I am sitting for the first time (on a couch cushion on my desk chair), and thought that I'd update my LIS experience (2 1/2 weeks ago).

I had general anaesthesia for the procedure, but am not sure if a local was given to the area as well. When I woke up afterward, I was in mild pain, and that continued to escalate for the first day and up to about noon the next day. The pain was EXTREME from about midnight until 10:00a.m. and I called the surgeon who prescribed a stronger painkiller. By the time I had it filled though, my pain had calmed down a lot and I was fine with just Tylenol 3's. I had level 5 pain for the whole first week, and then about a level 2 for the second week. I have no pain now from the incision site, but have to be really careful about the new hemmorhoids that sprouted up in response to the surgery. I had not expected this and it has been very difficult, because I don't dare sit on my backside, so haven't been able to go out at all (can't sit in the car, or walk any distance without irritating the new roids. I also can't sit on the couch to read or watch TV, and have being lying on my sides for the full two and a half weeks. This has led to pain in my back, neck and shoulder, which worries me a lot too. I am not young (55), so longterm problems with my back, shoulder and neck scare me a great deal (I had frozen shoulder about 5 years ago, and do NOT want to repeat those two years of difficulty)!

On the poop front though, I have had very little pain since the surgery. Like everyone else, I was terrified to have the first "go", but it was very soft and almost slid out on its own. I have only had a little pain twice, and those were on days when I had several trips to the toilet within a very short period of time. The pain was just like my old fissure pain, but instead of being a level 10 for 10 hours, followed by another 10 hours at level 5, I only had a level 4 pain for about an hour. I am amazed that the sphincterotomy really seems to have helped, but unless I can get rid of these new (and again, UNEXPECTED, external hemmorhoids!), I am very worried about the rest of my health.

I know that I'm so much luckier (so far) than msimon (my heart breaks for you, dear), so I will just grin and bear what I have to.

And I guess that I should also mention that I've had no incontinence whatsoever, other than a bit of wind that was passed in the bathtub on my first day home. Very relieved on that front too.

Hi Chachacha,

I'm sorry to hear about your hemorrhoids! That's so frustrating to have another problem develop when you're trying to recover from surgery. Does your doctor recommend warm baths or an ice pack or pain medication? It's hard when you can't walk yet. Are out able it stand for short periods of time? Maybe you could stand for a bit and lay down for a bit? Just to try to take the stress off your back and neck. I have back problems too and they have been acting up during my recovery (I'm 3.5 weeks post LIS).

It's good that your BMs haven't been bad and that you don't have any incontinence. It's a big relief not to have continence issues.

Chachacha, what are your hemorrhoids like? I have some, new, very painful bumps and I'm trying to figure out if they are hemorrhoids. Do they feel like a sharp, stabbing pain? I had a thrombosed external hemorrhoid before and it was a just a little sore, not like these.

Do you have a follow up with your doctor soon? I hope they can help you out with the hemorrhoids.

I have had back issues for years, and unfortunately, I only experience pain when standing still.

I first saw my CRS about 20 years ago after my first hemmorhoid after my family doctor referred me to him so that it could be lanced. He took one look, told me that it was too late to do anything, and that I was in for some excruciating pain in a few days time. I had no idea what to expect really, but BOY was he right! He had said that the thrombosed hemmie process lasted about 10 - 14 days, and that I would be wanting to die sometime at about day 7 for about 3 full days afterward. I did. I then experienced this again in 1996 and then again in 2011 and had to go to emerg where their attempts to help me failed. Morphine did nothing to ease the pain, even though they kept giving me vial after vial when each one didn't help. They finally gave me a local into the area, which consisted of about 20 very painful shots, but the relief was so welcome. They then inserted a "cigar" dressing that helped to keep things calm in there for a bit and sent me home. After that, I got better and have feared ever having that happen to me again. I don't know if these three episodes were "just" thrombosed hemmies, or if they were perhaps thrombosed and strangulated, and mean to ask my CRS about that on my surgical follow-up visit. I am currently being very careful, because I don't want these new buggers to "explode" on me into something more. To answer your question, they are very tender to the touch, or if I walk or sit, but don't hurt at all if I'm lying on my side. I took 3 or 4 baths a day for the first two weeks and am down to only one a day now.

Very interesting that you also have bumps. I have also wondered if mine aren't hemmies at all, but perhaps more sentinal piles that have erupted as a defense to the surgery?

My follow up is in 3 weeks - how about you?

Are you doing well now other than the "bumps"?

I can understand being careful with your thrombosed hemorrhoids after everything you've been through before, I never knew they were so painful. It's got to be scary when morphine doesn't help. I hope that you can get some relief. Can you rest of your back at all? That might take some stress off your neck and shoulders. I couldn't even rest on my back for the first week after surgery. It just put too much pressure on my rear.

