Has anybody gotten a hemorrhoidectomy and then continued to drive a truck for a living?

Discussion in 'Driver Health' started by BeHereNow97, Oct 9, 2020.

  1. BeHereNow97

    BeHereNow97 Heavy Load Member

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    I'm hoping I can get some insight here from ANYBODY on this forum. Please don't make this into a joke thread guys, I want serious answers. Sorry for the long post, the bolded parts are my questions if you just want to skip to those.

    So I have hemorrhoids that have gotten progressively worse from I guess a Grade 1 in fall 2018 before I went OTR (was still at home attending CDL school at the local Community College) to a Grade 3 during the present time. Hemorrhoids are Grades 1 - 4, with Grade 3 being it comes out during every bowel movement but can be (and has to be) pushed back in either by squeezing your cheeks and kind of pushing it back in with your butt muscles, or if it's a real bad day getting it back in with your finger. Grade 4 means the hemorrhoid cannot be pushed back in, not even with a finger.

    So, I have tried: Preparation H, prescription based ointment. Those didn't work.

    Went to a hemorrhoid doctor specialist, I got 3 Rubber Band Litigations done in early 2020. Those helped temporarily for a bit, but the hemorrhoids came back and came out during every bowel movement shortly after each rubber banding. Thus, the bandings seem to be more like a temporary band aid but the hems are so bad it doesn't cure the problem.

    For some GOOD news: I have been on Metamucil and drinking at minimum 66 ounces of water every single day since late fall 2019. I used to strain all the time and was irregular, but now I go to the bathroom every single day within the first couple of hours of waking up and am on and off the toilet within 1 minute 95% of the time. And most times I wipe and the toilet paper is clean, my bowels come out with such ease now because of drinking enough water and Metamucil.

    That said, I had an upset stomach a few weeks ago with bad diarrhea at the truck stop at 1:00am in the morning. After all was said and done after multiple trips to the bathroom, when I went back to bed at 2:00am or so the hemorrhoid could not be pushed back in. I went to bed with extra layers of boxers and shorts so as to not make a mess in the bed with leakage, and when I woke up the next morning the hems had gone back inside by themselves over the night. Thank God.

    So this is where I'm at today: With Metamucil and minimum 66 ounces of water per day, 99% of the time my bowel movements come out everyday with ZERO OR VERY, VERY LITTLE STRAINING. 95% of the time I'm on the toilet for less than a minute that's how quick and effortlessly it comes out. The other 4% I'm off the toilet within 3 minutes or so.

    But for that 1% of the time where I eat something bad and have a stomach ache, I pay. The hems don't bleed except for rare occasions, it doesn't hurt if I only go once a day. If I go twice or three times a day it hurts a bit but is manageable. If I have a stomach ache I'm in pain from the hems. They are starting to get a bit more itchy and feeling uncomfortable when sitting, so I think they're getting a bit worse maybe. I can sometimes feel them long after a bowel movement, where before I only felt them in the first 15 minutes or so after a bowel movement.

    I'm eventually going to have to get a hemorrhoidectomy, which is surgery to permanently remove the inflamed hemorrhoids. I may not have to get the surgery next month, or next year. But somewhere down the line, I'll have to get it. I'm afraid that eventually the hems will go from Grade 3 to Grade 4 and permanently prolapsed, which will make life extremely painful until I'll be able to have the surgery. So I'm not sure if I should try to wait the surgery out or not. I really only want to get it as a last resort because it's one of the most painful surgeries a human being can have (google hemorrhoidectomy review on YouTube and see women who have given birth talk about how they would rather give birth to 8 more kids than have another hemorrhoidectomy).

    So, I'm not looking for diet or exercise advice in this thread. I have tried everything and my hems are bad enough that the only permanent fix (if I can keep my diet and exercise on point after surgery) is the surgery.

    Has anybody gotten a hemorrhoidectomy and then continued to drive a truck for a living (or have an office sitting job)? If so, DID THE HEMORRHOIDS EVER COME BACK? If they did come back, did they come back to a Grade 3 or Grade 4 or were they just small Grade 1 or Grade 2's? Maybe some females who have had a hemorrhoidectomy from child birth and then driven a truck afterwards for a living can weigh in, did the hems come back from driving the truck after surgery?

    I ask because the hemorrhoidectomy is one of the most painful surgeries a human being can get and I don't want to go through with this painful surgery if the hems are just going to come back due to having to sit so much for this occupation. But like I said I got these hems before I started driving OTR and I was actually in the best shape of my life back then, so I'm not sure how big of a role sitting all the time has to do with it.

    I searched old threads on this topic:

    Driving with a case of asteroids

    Hemorrhoids

    But they were from long ago. Most members in those threads haven't logged in for years at this point. There were 2 members that still come to the forum and I want to ask them questions:

    @Chinatown Hemorrhoids How bad were your hemorrhoids what grade were they? And were they external or internal? I too changed my diet but again, the internal hems that I have were already so bad that even with a fixed diet and going to the bathroom with zero or such little straining, the hems still come out every single bowel movement no matter what. But if yours were Grade 3 and prolapsing after every single bowel movement, and they went away by you reducing your meat consumption greatly, maybe it's worth a shot for me?

