by tojo78 » 08 Mar 2013, 10:06
This is kinda like the State of the Union, except for my sphincter :D
I am not going to post my usual update any more as I think I have pass through the initial healing phase. Instead, I will be providing periodic updates on how I am doing. So I wanted to post this to recap things that have happened and lessons learned.
My LIS was on Feb 21st and was a breeze. On the 22nd, I felt like I could have gone to work, but I knew this was not a good idea and stayed home until the 26th. My first BM was a non-event and did not cause any real issues. On the night of the 25th I had some pizza that did not agree with me and ended up having diarrhea. On the 26th I returned to work and while my bottom was sore, it wasn't really a big deal until later in the day when it started to hurt more and the pain was not going away. I checked myself that night and found a small lump just on the inslide of my anus that hurt. I began to panic thinking I had an infection. The next day I saw my CRS and he told me I had a hemmie with a blood clot in it. It was removed via a short surgery in his office. This pretty much set me back to square one.
Since my hemmie surgery I take 4 Walgreen's Fiber Therapy pills a day, 2 gel cap stool softeners a day and take 2-3 warm bath a day. I have 1 to 2 BMs a day and I'd say at this point about 50% are painless. The ones where I have pain are at the hemmie site (there are stiches there too). But I know its healing as it feels better every day. Typical recovery for the hemmie is 2-3 weeks and I think thats realistic given where I am at right now. I have had only very minor bleeding when cleaning myself a couple days after the LIS and some bleeding right after the hemmie removal. Otherwise I have been blood free.
So as I look back now, I can say that the LIS has helped with my fissure issues to date. I haven't had any fissure related pain or spasms since surgery. My problem with my fissure wasn't necessarily pain during a BM, but the pain after and some bleeding when I wiped. Rarely would I have some blood in the toilet too. Itching was an issue too sometimes.
So my advice for those recently post op or considering surgery is this:
- Do not accept living with pain! There are options out there that can help you! Find a good CRS and get checked out. If you live in the central Illinois area or dont mind traveling to that area and want to see a really good CRS, PM me and I will give you the information on the ne that did my surgery
- Don't fear surgery! Its really not that bad at all and you should be in and out in about 4 hours. My CRS told me that the surgery literally takes 5 minutes once he's in there.
- Take a week off of work if you can post op. While you might feel like you could go back earlier, you need to baby your butt for awhile. Just take it easy and let yourself heal up!
- Be VERY careful of the pain meds as they can and will back you up. This can cause unnecessary pressure on your anus which can cause issues. Take your stool softeners and fiber exactly how your CRS tells you to. There is a reason they want you to take this stuff.
- Sitz baths are a lifesaver! They will not only reduce pain but they also keep the area clean and promote healing through better blood flow.
- Watch what you eat for the first couple weeks. Try to keep to high fiber stuff. Don't eat anything that might upset your stomach as it could cause diarrhea. I learned the hard way about this and got a hemmie as my punishment.
- Drink lots of water. Not coffee, not soda, not juice, plain old water. This helps keep your stools soft and BMs as easy as possible. Very important!
- and lastly, don't get discouraged if you are not healing as fast as you want. It does take some time to heal after surgery and people heal at different rates. Gradual improvement is what you are looking for. If things are worse post op compared to where you were pre-op, give your CRS a call right away.
Thats it for now. I will probably post again early next week or if anyone has any questions in the mean time