I had a thrombosed hemorrhoid last fall. It was just a little bump that felt sore when I wiped after a BM. My CRS saw it in January and told me what it was and that it was getting better. These bumps feel so much more painful. I haven't been able to do warm soaks at all (too much chance of inflaming my vulvodynia) but I started trying warm compresses to the anal area today.

It's hard to tell how my recovery is going. I was able to sit for brief periods of time around day 11. I am back to work but it's a bit of a struggle. I am either at work or at home, resting on my side. My husband does everything else, thank God! For the past ten days I have felt like I was getting better from the surgery but that something else was causing me mild pain. I think it was these bumps, waiting to emerge.

My appointment is on Tuesday. I can't wait to find out what this is. I hope one day these problems will be behind us.

I am still wondering what was so different about my thrombosed hemmies, because my pain level was so much more than what is described on google results and even my CRS told me that I'd want to die when I got to days 7 - 10. I have never had much success with drugs - I guess I'm just very unlucky that way. I do lie on my back a bit, but the boredom just kills me, since I can't even see the TV that way.

I'm actually feeling quite sore again this morning, and that was probably because I overdid the sitting yesterday.

I'm very curious to hear what your doctor says tomorrow about your lumps. And interesting that they only came up 3 weeks post-op.

Yes, my husband has been doing everything too, and my son (last one still at home) is helping out as much as he can too.

I hope that things get better for you soon too.

Thanks for the update and the kind words Chacha. Have been wondering how you are doing. Very sorry to hear you are still being plagued by hemmies. I do, however, wonder if they are indeed post-surgical skin tags that will settle down in time. Have you been able to see what they look like? Are they pink, fleshy coloured or more purple, deep red in colour.

That is odd about your thrombosed hemmies. I have had those before and while they really hurt, wouldn't think that 7-10 days in they would make you want to die. Mine were usually deflated some by then and that reduction in pressure would cause a reduction in pain. Maybe they were strangulated. Mine were always external ones, and fairly small. With the exception of the one that caused me to have emergency surgery 11 years ago.

Glad to hear the pain is much better for you but sad o hear you are not too functional yet. Something I have done in the past when my neck and back and butt were very sore is to listen to audiobooks. They occupy the mind while allowing you to physically relax. Maybe that would interest you?

Still Hoping, I hope you get an answer to your new bumps. Does sound odd. Keep us posted.

After doing a bit more research this morning, I've come to the conclusion that my bad hemmorhoid episodes were due to acute thrombosed hemmorhoids.

My husband says that they are nice and pink (I had told him that I needed him to make sure that they weren't purple, blue or black-tinged), but of the bunch, only one is very tender.

I am very grateful to no longer be in pain, but not being able to go out, or watch TV or read comfortably is very annoying, especially since I'm quite worried about the back, neck and shoulder issues. I'm not sure that I would ever have traded the fissure pain for permanent problems on those fronts.

Audio books sound interesting - what do I need to use them? I know that our library system carries them, but do I need a special device that they go into?

I'm still so very worried about you though, because all of your fears are so easy to relate to.

Thanks Chacha :)

As for the audiobook, my library carries them in CD format. So if you are old school like me and have a CD player...

My library also has some available on their website for download, which you may want to check out. You just need a certain program on your computer. I'm sure it will tell you. The other thing I do is listen to old reruns on the TV that I know so well I don't have to watch ;)

Where are you located again? When is your next Doctor's appointment again? Have you tried to put anything on the lumps and bumps? I found that zinc diaper cream really worked for me.

I don't think that we have any CD players around anymore, but thanks for the good idea of seeing if I can download directly from the library. The only problem there though, is that I doubt that my account is still active (haven't used a library in many years), and they may require a visit first to re-instate my privileges.

I'm in Toronto and will be seeing my surgeon again in about 3 weeks (6 weeks post-op).

I have been reluctant to treat the external hemmies, because they're all on one side and up against the sphincterotomy incision. That incision healed well for the most part, but one small spot (about the size of the head of a pin), breaks open occasionally, and I dont' want anything on that that shouldn't be. I'm still taking daily baths though, so am hoping that I'm doing those roids good by soaking them. And again, they don't hurt unless I touch or move them, and I also don't want to mask pain and start doing them more harm than good.

How about you? When is your next appointment? And are you still "bunged" up?

Just updating again to see if anyone can shed light on the following:

My husband just looked at the area again (after not doing so for about a week), and says that the hemmies are a lot smaller and the incision site looks good. When I told him which hemmie was very tender, he said that that one was actually much smaller than the others, and was almost white in colour. Could this one not be a hemmorhoid after all? It is right between two others, and not touching the incision, but I find it odd that it doesn't "match" the others.

Anyone have anything like this before?