought that things would be good because the "hemorrhoid" would disappear and give relief. Instead, it was continued pain and blood. And then, out of nowhere, lingering pain for some 6-8 hours would be there.

The conference was intense and hands on. We were paid staff, so I was very ticked at how it was going for me. I changed my diet where I was eating less. The conference started Monday, and on Thursday, it was the worst day by far. A very hard stool - took 45 minutes of gritting and bearing my teeth. My stools were pencil like because everything was so tight.

I tried it all that I could find on Google for hemorrhoids. Diaper ointment, coconut oil, Tucks pads...you name it, I applied it.

For the next two weeks, I was somehow able to change my habits to be at night. This means that while I wouldn't sleep, life could go on.

On July 22, the last day of my conference, I couldn't hold it, went to the bathroom and passed a stool with no blood. "Great!" I thought. The next day, the same thing. The lingering pain was minimal and I thought I was on the mend. Came home for the first time in 18 days and managed to survive and thought I was on the mend.

The next week was our family vacation - basically the same. I managed and survived. Some painful times, but I had it under "control."

We returned home, I played a weekend softball tournament with no issues, but some BM pain at night.

Finally, August came, life was normal, and I thought with a focused diet, I'd be good.

Last Wednesday, I was on a run and the pain was just uncomfortable...not unbearable, but I finally just said I was tired of it. I called the local colorectal office and set up an appointment for yesterday, August 17. At 10:30, I showed up and after some waiting, was seen by the doc.

He immediately checked me out and told me it was definitely a fissure....which I assumed, but was praying it was just a really bad internal hemorrhoid because it was located to the left side with pain.

He gave me options: surgery would definitely heal it, ointments could help, and possibly heal, but mine was bad. Said that it was deep and he could literally see the muscle from the tear - not what I wanted to hear. After some deliberation and questions (how long is the recovery?) I set it up after talking to my wife and my church office to make sure there was nothing I HAD to deal with. The biggest thing for me was recovery, as Sep 3 I make an annual trip to Haiti, and I didn't want to jeopardize that. The doctor told me to go on with it if I did surgery.

So today, I went in.

I arrived, waited a bit, and then they got to business. The anesthesiologist was wonderful and put me to ease with small talk. She inserted the IV. The nurse came in, got me settled. And then the last thing I remember is the anesthesiologist smiling and saying "Good night!"

I stirred once in surgery barely, and she said, "Go back to sleep..." Which I did obviously.

I woke up chilling, normal. They put me in a wheelchair, gave me water, and rolled to me a room to chill. I was there maybe 10 minutes when the doc came in. Told me to do my best to keep it clean and some other tips and to come back for follow up late next week. He did tell me he had to make a deep incision on the left side, which suggested to me, my fissure was pretty nasty. Then he left me to do another surgery (six total today...)

Nurses rolled me to my car, and my wife drove me home...and here we are.

I wanted to post this, because the most helpful thing for me was reading other people's success stories. So, I hope this is helpful to write for others in the future.

Tonight, I have had jello, pudding, and applesauce. I took a couple of strong prescription pain killers. My wife is roasting/steaming some veggies which I will eat some of and simply chill on the couch for the next few days.

I'm still numb down there, so I'm not feeling much other than just being tired.

The biggest sensation I hate is in my lower abdomen and it's gas pressure. After arriving home, and walking in the house, I figured out I was passing gas and wasn't trying. Has definitely happened a few more times since then. There's still a bit of discomfort due to this at this point, so once it is relieved, I think tonight will be numbingly boring...or I definitely hope.

(Thanks for all people who have posted here in the past, as it made my decision easy. I am hopeful for a quick and easy recovery. In two weeks, I make my trip and look forward to not living in fear of how long pain may last! I plan to update this with information, so others in the future can see what to expect...and hopefully I'm the norm on recovery!)
SakPase
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Re: My Journey

Postby hurtinend » 18 Aug 2015, 18:30

Thanks for this, good info I wish you healing.

Not sure where you live, do you pay for the colorectal office? There is no such thing where I am, it requires referral from family doctor, the a wait of months and months.

I am still on a wait list for a colonoscopy, it could be months of waiting.
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Re: My Journey

Postby SakPase » 18 Aug 2015, 18:42

I am in St. Louis, MO USA. I googled St. Louis hemorrhoids, which lead me to this place near me. They also treated fissures, and another number of issues according to the website. So I just called and they took me. It was very easy.

And the doc is supposedly very good? Also has a paper he gave me that at the end said, "Do these things if you never want to see me again..." I like that....because I don't. :D
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Re: My Journey

Postby SakPase » 18 Aug 2015, 22:21

First night update:

Nurse told me before the or endure that going forward the pain was going to be 100 times worse than the fissure. That sucks, especially since I've seen so many success stories.

I think she's right. Lots of pain tonight.

Lots of gas that is just stuck it seems.

Hoping some sleep makes a difference overnight.
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Re: My Journey

Postby msimon » 19 Aug 2015, 02:31

Thanks for sharing Sakpase. Welcome to the forum and congratulations on getting past that hurdle. Glad to hear you were able to get very prompt relief. Your pain will likely increase until about 3 days after which it will gradually subside. Hang in there. I'm sure you know from reading on here that it's going to get worse before it gets better.

