Surgery in less than a week...Last minute questions!

[Brendan]

Wow, I can't believe how quickly my open excision is coming. I finish my final exam on the 20th, go for my surgery on the 21st, then start my new job on the 27th, with 6 days to be completely free of anything except proper wound nurturing. I'm trying to get everything together and I want to know if I am doing good or if I am missing some key points. Here goes:

-NO advil until after surgery (bloodthinners before surgery = bad)
-Absolutely no driving for about 4 days after (fine by me, but I might take some walks. It's getting nice out again!)
-Start working out approximately 2 weeks after surgery
-GET A TUSH CUSH (quoted directly from JaredsMom )
-Flush the wound at least twice a day with water from the shower as well as change the packing (which I hope to, against advice of some I know, do myself right from the get go. My goal is to see how independent I can be coming off of my first ever surgery)
-Use baby wipes for wiping after number two?

Here are some main questions though:

-What are important things to eat to help with recovery?
-Is sitting too much more than just painful? (aka will it be bad for my wound if I push it a little too far one day? My new job will be sitting down. It is an extremely lax job with the ability to get up and walk around at any time but it would be nice to not be completely useless my first two weeks on the job)
- What does the wound FEEL like (not painwise, actually how does it physically feel?)
- What kind of Anesthetics did you use? I believe I'm getting IV'd but not sure yet

I'm sure I have more questions, but I can't really concentrate with some more finals coming up lol it's certainly been a hectic week. Hopefully after all this I can stop ASKING the questions and start giving the ANSWERS. Thanks in advance!

 

[mhock]

I just had mine done a week ago from tomorrow. So I can offer a couple of answers. I sat fine in school on tuesday and I had it done friday. However, as of about yesterday I haven't been able to sit comfortably. but the surgeon said it could be an infection because during the surgery some puss leaked. I was put under general anesthesia. It was fine, I had a sore throat for about 2 days from the breathing tube. Good luck! And after the surgery it's not as bad as you think. I promise it won't be as painful as you're probably imagining it to be.

 

[Brendan]

Awesome thank you for the good news. That makes me glad to hear and that reminds me, I think my cyst is slightly inflamed currently. Should I get on antibiotics ASAP to get it down for Tuesday or is it ok as they are removing it anyways?

 

[Jaredsmom]

Brendan,

You're full of questions, aren't you?

On behalf of your backside, THANK YOU for planning on getting the Tush Cush.


I've done lots of research on NSAIDS (advil, aleve, aspirin) because after his cleft lift Jared was taking advil for tooth pain because during anesthesia, his front tooth had trauma from the trach tube being inserted and the root became infected. Because the tooth was not decayed in any way, he had a root canal. Well, through my research, I have found compelling evidence that NSAIDS DELAY OR STOP HEALING. I've posted a thread on that sometime back filled with lots of quotes from medical professionals and studies done that prove this. My serious advice would be NOT to take ANY NSAIDS post op. Vicodin/percocet or the other opiods are fine, and should take any edge off the pain.....so you shouldn't need NSAIDS anyhow. By the way, after removing Jared from the Advil, the spot on his cleft that was unhealed, healed within a week. Amazing.

More unwanted advice: Ask your surgeon about Aquacel as a packing. Before his cleft lift, Jared used that for his packings and they cut the pain of packing in half, and the pain of REMOVING the packing was almost nil. It goes in looking like a piece of felt, which is much softer than gauze, so the pain of the packing against the sensitive tissue is much less. Once in, it absorbs the nasty wound liquids and turns to a slimey blob. SO, when it's being removed, the pain is truly minimal because it doesn't rub against the wounds sides as it has the consistency of an uncooked oyster[8)]....wet, slimey and soft. It also promotes healing as it absorbs wound fluid better than gauze. Aquacel also comes in a form for wounds with heavy bacterial load, and this type has silver in it to kill the germs.

As for eating: LOTS of fruits and veggies. And you will need protein... now, we're not much for eating meat, so I bought Jared the protein powders, and made him drinks out of them. Just be careful. Those protein powders can really make you pack on the pounds. Be prepared to need to do a little weight loss after you're all healed. Still, protein IS necessary for wound healing, so it's worth adding a few pounds if it gets you healed. Also, VERY IMPORTANT to wound healing is to drink water on a regular basis. Your body needs water for tissue repair and to replenish your blood supply from the bleeding cyst or what you lose during the surgery and even when changing the packings. Water is vital. I live in a Civil War town and so often when reading battle accounts, the wounded soldiers ALWAYS ask for water. Their thirst was their body's way of telling them what it needed ... Just be cautious. As with everything, too much water can be harmful, even fatal. I would make sure I got the reccomended amount, and be careful to not go over that amount too drastically. Too much water can deplete your body of electrolytes and cause serious problems. To be safe, since some people are more prone to water poisoning than others, I have Jared drink the sports drinks. They have electrolytes in them, so you can drink alot of them and still get the liquid you need and not have to worry about deadly electrolyte imbalances.

