by rockpine » 24 May 2011, 21:56
Hi Alpha,
Good luck with your preparations for surgery. I had a hemerrhoidectomy, LIS, and a fistulotomy four weeks ago and I am doing pretty well in my recovery.
I did have pain post-op but that was manageable with the pain meds they give you and with allowing yourself enough time off to rest and relax. I can't honestly tell which procedure caused more pain since all three were done at once. Funny, I'm reading on this board that hemmie removal is supposed to be very painful, but all three of my surgeries in combination were nowhere near fissure pain!
I was too dizzy from the pain meds to be able to read after the surgery. Not until I got off them I was able to watch a movie or TV show through without falling asleep. I actually kind of enjoyed having the time to do absolutely nothing , sleep, and pamper myself. If you can get someone to check on you each day, cook/bring you food or keep you company that will help a lot. The last thing you'll want to do is cook or clean or walk downstairs to get yourself a glass of water in the middle of the night especially if you are a bit loopy from pain or medication. The iPad will be great entertainment during your recovery.
Maybe you can get a second opinion on the fissurectomy. My CRS had on my operating instructions that I was going to have a "fissurectomy and hemerrhoidectomy" and I was having anxiety from what I heard about the posts here about pain from a fissurectomy. Two days prior to surgery I asked him, "So, you're removing the fissure?". He said there was no reason too, he was going to do LIS, even though it said on the paperwork that I was going to have a fissurectomy. Maybe it was for insurance purposes? Maybe, like in my case, you should double-check with your CRS that it will in fact be a fissurectomy?
Before you get discharged, the nurses in the recovery room will probably give you a long maxi pad to use. The 4" x 4" square gauze pads were very helpful too, especially during the first week where there was more discharge and bleeding and I needed to change them more frequently. The longer, heavy maxis will give you better coverage in the butt area and will also give you a bit of padding to help protect and cushion the area.
I didn't have a problem with getting constipated from the pain meds. With Citrucel and MOM, I didn't have a prob with BMs. My first BM wasn't as bad as I had imagined.
Good luck with everything and keep us posted!