My Journey to Hemorrhoid Surgery

Yesterday, May 17th, my husband posted to his facebook status that I was in surgery. Since that time, our shared facebook friends have expressed concern for me and worry about my condition, and I appreciate that more than you'll know. Since he didn't share "what"the surgery was regarding, it left more questions than answers. When I told my boss I was having surgery, I told him, "I'm just going to tell you because what you might imagine is far worse than what it really is." To that end, I've decided to share some information for my family and friends. I wanted to let the people who care about me know what was going on so that they can cease to worry (thanks, honey, for outing me on FB!)

I know that the topic of hemorrhoids is typically not dinner table conversation, and rightfully so. However, after thinking about it, I have decided to share a bit about my experience.

If you are one of the millions of people who suffer with hemorrhoids, perhaps this will help you. If you're oddly curious, I'm OK with that, too. If you happen on to this blog post from a google search, I hope this helps. If found very few real people out there in cyberspace willing to talk about their tushy and what the surgery would be like. So, be forewarned....if this topic offends you or grosses you out...click away from the page and shut down the browser. My intent is not to be graphic and disgusting but to provide insight and information with the intent to help others.

I first experienced hemorrhoids at the age of 24...that's right, 24! I have never been pregnant (in case you are wondering). All that I have read suggests that a lot of people have hemorrhoids (internal) and depending on your bowel movements (hard or soft stools), you can have hemorrhoids manifest externally.

I developed my first hemorrhoids after my LDS mission. I had a lot of strange health things occur right after I returned from my mission. I do not correlate hemorrhoids with my Mormon mission except in this way....when I came home, I had a RAPID and SIGNIFICANT weight gain. Within the period of a year, I easily gained 50 pounds. I attribute my bad diet to my weight gain and subsequently the hemorrhoids. Anytime you eat poorly, you have the potential to affect your digestive system. So, while "weight gain doesn't cause hemorrhoids," for me, it did...indirectly. My mom always says, "You have hemorrhoids because you're heavy." That isn't exactly true, but being overweight doesn't help.

I am 40 years old today. I have lived with hemorrhoids for 16 years. For the most part, they have been a complete and total non-issue. I have had periodic issues, but I have managed my condition with over the counter medicine, warm baths...and, um...trying not to sit as much. This last part is terribly problematic for me....since I sit all day long at a computer and I sit A LOT on planes. I had flair ups maybe once or twice a year...and they lasted only a few days. I was resolved to live with my condition and just deal with it.

Then about a month ago, I had a horrible experience that was unlike any other I had had with hemorrhoids. As my friend Julian said, "They can be so big, some call them assteroids!" That would pretty much describe my situation. When you have discomfort at that level, you need to get to a doctor. I had made my general practitioner aware of my hemorrhoids during my annual physicals (and if you are not getting those, call your doctor today....I implore you...). He had even given me a referral to a proctologist. I had that dang referral on my desk for TWO years, and wouldn't you know, at Christmastime when I was throwing crap away I thought, "I'm never going to need this referral," and chucked it.

Only a qualified medical professional can tell you what is really going on with your condition and how to best treat it. Luckily, I found a proctologist close to my house who had actually been the one my doctor referred. The stars were aligned (or maybe the asteroids were ;-). The physician's assistant knew that my condition was serious and recommended surgery. We treated the symptoms for four weeks before the surgery to help with pain management and swelling. The day I was in the office, I scheduled the surgery for one month out. I had decided to take care of the problem once and for all.

I was done with class, my schedule was pretty open for that week. I conferred with my manager and my scheduler on my work commitments and booked the surgery.

Since I booked this surgery, I have told only a few people. It's not so much that I'm embarrassed; I'm not. I just didn't want people to worry about me. My doctor told me that about 50% of people have hemorrhoids of some type but that it is taboo to talk about them. I think that is unfortunate. The more information we have, the more we can be aware of what might be happening with our bodies, how to manage the symptoms and when to ask for help. Since sharing my surgery plans with a trusted circle of friends, I have found many people willing to talk about their own problems with hemorrhoids. It's very, very common.

I'm not going to lie. As this surgery has approached, I've been scared. The only surgery I have ever had was oral surgery when my wisdom teeth were pulled. That was when I was 16, and it occurred in the oral surgeon's office. I remember at the time asking him about anesthesia and expressing concern over how anesthesia killed brain cells. He said, "There are a lot of things that kill brain cells" and summarily dismissed my concern. Jerk.

I have been afraid of the unknown. What exactly was going to happen? What would my recovery be like? Exactly how much pain was I going to experience? The thought even ran through my mind near the end, "Do I REALLY need to do this, or should I just live with the pain?" I decided that I really needed to do this...after 16 years and that the timing was good for my personal and professional life.

Right before I went into the OR, I met my surgeon, Dr. Eyring and my anesthesiologist....who was donning a BYU surgical cap. Like this....

From my position in the bed, I could only see his cap. I said, "I already don't like that guy." (Which was a reference to the BYU logo.) He whipped out another cap and said, "I've got this one just for special patients."

That made me laugh! He wore it for me during my surgery. He went in the hall wearing the U of U cap and was getting heckled by some of the nurses. What a sport. However, during his first try at finding an vein for an IV, he failed...the result...a BYU colored bruise on my left forearm...coincidence???

So here are a few details that might help you get through this if ever you need this surgery.

My surgery lasted less than 45 minutes. During that time I was COMPLETELY out. I went into the OR on a gurney, the anesthesiologist put in an IV an started pushing drugs. The next thing I knew, I woke up in recovery...on my side...with an oxygen mask on.

Some things that happened during surgery...which I'm glad I didn't have to experience in a state of consciousness. They moved me from the gurney onto my stomach. I was also intubated. I actually still have a sore throat from the tubing. I'm not certain how they had me on an IV, intubated and on my stomach all at the same time, and I hope I never see video of that whole process.

The surgery entails either removing and/or repositioning the tissue/veins that have been problematic. The surgeon was intentionally vague about this because he probably decided what to do once he saw things up close and personal. There were a series of incisions, cauterizations and staples (yes, staples). And it hurts just a bit more thinking about that right this second.

My biggest difficulty post-op was coming out of anesthesia. I had never been under general anesthesia before, and we were unsure of how I was going to react to it. I was VERY groggy. After I was in the recovery room for about an hour, I woke up enough for them to take me to a room where Dean could be with me. My pain was intense. I had an IV in to keep me hydrated, they gave me 2 Lortab, and I could drink some Sprite. I was hooked up to a pulse ox machine and a blood pressure machine. I had a hard time keeping my oxygen levels up, so they put me on oxygen again. It took about 6 hours, but I was finally stabilized. Once I was able to urinate and keep my oxygen levels above 90, I was allowed to go home.

My 1st night was OK...as good as can be expected, really. I woke up periodically to take some pain meds and get a drink.

I have been home almost 24 hours now, and I have slept a large majority of the time. I've finally hit my last milestone...to go #2. I heard it was going to be horrible, but since I followed the doctor's instructions, it was as pleasant as that kind of thing can be under the circumstances.

There you have it. That is my story. I know it's not a typical blog post, but I think it is sometimes important to share this kind of information if it will help others. If anyone out there is suffering with hemorrhoids, I recommend getting a doctor's opinion. There may be options out there than can provide you some relief. If you have any questions about my surgery or if you are scheduled for this procedure yourself, I'd be happy to answer any questions I can.

My husband, Dean, has been WONDERFUL! Thank you, honey. I love you even if you did write about my surgery on Facebook!