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

This makes me feel a lot better. One day I would like to go back to weight training so if your brother in law was able to to physical labor and have them not come back, that gives me hope.

I'm not sure if I'm anatomically susceptible to the reoccurrence of them. My mother and both grandmothers have hemorrhoids and bowel movement issues, but they all had kids and in the case of my grandmothers many, many kids.

I had the hems before I started driving a truck full time OTR. I can remember a bit of blood coming out on my toilet paper from time to time and freaking out, not knowing what it was. I was going to the gym regularly and one day pinched a nerve in my neck area from deadlifting too heavy of weights and not being careful about my form. Had to take off from the gym for about 1.5 - 2 weeks afterwards. Did that lift cause the initial hemorrhoid? I don't know but back then it probably would've gone away had I had my diet on point with Metamucil like I do now and taken some OTC or even a simple prescription based treatment.

But that didn't happen and by the time I realized what an actual hemorrhoid was, got my diet on point with plenty of water and daily Metamucil, the damage was already done. I have basically been in upkeep mode for the past year and a half or so after the last of my 3 banding litigations failed to get rid of them for good.

It sounds like you had them bad, I don't have any externals although as I said the internal ones prolapse every single time I have a bowel movement, despite being on and off the toilet in less than 1 minute 95% of the time thanks to Metamucil and plenty of water. Your story gives me a lot of hope.

Ok, it sounds like yours were a very, very bad grade 3 if you have to push them in with KY jelly to get them back in. Mine prolapse after every single bowel movement but normally I don't have to touch them to get them back in, just kind of squeeze my butt cheeks/muscles and they'll go back in by themselves.

@Willy Wonty I'm assuming you continued driving a truck for a living after your successful surgery, right? Really really glad to hear that they haven't given you any problems since, this gives me hope.

Thank you for sharing this Atlanta trucker! Yes, I have been putting it off because I am quite frankly scared to death after listening and reading the horror stories on the internet about the pain post surgery. I am a man so obviously I don't know what it's like to give birth, but listening to YouTube videos and online testimonials of women who talk about how the pain of your bowel movements the first week or two after the surgery are on a whole other level of pain compared to birthing a child/children, really makes me nervous.

Thank you to everybody who responded in this thread. This has given me a lot of hope that I can get the surgery done, do my very best to tough out whatever pain will come the first month or so after the surgery and that I can then get on with my life and continue driving a truck. I've put a lot of work into getting my CDL, paying my dues out here on the road these past two years, sacrificing, working more hours consistently than I've ever worked before in my life........ It's good to know that all of this work I've put in over the past couple of years doesn't necessarily have to go to waste.

As I said in my OP, Metamucil has changed my life and is truly a Godsend when it comes to my bowel movements and staying regular. I'm thinking if the surgery gets rid of the inflamed hems for good, I can keep the hems at bay. Should they come back I actually know what a hemorrhoid is now and the signs of hems, so I can act and nip the problem in the bud when the hems are at a Grade 1, rather than letting them get to a Grade 3 like they are now. I can handle the hems if they come back and are smaller Grades, but I can't live with this Grade 3 for forever.

I'll have to get the surgery. It's a bit nerve wracking but it's something that'll have to be done.

Anyways, you guys are the best, really thank you for sharing your experiences with this surgery! This gives me a lot of hope and I am much more optimistic about this problem and keeping my career in trucking in tact afterwards.

 

Also I wanted to post this, this is what I'm talking about with the Internal Hemorrhoid Grading System. I don't think this grading system applies to external hems, it only applies (I think) to internal ones.

Source: Hemorrhoidal disease: Diagnosis and management - Mayo Clinic.

Internal hemorrhoids arise above the dentate line, are covered by columnar cells and have a visceral nerve supply. They are further categorized — and treated — according to their degree of prolapse:

• Grade I hemorrhoids bleed but do not prolapse; on colonoscopy, they are seen as small bulges into the lumen.
• Grade II hemorrhoids prolapse outside the anal canal but reduce spontaneously.
• Grade III hemorrhoids protrude outside the anal canal and usually require manual reduction.
• Grade IV hemorrhoids are irreducible and constantly prolapsed. Acutely thrombosed hemorrhoids and those involving rectal mucosal prolapse are also grade IV.

 

Good to hear! I'll be going in for surgery at the middle of February. I'm nervous about it but it makes me feel a lot better hearing about all the success stories of drivers who have had the surgery and came back to driving successfully and without complications.

Did your boss mention anything about the pain during his 2 weeks off? There are reports online that make the pain post operation sound excruciating, so it has me worried.