    @heyns57 Driving with a case of asteroids I'm assuming you had the hemorrhoidectomy, right?

    Were you a truck driver before and after this surgery?

    Did you drive again after the surgery and if so, how long did you wait before you were behind the wheel again? Were you an OTR trucker?

    And you said in your post the doctor told you the hems came back but they didn't bother you - I know that we all have hemorrhoids naturally it's just a problem when they become inflamed and start bleeding or prolapsing, causing pain. After your surgery were the hems ever prolapsing or bleeding again or did they bother you after you had your surgery?

    If anybody can weigh in, please do. I am specifically looking for people who have had the hemorrhoidectomy and driven a truck for a career afterwards and whether or not the hems came back or if the hems came back as bad as they were prior to the surgery.
     
    Last edited: Oct 9, 2020
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  3. Chinatown

    Chinatown Road Train Member

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    Mine went away years ago when I went on a diet heavy with lettuce. That was advice I got from somewhere, don't remember where. I'd hit the salad bars and pig out on lettuce every day; at least a head of lettuce a day. No more problems since then and that's been over 20 years ago.
     
  4. Chinatown

    Chinatown Road Train Member

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    Why would the surgery be painful? You'll be asleep or under heavy sedation.
     
  5. BeHereNow97

    BeHereNow97 Heavy Load Member

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    How bad were the hems for you though at the time? Were they internal and just bled a little sometimes after bowel movements (Grade 2), or did they prolapse after every single bowel movement and you had to kind of push them back in with your butt muscles each time (Grade 3)?
     
  6. Chinatown

    Chinatown Road Train Member

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    Not that severe , but painful at times. Difficult to fall asleep at times.
    I still don't understand how lettuce cured me, but it did.
    Don't be afraid of surgery though; you won't feel a thing. I had hernia surgery one time an didn't feel anything and back at work in a week.
     
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  7. BeHereNow97

    BeHereNow97 Heavy Load Member

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    No the surgery itself isn't painful and yes I'll be put to sleep and won't feel a thing.

    It's AFTER the surgery that the hell begins! The bowel movements after the surgery for the first two weeks or so, from what YouTube videos and online forums are saying, the consensus seems to be that it's a mixture of feeling like someone is twisting a hot, scolded knife up your backside and pooping out glass. Where the painkillers don't even touch the pain. And then your butt muscles start randomly spasming afterwards, sometimes for hours at a time.

    Those are the experiences of SUCCESFUL HEMMORHOIDECTOMY SURGERIES. Those with complications sometimes have to get put on a catheter because they can't pee or sometimes patients will develop fissures that they didn't have before. Some bleed to much after the surgery and after having a particular bowel movement and have to go to the hospital.

    It's brutal. Women who have given birth say they would rather give birth to 8 babies before getting another hemorrhoidectomy, people who have broken bones say the hemorrhoidectomy was more painful than breaking particular bones and getting surgery on them.
     
  8. Chinatown

    Chinatown Road Train Member

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    Just suffer through it and get it in you past. Remember, it's only temporary, then you're cured and over it.
     
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  9. okiedokie

    okiedokie Road Train Member

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    Driving off road with walking beam suspension is the quickest way to "truckers nightmare ". That said, Rutin 500 work wonders for me.
     
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  10. BeHereNow97

    BeHereNow97 Heavy Load Member

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    This was my thought as well, just get it over with. BUT, what I'm worried about and WHY I created this thread, was to see if anybody has had the hemorrhoidectomy surgery and then driven a truck for a career afterwards and if so, did the hems come back or did they ever come back bad enough to Grade 3 with prolapsing after every single bowel movement despite zero straining involved?

    Because if so, then I might have to change careers because I'm not going through the pain of hemorrhoidectomy surgery every 5 years or so. But if I can keep the hems at bay with good diet and 0 straining after the surgery and while driving a truck for a career full time, then I would prefer to stay in this career.

    Obviously everybody is different but surely someone has gotten this surgery before and driven a truck afterwards and can give some insight. I'm assuming @heyns57 was a truck driver and he still logs into the forum (I found his post on a very old thread) so hopefully he will chime in too. I'm sure some females on this forum must've gotten this surgery after child birth or knows somebody who has and then continued to have a sitting/trucking job.
     
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  11. BeHereNow97

    BeHereNow97 Heavy Load Member

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    How bad are your hemorrhoids though okiedokie, are they at Grade 3 and prolapsing after every bowel movement? Does Rutin 500 just help you stay regular or does it actually heal the hemorrhoids? If it helps keep you regular I have Metamucil where 99% of the time I have zero or very littles straining and it keeps me regular.
     
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