Emergency room visit and incision site complications

 The slight infections I had when I went camping was annoying enough. Both incision sites healed quickly from it and I seemed to be back on the right path. 

Or so I thought. 

I was feeling pain in my left side. Not super unusual as I heal. Slowly it got worse. I started hunching as I walked. Bowel movements seemed to be happening although painful. Not unusual. Voiding felt weird still but nothing usual. Just pain.

By the evening I felt so crappy and sore. I still couldn’t have a bath or go in the hot tub. I decided to try a hot shower instead. I had just started shampooing my hair, suddenly the pain was too much and I dropped. I felt like a firecracker had gone off inside me. It was horrible. Somehow I dragged myself out of the tub because I couldn’t stand, shampoo still in my hair. Wrapped myself in a towel and tried to breathe through it. Within seconds it was clear something was wrong. I started screaming for my husband. I got lightheaded, I wanted to throw up. 

He found me in the bathroom a mess. I couldn’t stop crying. He had to carry me to the bedroom because I couldn’t stand. He tried to calm me down, talk me thru physio etc. At the time, we both just thought it was the healing process or maybe an ugly bowel movement. The pain wouldn’t go away, in fact, it got worse. Finally I said I needed to go to the hospital. Something was wrong. I still couldn’t stand or walk, the pain had me begging for an ambulance as we drove to the hospital.

When we got there, he had to carry me in. The nurses got me a wheelchair and checked me in. Luckily, I was given a bed and a room. In Canada, that is unheard of. I didn’t question my good fortune. 

We waited for a few hours, a doctor came in and said I needed a CT scan. I said they had to do something for the pain. I couldn’t handle it anymore. Yeah for morphine. After that I didn’t care how long I waited etc. When it was finally my turn, I got wheeled away for the test and brought back. Then waited some more. Few more hours later, a new doctor comes back. They want to keep me overnight, they need to do an ultrasound. Ugh? I couldn’t go home because the pain was too much. 

I spent the night and was waiting for my turn to go in first thing for my ultrasound. When I was hours late for that, haven’t been fed in over 27 hours, no water other than sad ice chips, pumped with morphine and in pain. To say I was feeling like crap and ready to bite someone is an understatement. I may have been a little, uh, abrupt with the nurse. I basically stated, give me some food or water or I’ll call Uber Eats right to this ER room. Next thing I know I have a doctor in my room offering me juice and an IV for fluids. Finally! More hours went by and I finally went in for the ultrasound. The technician was hilarious. They made that experience not so bad. I was still not happy I was 6 hours later getting my ultrasound and was starved and not given water for that long. 

Then more waiting for the results. Yet another doctor came in. By now I have seen 3-4 different ones. Ok sure. My results are in. Drum roll please…..I have a complex cyst on my left ovary. Not big enough for surgery, no it didn’t explode, big enough to cause a crap load of pain. Treatment? Here is an anti-inflammatory and we wait and see what happens. Will my body reabsorb it over 4 weeks time? Will it grow bigger? Will I grow more? Who knows? 

That alone was annoying enough.

I had my follow up with my surgeon for my 6 week post op. The treatment they want to do for cysts is just annoying. That is another post.

However, while there, it was discovered one of my stitches had an abscess. Nothing to worry about. It’ll just take a little longer to go away. Ok cool. No stress.

Fast forward 3 days. I’m removing the bandage I had over my incision sites(to protect them from the sun). When I notice a weird white pus like substance coming out of the stitch with the abscess. Ewww gross. I drained out what I could, cleaned it up and put a fresh new bandage on with some anti infection cream. Called my surgeon, yup abscess blew and drained itself. Keep area dry and clean. Minimal activity. 

Ugh. Anything else? 

Thankfully, within a few days, that seemed to heal up. No more abscess. No infection. Just straight scars that are healing now. My incision sites took me for a wild ride this surgery.