Hernia repair/abdominoplasty

[Guest guest]

Cheri wrote:

> Will I ever get better? Did anyone ever sleep in their binder?

> Also, the

doc kept the drain tube in because it got stuck and was leaking from

the side.

Cheri, I am in a similar boat right now, having had an

abdominoplasty/hernia repair that turned out a lot more complicated

than anyone ever expected. The day after I was discharged after the

surgery, I was back in the hospital with a raging fever, which turned

out to be general septicemia...IV meds for three days stopped that in

its tracks, but even afterward it seemed to take everything ages to

heal up. And I had the drain in on one side for nearly two weeks,

because the lower part of the wound just kept draining...and

draining...and draining. When they finally took it out, my lower tummy

puffed up like a balloon, and next thing you know I was back in the

hospital, this time for a great honkin' abscess plus hematoma. Was sick

as a dog, couldn't walk for the pain...even 8 mg. of morphine every

four hours didn't really cut into the pain that much. I'm not a

crybaby, but I sure had tears in my eyes a lot for a while there!

I got out this past Sunday, and yesterday marked the 6-week anniversary

of the actual surgery. I still have two huge holes in my lower abdomen,

which have to be scraped out and packed four times per day (fortunately

our province still has some semblance of a home care system still in

place, so I have a nurse who comes in to help out with that), but it's

been far from an easy ride. I look, as my grandmother used to say, like

the wreck of the Hesperus. Gaunt, tired, easily fatigued...but I'm

trying to think positive and heal a bit more each day.

I did wear my binder 24/7 for the first four weeks after surgery, and

yeah, it was a pain. However, it's a bit like banging your head against

a wall: it feels really, really good when you stop! LOL Oddly, I felt a

bit weird when I took the cursed thing off, and I realised how much I'd

come to rely on its support while I'd been wearing it.

I hope your surgery will heal up well -- I find that when I can get out

and around, keep my body moving at a gentle pace, get lots of rest, and

eat plenty of protein (oh, and keep my fluids up, to wash out all the

toxins that accumulate), I do better. My home care nurse is quite

optimistic that the open wounds are healing at a good rate, though it

seems to me to be taking forever. However, I figure that I'll probably

look back in six months' time, with my nice flat (albeit scarred)

stomach, and it won't seem that bad.

Take good care,

--

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RNY September 19, 2001

Abdominoplasty/hernia repair Oct. 15, 2003

Dr. Freeman, Ottawa General Hospital

-157 lb.

http://www.karenirving.com

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