Hey Summer - good luck tomorrow! It's a big day, but don't be nervous. The surgery is a breeze and we will be here to support you afterward. Everything will go very well and when it's over you will be on the road to healing!
:D

Best of luck Summer.
I hope everything goes very well for you and wish you a very speedy recovery.
Don't fret - the waiting and worrying is actually worse than the surgery!

Good Luck Summer,
I'm sure you will do great! I know it's hard, but try not to let the anxiety get the best of you. It will be over with quickly and you will probably be surprised that it's not as bad as you think. I know I was! LOL.
My pain was much better after surgery even though I was sore, it was much better than the day before with my fissure, spasms and painful huge skin tag.
Let the real healing begin now!:)

SummerGal, go in there and kick some ass tomorrow! We'll be thinking of you and will be waiting to hear all about it :) Just remember that many of us have been there before, and some of us are pretty big chickens haha (And yes, that DEFINITELY includes yours truly in a major way!)

Awww thanks so much to all of you (and Hope for starting this). It actually brought tears to my eyes (but in a good way)...jeesh I am getting so emotional this week! Your words of support, both today, and for the past month have really meant a lot to me. I was TERRIFIED when I first came on this board, and now I am just slightly (but that might change tomorrow lol) anxious. hehe As soon as I can, I will come on and let you know how it went. Thanks again...you all have been awesome with the positive advice and the humor!

SummerGal wrote:I was TERRIFIED when I first came on this board, and now I am just slightly (but that might change tomorrow lol) anxious. hehe

If you're anything like me, it'll probably change just a wee bit tomorrow ahead of the procedure haha I know I was FRIGGIN' OUT MMMAAAAAAANNN before I went in. It's perfectly normal, so just keep remembering that there are so many of us on this board that have gone through the same thing, and you'll be just fine :) (Side note: I personally was so chicken I actually canceled my surgery three days before, and then called my surgeon two days later to ask to be put back on schedule hahaha!)
Congrats on taking the first step toward a freshly repaired caboose!

We are sending good vibes and best wishes to you today, Summer! Good luck and don't worry. You're on your way to getting better! :)

well, i am home now. the surgeon said everything went well. i had work done on my fistula, skin tag, one hemorroid (surprise!), and maybe my fissure. So basically I got the deluxe package. lol
I have had pain, but not unbearable, and I am taking my pain meds regularly, just to stay ahead of the pain (like many mentioned on here).
I wonder how long the numbing stuff from surgery lasts. I am now about 10-11 hours out from surgery, and was wondering how much is a true indicator of the pain i really should be feeling. Did you all think the first or second day was more painful? I haven't had a BM yet, but just had an enema last night, so who knows when. He prescribed me soemthing for bowel stimulation as well as mineral oil. I think it's ducosat sodium or something like that. I wonder if I should take my stool softener on top of that, or is that a stool softener too?
I AM dreading going to the bathroom.
I have a question for you guys. I have been urinating a lot to do. Do you think that is from the IV's? I get about half way done and then my butt starts to hurt, so I usually stop.
i got the results of the polyp and that was all good. yay!
so i hope tomorrow isn't much worse. i am so glad the worrying about surgery is over and i am not on my way! thank you all again for the support!

YAY Summer!!!!!!
Congratulations on your "delux" surgery! And I'm so happy that you got good news about the polyp too. That's wonderful!
Since you are so far out of surgery now, I would think that the numbing has worn off. The first day or two after surgery can be a bit painful, but that really depends. Some folks find the days after more painful than immediately after the surgery, others get immediate relief and don't experience much pain post-op at all. The trick is to use the painkillers to stay on top of the pain, as you are doing.
I'm not sure what you should do with all the extra stool softener stuff your doc gave you. Maybe others with more knowledge about that can chime in. I think that docusate sodium is a stool softener that works by drawing water into the stool, just like Miralax. But I've never tried it, so I'm sorry I can't advise you about that. I preferred Miralax because it comes in a powder and I could control the dosage - I think the docusate comes in capsules, in which case it's more difficult to adjust the amount you need. I used Miralax (Restoralax) because I knew it would work. I just increased the dosage a bit to compensate for the painkillers.
I'm sorry to say that a little experimenting with stool softeners and dosage is often required post-surgery. The bowels and butt are a bit out of wack for the first few days until the shock of surgery wears off. That shouldn't last long, though.
Don't worry about your first BM - it is usually much less painful than before the surgery. I know it's really scary - just remember to relax, take deep yoga breaths, and don't push, and you'll likely be pleasantly surprised.
I peed a lot too, but that also settled down. It is possible that is caused by the IV, if they kept you hydrated. It may also seem like you are peeing more because you aren't emptying your bladder in one good pee, but rather you are having many little pees. That should settle down soon too, especially once you start drinking more water and the butt settles down.
I am so happy that the surgery went well and that you are home and not in much pain. :D Things will get better from now on. Have a good night's sleep and don't worry about tomorrow. The first BM will be fine and you have painkillers, so you will be able to manage any pain that tries to bother you. Just remember too that you had quite a bit done, so you must be patient with yourself and pamper yourself as much as possible.
You are now officially on your way to healing and getting your life back. Way to go!!

I am glad everything went well. One thing I told myself was if the pain is really bad then I will take the vicodin. If I can Handle the pain and just need something to take the edge off then I would take ibuprofen. I did not want to use much of the pain meds for fear of constipation. Just a little tip.