BY the way, totally off topic: But for anyone doing serious exercise like jogging, cycling, heavy sports or marathons, etc in the warm weather that is coming, I HIGHLY advise you to drink the sports drinks with electrolytes in them INSTEAD of water. Sweating depletes electrolytes, and large amounts of water will not help you, and actually will SPEED the loss of the electrolytes. Which, as I said, can be fatal. Most people don't realize that there is such a thing as water poisoning. It mostly affects athletes, exercising in warm weather, but can happen to ANYONE who drinks large amounts of water. How much is too much? That varies from person to person.

As for sitting: your body will let you know when you've overdone it. The Tush Cush helps dramatically. EVERY pilo patient should have one.

As for the antibios: Call your surgeon asap. Some surgeons will postpone the surgery if it's infected. Others will start you on anti bios, others say to just wait until the day of the surgery, when they'll give you an IV dose of high powered Cipro, which is very effective against the "butt bugs" as our surgeon used to say.


Good luck, Brendan. You seem very prepared for this surgery, both information wise and emotion wise.... so you are already a step ahead of the game.[^^]

 

[Brendan]

Wow thanks for the detailed replies!

If they were to delay surgery it would be the worst possible thing as this is the best timing possible for me. I wouldn't call it infected just draining every once in awhile. It's there, that's for sure. Not like after a round of antibio's and it's barely noticeable.

Don't have to tell me twice to drink lots of Gatorade or eat meat, I do both fairly regularly

I will definitely check into those pads for my wound. That is for sure the part I am least looking forward to is having a nice fleshy hole in my rear end for a month or two. Gonna make life real interesting. It's got me nice and motivated to actually start working once the wound starts to heal.

I think it's the fact that I am so sick of having this thing be a nuisance at times and in complete control of my life at others that I am so prepared to do everything it takes to get myself back to 100% in as quick a time as possible. I'm sure I'm not the only one that has had it with that little "tailgater" (see what I did there?).

 

[Ace in CA]

Hi, Brendan,

I just had my closed incision surgery on 4/13, and not to scare you or anything, but mine is definitely a lot more sore/painful than what I was expecting. Before I got the surgery, my PCP gave me a prescription for Vicodin, which I filled immediately, but didn't start taking it until after the surgery. If yours has offered something similar, take them up on it. Better to have it and not need it, than to be in pain in the middle of the night.

As for how it feels, there are two distinctly different pains. One is the burning - stinging sensation right on the actual scar, which comes and goes and isn't all the that bad. The other feels like it's right in the tailbone, and feels like when you fall on your butt ice skating and hit the tailbone - that intense rush of pain that shoots through you. For me this is the least tolerable (and I have a pretty good pain threshold usually). I'm taking the Vicodin and also augmenting it with Advil and Tylenol, switching off between the A & T.

My surgeon told me to expect to be out of work for a week, and I thought "hooey" but he was right and I'm actually thinking that Monday isn't looking so hot for getting back to it either. Again, not to scare you, but just to help you be better prepared. And yours might not be as painful as mine either - who knows. He did say that mine was fairly small (hence the closed wound incision) and it only took about 8 stitches.

Hope this helps and doesn't freak you out.

 

[Jaredsmom]

Brendan,

I agree with Ace in that you probably are not going to want to go back to work so soon. I mean, it's possible.....but to be honest, it's best not to get your hopes up then end up being disappointed.

Truthfully, if I were you, I would count on being out for at least three weeks. These open healings take alot of time, and the entire area is very very tender and sore for quite some time. The surgery, stress, the anesthesia's effect on your body, and the extremely hard job of healing all take it's toll. You will need rest most of all, and most likely your body will see that it gets it. So count on at least three weeks off, if it goes better than expected and you can get to work in two, so much the better.

 

[paranoydRG]

Haha, when I first read this post, I thought, "Theyre going back to work 6 days after surgery- ouch! but I didn't want to be a downer! After reading other
replies, I figure I'd be truthful- are you crazy?? No, in all seriousness, it would be awesome if you can get back to routine life so quickly!

I had a form of open excision 4 weeks this Monday, and I think it took a good 3 weeks to be somewhat normal. I still am a bit sore if I sit too long, but otherwise I feel good!

I wish you the best, but PLEASE do not over-do it! Healing is your priority, which means a good diet and lots of rest

I was exhausted for at least 2 weeks after surgery so my pillow was my friend...again, you might be completely different, but be prepared! Keep us posted!

 

[Chanon]

My closed incision surgery was done under spinal anesthesia; no complaints - it was a little weird afterward to watch the nurses pinching and moving my legs and I wasn't feeling or able to control any of it, but kind of entertaining at the same time.