Were you given pain meds? It's best to stay ahead of the pain (ie., do not let them wear off for that first week). Hope to hear you are doing well very soon.
Dec '13 Fissure from anoscope
3 X internal sphincter botox
'08-'15 Botox for pelvic floor dysfunction
Nov '14 LIS/sentinel tag removal
Feb '15 Deroofing of recurrent infection from LIS
summer '15-healed but still ongoing muscle dysfunction/pain
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Re: My Journey

Postby SakPase » 19 Aug 2015, 07:28

Msimon - I was given some pain meds and was trying to stay ahead of it. I've never had those meds before so it was messing with me. Last night, I took some oxycodine before bed. Woke up close to 1am and tried to urinate for a bit, and finally got it to come. I then took some tylenol and ibuprofen and slept for 2.5 more hours. Got up again and urinated much easier and continued to pass gas every time I went to the toilet.

One more awake time at 5:30am - pain was much less at that point. Same story of some pain, but was lessened. Still gas and ease of urination.

Throughout the night, I did use some unscented baby wipes each time to just wipe lightly. Definitely saw some very tiny clots and a bit of blood, which I know is very normal so I'm good with it. I plan on taking a sitz bath at some point this morning, especially since I anticipate a BM today.

It's 7:30am now, and I just ate breakfast (applesauce and dry cereal with quite a bit of fiber). Also took my meds this morning (ibuprofen and tylenol), as well as the antibiotic, and the urinary meds he gave me. Likewise, took two senna tablets with stool softner and had my dose of metamucil.

I'm hoping the pain is lessened today and that Tylenol and Ibuprofen will do the trick...but I'm only personally checking it out to see. The moment things get beyond comfortable, I'll take the oxy...and sleep a while.

The weakness and overwhelming fatigue have worn off. I am definitely tired though, but will be doing nothing more than sitting on the couch for the next couple of days.
SakPase
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Re: My Journey

Postby msimon » 19 Aug 2015, 10:31

Did your Doctor tell you to take the senna? What type of stool softener are you taking?

Glad to hear you were able to get at least some sleep and that the pain is getting better. That first night I didn't sleep a wink! Maybe you can nap some today..
Dec '13 Fissure from anoscope
3 X internal sphincter botox
'08-'15 Botox for pelvic floor dysfunction
Nov '14 LIS/sentinel tag removal
Feb '15 Deroofing of recurrent infection from LIS
summer '15-healed but still ongoing muscle dysfunction/pain
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Re: My Journey

Postby SakPase » 19 Aug 2015, 12:19

Yes, the doctor said to take the senna twice a day during the morning and at night. And the stool softener is with the senna.

Was able to sleep a couple of hours this morning off and on.
SakPase
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Re: My Journey

Postby SakPase » 19 Aug 2015, 14:17

The journey continues today.

Took pain meds at 11:30 (again, Tylenol and Ibuprofen). Then I had a high fiber lunch with metamucil (steamed sweet potatoes).

At 1:30, I was going to do a sitz bath. As I was passing gas, I was able to feel my stomach gurgling in more than a gaseous way, so I removed the sitz from the toilet and sat down. I had my first BM, and amazingly...I had zero pain in passing it.

After the BM, I used wet wipes to clean up, and then I sat on the sitz for a full bag. Then, I decided to shower for the first time in 24 hours, which definitely feels nice. I washed as gently as I could, not getting very far. But then I filled the sitz bag one more time and used the hose in the shower to just lightly wash off the inside. Was able to see some come out. After the shower, I wiped one more time, laid down under a fan to let it dry, and then gave a gauze pad for any drainage.

Hopefully there are no painful flare ups from the BM. Definitely feel better afterwards. Fortunately, no issues in urinating either. I am drinking plenty of water for sure.
SakPase
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Re: My Journey

Postby SakPase » 20 Aug 2015, 08:52

We're around 40 hours post-op.

Yesterday improved. No issues after the BM. I did finally break down and take an oxycodone around 6:30 last night. Just took a single pill and that helped.

Before bed, took my final sitz bath and then used the house to lightly clean the area. Definitely cleaned out some of the area, which made me feel better to see that what I was doing removed gunk.

Took two pain killers right before bed. Woke up an hour later in pain and took an ibuprofen. Woke up two hours later and went to urinate. I didn't "struggle" per se. It just took a while to feel empty. I also wiped and cleaned up with wet wipes. I did also put a little pressure on the incision with the wet wipe as well to see if anything came out besides blood, and nope...just a little bit of blood.

This morning, I took my full barrage of meds. Did two tylenol and one ibuprofen around an hour ago. I've also been active in doing laundry and dishes this morning - albeit, I'm moving much slower than what is normal. Also sitz bathed immediately upon waking and cleaned with the hose.

Pain last night was throbbing/hurting until I got in the meds. Would say it was a 6 of 10. Very uncomfortable, but also not even close to the pain and throbbing of the fissure. It appeared that it would ease up, whereas, as you know, the fissure pain is constant for 6-10 hours post BM. That is encouraging to me.

Likewise, I'm sitting upright on the couch with no pain presently. When I stand up, there is definitely a little pain. I am tender to walk, but not like yesterday. I may try to get out and walk outside this evening when my wife comes home from work.

I plan on using my head today and not overdoing it, but I want to try to "do it" today with as much as I can. So, laundry is being done and dishes will, too. If I can, I'm gonna try to make a light dinner...because unfortunately all of this has fallen on my wife's birthday. Happy birthday to her, right? You get a big whiney baby husband for your birthday!

:D

This website has kept me very encouraged for sure, as looking at my story, it is very similar to the other positives I've read. So for those struggling, I hope this can keep you encouraged as well.
SakPase
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