Wound is healing well, but at least two more weeks of bed rest, sigh

Hello,

As many of you know, I had surgery a month ago to fix my butt wound that had not healed in seven months from the proctocolectomy I had in Feb. The surgery was done by my colorectal surgeon and a plastic surgeon, who is the one caring for the the wound now. This plastic surgeon is incredibly strict -- he wants no bending or lifting until the wound is mostly healed.

So, the good news is that the part where the old wound was is healing really well. It's closed up and looks good, has scar tissue now. There is a part that opened at the top, and it's still open, I knew that, but he says it's very clean (they made the old wound a lot bigger to clean it up and fix it), and he did expect that to happen.

One of my biggest concerns is that the part that opened up is as big as the old wound was, but the surgeon today explained that it really is very different -- the wound bed of the old one was very large (even though the rest of the wound was narrow) and it opened onto perineum, whereas this wound bed is smaller and has healthy tissue and is healing well.

I had a flap of "aberrant skin" growing, and he first squeezed it and I couldn't feel that at all.... then he started cutting it off, but he cut further out and it hurt a fair amount (and I guess bled too, I couldn't see it) So that was fun.... not.

I said so if it looks so good can I maybe start bending and he said no. He says I'm only going to get back to about 80% with this wound -- so no splits for me ever (we were laughing, since I couldn't even do splits when I was 8 or whenever it is that kids can do that.... don't think I'll be learning at my age). He thinks it'll take me about 8 weeks total to get to that point, but it's hard to know, and of course, my track record on the butt wound healing is on the slow side.....

So, two more weeks of mostly bed rest, and then I see him again and we re evaluate, but likely more than that.....it does make sense; it's in an area where it's so easy to rip open and I don't want to set myself back.... but have to say, all my other docs are better at connecting and such..... would help if he could at least do a better job of faking caring about my whole life and what it means to prescribe 6-8 weeks of bed rest (actually turns out he wrote 8-12 in the report), rather than caring only about my butt (and nothing but....sorry, couldn't resist )

Wishing you such a speedy recovery...can't imagine what you've been enduring! You are giving it all you've got and happy to hear of progress!!!

I am allowed to walk now, thankfully, and shower too..... just no sitting or bending .... so it's mostly bed rest, not all the time now.....

Hope you feel better.

thanks everyone

No they don't allow me to sit to pee or empty my pouch. I have something called a p style that lets me stand to pee, and I empty the pouch into a jug (a male urinal from the hospital) and then empty the jug into the toilet. I'm used to it now, so that part isn't that bad a hassle (must be a lot worse for people w/out an ostomy who have to poop standing up). I have a grabber for picking things up, a long shoehorn, elastic laces for my shoes so I don't have to tie them, plus a device for putting on socks..... not that bad.

A frustrating part is that my partner's kitchen is very cluttered, and I can't get pots out of the low cabinets at all ..... so if I want to do something like cook eggs, have to make sure someone else gets the pan out for me before they leave..... not huge.... mostly just tired and not able to be in enough of a routine to do my work.

It's also a pain when I have my period, which is coming again soon....

Today I'm in some pain and general queasiness from what he did yesterday.... I couldn't see it, of course, but my partner said he cut off a piece of skin the size of the skin over a knuckle..... lot of blood on the pad last night.... no bedside manner, this guy...... didn't warn me of anything on how it would be. I'm going to see if I can get a nurse to come today, partner thought it's a bad idea to take a shower as the skin is injured there....

I took a break for a few days from the crochet -- wanted to try making hacky sacks, got some thinner cotton yarn, but then my hooks were all too big. My sister thought my nephews would like them, they aren't into stuffed animals.... been thinking of some ways to use crochet to illustrate some math things so I might play with that too .... I've been reading some too, what have you been reading that you liked?

Thanks....

Wow.. that all sounds really rough :-( can't even begin to imagine what you're going through. You do sound so positive though and love you sense of humour!

Sending healing thoughts and really hope you start to see some improvement soon.

We have a thing in the UK called a SheWee.. don't know you if you have it where you? bascially allows you to pee standing up like a bloke. They're used in races (like at the start of the London Marathon)! that sounds a bit like your P Style!

Big hugs ! x

Blueglass, sorry you are still going through this, but glad the ''end'' is near

My butt is still healing, too.  Butt, I am only 3 months post surgery    Still sore and draining and bleeding a little at times.  Nothing at all compared to what you have been through.  My surgeon did not close my bottom, but left it open about 1/2 inch all along the incision to heal from the inside out to help prevent infection [which apparently worked, as I am also Diabetic and have had no problems.]

I was so weak after surgery and then my backset with bloodclots, that I could not get up from the toilet without help and it hurt like he!! sitting on the toilet, anyway.   So, I scarfed up one of those triangular thingies they measured my output in, from the hospital.   I peed in that thing for 3 weeks standing up and it sure was a relief to not have to ask for help getting up every time I had to pee.

Hang in there !!!

Bed rest isn't the worst thing, I'll agree w/that.... but would you like to have had an open butt wound for 8 months? If you want to trade, be sure you know what you're trading for....

It's all about the balance..... nothing brings that home more than reading this list, where some of us are here because we could barely poop at all and some because we pooped too much....

I used to think I flared because I needed the alone time.... hard to get that w/most jobs.... not my first choice for spending 2 months of my sabbatical, but still it's very nice to have a break from work.

So, I get it, and hoping your move goes as smoothly as it can. Do you have help? Do you really have to paint the whole place yourself in one day?

Thanks, Bluegrass, Yes, help is there. It#s just that I planned on taking a vacation day Tuesday but there's too much stress at work, so I have to wait til the stress is over before I can stop living out of boxes, etc. Tehre isn't any corner of life that isn't covered in stress. I also have to break the news about sick leave in December, as if I hand't known about it all along. I'v bee nblessed all this time at work, because the ladies room is attached to my office, it's a normal private bathroom, and I ampractically the only one who uses it. That sense of privacy helped me deal with keeping the secret when I started the job 2 mnths after surgery.

OK, no, I don't think I'd trade for 8 months of tush wound. I can imagine it as hell. But we know by now that the worst of it does have its "over" time. The butt wounds sound very stubbornly difficult to heal but they do heal and you aredefinitely on the way.

Oh, blue....I'm so sorry you have been dealing with this for so very long. It sounds like you are finally seeing some progress though. I hope the end of this trial is near for you. I do a lot of crochet, too so if you ever want to talk projects, let me know.