I was on hydrocodone afterwards (non-brand Vicodin), and besides the pain, the only thing I felt on the wound was the tighntness of the stitches. I avoided sitting, but more because I didn't have to; I had taken the week off of work. I'm sure I could have figured it out if I had to Sleeping was difficult because I wasn't comfortable on my back, but I was able to play with my Wii Fit (minus the snowboarding game, THAT was bad). Walking up stairs had to be done s-l-o-w-l-y, but again, was doable.

Post-surgery was SO much better than my first flare-up and drainage ~*shudder*~

 

[Brendan]

I don't think I've stressed the completely lax environment I'm going to have at this job. They've already assured me to be quite accomodating to whatever my needs are post-op. The problem is, I, as much as I hate to sound like a stubborn idiot, CAN'T take 3 weeks off. This job is a grant through a federal company, NSERC, and I need to work a minimum 16 weeks this summer to get it. It is perhaps possible to get my first week off no problem, but even if I stand all day or lay on a couch with my laptop or what, I can't take this time off. I will take it VERY easy the first couple of weeks and my professor whom I'm working with is very aware of this and completely supportive.

Again, sorry to sound like a stubborn fool, but to me, there are worse things than physical pain and losing this absolutely amazing opportunity is one of them. Don't think of it as a cubicle-like environment, it's far from that. I will have my tush cush, plenty of walks, and (hopefully it remains this way) a strong determination to not let this thing control my life anymore. I'm a big believer in the mental aspect of healing.

...That being said, if I come crying here 3 days after I start my job saying I need 2 weeks off because of the pain, you can laugh at my idiocy then

Obviously I will be a better judge of everything AFTER I have the surgery... So I suppose all these plans mean nil right now if I have no idea what I'm in for.

 

[louiseh57]

Hey just wanted to say good luck with the surgery, don't really have anything to add as everyone here has been so thorough!

Just try not to push it, I went back to work 2 weeks after an open excision and it was the worst mistake I could have made, it really set me back (although I did have lots of other problems anyway!).

Good luck and please keep us updated

 

[Brendan]

2 nights to go. Definitely getting a little jittery here. Got to get 3 lab reports done before Tuesday morning too haha so I'm doing those to keep my mind off the surgery.

It's not the surgery that bothers me, it's the post op. I've never had to take care of something like this for so long.

Well its off to bed for now. Gotta get up early to enjoy my last normal day for awhile...and to do an oral exam for school haha.

 

[cricket1]

iwish u all the best.

 

[Brendan]

Thank you haha hopefully surgeon skill is all I need and I won't need luck

I've decided that I'm going to talk to my future employer (aka my professor) and see what he thinks about half days at work next week depending on how I feel this Friday after the surgery. As long as I could get SOME work in, even 4 hours a day, (of again, nothing very demanding at all) that would be great and probably more optimal for healing than 8 hours of work a day.

 

[aliciakeysfan1989]

2 nights to go. Definitely getting a little jittery here. Got to get 3 lab reports done before Tuesday morning too haha so I'm doing those to keep my mind off the surgery.

It's not the surgery that bothers me, it's the post op. I've never had to take care of something like this for so long.

Well its off to bed for now. Gotta get up early to enjoy my last normal day for awhile...and to do an oral exam for school haha.

Good luck with the lab-reports and your examination!!

And of course.. with the surgery! I hope you'll recover soon without any prob's!

 

[MaVeRiCk7]

Good luck hope it all goes well for you.

 

[Brendan]

Today's the big day haha thanks for the well wishes! See you on the other side! [x0x]

 

[jenabrooke]

At work...

I think you will be okay at work if you can lay down on a couch, just make sure that you do that. A week after my first surgery I was back in school for a day and then decided to stay home the rest of the week.

The only problem you might face is if you need the pain killers, which I strongly recommend. It was very difficult for me to do anything but watch television and sleep, and I am a hardcore, fight it out student.

When I first when in for my lancing I said my pain was a 7 and they told me it was a 10. The pain after the surgery is a different kind of pain because the pressure is gone. Just be very clean. I had two more surgeries within the year which was emotionally draining (and bad for my school work).

Good Luck today!! [:8)]

 

[sexy_sadee_NOT]

ok I know you had your surgery already (same day as mine) and that youre not in pain yet, but I had to laugh (I'm really sorry for my honesty) when you said youre starting a new job a week after this surgery and that it's a sitting job. I don't mean to scare you but I'v had this thing drained twice and was off work for at least a week for that. It didn't get comfortable to sit for at least 2 weeks and even then I had to take a lot of breaks. This time, with the open excision surgery, my surgeon said I should book 4-6 weeks off work.

I know you can do it, especially if it's a new job youre starting, but I dont' expect you to be very comfortable sitting all day. just remember to get up and take a lot, of breaks. ouch.

 

[Brendan]

I think I am going to take next week off actually and start on the 4th. My boss is extremely accommodating and the job is not stressful at all.